Boston Flora

Category: Author Book Signing

  • Monday, August 20, 7:00 pm – Seaweed Chronicles: A World at the Water’s Edge

    An ancient, and vital, part of nature’s ecosystem, seaweed is now emerging as an increasingly important source of food in a world faced with diminishing natural resources.

    In Seaweed Chronicles, acclaimed nature writer Susan Hand Shetterly opens a window into the world of this fascinating organism by providing an elegant, often poetic look at life on the rugged shore of the Gulf of Maine. Shetterly offers a close look at the life cycle of seaweed, and introduces us to the men and women who farm and harvest it–and their increasingly difficult task of protecting this critical natural resource against forces both natural and man-made. Ideal for readers of such books as The Hidden Life of Trees and How to Read Water, Seaweed Chronicles is a beautiful tribute to a little-known part of our country and a significant contribution to our understanding of our natural habitat.

    Susan Hand Shetterly is the author of the essay collections Settled in the Wild and The New Year’s Owl, as well as several children’s books, including Shelterwood, named an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children by the Children’s Book Council. She lives in Maine. She will speak about her book at Porter Square Books, 25 White Street in Cambridge, on Monday, August 20 at 7 pm. More information at https://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/susan-shetterly-seaweed-chronicles

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  • Saturday, August 25, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Stone Acres Farm

    Saturday, August 25, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Stone Acres Farm

    The Garden Conservancy will hold an Open Days Special Program on Saturday, August 25 at Stone Acres Farm, 385 North Main Street in Stonington, Connecticut, from 10 – 2, including a talk and book signing by Garden Club of the Back Bay member Judith Tankard from 11 – 1.

    Stone Acres Farm is a small working farm situated in picturesque Stonington. The property’s rolling hills, gardens, and acres of vegetable production are open to visitors on a daily basis. A century-old boxwood hedge that is one-quarter-mile long, rose arbors, and a perennial cutting garden are highlights of the historic formal garden. There are interesting old outbuildings, a carriage house, grapery, greenhouse, annual cutting garden, a ha ha, and a pond once used for ice—now home for the herons.

    In the historic gardens at Stone Acre Farm, join landscape historian and Garden Conservancy Fellow Judith Tankard for a signing of her latest book, Ellen Shipman and the American Garden. In the 1920s and 1930s, Shipman was a famous landscape architect who designed hundreds of gardens, including 60 in Connecticut. She was known for her labor-intensive flower borders as well as charming water features and garden sculpture. Judith has also written books on Beatrix Farrand and Gertrude Jekyll. She is an Open Days Regional Representative and Garden Host on Martha’s Vineyard.

    Admission to the garden is $7. For more information and directions visit https://www.gardenconservancy.org/open-days/garden-directory/stone-acres-farm

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  • Saturday, August 18, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – Native Plants for New England Gardens

    Dan Jaffe, coauthor of Native Plants for New England Gardens, wants to teach you how to create lovely, low-maintenance gardens that support biodiversity and thrive in New England. This handy guide to more than 100 great native perennials, trees, shrubs, ferns, grasses, and vines features practical information accompanied by beautiful color photography. Join him on Saturday, August 18 at 10:30 am for this informative discussion about native plants and all their garden uses–from plants to use instead of mulch to tough plants for urban gardens. The Urban Gardening Series is a set of lectures designed to help city dwellers grow healthy, sustainable, and beautiful gardens. Led by New England Wild Flower Society in partnership with the Cambridge Conservation Commission, these free lectures take place at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA.

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  • Wednesday, August 15, 7:00 pm – Grow What You Love: Twelve Food Plant Families to Change Your Life

    Grow What You Love is designed to be a simple guide to growing vegetables, herbs and more that will add to the flavor and variety of fresh produce choices throughout the year. Aimed at novice and experienced gardeners alike it will be an image-driven, how-to adventure from an expert gardener and communicator with an enthusiasm for an authentic life.

    The colorful book begins with an exploration of author Emily Murphy’s approach to gardening and how it can fit into modern life with little time and effort. She goes on to give advice on how best to choose food plants that readers love, or can discover, and follows with simple methods for garden-to-table growing, including a selection of her favorite seasonal recipes. The result for readers is a garden-fresh bounty for any time of the year.

    Emily Murphy is the author of the foodie-centric garden blog Pass The Pistil, and one of Garden Design Magazine’s “most loved” blogs of 2015. Emily is a web series host, a contributor to Better Homes and Gardens, a garden design and organic gardening consultant, and a teacher of organic gardening. Emily holds a degree in Ethnobotanical Resources from Humboldt State University where she also studied botany and environmental science. She will appear at Porter Square Books, 25 White Street in Cambridge, on Wednesday, August 15 at 7 pm. More information may be found at www.portersquarebooks.com.

  • Tuesday, August 21, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Northeast Regional Perennial Plant Symposium

    Tuesday, August 21, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Northeast Regional Perennial Plant Symposium

    The Northeast Region Perennial Plant Association Symposium is presented by Massachusetts Horticultural Society & the Perennial Plant Association. This year’s symposium includes four presentations led by some of the perennial industry’s best: CL Fornari, Nancy Lawson, Bobbie Schwartz, and Deb Trickett. Pre-registration required. Early Bird: $99; After August 12: $125. The event will take place Tuesday, August 21 from 9 – 3 at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley. Register by calling 617-933-4973, or visit www.masshort.org.

    C.L. Fornari is a creative gardening expert (aka plant geek) who transitioned from artist to garden communicator in 1995. She is the author seven books including her latest, The Cocktail Hour Garden, published by St. Lynn’s Press. C.L. is the host GardenLine, heard on WXTK, and co-host of Plantrama, a podcast produced by Zachos and Fornari. She speaks to audiences at horticultural trade shows, garden clubs, botanical gardens, master gardener symposiums, alumni/women’s groups and neighborhood associations. In addition to speaking, radio, and writing, C.L. blogs and runs a consultation service for Hyannis Country Garden, an independent garden center on Cape Cod. In 2017 her book The Cocktail Hour Garden won awards from ASJA and GWA. She also won a GWA award in 2017 for writing on her website. In 2012 C.L. was awarded the Garden Communicator Of The Year from the Perennial Plant Association and in 2013 won three awards from the Garden Writers Association. In 2015 C.L. launched the first annual Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival, a ten-day regional celebration of open gardens. In its third year, 2017, the Hydrangea Festival raised over $43,000.00 for local non-profits.

    Nancy Lawson is the author of The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife. In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces.

    Bobbie Schwartz is the author of Garden Renovation: Transform Your Yard into the Garden of Your Dreams. Gardens, just like houses, sometimes need makeovers. The changes can be as minor as replacing a shrub or as major as pulling everything up and starting from scratch. No matter the size of your space or the scope of the project, the sage advice in Garden Renovation will help you turn a problem-filled yard into a paradise. Bobbie Schwartz draws on her years of experience as a garden designer to teach gardeners how to evaluate the plants and features present in their yards, determine what to keep and what to remove, choose the right plants and design plans for successful remodels, and how to know when to hire help. A gallery of before-and-after photos provides ideas and inspiration for turning a tired garden into an enlivening retreat.

    Deborah Trickett, owner of The Captured Garden, is an award-winning container garden designer whose work has been featured in The Boston Globe, Garden Gate magazine, New England Home magazine and on the TV show New England Dream Home. She is a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist and a frequent lecturer on container gardening at the Boston Flower and Garden Show, as well as the Philadelphia International Flower Show. She also teaches classes and workshops at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.

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  • Monday, July 30, 7:00 pm – Slow Money and Nurture Capital: A New Vision of Food, Money, and Soil

    On Monday, July 30, beginning at 7 pm, come hear Slow Money founder Woody Tasch speak about his new book Soil 2017, and Slow Money’s progress, including the $65 million invested in more than 728 small organic farms and local food businesses. This free event will take place Monday, July 30 at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury, and is sponsored by the Dukes County Conservation District, Island Grown Initiative, Slough Farm Foundation, Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society, and The Polly Hill Arboretum.

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  • Thursday, July 12, 7:00 pm – One Green Deed Spawns Another

    One Green Deed Spawns Another traces the unusual path David Mahood followed to become environmentally active, which brought him in contact with some exceptional individuals. Some are as well-known as celebrities; others have flown under the radar. All of them have equally distinctive stories that have inspired and influenced his philosophy on our relationship to our habitat and fellow species. This book is a compilation of these poignant moments with his environmental heroes and friends and their insightful ideas, and a tribute to the spirit of Earth’s active stewards.

    David C. Mahood is a sustainability consultant, environmental writer and poet. He holds a BA from the College of Wooster, and an MBA in Sustainability from San Francisco Institute of Architecture. His articles have appeared in numerous publications including Interiors and Sources, International Ecotourism Society, The Environmental Blog, NEWH Magazine and Living Green Magazine. His poetry credits include Writer’s Cramp, Fifth Street Review, and Prick of the Spindle. He attributes his environmental epiphany to a desperate act of consciousness back in 1998. David spends most of his time in Massachusetts but can be found in one of various flanking airports.

    David will appear at Porter Square Books, 25 White Street in Cambridge, on Thursday, July 12 to discuss his book and sign copies. For more information visit www.portersquarebooks.com.

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  • Saturday, June 23, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Foraging & Feasting: Plant Walk, Cooking Demo & Tasting

    On Saturday, June 23 from 10 – 2, explore the culinary treasures hidden in local wild foods. Learn to identify, harvest, and prepare these ancient foods so you can easily incorporate them into your daily meals. Using basic sensory skills, we will survey the wild plants and herbs of the Berkshire Botanical Garden. Inside we will prep and taste a few of the delicious, nutrient-dense recipes from the instructor’s book Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook. Signed copies of Foraging & Feasting will be available at this presentation.

    Dina Falconi is a clinical herbalist with a strong focus on food activism and nutritional healing. An avid gardener, wildcrafter, and permaculturist, Dina has been teaching classes about the use of herbs for food, medicine, and personal care, including wild food foraging and cooking, for more than twenty years. She created Falcon Formulations natural body care products and Earthly Extracts medicinal tinctures. She is a founding member of the Northeast Herbal Association, a chapter leader of the Weston A. Price Foundation, and an organizer of Slow Food-Hudson Valley. She is the author of Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair: Natural and Healthy Personal Care for Everybody and Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook (available at: http://www.botanicalartspress.com). BBG members $155, nonmembers $175. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/foraging-feasting-plant-walk-cooking-demo-tasting

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  • Thursday, June 14, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – United Tastes: The Making of the First American Cookbook

    American Cookery (1796) by Amelia Simmons is known as the “first American cookbook”and has attracted an enthusiastic modern audience of historians, food journalists, and general readers. Yet until now American Cookery has not received the sustained scholarly attention it deserves. Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald’s United Tastes fills this gap by providing a detailed examination of the social circumstances and culinary tradition that produced this American classic. They will discuss the book at the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street in Boston, on Thursday, June 14, beginning with a pre-talk reception at 5:30 and lecture at 6:00. $10 per person (no charge for Massachusetts Historical Society members). Registration required at https://www.masshist.org/calendar

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  • Monday, July 30 – Friday, August 3 – 36th Annual Perennial Plant Symposium

    The Perennial Plant Symposium is the only yearly symposium devoted entirely to perennials. This industry-focused conference brings together more than 500 professionals for networking, learning, and special events. The symposium moves to a different region each year, giving participants a unique experience and insight into the region’s perennial scene.

    This year’s symposium takes place at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown, in the horticulturally vibrant Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina region. You can explore outstanding local gardens, visit vibrant retail garden centers, and tour innovative production facilities. You’ll also hear and engage with industry experts from around the world. Most importantly, you’ll spend time with the best in the industry.

    Registration is now open at http://ppa2018raleigh.com/register/  with early bird discount rates through June 15.  Customize your experience and maximize your time at the symposium with our range of registration options. The PPA 2018 Symposium E-Brochure is now available to download at http://ppa2018raleigh.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/PPA_2018_Symposium_E-Brochure.pdf. This brochure provides attendees with a detailed overview of all the happenings and events throughout the symposium.  The symposium also welcomes perennial enthusiasts with a full day of Plant Talks on Monday, which are open to the general public and industry professionals.

    The roster of 20+ speakers includes:

    Patrick McMillan – Naturalist, author, educator, and creative force behind Emmy award-winning Expeditions with Patrick McMillan
    Fergus Garrett – Head Gardener, Great Dixter
    Richard Olsen – Director, United States National Arboretum
    Christian Kress – Founder, Sarastro-Stauden Nursery
    Ron Gagliardo – Manager, Horticultural Services, Amazon.com LLC
    Ann English – Program Manager, RainScapes Program in the Watershed Mmgt. Div. of the Montgomery County, MD Dept. of Environmental Protection
    Anne Spafford – Associate Professor of Landscape Design, North Carolina State University
    Richard Hartlage – Founding Principal/CEO, Land Morphology

    Tour sites include:

    JC Raulston Arboretum
    Sarah P. Duke Gardens
    Hoffman Nursery, Inc.
    Plant Delights Nursery & Juniper Level Botanic Garden
    Metrolina Greenhouses
    Niche Gardens
    North Carolina State Farmers’ Market
    Big Bloomers Flower Farm

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