Boston Flora

Category: Author Book Signing

  • Friday, November 7, 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – The Art of Jacques Pepin, Online

    GBH presents a national virtual event honoring chef/culinary personality, Jacques Pépin.

    Jacques sits down for a wide ranging discussion which will include: reflections on his career, his decades-long connection to public media, the important work he does with his foundation, and his enduring role as a culinary icon. There will also be time during the event where you can ask Jacques your own questions.

    Our virtual event occurs a few weeks in advance of Jacques’s 90th birthday, which occurs on Dec. 18, 2025. Join us to celebrate all things Jacques!

    More about Jacques Pépin: The winner of sixteen James Beard Awards and author of over thirty cookbooks, including The Apprentice, Essential Pépin, and Jacques Pépin Quick & Simple, Jacques Pépin is a chef, author, television personality, educator, and artist. He has starred in twelve acclaimed PBS cooking series. His dedication to culinary education led to the creation of the Jacques Pépin Foundation in 2016.

    Ticket price: $120 (includes a Zoom link to join the live 90-minute Zoom Webinar event on Nov.7. An autographed hard cover copy of Jacques’s newest book, The Art of Jacques Pépin, will be mailed to the ticket purchaser’s address. Photo courtesy of Milk Street

  • Thursday, July 31, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – The Art of Fine Gardening, Online

    The Garden Conservancy is sponsoring a Zoom on July 31 – register HERE. On the occasion of his long-awaited debut book about his pre-eminent landscape design firm in the North Shore of Chicago, Open Days Garden Host Craig Bergmann and his Head Gardener Russell Buvala will discuss their company’s process of design, installation, and maintenance. Additionally, they will highlight a few of their favorite garden profiles and personal garden experiences. For more than four decades, Bergmann has been recognized for establishing a true dialogue between the garden and the architectural site. Revered as a plantsman, Bergmann layers his designs with vibrant blooms and textured foliage. The Art of Fine Gardening features twenty gardens that span his career and are located in the North Shore. A special chapter is dedicated to the Gardens at 900, the historic estate designed by architect David Adler, which he developed and reimagined as a series of lush private garden rooms with hedges, towering topiary, and perennial borders, interspersed with classical figures and ornament.

    With a passion deeply rooted in the harmony of design and nature, Craig Bergmann’s award-winning work is a testament to his skill, innovation, and commitment to sustainability. At the heart of his practice is a profound respect for the natural world, seamlessly integrated with the architectural heritage of each space. Russell Buvala has been Head Gardener for Craig Bergmann Landscape Design Inc. for the last 37 years. As Head Gardener, he oversees the company’s garden care division, leading a team of gardeners and florists in the stewardship of over 150 gardens throughout the Midwest.

    Participants in this webinar have the option to purchase a copy of the book, The Art of Fine Gardening: Craig Bergmann Landscape Design, and receive complimentary admission to the webinar. Price ($60 public, $50 Garden Conservancy Members) includes book, free shipping, and webinar admission. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. The recording link will expire after 30 days. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. 

    If you’d like to purchase webinar admission only, please click here.

  • Thursday, July 17, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – The African Ancestors Garden, Online

    Designed to honor the lives and legacies of the African diaspora, the African Ancestors Garden at the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC, integrates cultural symbolism, native plants, and evocative spatial forms. This Garden Conservancy talk on July 17 by Walter Hood examines the creative process behind this living memorial, highlighting how history and memory are embedded within the design to foster reflection, healing, and connection. Through its layered narratives and immersive experience, the garden creates a contemplative space that bridges past and present while inspiring dialogue about identity, heritage, and community.

    WALTER J. HOOD, a multidisciplinary designer from Charlotte, NC, is globally recognized for his contributions in art, landscape architecture, urbanism, and research. Founding Hood Design Studio in Oakland, CA, in 1992, he now leads as its creative director. His passion for landscape and urbanism emerges from its broad, democratic scope, allowing experiences beyond architectural constraints. Infusing African American cultural arts into his philosophy, he has established a unique voice, reshaping spaces to reflect contemporary needs without erasing their history. A professor at UC Berkeley and former Harvard educator, Walter penned Black Landscapes Matter and has received accolades such as the 2019 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2021 Architectural League’s President’s Medal award, and the 2024 Vincent Scully Prize.

    Note: You will receive the webinar link directly from Zoom. Participants in this webinar have the option to purchase a copy of the book, The African Ancestors Garden: History and Memory at the International African American Museum, receive complimentary admission to the webinar. Price ($50 Conservancy members, $60 nonmembers) includes book, free shipping, and webinar admission. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/events/the-african-ancestors-garden-with-walter-hood-book-webinar Or you may choose to register for the webinar alone. If you’d like to purchase webinar admission only, please click here.

  • Thursday, June 26, 2:00 pm Eastern – Photographing for Gardening with Nature at the New York Botanical Garden, Online

    Larry Lederman and Todd Forest will present a webinar on June 26 at 2 pm Eastern with The Garden Conservancy, In Larry’s words: “When I walk into a garden, I am looking for a sense of place. My photography has to capture this sense and reveal the intentionality of the maker of that garden. Setting the composition through framing the view, sometimes as the designer intended, and sometimes as I see it in a particular light and time of day. All gardens present differently through their seasonal life cycles. A portrait may need many visits to discover the inherent beauty of a living landscape.

    In Gardening with Nature at the New York Botanical Garden I had a partner in Todd Forrest, Arthur Ross Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections at the Garden. This book, my third at the NYBG, was to display the multigenerational achievement that is the NYBG. These photographs celebrate the horticultural gift that Todd Forrest, the team of gardeners, and the original founders intended. The gardens are my portal to the natural world. The lyricism of my photographs is in the capture of the vitality of the native plants bathed in the light of the magnificent trees. I will discuss all of this and my approach, the equipment I choose, and the editing software which helps me keep track of the thousands of images that result in a book like Gardening with Nature.”

    The event is live on Zoom, $5 members, $15 nonmembers, and there is a special offer for purchasing the book through the registration page here. To register for the webinar only click here.

  • Thursday, June 26, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Garden Legacies: Uncovering and Preserving Their Histories with Thomas Woltz

    On June 26 at 4 pm, Historic New England will host a program at Hollister House Garden addressing Garden Legacies and Historic Preservation. The event will consist of a conversation between renowned landscape architect Thomas Woltz and Vin Cipolla, president and CEO of Historic New England. George Schoellkopf, creator of Hollister House Garden, will introduce the evening.

    Woltz and his firm, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, work on such sensitive and complex projects as Monticello’s Stewardship Master Plan, Olana Strategic Landscape Design, Aga Khan Garden, and Houston’s Memorial Park Master Plan. Drawing on their own significant bodies of work, Cipolla and Woltz will explore how the ecological and cultural histories of landscapes and gardens are uncovered and integrated into meaningful public experiences.

    Light refreshments will be served and following the program all attendees are invited to enjoy the garden.

    The Land is Full, a celebration of parks and public gardens by renowned landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz will be available for sale.

    The program is free and open to the public. Advance reservation is requested. Reserve HERE. This conversation is part of a series sponsored by Historic New England Trustee Edward F.Gerber to address issues relevant to preservation on Connecticut. Historic New England’s 38 history museums, farms and landscapes include Roseland Cottage, the Codman Estate, Hamilton House and Beauport which continue to be meaningfully reinterpreted for the public..

  • Monday, June 2 (Time to be Announced) – Insectopolis

    Peter Kuper will introduce his new book, INSECTOPOLIS, at the Harvard Bookstore, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge on Monday, June 2. To confirm time, click https://www.harvard.com/events Peter Kuper’s work appears regularly in The New Yorker, The Nation, and Mad , where he has written and illustrated “Spy vs. Spy” for over 26 years. He is the co-founder of World War 3 Illustrated, a political comix magazine now in its 45th year of publication. He has produced over two dozen books including Sticks and Stones (winner of The Society of Illustrators gold medal), The System, Diario de Oaxaca, Ruins (winner of the 2016 Eisner Award) and adaptations of many of Franz Kafka’s works into comics including The Metamorphosis. His most recent graphic novels include Kafkaesque (winner of the 2018 Rueben award and 2022 Lucca award for short stories) and an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.Translations of his work have appeared in Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Slovenia, China, Brazil, Poland, Sweden, Israel, Germany and Mexico.

    Peter has lectured extensively throughout the world and teaches Harvard University’s first class dedicated to graphic novels. He was the 2020-21 Jean Strouse Fellow at The New York Public Library’s Cullman Center and received a 2022 Yaddo residency. His Exhibition INterSECTS: Where Arthropods and Homo sapiens Meet was on display at the New York Public Library Jan. 14- Aug 13th 2022. INSECTOPOLIS, a graphic novel on the history of insects, will be published by W.W. Norton MAY 2025. He is the winner of the 2024 RFK Journalism Award in cartooning.

  • Wednesday, May 14, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern – The Wondrous World of Fireflies, Live and Online

    Fireflies are among our greatest ambassadors for Earth’s natural magic. Yet they hold so many mysteries! Sara Lewis will explore the science behind their bright lights and illuminate their remarkable lifestyles. Human activities have put fireflies at risk, but we’ll learn how we can all help protect these dazzling creatures. The program is a joint presentation of Grow Native Massachusetts and the New England Botanic Garden, which will host the live event on May 14 at 7:00 pm Eastern. Free and open to all. Sara Lewis is the author of Silent Sparks. To register visit https://grownativemass.org/Our-Programs/calendar

  • Thursday, May 1, 7:00 pm – Good Soil

    Porter Square Books is excited to welcome author Jeff Chu to celebrate the release of his book, Good Soil. Author Kristin T. Lee will join Chu in conversation. This event will take place on Thursday, May 1 at 7pm at Porter Square Books (1815 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140).

    In his late thirties, Jeff Chu left his job as a magazine writer and found himself at Princeton Theological Seminary’s “Farminary”—a twenty-one-acre working farm where students learn to cultivate the earth while examining life’s biggest questions. Now, he unpacks what he learned about creating “good soil,” both literally and figuratively, drawing lessons from the rhythms of growth, decay, and regeneration that define life on the land.

    In gorgeous, transporting reflections, Chu introduces us to the cast of characters, human and not, who became his teachers. While observing the egrets that visit the pond, the worms that turn waste into fertile soil, and the Chinese long beans that get passed over in the farm’s CSA, Chu considers our desire to belong, the story behind the food on our plate, and the significance of his own roots. What is the earth trying to tell us, if we’ll only stop and listen?

    Good Soil helps readers connect to the land and to one another at a time when we seem drawn most to the phones in our hands. For nature lovers, foodies, and anyone who has daydreamed about a more fulfilling life, this book is a tribute to friendship, to the sacredness of our bond with the natural world, and to how love can grow from the unlikeliest of places.

    Our Cambridge store offers validated parking in the lot on Roseland St. behind Lesley’s University Hall. Register at https://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/jeff-chu-author-good-soil-conversation-kristin-t-lee

  • Thursday, April 10, 7:00 pm – To Wildness

    Porter Square Books is thrilled to welcome Julia Thacker to discuss her collection of poetry, To Wildness. Author Katherine Hollander will introduce Thacker. This event will take place on Thursday, April 10 at 7pm at Porter Square Books (1815 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140).

    To Wildness is winner of the 19th annual Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize, and was chosen by the internationally acclaimed poet, Paul Muldoon. As Joan Houlihan says in her enthusiastic endorsement, “Teeming with image, sensation and sound, the poems in To Wildness tumble us into a glorious exuberance of catalog and character, rural landscape and dark imaginings (‘We ate ants peeled from bark, a rain of plums / when he rattled the trees. Lumbering. Shackled.’). Ancestral voices speak from the grave; fabulist figures like the girl buried with a finch tell their stories; and contemporary ghosts only the narrator sees abound (Let me touch them as they pass.) A southern gothic atmosphere hovers here: shapes twisting in the dark and the language to conjure them near. What a rich and thrilling collection!”

    In recipes, spells, odes and elegies, To Wildness conjures what has been lost and what remains. These are poems of the body. They rub up against one another and knock elbows. Plum Jam calls preserving fruit as spiritual labor: To be elbow deep in a barrel/arms gloved crimson. In this collection, the dead reside alongside the living. Ancestors roost in trees, having forgotten language, their coats inside out. Others sulk in the eaves, their ears clogged with clover. The past made vivid renders an extravagant present and offers a balm to the isolation of the contemporary world.

    Our Cambridge store offers validated parking in the lot on Roseland St. behind Lesley’s University Hall. Register at https://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/julia-thacker-author-wildness

  • Wednesday, April 16, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Don’t Waste Perfectly Good Food!

    Join the Boston University Food & Wine department on Wednesday, April 16 from 1 – 2 for a cooking demonstration with Irene and Mei Li in celebration of Earth month. Learn how to turn scraps into delicious dishes. Free, but reserve your spot through Eventbrite HERE. This event is part of the Spring 2025 Pépin Lecture Series and will take place at 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 124.