Boston Flora

Category: Author Book Signing

  • Tuesday, February 24, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Native Alternatives to Problem Plants

    Why grow invasive burning bush for its one season of interest when you could grow native blueberry, a multi-season star? Isn’t it time to replace boring, weedy vinca with something more dynamic, like ‘Grow Low’ sumac (below?) Andrew Keys, author of Why Grow That When You Can Grow This?, discusses native alternatives that are sexier and more sustainable than everyday problem plants. Book signing at the end of class. The New England Wild Flower Society class will take place Tuesday, February 24, from 2 – 3:30 at Garden in the Woods in Framingham. $26 for NEWFS members, $32 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/native-alternatives-to-problem-plants.

  • Saturday, February 21, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm – Behind Audacious

    Dean Lahikainen, The Carolyn and Peter Lynch Curator of American Decorative Art at the Peabody Essex Museum and curator of Audacious, provides an overview of the wood art movement and the extraordinary collection built by Bob and Lillian Montalto Bohlen. The lecture will take place Saturday, February 21, from 11 – noon in the Morse Auditorium. Reservations required by calling 978-745-9500, x 3011. Free with Museum admission. The show, Audacious: The Fine Art of Wood from the Montalto Bohlen Collection, opens at the Museum on this day, and you may observe three master wood-turners, whose works are included in the exhibition, demonstrate key techniques used to create their art.

    Binh Pho: Painting and Piercing
    1-2:30 pm | Atrium

    Binh Pho is known for his beautiful painted and pierced turnings, featuring rich stories behind each piece. See how Pho uses these unconventional approaches to express his own style.

    Ron Gerton: Hollowing a Wood Vessel
    1-2:30 pm | Studio 1 | Create Space

    Ron Gerton has developed equipment to turn and hollow vessels up to eight feet in diameter. Watch Gerton show his tools and techniques as he removes wood from the inside of a solid piece through a small center hole, creating a uniformly thin-walled hollow vessel.

    Stuart Mortimer: Triple Twist on a Stem
    1-2:30 pm, | Studio 2 | Create Space

    Stuart Mortimer is known for his spiral work. Join him as he demonstrates his method for creating a goblet in walnut with a triple twist on the stem, and turns a small hollow form from wet wood, using heat and friction to dry the piece.

    Then, at 3 pm, there will be a closing presentation in the Morse Auditorium. Artists Binh Pho, Ron Gerton and Stuart Mortimer join Curator Dean Lahikainen for an informal conversation with each other and the audience. Questions welcome. Please reserve by February 20.

  • Friday, April 10 – Sunday, April 12 – Colonial Williamsburg 69th Garden Symposium: Layers of the Living Landscape

    Planting in layers allows gardeners to take full advantage of their space and include a diversity of plants that provide beauty and benefit wildlife.  The Colonial Williamsburg 69th Garden Symposium, co-sponsored with the American Horticultural Society Friday, April 10 – Sunday, April 12, includes presentations by Rick Darke and Douglas W. Tallamy, authors of The Living Landscape, and two of the most important voices in sustainability and horticulture.  For full information on fees, lodging, and transportation, visit www.history.org/conted, or call 1-800-603-0948.

  • Wednesday, February 4, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon – Chic Plants for Modern Gardens: A Commentary on New Plants

    Plantsman Kelly Norris will share his views on the current state of ornamental horticulture and will provide an overview of new varieties in some of today’s hottest perennial categories…all while encouraging his audience’s feedback and sass—that’s right, some new plants just aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Jump into a rousing discussion on what makes a great garden plant and why we all need to demand more from the people who make them.

    Kelly Norris is a 20-something, award winning author and plantsman from Iowa and the horticulture manager at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. He’s well known for his book, A Guide to Bearded Irises: Cultivating the Rainbow for Beginners and Enthusiasts, which won the 2013 American Horticultural Society Book Award. Kelly’s unique 10 years of industry experience began at age 15 when he talked his parents into buying a nursery (Rainbow Iris Farm), and in that time he has become one of the few gurus on marketing horticulture to emerging demographics. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Horticulture from Iowa State University. He was the youngest person to receive the Iowa State Horticultural Society’s Presidential Citation, Award of Merit and Honor Award. In 2011 he received the Perennial Plant Association’s Young Professional Award, and in 2013 he won the Iowa Author Award for Special Interest Writing. The lecture, part of New England Grows!, will take place Wednesday, February 4 from 11 – 12 in Ballroom West, Level 3. For information and fees, visit www.newenglandgrows.org.

  • Wednesday, February 18, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm – The Right-Size Flower Garden

    Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on Wednesday, February 18 beginning at 5:30 pm in the Hunnewell Carriage House, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, for a presentation and book signing celebrating The Right-Size Flower Garden, the newest book from top selling author Kerry Ann Mendez.

    Change Happens. Many still dream of ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ landscapes but reality has muddied the picture. Job demands, kids, money, hectic schedules, aging bodies, and changing interests have led to nightmare gardens. Time for some editing. This inspiring lecture provides easy-to-follow right-sizing strategies, recommended no-fuss plant material, and design tips for stunning year round gardens that will be as close to ‘autopilot’ as you can get.

    Kerry Ann Mendez is dedicated to teaching the art of low-maintenance perennial gardening and landscaping. As a garden consultant, designer, writer and lecturer, she focuses on time-saving gardening techniques and work horse plant material as well as organic practices. She has been in numerous magazines, a featured guest on HGTV and local garden segments, and was the recipient of Mass Hort’s 2014 Gold Medal of Honor for outstanding service to the field of horticulture. For more about Kerry and her business, Perennially Yours, visit www.pyours.com.

    5:30 Wine and Cheese Reception
    6:30 Presentation to be followed by book signing

    Books will be for sale at this event

    Event Fee: Mass Hort Members $15, Non-Members $20.  Register on line at http://www.masshort.org/Events.

  • Tuesday, February 17, 6:00 pm – Whale Conservation and the Future of the Oceans

    Whales have long been valued as a source of oil and whalebone. Treated as a commodity throughout history, they are increasingly recognized for their complex forms of communication, even culture, and the ecological role they play in the ocean. Joe Roman, Sarah and Daniel Hrdy Fellow in Conservation Biology, Harvard University, and Fellow at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at University of Vermont, will discuss the history and future of whales in the world’s oceans, drawing from historical archives, DNA analyses, ecological studies of whale carcasses in the deep sea, and the effects of whale fecal plumes on ocean productivity. He will explain why conserving great whales is essential for the welfare of marine ecosystems. This Harvard Museum of Natural History lecture and book signing on Tuesday, February 17 beginning at 6 pm is free and open to the public. The event will be held in the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge, and free event parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

  • Thursday, February 12, 6:00 pm – The Future of Food: How Science, Technology, and Taste Shape What We Eat

    Food is as fundamental to human life as it is to the development of civilization itself. It is also a source of pleasure, a celebration of culture, and a foundation of health and well-being. To quote Kurt Vonnegut, “When it comes right down to it, food is practically the whole story every time.” From hunting and gathering to contemporary living in today’s fast-paced, digital world, how we produce food and what we eat is continuously shaped by scientific discovery and engineering ingenuity, which dovetail with our ever-evolving dietary preferences. In this lively and entertaining talk on Thursday, February 12, beginning at 6 pm, part of Boston University’s Pepin Lecture Series in Food Studies and Gastronomy, P.K. Newby, ScD, MPH, MS, reflects on the human journey from farm to fork, science fiction to science, and paints a picture of what our plate will look like as we approach a population of nine billion. Dr. Newby, co-author of the new book Foods for Health: Choose and Use the Very Best Foods for Your Family and Our Planet, is a scientist, educator, speaker, and food writer who teaches at several universities in Boston and communicates regularly with the public via her blog The Nutrition Doctor is In the Kitchen.  $20 fee includes book. Register online at www.bu.edu/foodandwine. Class is held in Room 117, 808 Commonwealth Avenue, the old Peter Fuller Cadillac building.

  • Thursday, January 22, 7:00 pm – Apples of New England

    Porter Square Books, located in the Porter Square Shopping Center at 25 White Street in Cambridge, will host Russell Steven Powell on Thursday, January 22, beginning at 7 pm, who will speak about his new book Apples of New England. This fascinating and helpful guide will offer practical advice about rare heirlooms and newly discovered varieties, chapters on the rich tradition of apple growing in New England and on the fathers of American apples Massachusetts natives John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) and Henry David Thoreau. Apples of New England will present the apple in all its splendor: as biological wonder, super food, work of art, and cultural icon.

    Apples of New England will also be an indispensable resource for anyone identifying apples in New England orchards, farm stands, grocery stores or their own backyard. Photographs of the more than 200 apples discovered, grown, or sold in New England will be accompanied by notes about flavor and texture, history, ripening time, storage quality, and best use.

    Russell Steven Powell has worked for the apple industry for nearly 20 years, most of that time as executive director of the nonprofit New England Apple Association. As its senior writer, he currently writes the weblog newenglandorchards.org.

    In addition to his two books about apples, Apples of New England (Countryman Press, 2014) and America’s Apple (Brook Hollow Press, 2012), Powell was founding editor and publisher of New England Watershed Magazine, named Best New Publication of 2006 by the Utne Reader. He produced and directed Shack Time (2001), an award-winning video documentary program about the artist shacks in the dunes of the Cape Cod National Seashore. His oil paintings and prints were exhibited in New York City and Cape Cod in 2014.

    A native of New England, he lives in western Massachusetts.  For more information about this lecture and book signing visit www.portersquarebooks.com.

  • Tuesday, January 20, 9:30 am – Mrs. Thrift Cooks Up a Storm

    When Mrs. Thrift (Betsy Williams) cooks, basic home-cooking becomes a palate awakening experience. On Tuesday, January 20, beginning at 9:30 am at the Needham Public Library, 1139 Highland Avenue in Needham, Mrs. Thrift shows you how to make her favorite condiments such as herb vinegars, mustards and herbal butters. Then she teaches you how to use them to lift everyday cooking to a new level of taste. Sponsored by the Needham Garden Club – a $4 donation from non Needham Garden Club members is requested. For more information email bonniewaters@comcast.net.

  • Saturday, January 24, 2:00 pm – 21st Century Herbal: A Conversation With Ethnobotanist Michael Balick, Ph.D, and Aviva Romm, MD

    On Saturday, January 24 at 2 pm, join ethnobotanist Michael Balick, Ph.D., as he discusses medicinal botany with Aviva Romm, MD and medical herbalist. This Berkshire Botanical Garden lecture is based on Dr. Balick’s recent book, Rodale’s 21st Century Herbal: A Practical Guide for Healthy Living Using Nature’s Most Powerful Plants, a work that has been inspired by ancient texts known as “herbals”. Dr. Aviva Romm will share her journey using plants as medicines, from simple home remedies to treating complex medical cases with botanicals.

    Michael Balick, Ph.D., has studied the relationship between plants and people, the field known as ethnobotany, for more that four decades. Most of his research is in remote regions of the tropics, where he works with indigenous cultures to document plant diversity, knowledge of its traditional utilization and evaluation of the potential of botanical resources for broader application and use. He works closely with healthcare professionals to evaluate and introduce medicinal plants that he and his group have collected, introducing these species into more widespread use.

    Dr. Aviva Romm has bridged her interests in traditional medicine with her knowledge of hard science for over 30 years. Most of her focus is on women’s and children’s health, with an emerging focus on stress physiology, food cravings, weight, hormone imbalance and stress, and how natural medicine techniques can help us to develop and express greater resilience and live fuller lives. Dr. Romm is one of the leading teachers in the country on botanical medicine at both medical and herbal conferences. She now lives and practices medicine in the Berkshires.

    BBG member price $30, nonmembers $35.  Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org or call 413-298-3926.