Boston Flora

Category: Author Book Signing

  • Sunday, June 16, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – An Afternoon with Polly Nicholson, Discussing the History of Tulips

    The Trustees are delighted to welcome tulip expert Polly Nicholson to celebrate The Tulip Garden, a new, lavishly illustrated tribute to tulips. In this book, Nicholson, a specialist flower grower and holder of the National Collection of Tulipa (historic), introduces the art of growing and collecting tulips against the backdrop of her beautiful English country garden. Join her as she delves into the rich cultural history of the tulip, one of the world’s most popular flowers.

    Specialist flower grower and tulip expert Polly Nicholson is the owner of Bayntun Flowers in Wiltshire, England – growers of organic flowers cultivated in walled gardens and a one-acre field at the foot of the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire. Nicholson holds the National Collection of Tulipa (Historic) with Plant Heritage, and has featured on BBC Gardener’s World, Radio 4, in Gardens Illustrated, Country Life, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, The World of Interiors, and House & Garden.

    The event takes place at Long Hill, 576 Essex Street in Beverly, on June 16 at 2 pm, and is $30 for Trustees members, $35 General Admission, and $60 for members, $65 for nonmembers, which will include a copy of the book.

    Lecture by Polly Nicholson takes place at 2 p.m. on the events terrace at Long Hill (approximately 1 hour) followed by a wine reception and book signing from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Participants who purchase the book bundle can pick up their copies the day of the event. Copies will be available for purchase the day of the event.

    This event is presented in partnership with The Garden Conservancy in support of its mission to preserve, share, and celebrate America’s gardens and diverse gardening traditions for the education and inspiration of the public. To sign up, visit https://thetrustees.org/event/419090/

  • Wednesday, April 10, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – The Taste of Water

    Have you ever wondered why your tap water tastes the way it does? Christy Spackman will be joining the BU Food Studies Programs as a guest in the spring 2024 Pépin Lecture Series to discuss her book, The Taste of Water: Sensory Perception and the Making of an Industrialized Beverage.

    The Taste of Water explores the increasing erasure of tastes from drinking water over the twentieth century. It asks how dramatic changes in municipal water treatment have altered consumers’ awareness of the environment their water comes from. Through examaming the development of sensory expertise in the United States and France, this unique history uncovers the foundational role of palatability in shaping Western water treatment processes. By focusing on the relationship between taste and the environment, Christy Spackman shows how efforts to erase unwanted tasted and smells have transformed water into a highly industrialized food product divorced from its origins. The Taste of Water invites readers to question their own assumptions about what water does and should naturally taste like while exposing them to the invisible – but substantial – sensory labor involved in creating tap water.

    Copies of Spackman’s book will be available to purchase on-site at the event. Lecture is free. Register on Eventbrite HERE

  • Monday, March 11, 6:30 pm – The Simple Art of Rice

    Tamika Francis, founder of Food & Folklore, moderates a conversation with James Beard Award-winning chef, cookbook author and TV personality JJ Johnson, about his new cookbook The Simple Art of Rice: Recipes from Around the World for the Heart of Your Table. Johnson’s culinary philosophy centers on showcasing the diversity and richness of the African diaspora while also challenging traditional ideas about what these cuisines can be. Copies of the book will be available for purchase. Johnson will sign and guests will enjoy a bite from the book following the conversation.

    This event is co-produced by BU Food & Wine and WBUR.

    Click here for more information

  • Sunday, March 3, 2:00 pm – The Garden Tourist’s New England

    Join the Groton Garden Club for a FREE Annual Lecture. The speaker is Jana Milbocker, author of The Garden Tourist’s New England. She will give a virtual tour of gardens to visit in this area.  It will be followed by a book signing of Jana’s book. The talk takes place Sunday, March 3 at 2 pm at The Groton Center, 163 West Main Street in Groton.

    Jana is a garden designer and owner of Enchanted Gardens, a landscape design and installation firm in Holliston.  She is an avid gardener, lecturer, garden designer, and author of The GardenTourists books.  She has been gardening for 30 years on a 1-1/2-acre property in Massachusetts and loves to collect new plants, visit gardens and specialty nurseries, and learn about new gardening methods.

    This free lecture is made possible by a grant from the Groton Commissioners of Trusts Lecture Fund.  The topic relates to gardening but is of general interest to all.

  • Wednesday, January 24, 5:30 pm (in person) or 6:00 pm (virtual) Eastern – A History of Boston, Live and Online

    The Massachusetts Historical Society invites you for an author talk that encompasses Boston’s 400-year history. The program takes place January 24 at 1154 Boylston Street, and online with registration. $10 in person fee, free online. The in-person reception begins at 5:30 pm, and the talk begins at 6 pm.

    Boston was home to the Great Puritan Migration, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the first civil rights movement, the abolition movement, and the women’s rights movement. However, the city that gave us such innovation as the first use of ether as anesthesia, the telephone, technicolor film, and the mutual fund was also the hub of the anti-immigration movement, the divisive busing era, and decades of self-inflicted decay. 

    Join author Daniel Dain as he acts as your tour guide from the arrival of First Peoples up to the election of Boston’s first woman and person of color as mayor in 2021. Dain’s work examines the central role that density, diversity, and good urban design play in the success of cities like Boston. He explores the policies and practices that took Boston from its highest heights to its lowest lows and back again. Copies of A History of Boston will be available for purchase in-person, and Daniel Dain will sign copies after the program.

  • Saturday, February 3, 10:00 am – In Conversation with Adrian Bloom

    The Massachusetts Horticultural Society hosts a talk and book signing in early February which you won’t want to miss. Plantsman, author and designer of Bressingham Garden, Adrian Bloom, is coming to the Garden at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, on February 3, 2023. Learn about his career, projects including Bressingham Garden at Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and his new book, Foggy Bottom, which will be available for purchase and signing at the event! Coffee and Pastries included with registration.

    9:30 – Check-in and enjoy coffee/pastries
    10am – Adrian Bloom, in conversation with James Hearsum, MHS Executive Director
    11am – Book Signing, purchase a new copy of Foggy Bottom and have it signed, before it’s released in the U.S.!

    MHS members $35, nonmembers $40. Register at https://www.masshort.org/adrian-bloom-230203

  • Monday, December 4, 6:30 pm – Curated Cuisine: A Celebration of Black Women and Femmes in Food

    Chef and writer Klancy Miller worked by trial and error at a number of jobs in the food industry, eventually starting the magazine For the Culture. What she discovered researching and writing for the magazine were the extraordinary women of color — chefs, food stylists, mixologists, historians — who have paved the way and continue to. She honors those women in her new book, For the Culture: Phenomenal Black Women and Femmes in Food. Join Miller and Food & Folklore founder Tamika Francis for a conversation about the book with special guests Elle Simone (chef, food stylist and on-screen test cook at America’s Test Kitchen) and Kyisha Davenport (GM and beverage director at Comfort Kitchen), who are featured in it.

    Copies of the book will be available for purchase from our bookstore partner Frugal Books. Miller will sign copies and guests will enjoy a bite from the book following the conversation.

    CitySpace Tickets – Register HERE
    Premiere: $25.00 (includes reserved seating in the front of the theater)
    General: $15.00
    Student: $5.00

    Ways To Save
    WBUR Members save $5.00 off tickets to this event. To apply the discount to your ticket purchase online, you’ll need to enter a promo code. You can get your code by emailing membership@wbur.org. This event is co-produced by Boston University Metropolitan College Programs in Food & Wine.

  • Wednesday, November 8, 6:00 pm – Boston’s Franklin Park: Olmsted, Recreation, and the Modern City

    Join The Emerald Necklace Conservancy on Wednesday, November 8 at 6:00 pm EST with Dr. Ethan Carr for a talk on his new book, Boston’s Franklin Park: Olmsted, Recreation, and the Modern City (LALH 2023), which details the history of Franklin Park from the time of peak popularity to the current era of park revival.

    This talk will be held in person in Rabb Hall at the Central Library in Copley Square. Following the talk, there will be time for audience Q&A, and the program will conclude at 7:00 pm with a book signing.

    Dr. Carr’s forthcoming book, Boston’s Franklin Park: Olmsted, Recreation, and the Modern City (LALH 2023), documents the design and history of Frederick Law Olmsted’s most mature expression of urban park design. In this comprehensive study, Carr affirms Franklin Park as one of great works of nineteenth-century American art. Since the 1980s, historians have described Franklin Park as unfinished, obsolete, or a casualty of changing trends in public recreation. Carr disagrees, offering a persuasive argument that the park’s decline was not a consequence of its design but of a lack of stewardship on the part of the city, an example of institutionalized racism.

    Ethan Carr, FASLA, is professor of landscape architecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. An international authority on America’s public landscapes and the author of many books, he is lead editor of The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted: The Early Boston Years and coauthor of Olmsted and Yosemite: Civil War, Abolition, and the National Park Idea (LALH 2022).

    Register at https://www.emeraldnecklace.org/event/ethan-carr-franklin-park/

  • Saturday, October 28, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm – The Seed Keeper

    Join the Native Plant Trust and author Diane Wilson (Dakota) on October 28 for a conversation about her award-winning book The Seed Keeper. A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakota family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds, and, through them, to our ancestors. The venue will be announced shortly. $15 for NPT members, $18 for nonmembers. Register HERE.

    Please note: We do not make video or audio recordings of classes or programs available after the fact, because we believe education is interactive, with instructors and students building a community and culture of learning. Some programs may be recorded strictly for instructor-training purposes. Please visit this page to review this and other FAQs about our policies.

  • Thursday, August 17, 7:00 pm – Shaking Things Up: Historic American Women and Modern American Spirits

    Toast to the women who broke the mold of history. Learn the rich story of the critical role women played by merging style and substance into social power in the 19th century. During this in-person event on August 17 at the Boston Harbor Distillery, 12R Ericsson Street in Boston, you will learn about many powerful women and how they impacted our nation, all while getting to taste the next revolution of handcrafted American Spirits.

    Together with the Massachusetts Historical Society, we will delve into remarkable stories about women in the early 1800s breaking barriers and their “parlor politics.” Catherine Allgor, President of the Massachusetts Historical Society, will share her extensive knowledge of the early development of political society and how women in political families were able to utilize their relationships unofficially in order to assist in the creation of the United States of America.

    As you immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the era, Founder of Boston Harbor Distillery, Rhonda Kallman, will take you through Boston Harbor Distillery’s history and sip along with you through their handcrafted American Spirits. As a pioneering woman in the spirits industry, Rhonda has worked hard in this male-dominated industry and garnered great satisfaction from helping Boston Harbor Distillery grow and become a significant part of Boston’s history.

    Catherine and Rhonda both are taking strides to break their own barriers just like the women of the 1800s and look forward in celebrating with you and GBH the intersection of Women’s History and the Future of Women in Boston.

    Get your tickets through GBH today. $27.

    Your Ticket Includes:
    – Tasting of 4 Boston Harbor Distillery Spirits
    – Education from Catherine Allgor and Rhonda Kallman
    – Opportunity to purchase Parlor Politics: In Which the Ladies of Washington Help Build a City and a Government and signing by Catherine Allgor

    Boston Harbor Distillery hand crafted cocktails will be available for additional purchase.

    This event will be hosted and moderated by GBH News, Tori Bedford and GBH’s Curiosity Desk, Edgar B. Herwick III. This event will begin at 7pm Eastern Standard Time.