Boston Flora

Category: Meeting

  • Friday, May 29, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – What’s Next for Boston’s Coastlines?

    Boston’s climate future is being shaped right now — and your voices are needed in the room.

    Join Boston Harbor Women of Color Coalition for its May Monthly Meet-Up, an inspiring and interactive evening where BHWOCC members – the experts, the storytellers, the ones whose neighborhoods and daily lives are impacted most by the effects of climate change in our city – lead the way on waterfront resilience, climate planning, and community-powered solutions.

    Together, we’ll get an exclusive briefing from the City of Boston Climate Resilience Team, and explore the future of Boston’s waterfront through conversations around the Boston Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) Study — a major partnership between the City of Boston and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect neighborhoods from coastal flooding and climate impacts.

    This is not just a presentation — it’s a call to action!
    You have the answers. Your lived experience, cultural resilience, your community expertise is what shapes real solutions.

    This is YOUR space to:
    • Ask the big questions
    • Share your lived experience and personal expertise.
    • Build public comments at our “Craft Your Own Public Comment” station to directly influence public-facing climate resilience tools launching Summer 2026.

    Friday, May 29. 6–8 pm at 15 Necco St, Boston, MA
. Free – rsvp HERE.

  • Thursday – Saturday, August 27, 28, & 29 – The Beth Chatto Symposium 2026: Connections Through Time

    The 2026 theme of the Annual Beth Chatto Symposium, Connections Through Time, will explore how plants, people and landscapes are shaped by interconnections and temporal relationships, in the past, present and future.

    Over three days, we will he hosting a range of presentations, conversations, discussions and workshops which will encompass new and innovative best practice, science and research within gardening, horticulture, ecology, design and landscaping, highlighting approaches that benefit to the environment, wildlife and humans, and that help confront the challenges of the climate and biodiversity emergencies, and ensure social justice.

    The event takes place at the Ivor Crewe Lecture Theatre at University of Essex, Park Road, Colchester. Full information may be found at https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/symposium/symposium-2026/

  • Thursday, May 21, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – Invasive Pests New & Old: What to Watch For This Year

    Join The Sterling Garden Club on May 21 at 10:30 am for a free lecture from Elizabeth Barnes, MA Department of Agricultural Resources.


    The signs and symptoms of invasive pests are often in plain sight but go unrecognized too late. These non- native organisms from insects to blights, impact a wide range of New England gardens, forests, meadows and roadsides. Elizabeth will explain how to find these pests and what to do if you discover them. Learn how to recognize and identify signs of several area pests and how you can help to reduce the pests’ impact and spread. The program will be held at American Legion Hall, 32 School Street in Sterling. Please pre-register by May 19 by emailing SterlingGardenClub1934@gmail.com

    Screenshot

  • Friday, October 1 – Sunday, October 3 – The Historic Role of American Plants in British and Irish Gardens

    Join the Northern Ireland Heritage Gardens Trust for a weekend in October at its Annual Conference, to be held at the Brandon House Hotel in New Ross, County Wexford. Commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence, this conference aims to highlight how North American plants have profoundly shaped Ireland’s gardens, evolving from the exotic, treasured specimens brought back from the early colonies to the staples of modern prairie-style popularized by Piet Oudolf.

    Pioneering expeditions in the 17th century, such as thos of Tradescant to Virginia, brought back the tulip tree, swamp cypress, plhlox, asters, and Virginia creeper, while collectors in the following century such as John Bartram and Peter Collinson introduced maples, magnolias, and rhododendrons amoung many others, fostering a trend for “American gardens”.

    The 19th century exploration of the Pacific Northwest by collectors such as David Douglas, Thomas Coulter, and Theodor Hartweg, introduced many more new tres and shrubs, their transport helped by the invention of the Wardian case, all of which have made an enduring impact on Ireland’s parks and gardens. The conference will visit the JF Kennedy Arboretum, established in 1968, which has one fo the most comprehensive and significant collections of woody plants in the world,

    For complete information on cost and registration visit https://www.nihgt.org/events/27/thurs%2D1%2Doct%2D2026%5F2026+annual+conference/

  • Friday, May 8, 9:00 am Eastern – Mid-Atlantic Plant Research Conference, Live & Online

    Plants in the mid-Atlantic region, as well as the Northeast, are facing new challenges to their survival, growth, and reproduction due to a variety of threats, including land use change, habitat loss, climate change, and more. Invited speakers will address new research in plant science that can help us understand the challenges at hand in our wetland and coastal regions, including mechanisms of plant resistance and adaptation, and possible solutions.

    Speakers will include:

    Morgan Gostel, Director of Plant Science, Morris Arboretum & Gardens
    LeeAnn Haaf, Director of Estuary Science, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
    Dr. Jay Kelly, Co-Director, Center for Environmental Studies, Raritan Valley Community College
    Erin Lacour, Biologist, John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
    Patrick Megonigal, Associate Director for Research, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
    Catherine Seavitt, Chair, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Pennsylvania

    The program will be held in person at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens; live virtual attendance is also available. Please indicate ‘In-Person’ or ‘Virtual’ attendance at registration. Lunch is provided to all attendees. Visit https://www.morrisarboretum.org/see-do/events/mid-atlantic-plant-research-conference

  • Wednesday, April 22, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Brookline Greenspace Alliance Annual Meeting

    The 2025 Annual Meeting of the Brookline GreenSpace Alliance will be held on Wednesday, April 22, 5:30–7:30 PM, at Boston University’s Wightman House, at the corner of Monmouth Street and Hawes Street. BGSA members and the public are invited.

    Carl Zimba, who has prepared a study of the Muddy River in partnership with the Muddy Water Initiative, will speak on “Low Water and High Hopes: Olmsted and the Mudflats in the Muddy River.”

    Please email info@brooklinegreenspace.org to let us know if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting and whether you are a BGSA member. There will be light refreshments. Nonmembers may attend the meeting but may not vote. If you are not sure of your membership status, please email info@brooklinegreenspace.org to inquire.

  • Tuesday, April 14, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Pollinators, Poisons, and Planting

    Wright-Locke Farms in Winchester is bringing back Farm Talks! This year, each community talk will focus on topics related to sustainability. First up, on April 14 at 7 pm, we host a panel discussion about pollinators, poisons, and planting. Learn what you can do to support healthy ecosystems in your yard and community. These talks will give you a wide range of information to be a better environmental steward, a cause very close to our hearts.

    These talks are FREE and open to the public, but please register as space is limited: https://wlfarm.org/farm-talk-april2026/


  • Tuesday, April 28, 10:00 am – The Massachusetts Legacy Tree Program

    DCR’s Matthew Cahill joins members of The Garden Club of the Back Bay at the Chilton Club on Tuesday, April 28 at 10 am to talk about the Legacy Tree Program. Through the Legacy Tree Program and the National Champion Tree Registry, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Forestry Program formally recognizes the largest and most interesting known tree of each species, trees of historical origin, and other trees of unique and significant importance growing within the state of Massachusetts. There are a number of Legacy Trees in Mount Auburn Cemetery and in the Public Garden. This program is for members only, but you can join now at https://bostonflora.com/join

  • Monday, July 13 – Thursday, July 16 – The 34th Annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium

    The 34th Annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium will take place in Pasadena, California from Monday, July 13 to Thursday, July 16, 2026.

    This year’s theme is “The Future of Youth Gardening.” The symposium will include interactive workshops, expert keynotes, engaging garden visits, and networking opportunities. Come for the fun and take back skills, ideas, contacts, and resources to take back to your own community.

    Hundreds of educators from across the country will unite to explore how gardens serve as vital educational tools for conveying scientific concepts and preserving landscapes and culture. Leveraging a proven train-the-trainer model, the Symposium will feature interactive learning sessions covering a range of topics suitable for pre-K through 12th grade learning. Personalized visits to the area’s impressive and relevant gardens will offer opportunities to apply new concepts and connect with fellow youth garden educators from communities across the country.

    Keynote speakers include Bari Applebaum, founder and executive director of Chicas Verdes, and Dr. James Folsom, American Horticultural Society Board Member and garden director emeritus, The Huntington.

    Complete information may be found at www.ahsgardening.org

  • Monday, June 8 – Friday, June 12 = American Public Garden Association Annual Conference

    The American Public Gardens Association’s Annual Conference offers a variety of programs specifically designed for the needs of public garden professionals. Topics reflect current trends, celebrations, and issues facing our industry. The Annual Conference features sessions and workshops led by members who are experts in their fields, a large variety of local tours, a sizeable exhibit hall, well-respected Keynote and Plenary speakers, Association Awards, in-conference events, receptions, and so much more. Join us in San Francisco June 8 – 12 for a week of learning, networking, and local fun! The 2026 host gardens are Filoli and Gardens of Golden Gate Park. Visit https://www.publicgardens.org/events/annual-conference/ for complete details.