Boston Flora

Category: Meeting

  • Saturday, January 15, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – NOFA/Mass 24th Annual Winter Conference

    Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts will hold its 24th Annual Winter Conference on Saturday, January 15 from 9 – 5 at Worcester Technical High School, 1 Skyline Drive in Worcester. The Keynote Speaker will be Michael Phillips (below)  of Lost Nation Orchard in Groveton, New Hampshire. There will be all day seminars by Michael and by Nancy Phillips on Organic Apple Orcharding and Herbs for Family Health. Over 60 workshops, dozens of exhibitors and vendors, a children’s program, potluck lunch and annual meeting round out the day. Open registration at www.nofamass.org/conferences/winter/index.php. For more information about the conference, contact Cathleen O’Keefe, Winter Conference Coordinator, at wc@nofamass.org. For information on the workshops, please contact Michal Lundsen at michal@nofamass.org.

  • Tuesday, January 4 – Saturday, January 8 – North American Beekeeping Conference and Trade Show

    We think combining gardening and traveling is a great idea, and after the New Year, as the snow descends on Boston, wouldn’t you enjoy being in Galveston, Texas, at the beautifully landscaped 30 acre San Luis Resort, for the 2011 North American Beekeeping Conference?  Together for a Sweet Future is the theme of the 2011 North American Beekeeping Conference & Tradeshow and represents the joint effort of the American Beekeeping Federation, the American Honey Producers Association and the Canadian Honey Council to produce the largest and most innovative beekeeping conference in North America. This is an exciting opportunity to bring together beekeepers at all levels and from all over the country and beyond to share ideas and develop new contacts.

    This joint conference promises to offer something for everyone. From the new hobbyist to the seasoned professional, they’ve planned a schedule to incorporate educational sessions at all levels.  The sponsors expanded the trade show area to offer even more great deals and new product ideas, and  invited other industry-related organizations to participate in this groundbreaking event. For a complete run down on schedules and speakers, plus travel information, log on to www.nabeekeepingconference.com.

  • Saturday, April 10 – Sunday, April 11 – Colonial Williamsburg’s 65th Annual Garden Symposium

    Timeless Ideas For Today’s Gardens is the theme of Colonial Williamsburg’s 65th Annual Garden Symposium, to be held Sunday April 10 through Monday April 11 at Colonial Williamsburg.  Colonial Williamsburg’s gardens have provided inspiration to generations of gardeners.  Today’s gardeners can glean ideas from the diversity of plants and functional designs that are part of the Historic Area’s charm.  Join Colonial Williamsburg gardeners and guest horticultural experts as they give practical tips on creating beautiful gardens with reduced maintenance and environmental benefit. For more information: www.history.org/conted, or call 1-800-603-0948.  You may also email dchapman@cwf.org.

  • Thursday, December 9, 9:00 am – 6:30 pm – New Entry Sustainable Farming Project Farmer-to-Farmer Conference

    The New Entry Sustainable Farming Project Conference will provide Farm Business Expertise. Farmers will learn from seasoned experts and from each other about how to maximize farm business enterprise potential. Panel Discussions: Speaker panels will cover topics in the areas of soil fertility, farm business and financial planning, strategies for ensuring the health of livestock, and building sustainable communities around food. Peer to Peer Learning: a facilitated World Caf̩ discussion will give farmers a chance to choose discussion topics of interest on site and share best practices. Enjoy a networking lunch and a farmer-to-farmer networking reception. The event takes place Thursday, December 9, from 9 Р6:30 at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. For more information, contact Kimberley Fitch at 978-654-6745, or e-mail nesfp@tufts.edu. Register at www.nesfp.org.

  • Friday, February 25 – Sunday, February 27 – Along the Silk Road: Plants from Far and Near

    Plan now for The North American Rock Garden Society’s Western Winter Study Weekend, Friday, February 25 – Sunday, February 27, at the Mary Winspear Centre, 2243 Beacon Avenue, Sidney, British Columbia (approximately 20 minutes north of Victoria.)  This weekend seminar, hosted by the Vancouver Island Rock & Alpine Society, will include workshops, plant sales, seed sales, displays and open gardens. The focus will be on interesting plants and  other things occurring in  and around the ancient and modern silk routes.  This is a vast area of the northern hemisphere and so should make for some very interesting presentations and discussions.   Speakers will include Stephanie Ferguson, an expert rock and crevice gardener from Calgary, Vojtech Holubec from the Czech Republic and co-author of The Caucasus and Its Flowers, John Massey, owner of Ashwood Nurseries, UK, Bill Terry, meconopsis expert and author of Blue Heaven – Encounters with the Blue Poppy, and Dr. Bobby J. Ward, botanist and author of The Plant Hunter’s Garden. For more information, visit www.virags.ca/winterstudyweekend.htm, or contact Registrar Kathy Lalli at kathylalli@hotmail.com.  You may also telephone Yvonne Rorison at 250-519-0269.

  • American Rose Society Four Month Free Trial Membership

    The American Rose Society is offering a four month Trial Membership to new New England Rose Society members who are not American Rose Society members.  Current New England Rose Society members who are not ARS members may take advantage of the trial membership for a fee of only $5.  In addition, the general public who are not members of a local society or the ARS can have a four month trial membership for only $10.  This (admittedly fairly confusing) offer is a great way to learn more about roses.  Information and sign up will be available at New England Rose Society meetings, or you may email Manny at bettybigboy@comcast.net, or check www.ars.org.  The next New England Rose Society meeting will be held tomorrow, Saturday, November 20, at 10 am at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, but you may receive information on future meetings by emailing info@rosepetals.org, or by logging on to www.rosepetals.org.  Did you catch all that?

  • Friday, December 3, 6:00 pm – Changes in the Flora of the Middlesex Fells Reservation

    Dr. Bryan Hamlin, Chair of the Friends of the Middlesex Fells, will address the New England Botanical Club on Friday, December 3, beginning at 6 pm in Haller Lecture Hall, Room 102, at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge.  Dr. Hamlin will speak on the disappointments and pleasant surprises found at the Middlesex Fells Reservation.  The meeting is open to the public.  If you have questions, contact Dr. Nancy Eyster-Smith at neystersmith@bentley.edu.  For more information on the New England Botanical Club, log on to www.rhodora.org.

  • Saturday, November 20, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Cultivation and Propagation of Cold-hardy Cacti

    This month the Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts is very lucky to welcome John Spain, one of the most respected growers of cold hardy Cacti in the country. This is a program not to be missed. Mr. Spain has been cultivating and propagating cacti outdoors in the cold, wet climate of central Connecticut since 1966. Over the years he has become acquainted with over 200 species and varieties of cold hardy cacti.

    In his program Mr. Spain will present everything you need to know to cultivate and propagate cold hardy cacti on your own. He will share many color slides of these beautiful plants. Please bring pen and pad, notebook and writing implement so you can take notes and keep track of any questions you want to ask at the end of the program.

    Mr. Spain’s classic book, Growing Winter Hardy Cacti in Cold/Wet Conditions, includes all of the information he will discuss in this month’s program and more. It will be for sale by the author at the meeting for $13.50 per copy. The program will take place at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts, on Saturday, November 20, from 1 – 4. For directions, log on to www.towerhillbg.org. For information on the Cactus and Succulent Society, log on to www.cssma.org.

  • Thursday, November 18, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Culinary Book Club

    Join the Culinary Guild of New England’s fun Culinary Book Club. What better reading is there than books with a culinary theme? And, how delightful to have fellow foodies gathered for a discussion! The Guild Book Club is ready to kick off its next season. The club meets every 8 weeks on Thursday nights from 7:30 to 9 pm at a member’s home. The schedule for the year continues with meetings on January 13, March 10, and May 12, 2011.

    On Thursday, November 18, the Book Club will discuss Food Heroes: 16 Culinary Artisans Preserving Tradition by Georgia Pellegrini. The author profiles 16 people who have devoted their lives to culinary pursuits. Included are a college guidance counselor who took over a smoked-ham business in Tennessee and a Norwegian land mine engineer who decided to raise bees.

    Admission to the Book Club is free, but it does require an RSVP. If you are planning to attend please send an email to Frances Srulowitz or Jane Kelly. They will respond with directions to the location of the Book Club meeting for attendees.

  • Wednesday, November 10, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy Annual Community Forum

    The Greenway Leadership Council welcomes your input at their Annual Community Forum, to be held Wednesday, November 10, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm in the Palm Garden Room (pictured below) at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel.  Log on to www.rosekennedygreenway.org to learn more.