Boston Flora

Category: Meeting

  • Wednesday, August 5, 7:30 p.m. – Designing Gardens and Landscapes: 25 Years on Martha’s Vineyard

    A beautiful and dynamic landscape results from a design responsive to the natural environment, history, and social context of the site, as well as the user’s needs.  Join the Polly Hill Arboretum staff for an illustrated presentation of Vineyard landscapes designed by summer resident and award-winning landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.  From his first Island garden in 1984, to public projects like Ag Hall and the Polly Hill Arboretum parking lot, to a contemporary green roof, Van Valkenburgh will take the audience through a variety of Island landscapes.  Discover how practical issues like soil, micro-climate, and functionality are integrated with cultural history to create successful gardens and landscapes. $10 admission ($5 PHA members). Sponsored by Middletown Nursery.  For more information, call Karin Stanley at 508-693-9426, or email her at karin@pollyhillarboretum.org.

  • Wednesday, July 29, 7:30 p.m.- Creating An Authentic Garden

    A successful garden or landscape captures and reflects a certain “spirit of place.” Join Claire Sawyer, director of the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, as she explores what makes a garden “authentic.” In her book, The Authentic Garden, Sawyers identifies core principles that help make a garden true to a specific time, place, and culture.  In this illustrated talk she will show how sensitivity to these principles can lead to unique American gardens – gardens that are deeply rooted in their surroundings, reflecting both the owner’s personality and the regional sense of place.  Book signing after lecture.  $10 admission ($5 for members of the Polly Hill Arboretum).  The talk will take place at the Polly Hill Arboretum, State Road, West Tisbury, Massachusetts, and is sponsored by Jardin Mahoney.  For directions and more information, contact Karin Stanley at 508-693-9426, or email her at karin@pollyhillarboretum.org.

  • Friday, August 7 – Sunday, August 9 – Northeast Organic Farming Association 35th Annual Summer Conference

    The 35th Annual Northeast Organic Farming Association Summer Conference will take place Friday through Sunday, August 7-9, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst campus. Choose from150 workshops on organic farming, gardening, land care, sustainability and homesteading.   Teen and children’s programs will also be available. A sampling of workshop titles include Organic Lawn & Turf Course, Community Farm Workshop Track, and Mass. Grass Grazing School.  The Keynote speakers are Paul Stamets, mushroom expert and author of Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, and Will Allen, founder and CEO of Growing Power, an organization that brings knowledge about sustainable food systems to urban areas.  Entertainment will include dancing, a country fair, a barter event, and a farmer’s market.  Dorm rooms may be reserved, camping spots will be available, and wholesome organic meals will be served. To register visit www.nofasummerconference.org. For more information contact the NOFA Summer Conference office at (978) 355-2853 or nofa@nofamass.org.

  • Thursday – Saturday, August 6 – 8 – Annual Meeting of American Conifer Society

    Entitled “Great Gatsby on Long Island”, the 2009 American Conifer Society will present its 2009 Annual National Meeting in Hauppauge, New York, August 6 – 8.  The Northeastern Region is excited to host this year’s ACS National Meeting on Long Island. The emphasis will be the Great Gatsby themed estates of Long Island. Each of these estates were created with lavish gardens and magnificent landscapes. The estates contain their own pinetum which feature mature conifer specimens as well as dwarf conifer gardens. Participants will also visit  perhaps the finest public garden in the United States: the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, New York. The NYBG features the Benenson Collection of Dwarf and Unusual Conifers plus a number of the conifer discoveries of the late Dr. Sid Waxman. Fred Soviaro, Director of the Hofstra University Arboretum, will speak on “The Gardens and Conifers of Hofstra.” Vinny Simeone, Director of  The Planting Fields, will present “A Look at the Coe Family and Their Estate.” There will also be a session on “Conifer Gardens of Great Britain and the Netherlands.” Other tours will be of Old Westbury Gardens, 88 acres of formal gardens, tree-lined walks, grand allees, ponds, statuary, and architectural follies, Hofstra University, and the newly renovated Dwarf Conifer Garden at the Planting Fields.  Silent and live plant auctions will be held at the banquet dinner Friday nightt.  On Saturday, two tours, New York Botanical Gardens and Bayard Cutting Arboretum, will conclude with a Caribbean cookout.  The meeting site and accomodations will be the Hyatt Regency Long Island, 1717 Motor Parkway, Hauppauge, New York.  For more information and to register, log on to www.conifersociety.org.


    New York Botanical Gardens The ACS meeting will feature:

    • Premier garden tours
    • Educational Talks featuring the ACS Scholarship 2008 winner
    • Outstanding silent and verbal conifer auctions
    • Excellent accommodations
    • Plenty of conifer information and conifer comradery
    • PLUS attendance by members of the British and Dutch Conifer Societies
    • Exclusive Post tour (details soon)

  • Saturday, June 20, 9 – 12 – Community Garden Volunteer Day

    Come down to the Westport Town Farm on Saturday, June 20, from 9 am – noon,  to learn about The Trustees of Reservations’ new community initiative to grow and harvest food that will be donated to local social service agencies.  At Westport Town Farm, livestock graze on open fields that boast an expansive view of the Westport River.  An antique farmhouse, dairy barn, corn crib, and stone walls dating back to Colonial times complete the picture of this working farm that served as a “poor farm” and infirmary for more than 100 years.

    With its 10-acre working hayfield, extensive salt marsh, and broad tidal river, Westport Town Farm is not only scenic, but of historic and ecological value.  The farm’s dual legacy of nurturing those in need and raising vegetables and livestock weave together at this remarkable coastal landscape, where you’ll see ospreys, gulls, and the occasional bald eagle soar overhead.Learn about gardening and help grow the food! Volunteers welcome. For more information, call 508-636-5780, or email bioreserve@ttor.org. Free to all.

  • Thursday, June 11, 6 pm – The Preservation Society of Newport County Annual Meeting

    Please join The Preservation Society of Newport County at its Annual Meeting Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at Rosecliff, 548 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island.  Enjoy a snapshot of the past year and the year to come. Following the election of trustees, the Laurel Awards will be presented, including one for Horticulture given to volunteers Denise Aguiar, Marilyn Archibald, Blake Billings, Brian Burns, Charles Gardner, Lillian Kimball, Sheila Lang, and Raymond Picozzi for weeding, watering, and working tirelessly in the Society’s many gardens.  A light reception of wine and cheese will follow on the terrace.  For more information, log on to www.newportmansions.org.

  • Sunday, June 7, 2:00 pm – Gardens of the Arts and Crafts Movement

    We enjoyed author and noted garden historian Judith Tankard at our March meeting at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden, and we have the opportunity to hear her again on Sunday, June 7 at 2 pm, when she will give an illustrated lecture on The Gardens of the Arts and Crafts Movement, followed by a tea party and birthday cake celebrating Beatrix Farrand’s birthday.  Judith will also be available to sign her books, and attendees will enjoy a plant sale and garden boutique.  The lecture will be given at The Henry A. Wallace Visitor Center at the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt Historic Site and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 4097 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, New York. There will be limited seating, so advance purchase of tickets is strongly recommended.  For more information contact Anne Symmes: info@beatrixfarrandgarden.org, or call 845-229-9115, ext. 26.  To learn more about Beatrix Farrand Garden Association visit www.beatrixfarrandgarden.org. Tickets are $25 ($20 for BFGA members).

  • Wednesday, May 27, 6 – 7:30 pm – Public Meeting to Discuss Safety Improvements & Maintenance Projects Along Storrow Drive

    The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has scheduled a public meeting on May 27 to update the community on a number of safety improvements and maintenance projects along Storrow Drive, Soldiers Field Road, and the Charles River Esplanade. The meeting will be Wednesday, May 27, from 6 – 7:30 pm at 100 Cambridge Street, 2nd Floor, in Conference Rooms B/C/D. The work involves repairing and replacing guardrails, replacing damaged steel picket fence sections, improving drainage along sections of both parkways, repainting sections of historic Boston Pattern fencing, and replacing the equipment and surface at the fitness area near the Sherborn Street Pedestrian Bridge. Improvements also will be made to bicycle and walking paths. At the meeting, DCR also will discuss the proposed fence around Teddy Ebersol’s Red Sox Fields on the Esplanade.The projects, which will cost an estimated $4 million, began last March and are scheduled to be complete at the end of June. Funding for the projects comes from the $1.7 billion Energy and Environment Bond Bill signed by Governor Patrick in August 2008.  For more information, you may email mass.parks@state.ma.us.

  • Wednesday, May 27, 6 pm – Turning Back Bay Green

    Boston City Council President Mike Ross is bringing the war against climate change directly into our neighborhoods. He is working with a number of environmental and community organizers to sponsor a forum on May 27 at 6pm in the Boston Room of the Boston Public Library about ways neighbors can work together to save money and reduce consumption and waste.  This is a pilot program in the Back Bay that will focus efforts on the residences and businesses from Exeter St. to Dartmouth St. between Commonwealth Ave. and Boylston St.  All are welcome in this important conversation, and we urge you to learn more about how you can include your building, home or business in this effort. For more information, contact michael.ross@cityofboston.gov, or call 617-635-4225.

  • Thursday, May 28, 6 – 8:30 pm – Healthy Lawns and Landscapes: A Free Workshop

    David Holtzman of the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation has announced a free program sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation, Allston Brighton Green Space Advocates, and The Brighton Allston Garden and Horticultural Society, entitled Healthy Lawns and Landscapes, taking place Thursday, May 28, 2009 from 6 – 8:30 pm at the Brighton Allston Congregational Church, 404 Washington Street, Brighton.  Learn how to have a beautiful lawn and landscape that’s healthy for people, pets and the environment.  Refreshments will be served.  Participants will each receive a free gift, and will have the opportunity to win a new compost bin.  Contact David at 617-787-3874, x. 217, or email dholtzman@AllstonBrightonCDC.org to sign up.  Please bring a canned item for the church’s community food pantry, if possible.