On Friday, May 29, The Learning Project Elementary School will present its annual Mayfest celebration on the steps of Trinity Church facing Copley Square. The festivities begin at one o’clock with a program of singing by Learning Project students, grades K-6. The highlight of the performance is the weaving of the traditional Maypole by the sixth graders. Former Garden Club of the Back Bay co-President Margaret Pokorny built the Maypole for the Learning Project, and the program is a delight for all ages. In the event the construction currently underway in front of Trinity Church is not completed by May 29, the program will be moved to the amphitheater in front of First Church, Boston, on the corner of Marlborough and Berkeley Streets, and the Maypole will be danced at the Clarendon Street Playground. The public is encouraged to attend. Log on to www.learningproject.org, or call 617-266-8427 for more information.
-
Thursday, May 28 – Sunday, May 31 – Birds and Bards: A Festival Celebrating Birds, Poetry, and Nature
Visit the Arnold Arboretum, Boston Nature Center, Forest Hills Cemetery, Franklin Park, and the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site Thursday, May 28 to Sunday, May 31 for Birds and Bards: A Festival Celebrating Birds, Poetry, and Nature. Spend the weekend exploring birds, poetry, and nature in over 1000 acres of greenspace along Boston’s Emerald Necklace. The festival includes activities for children and adults, most of which are free! Presented by the Arnold Arboretum, Boston Nature Center/Mass Audubon, Forest Hills Educational Trust, Franklin Park Coalition, Franklin Park Zoo, and the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site.
Activities begin on Thursday with a 7 a.m. morning bird walk at the Arnold Arboretum. That evening at 7:30, enjoy the Birds & Bards Kick-Off at Forsyth Chapel for a festive evening of song, pictures and poetry celebrating birds and nature. Learn about the landscapes that sustain and protect migratory birds in the heart of the city. Art inspired by our feathered friends will include photographs by Eduardo del Solar, jazz vocals by Valerie Stevens, and a reading by poet Brendan Galvin. $5 suggested donation.
Friday begins with a 7 a.m. bird walk in Franklin Park, and a 6 p.m. family bird walk, also in Franklin Park, plus a 7 p.m. movie night at the Franklin Park Clubhouse.
Saturday centers around the Boston Nature Center, with an early morning birdwalk, followed by continental breakfast and conversation with Chris Leahy, a talk at 11:00 on Urban Orchards and Bird Habitats, and a noontime live raptor demonstration. At 1:30, enjoy the Great American Song Book Concert with Marianne Ryan, Stanley Macht, and the young singers of Catching Joy as they perform classics celebrating birds by Gershwin, Kern and Porter. Finally on Saturday move to the Arnold Arboretum at 3:00 for a Haiku Hike.
Sunday begins at Forest Hills with a 7 a.m. birdwalk, a tour at 10 a.m., a guided bird walk at Franklin Park Zoo at 10:30, and the culminating event, a 2:00 Family Concert with Solar Winds at Forsyth Chapel ($10).
For complete event listings and information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
-
Friday, May 22, 11 – 6 – Copley Square Farmers’ Market
The Boston Farmers Market Season kicked off this week with the opening of the Copley Square Farmers’ Market. This market will be in the park from 11 am to 6 pm on Tuesdays and Fridays from now until November 24th. Mass Farmers Markets were recently selected as a “Local Hero” in the category of non-profit organizations, in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the local foods movement in greater Boston. For more information, log on to www.massfarmersmarkets.org.
-
Thursday, May 28, 5-7 p.m. – California Wine Walk with Cypripedium at Garden in the Woods
Join the New England Wild Flower Society now, if you’re not already a member, and attend this members only event on Thursday, May 28, from 5-7 pm. $5 per person, and bring a bottle of California wine to share. Limited to 25 people. Stroll the Garden. Sip your wine. Stop at the Garden Shop for a personal shopping adventure with the Botanic Garden Director. Make your reservations by calling 508-877-7630, ext. 3001. For information on joining NEWFS, log on to www.newfs.org.
-
Saturday, June 6, 8 – 10 a.m. – Graffiti NABBers’ Spring Cleaning
On June 6, the Graffiti NABBers plan a major cleaning of Newbury and Boylston Streets to remove the winter visual clutter. If many participate, we can accomplish this goal in a couple of hours. If you need training, we’ll teach you our simple techniques. We’ll provide the materials. Rain Date: Sunday, June 7.
Meet outside the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay Office at 337 Newbury Street, between Hereford and Massachusetts Avenue. This cleaning is badly needed and will make a huge difference! This is fun and worthwhile! Meet your neighbors and make a difference! If you plan to participate, or for more information, please contact anneswanson@verizon.net. -
Saturday, May 23 – Monday, May 25, 10 – 4 – Vanderbilt Plant Sale
If you plan to be in the New York area this Memorial Day weekend, plan to join the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site group for the annual Vanderbilt Plant Sale, from 10 – 4 at the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Route 9, Hyde Park, New York. Purchase heirloom perennials, IES shade plants, and more. Free Saturday workshops begin at 1 pm with Container Gardening, followed by Shade Gardening at 1:30, Proper Planting Techniques at 2, and Dividing Perennials at 2:30. Proceeds go to the maintenance and rehabilitation of the Vanderbilt Gardens, funded entirely by the Vanderbilt Garden Association. For more information call 845-229-6432, or email FWVGA@marist.edu.
-
Tuesday, June 2, 6:30 – 9:30 pm – Twilight Garden Party
The Garden Club of the Back Bay, Inc. invites you to our elegant Twilight Garden Party, Tuesday, June 2, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at The College Club of Boston, 44 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. Our special guest will be Gerald Pomeroy, lead designer for the restoration of The College Club. The Club’s Magnolia Award will be presented to Old South Church for its floral display along Boylston Street. Piano music by Tony Malionek, open bar with our signature Pink Magnolia martini, and sumptuous hors d’oeuvres will be included in the ticket price. Proceeds from this event will benefit the street trees and green spaces of Boston. Attendance is strictly limited to 100 guests. For ticket information, click on “Twilight Garden Party” at www.gardenclubbackbay.org.
-
Thursdays, May 21 – October 29, 11-6 – Prudential Center Farmer’s Market
Prudential Center owner Boston Properties this week opens a farmers’ market on the building’s cement plaza bordering Boylston Street. The market, which will run on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., is directly managed by 14 vendors, including six to eight farmers. Vendors who have signed on to the project sell products like Asian greens, mozzarella cheese, chocolates, bread, baked goods, and high-end desserts. According to The Boston Globe, it has also sparked interest from Legal Seafoods, whose Prudential Center executive chef, Kevin Watson, has committed to buying fresh foods from the market to use in his cooking. Sel De La Terre will be doing a version of their Boulangerie with salads, sandwiches, bread, pastry and produce from Frank McClelland’s new farm, and L’Espalier has also expressed interest. Vendors include Bolton Flats Asian Greens, Taza chocolate, When Pigs Fly bread, Stillman meat, Gilson herbs (one of our Garden Club speakers from long ago), and many more who will be added as the season progresses.
-
Wednesday, May 20 – 6-8 pm – Using Bulbs in a Mixed Border
It’s the middle of May, there has been ample rain, and so everything around your garden probably looks great about now. But what about later on in the season? And, what about the early spring when perennials are still green nubs and deciduous shrubs are bare? That’s when flowering bulbs can make all the difference between a perennial border that draws compliments in May and June, and one that delights the eye from April through September.
Visit Elm Bank, home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, where Brent Heath of Brent & Becky’s Bulbs, a world-renowned expert on bulbs, will explain how to most effectively incorporate bulbs into a mixed border. His program will include examples, using slides, of various approaches to this type of garden composition. $10 members, $15 general admission. You may register on line and get directions by logging in to www.masshort.org.
This Wednesday evening at 6 p.m., Mass Hort is pleased to welcome Brent Heath, co-owner of Virginia-based Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. Brent is a world-renowned expert on bulbs, and he’ll explain how to most effectively incorporate spring- and summer-flowering bulbs into a mixed border.
Brent’s program will include examples, using slides, of various approaches to this type of garden composition. He’ll bring designs that offer color for spring and summer, showing how even modest investments can return years of bright, long-lasting blooms. He’ll answer questions and offer hands-on advice on caring for and maintaining mixed borders.
If you were on the Greenway from mid-April through early May, you had the opportunity to see a spectacular canvas for Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. They were extremely generous in donating approximately ten thousand daffodil bulbs that brought a blaze of color to the Greenway Gardens.
-
Thursday, May 28 – Sunday, May 31, 10-4 – Perennial Sale at Lyman Estate Greenhouses
This sale offers hundreds of varieties of perennials, both those that are new to the market and old-time favorites. Let Historic New England’s gardening experts help you choose the right plants for your garden. Free and open to the public. For more information and directions, call 781-891-4882, ext. 244, or log on to www.historicnewengland.org.