Boston Flora

Tuesday, October 17, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Studley Royal Park, Online

The Gardens Trust has created a seven part series on Tuesdays, beginning September 12, to mark 50 years of UNESCO World Heritage, £5 each or all 7 for £28. Starting with an overview of World Heritage values and the changing nature of the UK list, the series will aim to enthuse people about individual sites around Great Britain, highlighting what makes each one exceptional, the advantages and challenges of being inscribed on the list, and the issues around sustainable future management of these global assets. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards. Register for the complete series HERE, or follow the links on that page to sign up for individual sessions.

Week Six covers Studley Royal Park. Studley Royal Park, including the ruins of Fountains Abbey, became one of the first places in the UK to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. It owes its originality and striking beauty to the fact that a humanized landscape was created around the largest medieval ruins in the United Kingdom. The use of these features, combined with the planning of the water garden itself, is a true masterpiece of human creative genius. The water garden is one of the few great 18th-century gardens to have survived well in its original form.

The ruins of Fountains Abbey, the Jacobean Fountains Hall and Burges’s miniature neo-Gothic masterpiece St Mary’s Church unite with the water gardens and deer park to form one harmonious whole. Together, they illustrate the power of medieval monasticism and the taste and wealth of the European upper classes in the 18th century.

Mark Newman MA MCIfA FSA has been the National Trust’s Archaeologist since 1988. A graduate of Birmingham University, he provides archaeological advice and support to around 75 NT properties in Yorkshire and the North-East. He is author of Wonder of the North (NT/Boydell, 2015), a definitive history of the estate (and is working on a new edition).

Sarah France has been World Heritage Coordinator at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal since 2010. Before that Sarah spent almost 20 years working in planning and heritage for National Parks across the UK. Her current role is to coordinate delivery of the World Heritage Management Plan and deliver conservation projects. Recently she worked with Nidderdale AONB and other partners to develop the Skell Valley Project and the successful bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a £1.4m grant.

Mondays, October 16 – November 27 (excluding November 20), 11:00 am – 2:00 pm Eastern – Pen and Ink, Online

Pen and ink, among the most versatile and useful media, can be used to create high quality, easily reproducible drawings. Learn how to produce different strokes and how to create tone by using stipple, line, and crosshatch techniques. Carol Ann Morley will present a six part class, online, for the New York Botanic Garden Prerequisite: Botanical Drawing II or equivalent. Please note, this course requires the purchase of materials. Please refer to the materials list on the registration page for more information. NYBG members $460, nonmembers $505. Click HERE for complete schedule and information.

Saturday, October 14, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Everlasting Arrangement in Antique Garden Container

Take deep breaths, slow down and leave your “to do” list behind. Experience the therapeutic benefits of horticulture while creating an everlasting arrangement with natural dried floral materials. You can choose to design your arrangement from a rich variety of plant materials including colorful roses, fragrant lavender, eucalyptus, yarrow, feathery grasses, statice, lotus pods and woodland moss. Feel calm and refreshed with positive energy by focusing on being in the moment and engaging each of your five senses one at a time – sight, touch, sound, smell and taste – while interacting with sensory rich plant materials.

Our New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill class on October 14 from 1 – 3 will include an overview of the therapeutic benefits and power of horticulture to understand why and how it can be used personally, and for people of all ages and abilities. We will discuss the difference between therapeutic horticulture and horticultural therapy. You will learn about benefits including increased relaxation, decreased anxiety, stress relief, sensory stimulation, hope, improved cognitive abilities, engagement in life, connectedness, and physical exercise. It will be clear how plants and the natural world give you support when life gets overwhelmingly busy or stressful. We will spend approximately 40 minutes delving into this.

You will spend approximately 80 minutes designing and making a unique medium size arrangement that will last for years, in a container with antique-like design. When you bring it home, you can place in your kitchen, dining room, family or living room, hallway, or any other welcoming space. It can also make a lovely gift. Join Deborah Krause, Horticultural Therapist, in these relaxing sessions where you may leave with a smile, feeling of calm and peace, and pride in your creation.

Deborah Krause is a Registered Horticultural Therapist. She is passionate about wellness and the therapeutic benefits of horticulture for people of all ages and abilities. She has served in various capacities in the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) and the Northeast Horticultural Therapy Network (NEHTN), which she co-founded, and currently is on the Board of Directors. Deborah developed the horticultural therapy program at Perkins School for the Blind and was the horticultural therapist and coordinator of the horticulture center there for 40 years. She is currently a Program Coordinator at The Nature Connection whose mission is to improve the wellbeing of individuals and communities through the therapeutic use of nature. Deborah is the horticulture educator at the Memorial Spaulding School Garden where students grow produce to donate to food pantries. She presents webinars for AARP on adaptive gardening as we age. Deborah consults with non-profit organizations to design and facilitate therapeutic and educational horticulture and nature programs. Deborah’s popular classes for adults creating sensory rich seasonal flower and plant arrangements have focused on relaxation, stress reduction and positive thinking and she is honored and happy to continue to bring this to Tower Hill.

$ 85 Member Adult; $ 100 Adult (Registration includes admission to the Garden. All materials will be provided. Register at www.nebg.org

Saturday, October 7 – Monday, October 9, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Enchanted Weekend

Join the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill for a weekend full of legends and lore this autumn as our mythical guests transform the Garden into a realm of imagination, wonder, and magic. Enjoy brews and local fare at our Beer Garden, browse our magical marketplace, and discover hidden mythical creatures along the way. This weekend will feature enchanting crafts, workshops, and entertainment for all ages. Come dressed up as your favorite fantasy being! This event is scheduled for Saturday, October 7, Sunday, October 8, and Monday, October 9. This event is included with General Admission. We recommend purchasing your tickets online in advance to secure your preferred date. You can also buy tickets in person at the Garden. Reserve at www.nebg.org

Through Sunday, November 19 – The Garden of Curiosity

Berkshire Botanical Garden presents “The Garden of Curiosity” art exhibition, open now through Nov. 19, in its Leonhardt Galleries. The exhibit features works by Ann Getsinger, consisting primarily of oil paintings, mixed media drawings and sculptures.

“Creating visual art is the closest I’ve ever come to having my life make any sense at all. It’s both indulgent and essential,” Getsinger says. “It’s about balancing freedom and discipline in order to explore this temporary existence, to consider the meaning and sensuality of nature and my personal connection to it. I’m always challenged to go deeper.”

The New Marlborough artist presents carefully observed and freely rendered objects in a range of outdoor settings, times of day, seasons, and weather. Oscillating between real and imaginary, each completed work is a fresh invention. Referencing her deep interest in natural history, subjects such as bones, insects, plants, seashells, fruit, leaves, vegetables, or the artist’s signature choice of orange peels, are often centrally placed at or near eye level — and life size to inhabit the scene.

The Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts are often referenced in the backgrounds along with occasional ocean sites inspired from the artist’s roots on the coast of Maine. The context presented between object and location becomes a question serving both artist and viewer as a starting place for curiosity to flow. Her work is lyrical, sensual, suggestive, scientific, romantic, conceptual, poetic, and ecological. This exhibit will also feature a small collection of Getsinger’s “odder work,” where subject and background lean towards a more overt metaphysical surrealism.

“Subjects are chosen for their capacity to delight me for any number of intentionally unexamined reasons,” Getsinger says. “They are chosen often because of an oddness, or subconscious suggestion, maybe a frilly edge or an orb-shaped object the size of a human head, or something off balance, out of scale, smaller or larger than expected, a rutabaga’s waxy exterior, or an antler for its specific way of tapering into a beaded riffle where it attaches to the deer’s head or the beauty of the shadows it casts, as if the bones and shadows contain every motion of the creature they once were.”

Ann Getsinger is a longtime collector of antique natural history prints and books. She enjoys finding resonance between seemingly different objects, scenes and subject matter. She says her inspiration comes from being in nature and through meaningful aspects and events of daily life. Her home and studio is in New Marlborough, Mass.

Hours for Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Leonhardt Galleries are 9 to 5 p.m., seven days a week.

Wednesday, October 4, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm Eastern – Seeds, Nuts, and Berries, Online

Fall is a great time to take a closer look at all the ways plants ensure their next generation successfully develops and thrives. The Massachusetts Audubon Society will explore the inner workings of seeds, nuts, berries, drupes, and more as we review how native plants prepare for winter and the subsequent spring in this online program on October 4 at 7:30 pm Eastern.

Interested in learning more? This program is one part of a 4-session online Neighborhood Naturalists Series. By registering for the series, you get access to all 4 sessions for the price of 3. You do not need to register for other sessions, or the full series, to enjoy this one. Mass Audubon members $25, nonmembers $30. To register, and for more information on the dates and times of the other sessions, visit https://www.massaudubon.org/programs/mass-audubon-education/89086-seeds-nuts-berries

You will receive the Microsoft Teams Link to log in to this online program in your confirmation. An email reminder will also be sent to you 24 hours before program start. Tia Pinney, Education Coordinator and Senior Naturalist for Metro West, will instruct.

Saturday, October 14, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – 41st Annual Roseland Cottage Fine Arts & Craft Festival

This Historic New England festival at Roseland Cottage in Woodstock, Connecticut on October 14 is one of the leading juried fine arts and crafts shows in New England. It features over 150 New England artisans and their work: jewelry, painting, printmaking, woodwork, pottery, clothing, metalwork, and much more! Enjoy live music, a food court, and first floor tours of Roseland Cottage.

Members Free; Nonmembers $5; Children under 12 Free. Log in or join now to have your discount applied at checkout.

Please call 617-994-5914 for additional information.

Through October, 2024 – Gateway to Infinity (An Anti-monument), 2023

Stretching 40 feet in diameter, Gateway to Infinity (An Anti-monument) is a large-scale groundwork by Boston-based queer, interdisciplinary artist Maria Molteni. Gateway to Infinity explores site-specific histories and collective rebirth through a design created during 10 months of extensive research by the artist. As with many of Molteni’s vibrant, massive groundworks, Gateway to Infinity features abstract symbols anchored in the land, sea, body, and celestial beings. Centered around a vibrant triple spiral motif –a three-limbed symbol known as a “triskeles/triskelion”– the groundwork may be viewed from an infinite range of angles and orientations, instead of a single, definitive perspective or starting point.

Located between Christopher Columbus Park and Faneuil Hall, the mural invites audiences to reflect upon and contend with these sites’ legacies, consider non-dominant narratives of place and public memory, and find personal connections with their own histories. By centering moving, living bodies upon a communal platform, rather than atop towering pedestals, Gateway to Infinity creates a colorful, multifaceted labyrinth and space for processing, releasing, and healing.

Artists assisting on the artwork are Laura Ganci, Nicole Hogarty, and Ali Reid.

The mural is accompanied by a walking meditation and collaborative video performance and publication Molteni created with non-binary Italian American collaborators Vin Caponigro, Laura Campagna, and Ash Capachione. The performance and publication are accessible via smartphone. For more information visit www.rosekennedygreenway.org

Tuesdays, January 9 – April 30, 8:45 am – 12:00 noon – 2024 Massachusetts Master Gardener Certification Program

Beginning October 1, 2023, the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association will be accepting applications for the 2024 Massachusetts Master Gardener Certification Program.The Master Gardener program grew out of extension education services offered through land grant universities in the United States. The first Master Gardener program was established in 1973, and today there are master gardener programs in all 50 states and in 8 provinces in Canada. The mission of the Master Gardener program is focused on urban and suburban gardens with emphasis on unbiased scientific horticultural practices. The Massachusetts Master Gardener organization (MMGA) became an independent organization in 2008 and has grown to have more than 500 active volunteers that work in more than 46 gardens throughout eastern and central Massachusetts. Our mission is to act as a resource for our communities through direct service in historic and food pantry gardens, by giving lectures, and supporting outreach projects in schools and non-profit organizations. To support this mission we train our volunteers in best practices horticultural methods through a lecture series, and an internship program that is supported by Certified Master Gardeners.If you are interested in becoming a Certified Master Gardener, please read below and apply on October 1st. Class size is limited.
STEP 1: Submit Application
STEP 2: Attend Lecture Series. Successfully complete the Master Gardener course, a comprehensive 16-week lecture series held on Tuesdays, January 9 – April 30, 2024, 8:45 am-Noon ET. Lectures consist of 12 virtual and 4 in-person sessions covering 11 gardening/horticultural topics.
STEP 3: Complete Internship. Volunteer 60 hours as an intern, applying the concepts you learned in class in a variety of supervised roles from May 1 – November 30, 2024.
To learn more about the program requirements, please visit our website. If you have questions, contact mgcleader@massmastergardeners.org

Wednesday, October 11, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern – Head Gardeners at Historic Sites: Stephen Herrington at the Newt

The Gardens Trust will focus on head gardeners working at historic sites. Split into two 5-week series on Wednesdays, the season will kick off with an exploration of the head gardener role over the past two centuries, followed by talks exploring how individual head gardeners are balancing the heritage of their site, the wishes of its owner(s) and their own interests and experience. We’ll hear about the role from both seasoned head gardeners and those more recently appointed. Join us to learn about the challenges they face, including climate change, as well as the joys of horticulture and heritage.

At the end of the first series, we will also be offering a FREE roundtable discussion on the different career paths available to head gardeners, and ways of encouraging more people to enter or progress in the profession. Please register separately for this.

You may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £20 via the link here. [Gardens Trust members may use their promo code for a discount.] Please register separately for the roundtable discussion, or for individual sessions by following the links HERE. Ticket sales close 4 hours before the talk. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

Stephen Herrington will discuss the joys and challenges of gardening at the Newt in Somerset on October 11. The Newt in Somerset is a working country estate with acres of farmland, woodland, orchards and gardens. The gardens are open daily for visitors to explore and enjoy the restaurants, farm shops, Cyder Cellar and The Story of Gardening experience. Nestled within the grounds lies Hadspen House – a Georgian family home, now a luxury hotel and spa offering guests a place to delight in country living.