Boston Flora

  • Saturday, April 18, 9-12 – Organic Gardening Skills Workshop

    On April 18 from 9am-12pm at City Natives in Mattapan on 30 Edgewater Drive, the Northeast Organic Farming Association/ Massachusetts Chapter (NOFA/Mass) is holding a workshop on how to start and maintain successful organic gardens The event is part of the Massachusetts Organic Gardening Workshop Day, which is designed to meet the recent resurgence of energy and action for backyard and community gardening. Similar events will be held in 12 other towns and cities throughout the state. Topics that will be covered at the workshop include: starting garden beds, seed starting, organic soil fertility, organic soil amendments, mulches and cover crops, weeds, disease and pests, what to plant when, crop spacing, and succession cropping. Workshop participants are also strongly encouraged to bring their own questions to the workshops. For information on registration, contact Ben Grosscup at 413-658-5374 or email him at ben.grosscup@nofamass.org.

  • April is National Garden Month

    When you garden, you GROW.  Every April communities, organizations and individuals nationwide celebrate gardening during National Garden Month.  Gardeners know, and research confirms, that nurturing plants is good for us: attitudes toward health and nutrition improve, kids perform better at school, and community spirit grows. Join the celebration and help to make America a greener, healthier, more livable place.  For information on 10 ways to be Green this National Garden Month, go to www.nationalgardenmonth.org.

  • Thursday, May 14, 5:30 – 8:30 – Go WILD! Fundraiser

    Go WILD! An Evening of Garden Delights & Irresistible Plant Shopping, for the benefit of the New England Wild Flower Society, will include plant sales (including the popular Gardener to Gardener table), both live and silent auctions, music, festive food and beverages, and more.  As an added bonus, spring ephemerals will be in bloom at Garden in the Woods.  Tickets are $50 each or four for $150.  You may order on line at www.newfs.org, or call Heather McDonald at 508-877-7360, x3208. All proceeds will support the Society and its programs.

  • Saturday, April 25, 10 – 3 – Annual Combined Plant Societies Sale

    The Boston Branch of the American Begonia Society and the New England Chapter of the Gesneriad Society will offer choice perennials, houseplants and terrarium plants at their annual combined sale on Saturday, April 25, beginning at 10 a.m.  The sale will take place at The Josiah Smith Barn, 358 Boston Post Road, Weston, MA 02493.  Take Rt. 128 to Route 20 West.  Go one mile, then turn right onto Boston Post Road.  Go 0.03 miles.  The Josiah Smith Barn will be on the left. For more information call Lilya Veneziano at 617-479-3680.

  • Through April 12 – Hanging Nasturtiums at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

    See the 20-foot flowering nasturtium vines adorn the courtyard balconies in one of the year’s most stunning displays – seen nowhere else.  Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.  The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway, Boston.  For more information call 617-566-1401, or log on to www.gardnermuseum.org.

  • April 24-26, 10-5 – Arbor Day Weekend at Tower Hill

    Celebrate Arbor Day at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts.  The first twenty five first time visitors will receive a free tree sapling.  Tree plantings and tours will occur each day at 2 pm.  The Gift Shop will be having a 20% off sale on everything they carry.  On Saturday, at 1 pm, there will be a magnolia lecture, and arborist Joe Biagioni will give pruning demonstrations on Friday and Sunday at 1 pm.  Also there will be a variety of children’s activities.  For more information and directions, log on to www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Saturday, April 11, 10 a.m. – Easter Egg Hunt

    The Friends of Clarendon Street Playground will host an egg hunt with coffee and doughnuts, plus a visit from the Easter Bunny, on Saturday April 11 at the Clarendon Street Playground at the corner of Clarendon and Commonwealth Avenue.  The gates will open at 10 a.m.  Volunteers are needed to help set up and hide eggs at 8 a.m.  To help with the event, please contact Sue Baker at baker.sue@comcast.net, or call 617-867-9501

  • Saturday, April 25, 8:30 – noon – Alley Rally

    What’s a good way to get to know your neighbors and work in a little exercise as well? The Back Bay Alley Rally! This annual neighborhood cleanup will take place on Saturday, April 25th, in conjunction with the Mayor’s City-wide Cleanup. Volunteers of all ages gather at the Clarendon Street Playground just before 9:00am to fortify themselves with juice, coffee and doughnuts provided by our local stores. We then divide into teams and — using the rakes, shovels and brooms provided by the City of Boston — volunteers fan out to clean the alleys and side streets. Your labors will end at noon, when everyone returns to the playground for a picnic lunch, with food donated by our local businesses. (Note: Memorial Service for Stella Trafford scheduled for 3 pm at Trinity Church, so you’ll have plenty of time to clean up before the tribute to Stella)

    It’s fun and, after a long winter, you will certainly make a difference in our Back Bay neighborhood! Contact Ellen Rooney at parnell3@verizon.net if you can help or for further information.

  • Sylvia Salas Named Executive Director of The Esplanade Association

    Ms. Salas is taking the helm as The Esplanade Association, a not-for-profit organization working to restore and enhance Boston’s historic Esplanade, aims to complete as many park improvements as possible before it launches a year of activities and special events to honor and celebrate the park’s centennial in 2010.

    Ms. Salas has twenty years of management experience in the field of organized philanthropy. She has managed charitable trusts, corporate philanthropy and community relations in the investment and finance industries and fund development in the workforce development field. Prior to assuming her role as Executive Director at TEA, Ms. Salas served as Vice President of External Relations and Development for MY TURN, Inc., a youth education and training agency serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Previously, Ms. Salas was employed as the director of corporate philanthropy at Nellie Mae, Inc., a secondary student loan market corporation, and formerly was Assistant Vice President at Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co., where she administered a portfolio of charitable trusts.

  • Wednesday, April 15 – Garden in The Woods Opening Day

    The New England Wild Flower Society announces opening day at Garden in the Woods, the largest wild flower landscaped collection in the Northeast, in Framingham, Massachusetts.  For more information, call 508-877-7630, or log on to www.newfs.org.  The Society also owns and operates Nasami Farm and Sanctuary in Whately, Massachusetts, which produces over 75,000 plants annually for homeowners, landscape professionals, restoration projects, and towns.  Nasami Farm reopens to the public on Thursday, April 16.