Boston Flora

Monday, December 23 – Deadline for Application to Master Urban Gardener Online Certification Course

Now in its twenty-seventh year, The Trustees’ Master Urban Gardening course (MUG) has long been a forum where both novice and experienced gardeners come to build their skills, sharing innovative and best practices for growing anywhere from the front porch to the community garden plot. MUG is an intensive, skill-building training for community and home gardeners from Greater Boston and beyond. Whether you’re just getting started or have been gardening for decades, MUG covers everything you need know to thrive in a community garden: soil science, botany for gardeners, organic pest and disease management, edible native perennials, garden planning, starting a community garden, preserving the harvest, composting, and more. MUG is not an official Master Gardener training—it requires fewer class and volunteer hours and focuses on small-space growing of edible crops. Master Urban Gardener is open to any community and residential gardeners who demonstrate a commitment to sharing skills with others. The program content is tailored to the climate and resources of Greater Boston but is open to gardeners from farther afield. We will have Spanish translation available upon request.

The course will take place primarily Zoom 10AM-12 PM Saturdays and 5:30-7:30PM on Tuesday, with in-person gatherings at the beginning and end of the course (January 26^th and March 15th). To receive their certificate, students will be expected to complete at least 10 hours of volunteer service for the Trustees Boston Community Gardens–and/or another approved garden/urban farm project over the course of the next year.

Click https://thetrustees.org/content/master-urban-gardener/ for more information, and to apply.

Now through June 15, 2025 – Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend

Often called the unicorns of the sea, narwhals have fascinated people across cultures for centuries. These highly recognizable creatures spend their lives in the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia. Dive deeper into the world of these unique ocean dwellers and learn about their changing arctic ecosystem through firsthand accounts of scientists and Inuit community members. Hear soundscapes of the Arctic and narwhal vocalizations and touch an 8-foot-long cast of a real narwhal tusk. This family-friendly exhibition in The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center is part of Peabody Essex Museum’s Climate + Environment Initiative.

Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. This exhibition at PEM is made possible by Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation. We thank Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Chip and Susan Robie, and Timothy T. Hilton as supporters of the Exhibition Innovation Fund. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum and the support and guidance of the Art & Nature Center Visiting Committee.

For more information visit https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/narwhal-revealing-an-arctic-legend

Friday, December 20, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Eastern – Advanced Bumble Bee ID: Midwest and Great Plains, Online

The Xerces Society will present the third of a series on bumble bee identification, this time covering the Midwest and Great Plains. We will cover the basics of bumble bee anatomy, introduce the different bumble bee species that may be encountered in the region, and discuss key characteristics to look out for when identifying bumble bees to species and sex. While this webinar series is geared toward Bumble Bee Atlas volunteers in the Midwest or Great Plains, we welcome anyone interested in learning more about bumble bee identification. Registration is required to attend. This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar. The live presentation on Zoom will be December 20 at 1 pm Eastern. We will cover the following species: Black-and-gold (B. auricomus), American (B. pensylvanicus), Southern Plains (B. fraternus), yellow-banded (B. terricola), lemon cuckoo (B. citrinus, pictured below), Ashton’s cuckoo (B. bohemicus), and variable cuckoo (B. variabilis) bumble bees.

Learn more and register today!

Tuesday, July 8 – Friday, July 11 – National Children & Youth Garden Symposium

Cool down in New England next summer and learn with colleagues in the heart of the Connecticut River Valley!

Save the Date for NCYGS 2025

The American Horticultural Society is excited to share that the 33rd annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium will be held in Hartford, Connecticut from Tuesday, July 8 to Friday, July 11, 2025. The symposium will focus on “Science & History in Youth Gardening” and will be headquartered at the Connecticut Science Center. Full details and registration will become available in January. Mark your calendars now.

2025 NCYGS Call for Sessions

The American Horticultural Society is now accepting session proposals for the 33rd annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium, “Science and History in Youth Gardening,” in Hartford, CT from Tuesday, July 8 to Friday, July 11, 2025. We encourage youth garden educators from across the fields to apply! Please review the proposal guidance and submit your session proposals by Friday, January 3, 2025. All submissions will be notified of decisions in January 2025. For further information and to submit a proposal, visit NCYGS 2025.

Gene Bollinger Named Interim President of The Friends of the Public Garden

Leslie Singleton Adam, Chair of the Board of The Friends of the Public Garden, is pleased to introduce Gene Bolinger as Interim President.

“Gene’s long-standing connection with our organization and his profound understanding of our mission and values will ensure the continuity of our efforts to enhance our community’s greenspaces into the new year. We are fortunate to have Gene’s decades of experience enhancing Boston’s open spaces, which will welcome an inspiring new chapter for the Friends.

The staff’s dedication and professionalism have allowed for an incredibly smooth leadership transition over a busy holiday season, demonstrating the stability and strength of our organization. Gene’s background in open space and landscapes, coupled with 38 years of working and advocating for improvements to Boston’s park system make him a valuable addition to our team.

Gene was appointed to the Boston Parks Commission in 2023 and has served as a volunteer on the Friends Common Committee and Council, becoming Council Co-chair this year. As Vice President and head of the landscape architecture practice of Weston & Sampson for decades, he participated in completing the recent Master Plan for Boston Common. Gene enjoys exploring our downtown parks through the lens of a park user, identifying ways to better the park experience.

Gene will work alongside Liz Vizza as she prepares to part with the organization on December 31, 2024. We are immensely grateful to Liz for her unwavering dedication, inspiring leadership, and countless contributions to the Friends over the last 15 years. Liz, your impact on our organization will be felt for years to come.

Please join me in welcoming our newest Friend, Gene. We are excited to harness his expertise and look towards the future as he supports us during this transition and sets the Friends up for success in our next chapter, which will begin with the appointment of a new President in the first quarter of the new year.”

Thursday, December 19, 7:00 pm Eastern – Terroir of Cacao: Chocolate Flavor from Around the World, Online

Terroir of Chocolate–Cacao Flavor from Around the World (Free Online Lecture) on December 19 at 7 pm is sponsored by the US Botanic Garden. Register at www.USBG.gov/Programs Chocolate can taste completely different when the cacao is grown in different places. You can even taste the difference between chocolate grown in different valleys of one Hawaiian island! Dr. Bletter will take you through the 12-step, 2-month journey of turning colorful cacao fruits into luscious chocolate bars. You will learn how the process was discovered in Latin America and how the steps affect the final flavor of the chocolate we all love to devour. We’ll also look back at the amazing ancient plant chemists of the Inca, Olmec, Maya, and Aztec who invented these processes and still to this day make incredible perfumed chocolate foams that rival modern molecular gastronomy techniques.

Presenter: Dr. Nat Bletter, ethnobotanist, founder and flavormeister for Madre Chocolate. Dr. Nat Bletter has 25 years of experience in botany, traveling the world documenting exotic fruits and vegetables, gathering food in the wild, and exploring herbal and traditional medicine. With his Ph.D. in Ethnobotany from the City University of New York and New York Botanical Garden and postdoc at University of Hawai’i Manoa, Nat is the founder of artisanal chocolate company Madre Chocolate and runs the edible landscaping company Natty by Nature.

Tuesday, March 11, 6:00 pm – Making History Gala

The Massachusetts Historical Society is delighted to announce the 2025 Making History Gala at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston, will feature National Book Award-winning author Nathaniel Philbrick. Tickets are now on sale, with an early rate of $400 per ticket until December 31, 2024. Tickets increase to $500 on January 1, 2025. Proceeds from the Making History Gala support programming for K-12 students and teachers, collections preservation, free access to the MHS library and exhibitions, and other resources.

Nathaniel Philbrick is a New York Times bestselling author of American history. He won the National Book Award for In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. His books on the Revolutionary War have received national recognition. These titles include Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution; Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution; and In the Hurricane’s Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown. His writing on the American Revolution presents fresh perspectives and fascinating character studies that shed light on key figures and moments, allowing us to consider anew this critical juncture in our nation’s past.

Questions about the Gala? Contact Hanna van Belle at hvanbelle@masshist.org or 617-646-0551. Buy your ticket at https://www.masshist.org/gala

Now Through August, 2026 – Your Spirit Whispering in My Ear

In partnership with MASS MoCA, The Rose Kennedy Greenway features artist Jeffrey Gibson. Jeffrey Gibson (b. 1972, Colorado Springs, CO; lives and works in New York) grew up in major urban centers in the United States, Germany, Korea, and the U.K. A mid-career multidisciplinary artist, he is a citizen of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and half Cherokee, whose practice includes sculpture, painting, printmaking, video, and performance. Gibson earned his Master of Arts in painting at the Royal College of Art, London, in 1998 and his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995. His work is in the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian; National Gallery of Canada; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; the Museum of Modern Art; and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Gibson is a past TED Foundation Fellow and a Joan Mitchell Grant recipient. He is a recipient of the 2019 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. He is currently an artist-in-residence at Bard College and lives and works near Hudson, New York. In 2024, Gibson represented the United States at the 60th edition of La Biennale di Venezia. He is the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo presentation in the national pavilion. To read the artist’s statement and for more information and map, visit http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/art-exhibit/jeffrey-gibson

Through Sunday, December 29 – Holiday Market at Snowport

They may be small, but local businesses bring our community to life in a big way. The Holiday Market at Snowport Presented by Constant Contact, features 120+ makers, more food than ever before, custom cocktail bars, festive decor, live music, and more. Enjoy complimentary wi-fi at The Holiday Market powered by xfinity. Open seven days a week except for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, now through December 29.

The Holiday Market has more food and beverage than ever before and you can enjoy it under the heated tent by ®. The heated tent from JetBlue® provides additional beer garden style seating and is also available for private and semi-private events. And while you’re there, enjoy charging stations, and scroll on your phone to book your next warm-weather destination via JetBlue®.Discover a variety of festive craft cocktails and warm drinks to enjoy, from the themed bars – the Jingle Bar adorned in hundreds of bells, The Dizzy Dreidel decked with spinning dreidels, Betty’s Bar to honor Snowport’s special guest, and The Blizzard Bar covered in snow. New this year, each holiday-themed bar will have its own signature cocktail & mocktail like the Betty the Yeti-ni and Dizzy Eggnog Dizzy. For site map and complete information visit https://www.bostonseaport.xyz/holidaymarket We don’t often promote for-profit activities on Boston Flora but we are always enthusiastic about local business.

Through January 1, 2025 – Ode to the Birdhouse

New Hampshire artist @pamelatarbell will be featured in the Massachusetts Audubon visitor’s center at Habitat Center, 10 Juniper Road in Belmont.

Tarbell’s series “Ode to the Birdhouse” sets familiar motifs into colorful layers, resulting in kaleidoscopic visual compositions. Oil pigments set the boldly colored shapes into their own hypnotic space on the canvas, while also bolstering the contrast between overlapping patterns.

Next time you visit, stop by this stunning exhibit to get inspired before you head out into nature! The exhibit will be open Tuesdays-Sundays.