Boston Flora

Saturdays, September 17 & 24, 10:00 am -12:00 pm – Garden Design for Child Development, Online

Whether in a home setting or a schoolyard habitat, children’s gardens require not only an understanding of basic landscape design but also special consideration of the development of children for their safety, engagement, and socialization. In this two session class taught by Staci Jasin, you will learn how to design a children’s garden that appeals to all five senses, evokes playfulness and learning, and instills a love of nature that will grow into stewardship and environmental sensitivity. Classes will take place virtually on September 17 & 24 frin 10 – noon. $60 for members, $72 for nonmembers. You may register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/garden-design-child-development/

Saturday, September 24, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Digging Deeper: The Arnold Arboretum by Design

The Arnold Arboretum exists by design. As a freely accessible, public landscape in the heart of Boston, this 280-acre natural preserve, was set aside from development for a thousand years through the careful negotiations between Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles Sprague Sargent, and the Parks department in 1872. This Garden Conservancy tour on September 24 from 4 – 6 will describe the newest landscape projects at the Arnold, from elevated boardwalks to refined entrances, as each project is predicted on a history of great design in the public realm. We will discuss historic and present plans that ensure future access to one of the most renowned living collections in the world. $30 for Garden Conservancy members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/open-days/open-days-schedule/digging-deeper-the-arnold-arboretum-by-design

For more information, please contact the Garden Conservancy by telephone 845.424.6500, M-F, 9-5 Eastern, or email events@gardenconservancy.org.

Wednesday, September 14, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Flower Arranging

Come and learn the art of flower arranging at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester on September 14. Master Gardener and florist Ferriss Donham will give you tips on how to make the best fresh bouquet and how to make it last. All materials provided. Tiered pricing based on means, $30 – $40. Registration ends September 12. Register at www.WLFarm.org.

Saturday, September 10, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, and Sunday, September 11, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – 11th Annual Swampscott Arts & Crafts Festival

Over 75 Juried Artisans will display and sell their American made works; including Fine Jewelry, Seascape Photography, Watercolor Paintings, Personal Care, Hair Accessories, Shell Craft, Ceramic, Pet Accessories, Soy Candles, Furniture, Fine Art, Pottery, Oil Paintings, Burnt Wood, Leather, Home Décor, Sports Apparel, Pillow Quilts, Doll Clothes, Metal Sculpture, Decorative Painting, Country Wood Crafts, Garden Decor, Puzzles, Fabric Totes, Pine Cone Creations, Laser Wood Decor, Live Edge Furniture, Fleece Mittens, Shell Craft, Whimsical Pins, Florals, Glass Chimes, Resin Coaters, Pet Gifts, Stone and more. The two day event will take place at Linscott Park, 17 Monument Avenue in Swampscott. Free admission, rain or shine, friendly pets on a leash welcome. For more details visit https://castleberryfairs.com/11th-annual-swampscott-arts-and-craft-festival-2022/

Sunday, September 18, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Herbal Tea Making Workshop

Explore the gardens and fields of Long Hill, 572 Essex Street in Beverly, to find plants that can be used for making teas that are both tasty and nutritious. Learn about safety and resources for identifying plants. We make will make a tea with 3 to 5 local plants for teas, and talk about how to prepare teas, whether to use fresh or dried plants, the benefits of the plants harvested, and how to dry them for later use. A handout with plants and a couple of recipes will be included.

Please dress appropriately for the weather. Sturdy shoes are recommended. This program, sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations, is $24 for Trustees members, $30 for nonmembers. Register at https://thetrustees.org/event/78491/

Saturday, September 10, 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm – Cocktails and Preview Buying at Hollister House Plant Sale

Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road in Washington, Connecticut will hold its Annual Rare Plant Sale in September. Enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvre and a special opportunity to purchase plants suitable for fall planting from many of New England’s premier nurseries before the sale is open to the public on Sunday.

Participating vendors include:

Atlock Farm (Saturday only)
Broken Arrow Nursery
Cricket Hill Garden
David Burdick Bulbs & Botanical Obsessions
Falls Village Flower Farm
Green Spot
Issima
Mc Cue Gardens
Meadowbrook Gardens
Tiny Meadow Farm

HHG Members $50 Non-members $65. Buy tickets in advance HERE.

Tuesday, September 6, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Documentary Club: Eating Our Way to Extinction

Join the Boston Public Library Documentary Club as we screen the film Eating Our Way to Extinction. This film, narrated by actress Kate Winslet, explores the connections between the food industry and climate change. Starring globally renowned figures and the world’s leading scientists, the movie will take you on a journey – a powerful cinematic feature documentary that opens the lid on the elephant in the room no one wants to talk about. Alarming and entertaining, this compelling feature documentary will make you never look at your food or the food industry in the same way again. The film will be screened at the beautiful contemporary Mattapan Public Library Branch, 1350 Blue Hill Avenue. Registration required. Register for event

Tuesdays, September 6 – September 27, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Herbaceous Plants

Taught by Lee Buttala, this Berkshire Botanical Garden essential course for the serious gardener covers basic herbaceous plants used in the garden setting, including identification, planting, fertilizing, pest control and pruning. Perennial selection will be the focus, although some time will be spent on annuals and bulbs. (4 Classes) All students participating in this class as part of the Horticulture Certificate Program are required to complete a final project. BBG Members $185/Non-members $215. The class, running Tuesdays September 6 – 27 from 5:30 – 8:30, will be taught on site.

Lee Buttala is the former Executive Director of Seed Savers Exchange, an heirloom vegetable genebank that is the only non-governmental organization storing seed at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. He has also worked for BBG and the Garden Conservancy, and currently serves as chair of the Historic Landscapes Committee of the APGA. Lee won an Emmy award for his role as a garden television producer for Martha Stewart Living and was the creator of PBS’s Cultivating Life. He is the editor of the award-winning book, The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Saving Seed, writes a weekly garden column for the Berkshire Edge and serves on the board of Hollister House Garden in Washington, CT. Lee studied garden design at the Chelsea Physic Garden, the New York Botanical Garden and the Kyoto School of Art and Design. He lives in Ashley Falls, MA. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/herbaceous-plants-2

Sunday, September 11, 1:00 pm – Botanical World History: The Power of a Plant, Online

On Sunday, September 11 online, join plants and gardens historian, Dr. Toby Musgrave, as he holds a botanical prism to world history and offers a fresh perspective. From your morning cup of tea to the spark of the Opium Wars, plants play a remarkable role in our daily lives and our politics. During our time together we will explore the role that cash crops such as corn, cotton, coffee, palm oil, tobacco, sugar cane, and others play in the global economy.

Together we will discover the eight ”Founder Crops” which facilitated the Neolithic Revolution and the start of civilization. Spices were the driving force for the Age of Discovery, the resultant post-Columbian colonization of the Americas, and the arrival in Europe of the potato, which played such a tragic role in the story of Ireland. And another Mesoamerican plant – tobacco – shaped the emergence of the United States.

Sugar and cotton gave rise to and supported the transatlantic Slave Trade and the resultant oppression, exploitation, and death of so many million Africans. Cotton stimulated both the British East India Company’s acquisition of India and the Industrial Revolution and was a causal factor of the American Civil War.

Simple opium plants sparked the international Opium Wars – sales to China made the British Government the biggest drug cartel the world has seen. Quinine enabled the colonization of Africa, while rubber was key to the advance of the automotive industry. Most of these plants continue to play a major role on the global stage and have been joined by others including corn and palm oil. When we pause to consider the impact, the wider worldwide scope of influence these plants have had is substantial.

Led by an expert on plants and garden history, Dr. Toby Musgrave, this interactive seminar is designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels. Participants will come away with increased knowledge and understanding of the power of plants in shaping the landscape of human history books.

Dr. Toby Musgrave is a foremost authority on the subjects of garden and plant history and design, about which he has authored or co-authored 18 books. Most recently The Garden: Elements and Styles and The Multifarious Mr. Banks. He is a part-time Faculty Lecturer at the Danish Institute of Studies Abroad in his adopted country, Denmark, where he teaches American study abroad students. Between semesters he works as a gardens tour leader and as a lecturer aboard small, expedition cruise ships. Additionally, he acts as a consultant to various garden restoration projects and has written numerous articles for a range of magazines and newspapers including The Garden, Gardens Illustrated, The English Garden, Country Life, The Times, The Telegraph, Haven, and Jyllands Posten. His own garden is one of the de Runde Haver. For more information about Toby and his work please visit www.TobyMusgrave.com.

This Context Learning webinar is $26.50, and if you can’t make this time, a video recording will be sent after the seminar to enjoy later. Register at www.contextlearning.com

Saturday, September 10, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Beginning Botanical Cyanotype

Cyanotypes are a compelling and simple way to capture botanical forms and create compelling pieces of art. Learn about the history of the cyanotype process and the work of botanist Anna Atkins, who created the first photographic book Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions in 1853. Led by Madge Evers, students will observe the mixing of the light-sensitive emulsion used to create cyanotype and its application to paper. Students will create their own cyanotype prints to bring home. Pressed plants will be provided, but participants may also bring their own.

Madge Evers lives in western Massachusetts where her art often begins in the garden. She began making mushroom spore print art in 2015, and since 2016, her work has been shown throughout the Northeast, including at the International Print Center, the Vermont Center for Photography and the Fitchburg Art Museum. She is a 2021 finalist for a Mass Cultural Council fellowship in photography. Madge forages for fungi and plants in fields, on roadsides and in the woods. She recently stepped away from teaching high school after 25 years, so when not composing spore prints or cyanotypes, Madge usually can be found somewhere in the garden.

This workshop will take place at Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge on September 10 from 10 – 1. $35 for BBG members, $45 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/beginning-botanical-cyanotype