Boston Flora

Updated Copley Square Design

Copley Square Park is slated for an extensive transformation in 2023. After more than a year of various meetings and community feedback regarding several design concepts, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department has agreed to repair and improve the existing fountain in Copley Square. This decision was made thanks to persistent feedback from the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, Friends of Copley Square and other members of the public that the existing fountain should be preserved rather than replaced. The Parks and Recreation Department announced the release of the updated plan at https://www.boston.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/improvements-copley-square-park The final park design is likely to be similar in layout to the previously proposed City Platform Plan, although it will retain the existing fountain. It will include a large lawn in front of Trinity Church, a hardscape plaza area for events and the Farmers Market, and a raised platform area to protect tree roots and provide space for additional lower plantings.

Through Saturday, July 2 – Garden Treasures From Our Friends: A Dazzling Online Auction!

Berkshire Botanical Garden is thrilled to present Garden Treasures From Our Friends — A Dazzling Online Auction!

Running through July 2, our third annual auction presents an irresistible array of garden-themed and one-of-a-kind collectibles, including vintage and antique items such as garden tools, cachepots, plant stands, furniture and statuary … many richly patinated with the beauty of outdoor aging. Past treasures include Victorian floral baskets … Chinese export jardinières and Famille Rose garden stools … vintage croquet sets for the posh garden party … trugs, birdbaths, fountains and torcheres … along with exceptional pieces like a magnificently aged 18th century rendering cauldron. A few select items will end with a live paddle-raise at this year’s Fête on July 2.

Our auction will be accessible from the BBG website homepage. Your bids will support BBG’s wonderful programming so do visit the website, bid generously, and bring home a unique treasure!

Thursday, June 30, 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm – The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty, Online

Everyone loves Sy Montgomery, New England based author of such books at The Soul of the Octopus. Join Smithsonian Associates online on June 30 for a very special Zoom evening with her.

When author and naturalist Sy Montgomery spent a day at falconer Nancy Cowan’s New England farm, home to a dozen magnificent birds of prey, it was the start of a deep love affair. That’s when she met Jazz, a feisty, four-year-old female Harris’s hawk with a wingspan of more than four feet. Not a pet, Jazz was a fierce predator with talons that could pierce skin and bone, and yet she was willing to work with a human to hunt.

Montgomery fell under the magnetic spell of the hawk, and over the next few years she spent more time with these creatures, getting to know their extraordinary abilities and instincts. Deeply emotional animals, hawks are quick to show anger and frustration and can hold a grudge for years. But they are also loyal and intensely aware of their surroundings. In a fascinating program highlighted by splendid color photos, Montgomery recalls her time in the world of hawks and shares what they can teach us about nature, life, and love. $20 for Smithsonian Associates members, $25 for nonmembers. Register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/hawks-way

Friday, October 28 – Sunday, November 6, – Ecuadorian Cloud Forest & Galapagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands were Charles Darwin’s “Living Laboratory of Evolution,” named for the tortoises that roam the lush landscapes of the small archipelago. This Pacific Horticulture Society active learning adventure on October 28 – November 6, is an opportunity to experience the islands’ highly specialized and endemic flora, fauna, and environments in a way that most visitors to the Galápagos seldom do—through fun activities like snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, and biking. You’ll learn about the natural and human history of the islands during visits to North Seymour, El Chato Tortoise Reserve, Mosquera Islet, Punta Carrion, Cerro Mesa, and a host of other highlights on the Enchanted Islands. The Ecuadorian Cloud Forest awaits; brimming with floral species of epiphytes, ferns, palms, and nearly 50 species of hummingbirds. The enormous biodiversity of this region is like none other!

For information, visit https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/tours/ecuadorian-cloud-forest-galapagos-islands/

Friday, October 21 – Thursday, November 3 – Exploring Japan with Pacific Horticulture

Experience an in-depth exploration of Japanese gardens, culture, and cuisine. Beginning in Tokyo, we venture north and west to areas off the normal Western tourist route where we can enjoy the beautiful countryside, see lovely gardens and experience exotic cuisine. Guests will also have the opportunity to experience Japanese-style accommodations and warm up in one of several onsen (hot springs) along the way. Optional extension to Kyoto, a UNESCO World Heritage city.

Join Pacific Horticulture for this exploration of the must see highlights emphasizing the long history of horticultural tradition in Japan through a visit to some of the best gardens Japan has to offer while traveling through the landscape that has inspired garden designers for generations. We visit Tokyo, Hakone, Matsumoto, Takayama, Shirakawago, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Awaji, Takamatsu, Kurashiki, Okayama, Matsue, and Osaka.

This tour will be escorted by Greg Graves of Old Goat Farm in Graham, WA. For complete information and availability, visit https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/tours/exploring-japan-with-pacific-horticulture/

Saturday, July 9, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – A Stroll Through the Gardens of Salem

The Salem Garden Club hosts a self-guided “Garden Stroll” with a tour of private gardens in the Willows, on Saturday, July 9 from 10 – 4, rain or shine. Featured are more than 10 traditional, quaint, and eclectic gardens. Complimentary refreshments of lemonade and cookies will be served to strollers along the route. Local musicians and artists will be featured in several gardens. These private gardens are not handicapped accessible. Pets and carriages are not permitted.

This fund raiser benefits many Salem civic projects which include the planting and maintenance of the Washington Street traffic island, the plantings of the City Hall window boxes, the plantings at the Blue Star Memorial on Hawthorne Boulevard, educational programs open to the public, and an annual college scholarship.

Tickets: $22 at www.SalemGardenClub.com

Saturday, September 10 – Moondance Gala: Save The Date

Friday, June 24, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm, and Saturday, June 25, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – The 33rd Annual Pocket Gardens of Portsmouth

The self-guided tour lets you wander through the Goodwin Park neighborhood of Portsmouth where tucked behind the 19th-century homes are a diverse representation of gardens. Once homes for laborers of local shoe manufacturing, the buildings date back to 1758. Plantings provide owners beauty from the sidewalk to backyard retreats. Ranging from classic to eclectic, gardens showcase the work of professionals and amateurs alike and include container gardening, native pollinator plantings, and hidden relaxing retreats. An easy one-mile walk with lots to see in eleven privately owned gardens along with the outdoor space of historic house museums. Musicians, artists, and garden educators are included along this self-guided tour.

In addition, there will be several educational opportunities. So plan to visit Portsmouth, the jewel of New England, to see for yourself.

Tickets are on sale at https://portsmouthnhtickets.com/events/33rd-pocket-gardens-of-portsmouth-tour-6-24-2022 and are $20 in advance, $25 day-of. Ticket is good for either Friday or Saturday, Follow on Facebook @PortsmouthPocketGardenTour for updates and ticket sale locations. Presented by South Church Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Portsmouth.

Scheduled speakers include:

John Forti, nationally recognized lecturer, garden historian, ethnobotanist, author of The Heirloom Gardener, and the executive director of Bedrock Gardens in Lee, NH, who will sign books and discuss native plants and our role in preservation.
Tori Hiney, co-proprietor and Pollinator Habitat Design Specialist at Bee the Buzz, and the Ecology and Horticulture Supervisor at the Rose Kennedy Greenway , who will share information on pollinator gardening.

Friday, July 8, 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Success with Hydrangeas

Lorraine Ballato presents Success with Hydrangeas at Highfield Hall & Gardens, 56 Highfield Drive in Falmouth, on July 8 from 4 – 5:30. No garden is complete without this queen of American shrubs. From 18-inch, container-sized, reblooming beauties to 8-foot explosions of multicolored zing, there is a hydrangeas for every garden. Through slides and discussion, you will learn all about hydrangeas, including the many recent introductions that have hit the market, their proper care and the hardy cultivars that perform well despite over-enthusiastic pruning and finicky weather. You will leave this talk never again to ask the question, “Why doesn’t my hydrangea bloom?”

As a professional horticulturist, Lorraine has been a guest on numerous gardening radio programs from Alaska to Connecticut. She speaks at regional symposiums, flower shows, to civic groups and garden clubs, creating talks that are both instructive and highly entertaining on a broad range of subjects tailored to each audience.

Highfield Garden Tour with Landscape Director George Chapman following the talk.

$10 Highfield Hall members, $20 non-members Register online today or call us at 508-495-1878 ext. 2

Wednesday, June 29, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon – Designing for the Intangible, Online

Though we often see them as utilitarian extensions of our homes, gardens are much more than ornament or recreation. We think of ourselves as the users, the givers of meaning, the protagonists, but a garden too can be the protagonist. It can act on us, change us, and cause us to think about our experience and existence. Using gorgeous images from his newly released book, Federal Twist, featuring his New Jersey home garden, James Golden shares how to design for a garden’s intangible aspects, its atmosphere, mood, ecology, and character of place. James Golden‘s book has been profiled in publications such as Gardens Illustrated, The New York Times, Rainer and West’s Planting in a Post-Wild World, Claire Takacs’s Dreamscapes, and Christopher Wood’s Gardenlust. A self-taught gardener, Golden has a Master’s Degree in modern poetry and worked as a writer for most of his career.This New York Botanical Garden webinar will take place June 29 at 11 am Eastern, online, and is $25 for NYBG members, $29 for nonmembers. Register HERE.