Boston Flora

Tuesday, May 17, 5:00 am – Forgotten Women Gardeners: Maud Grieve, Online

Maud Grieve was born in London in 1858. She spent her early married life in India, on their return at the end of the 19th century the couple built a house, The Whin’s in Chalfont St Peter where Maud established a beautiful garden. At the outbreak of World War One she transformed her garden into a herb farm to meet the urgent need for medicinal plants by the pharmaceutical industry. She was also involved in setting up the ‘Herb Growing Association’. She supplied plants and seeds and pamphlets on their cultivation and established a training school for women and ex-servicemen from the colonies. In 1918 she let out her drying shed to the war artists Paul and John Nash where they accomplished some of their finest war commissions. Maud is probably best remembered for her book The Modern Herbal, which was published in 1931, is still relevant today.

Claire de Carle is the chair and a trustee of Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Trust’s Research & Recording project in 2013 which has produced reports on around 100 locally important historic gardens. She enjoys researching and writing about little known historic landscape gardens and more recently she has set up two other projects: Artists and their Gardens and Public Parks in Buckinghamshire. She lectures to local groups about Buckinghamshire gardens and Maud Grieve, the herbalist who was the subject of her MA dissertation. Claire lives in Oakley a small village on the Bucks/Oxon border, in her spare time she works on her garden that she and her husband have created over the last seven years.

This Gardens Trust lecture takes place May 17 at 5 am Eastern, but a recorded link will be sent to watch over the following week. Register HERE

Thursday, May 19, 5:00 am – The Nineteenth Century Garden: Joseph Paxton, Online

This Gardens Trust talk on May 19 is the third in the Gardens Trust’s 2nd series on Victorian Gardens on Thursdays @ 10.00 GMT. £5 each or all 6 for £30. 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 through Eventbrite HERE

Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-1865) is remembered for designing large-scale public works, including parks, cemeteries and buildings, most notably the Crystal Palace. These sites were intended to be used and enjoyed by everybody, but Paxton’s inspiration came from the more exclusive environment of the country house. Among his achievements at Chatsworth, where he was employed as head gardener to the 6th Duke of Devonshire, he created one of the tallest water fountains in the world, brought the Victoria Regia (Amazonica) water lily to flower, and built an enormous glasshouse called the Great Stove. These Chatsworth projects were not only horticultural, engineering or aesthetic endeavours. Paxton was also driven by a belief in the moralising influence of gardens and gardening. With the agreement of his employer and the support of his wife Sarah, he opened Chatsworth’s gates to tens of thousands of tourists every year. As his success increased, so did his reach – the Crystal Palace and its gardens were visited by millions. This talk will draw on correspondence from the Devonshire Collections archive to shed light on how Joseph Paxton understood the social impact of his work, as it grew in scale and traversed the boundaries of private and public.

Lecturer Dr Lauren Batt recently completed a PhD with the University of Sheffield in collaboration with the Collections Department at Chatsworth. Her thesis examined power and authority on the Chatsworth Estate between 1811 and 1877, focusing in particular on servants and estate workers. She subsequently worked with the image and ephemera collection at Derby Museums, in preparation for the opening of the Museum of Making, and as a Project Curator for the National Trust at Hardwick Hall. Lauren now works in the Curatorial Department at Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire, and continues to research topics including historic graffiti, domestic service and model architecture on nineteenth-century country estates. At home, she is an enthusiastic but woefully inept gardener.

Wednesday, May 18, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Unforgettable Gardens: Edibles and the World Food Garden, Online

The Gardens Trust is delighted to partner once again with London Gardens Trust, this time to look at some slightly more unusual Unforgettable Gardens which highlight the value of gardening with all the senses. This ticket is for this individual session and costs £5, through Eventbrite by clicking HERE. 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 one week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

Paul Kettel invites you to join him for a taster tour of the RHS’s new World Food Garden – where you can immerse yourself in a palette of edible delights. The Garden, which opened in 2021 is already proving to be very popular with garden visitors. It demonstrates the cultivation of new and unusual vegetables, fruit, flowers and herbs, some of them exotic that will inspire the amateur gardener to grow at home. Paul will explore new tastes that can be found in the produce grown in the World Garden as some may become more commonly grown.

Paul Kettell, formerly the Royal Horticultural Society’s School’s Development Officer, is now the Edibles Team Leader at the RHS Garden Wisley in charge of the new World Food Garden.

Saturday, May 21, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens Spring Plant Sale

Those of us who have been around a while fondly remember the knowledgeable but sometimes cantankerous Allen Haskell in New Bedford, whose nursery was a treasure trove of out of the ordinary plants. His legacy continues under the management of The Trustees, and you have a rare opportunity to order online now, with pickup at the garden on Saturday, May 21, from 10 – 2. There are kits for pre-order, expertly curated by the Haskell Public Gardens horticultural team. All purchases directly benefit the Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens and The Trustees. Order now at www.shopthetrustees.org The Native New England Pollinator Kit and Shade Woodland Northeast Natives Kits are already sold out!

Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15 – Ramble Opening Weekend

New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill celebrates the opening of The Ramble, its brand new children’s garden. Come play, invent, and create in a space made just for the young and young at heart. This weekend will feature live music, face painting, fairy and princess characters, drop-in activities, and more. The event is included with General Admission but purchasing tickets online in advance is advisable, to secure your preferred date. For more information visit www.nebg.org.

Saturday, December 31, 2022 – Monday, January 9, 2023 – The Galapagos Islands

Fly to the Galápagos Islands for a 7-night cruise aboard a 20-passenger premium-class Relais & Chateaux yacht, the 142-foot M/V Theory. Accompanied by an Harvard Alumni Association study leader and superb staff of resident naturalists, observe Giant Galapagos tortoises, flocks of frigate birds and blue-footed boobies, Darwin’s finches, and Galapagos penguins, colonies of marine iguanas and sea lions, along with other fascinating sea life. Conclude with a tour of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, and its lovely riverfront. An optional pre-trip to Guayaquil offers a visit to a charming hacienda and cacao plantation and New Years’ Eve dinner in the city. An optional post-trip extension to Machu Picchu offers an excellent introduction to the rich cultural and archaeological wonders of Peru. The itinerary and pricing (not for the faint hearted) may be found HERE. But we only live once.

Tuesday, May 10 – Publication Date: The Northeast Native Plant Primer – 235 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden

Native Plant Trust, the nation’s first plant conservation organization and the only one solely focused on New England’s native plants, announces a new book by Uli Lorimer and Native Plant Trust: The Northeast Native Plant Primer- 235 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden.

Taking steps toward sustainability has never been more important. By choosing plants native to where they live, gardeners in the Northeast bring beauty and benefits to both themselves and the earth—from reducing maintenance tasks to attracting earth-friendly pollinators such as native birds, butterflies, and bees and supporting wildlife. The Northeast Native Plant Primer makes adding native plants to the home landscape easier than ever before. This sourcebook includes 235 extraordinary native ferns, grasses, wildflowers, perennials, vines, shrubs, and trees, along with proven advice every home gardener can follow. Pre order books at https://nativeplanttrust.org

Author Uli Lorimer is Director of Horticulture at Native Plant Trust and formerly Curator of Native Flora at The Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Lorimer is a leader in the gardening world and a tireless advocate for native plants. His current work with Native Plant Trust focuses on bringing rare and unusual indigenous species to the garden. Through education, he wants to empower gardeners in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and eastern Ohio—which have many of the same plant species—to pick up a trowel and feature more native plants in their yards.

Friday, June 3 & Saturday, June 4, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Concord Museum’s 33rd Annual Garden Tour, Live

After two years of watching spring’s beauty through windows and screens, the time has come re-experience the outdoors! The Concord Museum Guild of Volunteers are thrilled to present the 33^rd Annual Garden Tour in an in-person format.

As it always has, this event will highlight carefully selected private gardens throughout Concord and provide critical support to the Museum’s education initiatives. This year there are six unique gardens that reflect the individual interests and passions of the owners and will delight amateur landscapers and experienced horticulturists alike.

A return to an in-person Garden Tour means a return to the sensory experiences that make this event so special. While strolling through each exceptional garden you can look closely at the vibrant purples of petals and verdant greens of stems. You can smell the delicate fragrance of a flower in bloom. You feel the warm spring sunshine as it falls over your shoulders and sets the landscape alight.

The Garden Tour will take place on two days, Friday and Saturday, June 3 and June 4, rain or shine. The tour is self-guided and self-paced, beginning each day at 9:00 a.m. and continuing until 4:00 p.m. Garden-goers should arrive at the Museum to pick up their maps prior to starting out. Tickets are good for either or both days, but each garden may only be visited once. No refunds; no photography.

Purchase your tickets before May 29th and save $5. Become a member of the Concord Museum and save $10! Purchase at https://concordmuseum.org/events/33rd-annual-garden-tour/

Monday, May 16, 1:00 pm – The Rose: My Time at David Austin Roses, Online

As the roses in our gardens start to come into bloom the Gardens Trust is delighted to announce an online lecture on May 16 in partnership with the Historic Roses Group. This ticket for this individual session costs £5, and you may register via Eventbrite by clicking HERE. 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.

Michael Marriott says: I was very fortunate to work at David Austin Roses for 35 years starting not long after the introduction of the rose Graham Thomas. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the small Shropshire nursery grow to the very well-known institution it is today and along the way I met many people in the rose and wider horticultural world. I saw how roses are bred, trialed and then introduced at the Chelsea flower show. As the main representative of DAR I was invited or sent to various rose gardens and conferences around the world. One of my roles at the nursery was to design rose gardens – everything from small borders to major gardens and everywhere from the UK to Bhutan! I also helped with photography which meant visiting some wonderful private gardens. Altogether a wonderful experience.

Michael Marriott has been a very keen gardener from a very early age going on to study Agricultural Botany at university. After 5 years working in the South Pacific he joined David Austin Roses in 1985 first as nursery manager and then as head rosarian spending most of his time advising gardeners from around the world on every aspect of rose growing as well as designing rose gardens. He also lectured and wrote about roses and visited rose gardens helping the owners and head gardeners with rose related issues. He has now retired from David Austin’s but continues to advise, lecture and write and has completed a book called RHS Roses published in May 2022.

Tuesday, May 17, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon – Landscapes of Memory and Meaning, Online

This year marks the bicentennial of Frederick Law Olmsted’s birth, a towering figure whose work continues to benefit communities nationwide. Join the New York Botanical Garden and landscape architect Sara Zewde on May 17 at 11 am as she discusses Olmsted’s often overlooked journey through the Southern slave states, a period that shaped his understanding of the many ways landscape, class, ecology, and power intersect. This lecture will take place online. Registered students will receive login instructions. $23 for NYBG members, $26 for nonmembers. Register HERE.

By exploring the four months she spent retracing Olmsted’s steps and her own deep archival research, Zewde examines the extent to which Southern landscapes today memorialize history and what that reveals about modern power dynamics.

She will also discuss her own design work such as Genesee Street in Houston, TX and Graffiti Pier in Philadelphia, PA which will serve to illustrate just how transformative landscapes can be.

Sara Zewde, founding principal of Studio Zewde, upends traditional assumptions of what public spaces can be with her unique blend of landscape architecture, urbanism, public art, archival research, and community engagement. A Harvard University Graduate School of Design professor, Zewde has been named a United States Artists Fellow and an Emerging Voice by the Architectural League of New York.