Boston Flora

Wednesday, May 4, 1:00 pm – Medieval Splendour: London’s Palace Gardens and Royal Beasts, Online

Would you expect to find a dragon in a Richmond Garden? A greyhound on a pole in Westminster? Or a griffin lurking in a hedge in Bexley? Probably not: but all those beasts and many more lived in the gardens of Tudor royal palaces and aristocratic mansions. Find out how and why in this lecture by David Marsh which will explore one of the most visually spectacular aspects of late 15th and 16th England and their legacy in gardens since then.

Dr. David Marsh researches, lectures and writes on any and all aspects of garden history, and helps organize the Garden History seminar at London University’s Institute of Historical Research. He is a trustee of the Gardens Trust and organizes their extensive on-line program. For the last eight years he has also written a weekly garden history blog for them which you can find at thegardenstrust.blog

This talk is the first in our series on Wednesdays presented in association with London Gardens Trust £5 each or all 4 for £16. Register through Eventbrite 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.

Sunday, May 1, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Flower Color Theory with Michael and Taylor Putnam

As part of this year’s Art in Bloom celebration at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, sign up for a lecture and floral demonstration with world-famous floral designers Michael Putnam and Taylor Putnam who share their creative techniques for using color to inspire breathtaking, romantic floral arrangements. Book signing to follow. The event will be in the Harry and Mildred Remis Auditorium, Auditorium 161, on May 1 from 1 – 3, and you may order tickets by phone at 1 – 800 – 440 – 6975, or online at www.mfa.org. $40 for MFA members, $50 for nonmembers, $6 processing fee for phone orders.

Wednesday, May 11, 7:00 pm – Bat Falcon, Social Flycatcher oh my!, Live or Online

Athol Bird and Nature Club members Ernie Leblanc, Jeff Johnstone, Bob Mallet and Dave Small ventured to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas in search of these and other rare and unusual birds in early March. Ernie will guide us on a recap of this whirlwind and successful adventure. In person at the Millers River Environmental Center 100 Main Street Athol 01331 or via Zoom.

When: May 11, 7:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Register in advance for this meeting:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAlce2prj8jGN2nAoZTwJDynr2J2nteJemh After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Monday, May 16, 7:00 pm – Director’s Series – Life: The Arnold Arboretum as an Institution of Public Health

Join the Arnold Arboretum’s Director William (Ned) Friedman for the annual Director’s Series! To celebrate the Arboretum’s sesquicentennial, this year’s series will explore the Magic and Meaning of a Garden of Trees. Over the course of four sessions, we will trace the Arnold’s significance in the landscape architecture movement, value for the people of Boston, and leadership in creating global connections between plants and people. This session will include brief presentations and a moderated panel. The program is free and is offered both in person and livestreamed.

Panelists:

Dr. Michelle Kondo, Research Social Scientist, UDSA-Forest Service
Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space, City of Boston
Laurence Cotton, Consulting Producer, “Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America,” PBS

Moderator: Dr. William (Ned) Friedman, Director, Arnold Arboretum

To sign up for the virtual event, click HERE. This event will also be presented in-person at the Arboretum’s Weld Hill Research Building at 1300 Centre Street, Boston, MA 02131. To sign up for the in-person event, click here.

Friday, May 13, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Hands-On Hydrangeas: Container Growing Workshop

Of all the hydrangea species, H. macrophyllas are the best suited to container growing. This method is the surest way to obtain reliable blooming – even on Cape Cod!

The blooming beauty of the H. macrophylla is especially appreciated when located nearby – like on your deck, patio, or porch. In groups, you can move them around to achieve varied flower displays and can adjust for changing sun and or shade conditions as the growing season progresses. Given reliable care, this species can remain in the same pot for several years. Many cultivars even prefer being “root constrained,” often flowering better than when planted in the ground.

Best of all, container growing provides an effective “mobility factor” – a comparatively easy and efficient way to move and protect these cold-sensitive plants from winter. Curator of Hydrangeas, Mal Condon, and guest expert, Linda Coven (owner of Strictly Hydrangeas) are particularly fond of this growing method and have developed superior ways to enhance the growth and protection attributes through the “Pot-N-Pot” and “Bag-N-Pot” growing techniques that they will share in detail. In the hands-on portion of this workshop, participants will get to create their own container arrangement with provided materials, including a grow bag, hydrangea, companion plants, and soil mix all provided in the class. NOTE: participants should bring their own decorative pots in which to plant.

In addition to creating a container planting to take home, this May 13 Heritage Museums & Gardens in-person workshop includes time for questions and a hand-out of information for your reference. Advance registration is required and spots are extremely limited. Don’t miss this important “how-to” workshop – register today!

Please note: this program will take place outdoors, and involves hands-on garden work – be sure to dress accordingly (in layers) and bring two pairs of gloves. In the event of severe inclement weather, this course will be rescheduled to the following day, Saturday, May 14, from 10 am-noon.

Program fees fund Heritage’s mission to inspire people of all ages to explore, discover, and learn together. Thank you for your support. Program Registration Fee: $68 Members, $75 Non-Members Register HERE. Registration for this class will open at 6:45 am on April 27.

Fridays, May 13 & 20, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm – Summer Blooming Native Plants, Online

Discover plants native to our region that flower in summer, such as Hairy Penstemon, Spotted Beebalm, Shrubby St. John’s Wort, and Northern Bush Honeysuckle. Learn how to choose the right plants for your landscape conditions and explore the benefits they provide to your garden’s ecosystem for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. This New York Botanical Garden online two session class takes place May 13 and 20 from 10:30 – 12:30 with instructor Kim Eierman of EcoBeneficial. NYBG members $79, nonmembers $85. Register HERE.

Tuesday, May 17- Twilight Garden Party 2022: Blossoms & Bubbles

Our annual fund raiser, The Twilight Garden Party 2022: Blossoms & Bubbles, at the St. Botolph Club, 199 Commonwealth Avenue, is sold out! Thank you to all who have purchased tickets. Names are held at the door. If you find you are unable to attend, or if a friend is using your ticket, please let us know by emailing HERE

We look forward to a lovely evening in support of all our beautification endeavors.

Sunday, May 1, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – Creating Your Own Edible Landscape

Come to The New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill on May 1 at 9:30 in the morning to learn how to design and create attractive gardens filled with ornamental plants and nutrient-dense edibles. This workshop will discuss soil health, site preparation, sustainable land-use techniques, and how to maximize garden productivity while harmonizing with the landscape. With a home garden you can grow sweeter and more nutritious produce than anything you can buy in a store, but it’s essential that you start with healthy soil and learn the basics about garden design. This thorough workshop will help those interested in growing food in an urban or suburban landscape while using sustainable and organic practices.

Inspired by working on more than 35 organic farms in New England, California, Oregon, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and Costa Rica, instructor Ben Barkan applies lessons learned to HomeHarvest’s unique custom garden installations. Ben earned a degree in Sustainable Agriculture from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture (4.0 GPA), is permaculture-design certified, and started HomeHarvest with just a bicycle and shovel in 2008. Ben is licensed in Massachusetts as a Construction Supervisor, Home Improvement Contractor, and enjoys designing and selling beautiful landscapes with custom construction and creative plant integration. $40 Member Adult; $55 Adult (Registration includes admission to the Garden) Register HERE.

No Mow May

If you have a patch of lawn, you may consider participating in No Mow May, an initiative where neighborhoods, or even just individuals, refrain from moving their lawns for the entire month to help out pollinators. Wright-Locke Farm clued us into it, and the New York Times published a recent article with details and some special pictures. The movement is also alive and well and was started in Great Britain and in Wales, where towns are asked to let their parks and road verges go wild. The site Plantlife has details. So take a month off and enjoy your pollinators.

Thursday, April 28, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Reimagining Vita-Sackville West’s Sissinghurst Garden, Online

For those of you who missed Troy Scott Smith’s talk at Long Hill on April 1, we have another opportunity. In this virtual illustrated Garden Conservancy talk on April 28 at 2 pm, Troy recounts his long tenure at Sissinghurst and his efforts to recapture the distinctive vision of its creators, the writers Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson, in the 1930s, as a refuge dedicated to natural beauty. He studied not only Sackville-West’s and Nicolson’s gardening style, but also their characters, philosophy, and interests, while balancing the reality of hundreds of thousands of annual visitors and the effects of climate change. In the end, Troy shows how he settled on an approach that allowed past, present, and future to co-exist.

One of Britain’s best-known Head Gardeners, Troy Scott Smith, has devoted his career to the beauty and romance of gardening. Since joining the National Trust of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1990, Troy has led some of the world’s most beautiful gardens, among them the Courts (Wiltshire), Bodnant (Wales) and two stints at Sissinghurst (Kent), where he has led a remarkable transformation and restoration of the Vita Sackville-West gardens.

After spearheading a multi-year plan as Head Gardener at Sissinghurst, which included the recreation of a Mediterranean-style garden from the Greek Island of Delos, Troy left to take up leadership of the award winning Iford Manor Garden in Wiltshire, near Bath, where he set in motion a 10 -year masterplan. After two years, Troy returned to his spiritual home of Sissinghurst.

A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 General Admission. Register HERE.

Members of the Frank & Anne Cabot Society for planned giving have complimentary access to Garden Conservancy webinars. All Cabot Society members will automatically be sent the link to participate on the morning of the webinar. For more information about the Cabot Society, please contact Sarah Parker at sparker@gardenconservancy.org or 845.424.6500, ext. 214.