Get pro tips on how to care for orchids in less than optimal environments. Barbara Schmidt, award-winning exhibitor at the Philadelphia Flower Show and author of Orchid Care: For the Beginner, will walk you through which orchid genus will fare best in your indoor environment, as well as how to ensure your orchids have what they need to grow and bloom.
If you like, you will also be able to show your own orchids to Barbara via Zoom, so she can help you identify and/or troubleshoot your orchid in its home environment. This special New York Botanical Garden webinar will take place on April 23 from 11 – 1, and is $55 for members, $59 for nonmembers. Register HERE.
The Berkshire Botanical Garden is pleased to present Shimmer, on display through May 1. The exhibition, curated by Sue Muskat and Phil Knoll, brings together 38 artists whose drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, and sculptures are ignited by paying attention, by being present and making a record, chronicling the condition of life.
“We’ve been living through a dark time of anxiety, disagreeing, division, and a pandemic,” says Muskat. “But we’re drawn to the light. There’s always light and hope, and that’s the genesis for the title of this exhibition.” What the artworks share is a sense of storytelling. Each artist adds a singular voice that initiates a compelling conversation with the viewer.
In “Shimmer,” the artists’ specific and carefully considered perspectives will invite, and at times challenge, the visitor to delve deeply into the idea of light in the darkness. Even when difficult to detect, “shimmer is always present and always beautiful, as these artists will attest,” says Muskat.
Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11-3 p.m.
Contributing Artists:
Stephanie Anderson, Jim Butler, Leslie Carmin, JoAnne Carson, Mary Chatham, Katherine Dykman, Art Evans, Ashley Garrett, Michael Glier, Guzman, Daniel Herwitt, Jennifer Hunold, Lisa Kernan, Sabrina Marques, Amanda Mason, Donna Moylan, Laini Nemett, Kathy Osborn, Ellen Letcher, Katia Santibanez, Michael St. John, Tara Tucker, Ricky, Caitlin MacBride, Noah Post, Kay Rosen, Jo Ann Secor, Karin Schaefer, Cary Smith, Audrey Stone, Austin Thomas, Julie Torres, Caleb Weintraub, Thomas Whitridge, Ann Wolf, Eric Wolf, Geoffrey Young, and Chris Zitelli
This year’s theme is inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s quote, “To plant a garden is to believe in the tomorrow”. Now more than ever it is important that we, as gardeners, create healthy landscapes for all living creatures for the future of our planet. Join featured speakers Elizabeth Hope Cushing, P. Allen Smith, Matthew Benson, Rebecca Lindenmeyr, Brie Arthur, Renny Reynolds, and Colonial Williamsburg’s talented landscape staff as they commemorate 75 years of its celebrated Garden Symposium, and share methods and techniques for creating gardens that benefit humans and wildlife in an environment both beautiful and sustainable for years to come. Both virtual and in-person options for attendance are available. Visit www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/conferences for more information.
The Boston Committee of the GCA (of which The Garden Club of the Back Bay is an affiliate member) will hold its 2022 Spring Meeting on April 25 at Zoo New England at Franklin Park.
We will begin the meeting at 9:30 am with member and guest registration and social time, 10:00 am business meeting and guest introductions followed by a panel presentation. The format will be similar to past membership meetings with a bit of additional flair!
A box lunch will be provided before we begin a guided tour of the Shurcliff Garden restoration at the Zoo that we are actively supporting with our Blossom Fund and member involvement. Price to be determined, but all members of Boston Committee Clubs will receive a separate notice with payment instructions. For further information, visit https://bostoncommitteegca.org/
This spring, join the Royal Oak Society as we explore America’s British roots in Virginia, the first, largest, and most prosperous of the original 13 colonies. George Washington notably considered Alexandria his hometown. Discover Washington’s life and legacy with extraordinary depth on exclusive guided tours of properties connected to his family. Ten miles south of Alexandria, enjoy an inside look at Washington’s legendary estate, Mount Vernon.
The estate’s director will lead us on an enchanting candlelit private tour after hours. Washington’s great-grandfather, the English-born merchant John Washington, acquired the property in 1674, and you will chart Mount Vernon’s evolution over centuries, gaining an exclusive window into history from Britain’s colonial settlement of Virginia to the very birth of America. Other highlights of the 4-night program include access to historic homes, including properties representing the finest examples of English Georgian architecture on American soil. Stroll through their centuries-old private gardens with the expert guidance of horticulturists. On exclusive tours, step back in time at venues that have borne witness to some of the most consequential events in early American history.
JOIN the director of George Washington’s legendary estate, Mount Vernon, for an exclusive candlelit visit after public hours, and accompany the horticulturist for a private walk through the estate gardens MEET the library director on a behind-the-scenes visit to the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon, which is not open to the public, with an inside look at the Presidential Library Special Collections GATHER for a private champagne reception at the Presidential Librarythat features a tasting of George Washington’s whiskey, distilled on site according to the original recipe and methods DELIGHT in a private tour of George Washington’s River Farm, the 1653 property once owned by Washington and the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society, exploring the Manor House and strolling through the gardens with a horticulturist VENTURE behind the scenes of the 1753 Carlyle House when it’s closed to the public, and learn the history of this illustrious Georgian manor house, built by Scottish merchant John Carlyle, who founded the city of Alexandria ACCOMPANY a historian on a private walking tour through Alexandria’s Old Town, one of America’s most historically rich areas, with more than 200 pre-Revolutionary buildings, with special access to Lloyd House, an early American example of beautiful English Georgian architecture ENJOY an exclusive candlelit visit to Gadsby’s Tavern, the 1785 eatery that played host to all of the first five U.S. presidents, as well as Thomas Jefferson’s 1801 inaugural banquet, with a special candlelit dinner in one of the Tavern’s dining rooms EXPERIENCE a private, special-access opening to the (US) National Trust-maintained Woodlawn Plantation, an 1805 Georgian/Federal mansion, a gift from George Washington to his nephew and his bride.
Over time, portions of our gardens are ready for a makeover. Short of starting from scratch, most gardeners would prefer to enhance what they already have. In this two part Native Plant Trust online workshop with Cheryl Saladino, we’ll cover essential design techniques to assess, reshape, and diversify established and newly imagined garden beds. We’ll jump-start your creativity by introducing a selection of native woody plants and perennials to match your growing conditions. You’ll be able to apply these principles by selecting an area on your property to revitalize. The live sessions take place April 13 & 27 from 6 – 9, and are $90 for NPT members, $108 for nonmembers, Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/revitalizing-garden-incorporating-native-plants-existing-landscapes/
From giant dahlias over 10″ in diameter to miniatures less than 2″ in diameter, a wonderful selection of tubers in a wide array of forms will be available at The New England Dahlia Society’s annual tuber sale on April 10th from 11AM – 3:30PM. All tubers grown by society members.
The New England Dahlia Society is a horticultural organization devoted to the study, growth, exhibition, and enjoyment of dahlias. They are a young society, founded in 2016, with over 100 members of both seasoned and beginning growers from all over New England (MA, RI, CT, ME, NH, VT) as well as NY and NJ.
This event is included with General Admission to Tower Hill Botanic Garden. We recommend purchasing your tickets online in advance to secure your preferred date. You can also buy tickets in person at the Garden. Click here to reserve your tickets in advance.
Invasive plants are not typically prohibited from the nursery trade until after the species has already spread prolifically throughout an ecoregion. However, a proactive new approach evaluates the threats of invasive plants before they become a significant problem. This Native Plant Trust webinar on April 12 from 1 – 2 offers a regional proactive approach to listing invasive plants, with a focus on early detection of potential invasive plants that may become established in New England. Bud Sechler leads the talk, and it’s $15 for NPT members, $18 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/early-detection-invasive-plants/
Join the Polly Hill Arboretum and Andrew Bunting, Vice President of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, as he shares the transformation of his front yard into a gravel garden. His front garden has experienced many iterations over the years, from a cottage garden, to a meadow garden, and now a gravel garden. Bunting will cover how the garden was designed; details of the installation process, as well as how he went about plant selection and follow-up care. He will discuss the success and shortcomings to date. Andrew will also share the gardens that have influenced his garden such as the works of Jeff Epping, Lisa Roper, etc.
This presentation is virtual. A Zoom link will be provided after registering. $10; FREE for PHA members. Proceeds benefit Polly Hill Arboretum. Register here: bit.ly/Gravel-Gardening
This really is a fascinating insight into the history of one of the greatest ever institutions – the British public park. Many Americans have enjoyed them at some time in their lives but what do we really know about them? Their origins? Did they really start in the Victorian period or do they go even further back? This London Gardens Trust talk on April 12 illustrates their origins, talks about the need for parks, the Victorian heyday, what makes a great park, with examples of lodges, lakes, bandstands, fountains and floral displays, to their great decline in the sixties and seventies. However, the subsequent revival has led to a major shift in interest in our parks and once again we are much in love with them. This is also a highly illustrative talk accompanied by slides with examples of parks from across London and other parts of the UK and their designs and architecture. This is a particularly popular talk and always goes down well as we can nearly always recount our own experiences with our own local park.
Paul Rabbitts is a Fellow of the Landscape Institute and Royal Society of Arts, parks historian, Head of Parks, Heritage and Culture at Watford Borough Council, public speaker, and chair of the Parks Management Association. He is also the author of over 25 books, that include the history of public parks, The Royal Parks, the architect Decimus Burton, bandstands as well as books on local architecture in Amberley Publishing’s ’50 Buildings’ series on Britain’s towns and cities.
