Boston Flora

Sunday, December 12, 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm – Beacon Hill Holiday Wreath Tour

Join the Nichols House Museum on December 12 from noon – 4 for its most festive fundraiser of the year, the Beacon Hill Holiday Wreath Tour! Explore the historic and architecturally stunning Beacon Hill neighborhood all decked for the holiday season. The Nichols House Museum and the Colonial Society of Massachusetts will be open for self-guided tours.

Olde Towne Carolers will be serenading visitors throughout the afternoon. Light refreshments will be included. $55. For more information and tickets, visit Here or email info@nicholshousemuseum.org or call (617) 227-6993

Wednesday, December 15, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Electric Vehicles and EV Charging Stations, Online

The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay’s Green Committee is holding a Zoom meeting on December 15 at 6 pm on Electric Vehicles and EV Charging Stations. Presenters include Matthew Warfield, Planner, Boston Transportation Department, and Mal Skowron, Transportation Coordinator, Green Energy Consumer Alliance, and the falicilators are Gordon Richardson and Elisabeth Morris of NABB. To register for the link, email green@nabbonline.org

Wednesdays, December 8 & 15, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Willow Growing for Fun and Function, Online

Growing willows will introduce winter color, texture, and functionality to your garden or farm—while also supporting biodiversity. Learn how to grow, care, and harvest shrub willows with Jes Clark of Willow Vale Farm. In this lecture-based New York Botanical Garden online two session class December 8 and 15, you’ll learn how to plan your space, where to get plantable cuttings, and what to do with them. Explore the many uses of willow as well its maintenance needs. $59 for NYBG members, $65 for nonmembers. Register at www.nybg.org.

Thursday, December 9, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm – OlmstedOnline Workshop: Olmsted Resources at the Library of Congress

Join the National Association for Olmsted Parks & the Library of Congress on December 9th for the fourth and final session of the OlmstedOnline Workshop series, designed to explore the tools and methods available to access plans, documents, and images related to the Olmsted Firm. OlmstedOnline is an online map and digital database brought to you by the National Association for Olmsted Parks.

Presented by Barbara Bair from the Library of Congress, the workshop titled “Olmsted Resources at the Library of Congress and the new By the People Olmsted Campaign” will provide a basic orientation to the Frederick Law Olmsted Papers and Olmsted Associates Records collections and related resources at the Library of Congress. It will also introduce the launch of the Library’s new “By Design: Frederick Law Olmsted and Olmsted Associates” By the People crowdsourcing transcription campaign, including information on how you can volunteer to transcribe Olmsted primary documents. Free on Zoom, but visit HERE to register.

Tuesdays, December 7 – December 21, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – The Science of Tree Communication, Online

Trees may appear to be strong and silent, but they can “talk”—to one another, to other plants, and to animals and insects. Discover how trees communicate via chemical signals in the air (to warn each other of insect attacks), as well as through complex fungal networks underground to transfer nutrients and resources to one another (sometimes to assist sick trees). This three session New York Botanical Garden class will be held online beginning December 7 from 6 – 8, and is taught by Steve Kutos. $139. Register HERE. Steve Kutos is a Ph.D. student in Biological Sciences – Ecology at Fordham University in the Dr. J.D. Lewis lab. His research focuses on how disturbance and the future effects of climate change might tree-soil microbial communities.

Sunday, December 12, 2:00 pm – Christmas Tour of Homes, Online

The Blue Triangle Garden Club presents its 6oth Diamond Anniversary Virtual Tour of Homes Sunday, December 12, 2021, @ 1:00 pm.

The Blue Triangle Garden Club (BTGC), Texas’ Oldest African American Garden Club will host its second virtual Christmas Tour of Homes Sunday, December 12, 2021, beginning at 1:00 p.m. In addition to the virtual format, we will showcase a variety of Christmas decorating styles featuring distinct decorating focal points within the home. Our virtual format will allow us to not only feature homes in the historic MacGregor area of Houston’s Third Ward but to venture out to other great neighborhoods throughout the Houston area we traditionally could not cover during our previous in person tours.

This year’s tour will feature traditional single family homes as well as modern multi level Townhomes and much more.

A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to the Blue Triangle Multicultural Association and Community Center, where a nearly $5 million renovation is currently underway. Tickets are $15. Register HERE.

About Blue Triangle Garden Club: Formed in 1937, the Blue Triangle Garden Club was originally an affiliate of the Blue Triangle YWCA, the first chapter of the Young Women’s Christian Association in Houston. It is the oldest African American garden club in the State of Texas and is a federally tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Follow us on social media @bluetrianglegardenclub and at bluetrianglegardenclub.org

Monday, December 6, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Pine Medicine, Online

From cough syrups to pine pollen pancakes and spruce tip salt, discover how common conifers can delight your taste buds and enhance your apothecary. Under herbalist Dawn Petter’s guidance and demonstration, you’ll learn how to craft a few remedies. This online New York Botanical Garden class will take place December 6 at 6:30 pm, and is $45 for NYBG members, $49 for nonmembers. Visit www.nybg.org to register and for a complete materials list to follow along,

Tuesday, December 14, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Creating a Holiday Floral Centerpiece Workshop

Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum are not too far to drive from the Greater Boston Area.

Take some time to enjoy a workshop with Blakely Szosz who has a decidedly informal approach to formal design. We will create a stunning and long-lasting floral centerpiece to dress up your seasonal decor.

We are excited to note that designs will be assembled without single-use floral foam. Multiple techniques and tricks will be discussed and shared so that participants can practice eco-friendly design at home all year long. The workshop will take place on December 14 from 6 – 8 at Blithewold, 101 Ferry Road in Bristol, Rhode Island, and is $55 for Blithewold members, $65 for nonmembers plus fee. Register at https://www.blithewold.org/event/creating-a-holiday-floral-centerpiece-with-blakely-szosz/

Friday, December 10, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Eco-Friendly Healthy Eating: Nutrition to Support Landscape Professionals and Gardeners, Online

Our planet is changing. Now more than ever, it is important to choose sustainable, climate-friendly foods. In this Ecological Landscape Alliance December 10 webinar at noon, Samantha McCarthy, registered dietitian, will discuss how to incorporate an eco-friendly diet pattern into your life not only to help the planet, but also to improve your health and support the high physical demand put on landscape professionals . Topics discussed will include:

Diet and environmental footprint
Key diet patterns to minimize eco-impact
Seasonal diet changes to support changing activity levels
The anti-inflammatory diet
Plant-based Diets, the environment, and inflammation in the body

Samantha McCarthy MS, RD/LDN has worked in the nutrition and fitness field for over 10 years. She currently works at Cedardale Health and Fitness in Haverhill, MA as the Director of Wellness and Group Exercise. She counsels a broad range of clients, specializing in weight loss, chronic disease prevention and management, and sports nutrition. Sam has a passion for helping others reach their health and wellness goals. She has a comprehensive approach to health incorporating nutrition, exercise, stress management, and behavior change into her counseling.

Sam received her bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Connecticut with a minor in nutrition for exercise and sport. While working in Boston as a dietitian and fitness professional, she received her master’s degree in nutrition and health promotion from Simmons College. In her free time, Sam enjoys cooking, gardening, reading, and spending time outdoors.

Wednesday, December 8, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Taking on the Big Places: How to Build and Maintain Self-Sufficient Landscapes, Online

There are a variety of strategies for landscape maintenance that gardeners employ, but mulching, weeding, planting, and various other tasks become problematic when we start looking at acres instead of square feet. How does one manage a woodland as opposed to a woodland garden? What strategies can be applied to multi-acre meadows? How can we manage for specific species when getting down on our knees and weeding is not a viable option? Join Jaffe Wilder, author and ecological horticulturist, and The Ecological Landscape Alliance online on December 8 at noon to explore how to manage the big places. With case studies from Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary he will explain various strategies for creating and maintaining large landscapes with ecology and self-sustainability at the forefront.

Photographer and author Dan Jaffe Wilder has over fifteen years’ experience with ecological horticulture. He is a propagator of native species, the photographer and co-author of Native Plants for New England Gardens, and a lecturer on numerous topics including pollinators, sustainable landscape practices, foraging and cultivation of edible species, low-maintenance horticulture, among others. He has developed a native plant horticultural database (https://plantfinder.nativeplanttrust.org/Plant-Search) and has years of nursery management experience. Dan earned a degree in botany from the University of Maine, Orono, and an advanced certificate in Native Plant Horticulture and Design from Native Plant Trust (formerly New England Wild Flower Society). He is the Horticulturalist and Propagator for Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary in Wales, MA and is currently building his own home-scale homestead, growing and foraging numerous edible species, preserving and cooking whenever possible, and raising small animals.