Boston Flora

Thursday, November 21, 3:00 pm – The Evolution of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall

Join The Garden Club of the Back Bay on November 21 for a look at the history of Commonwealth Avenue presented by Past President Margaret Pokorny. Her presentation will cover the topographical developments of the creation of the Back Bay and how this design solution to the new land came about. It also covers some of the historical precedents for the “Mall” form, the changes in the Mall over time and the interesting controversies about the design and species choice.

Margaret will bring us up to date with a “State of the Mall” report, including current maintenance needs, additional species selections, statue lighting and conservation programs. She will also tell us about the extraordinary care of the turf and trees provided by the Friends of the Public Garden.

Margaret is a longtime advocate for Boston green spaces, particularly trees. She attended the Radcliffe Seminars Program in Landscape Design in the 1990s. Her thesis was entitled, “A History and Master Plan for the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.“ Margaret’s historical documentation and hands-on skills helped the City of Boston move forward with much of the revitalization of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall over the past 30 years.

Refreshments will be served. This is a members only event, but if you are not already a member you have time to join at https://gardenclubbackbay.org. If you are already a member click HERE. The talk will take place November 21 at the Chilton Club, which has a dress code. Women shall wear dresses, skirts, tailored pants, dress pants, or suits. Dresses and skirts must be longer than fingertip length. Leggings are acceptable but only if worn with an appropriate top of mid-thigh length such as a jacket, tunic, or elegant sweater. Denim of any color is not acceptable. Hiking sandals, crocs, sneakers, including designer sneakers, are only permitted if required for a medical condition. Gentlemen shall wear a jacket with a collared shirt or turtleneck.

Friday, November 29 – Sunday, December 29 – 16th Annual Festival of Trees

Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s 16th Festival of Trees showcases dozens of decorated trees as well as Snow Village, including a model railroad display. This annual event takes place at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02482. The venues are handicapped accessible.

Mostly displayed in the Hunnewell Building, the Festival offers beautifully decorated holiday trees that are donated and decorated by local businesses, garden clubs and other organizations, and individuals. Holiday lights and decorations fill the Garden. See the Garden at Elm Bank in a new light with holiday lightscapes, magical displays, and the perfect photo opportunities. You’ll get a hot cocoa at the gate and finish your visit with s’mores by the firepits.

Visitors ‘vote’ with their raffle tickets, selecting the tree(s) they would like to win at the end of the event. Tree sizes vary from one foot to nine feet in height and some have gifts in addition to the decorations. This year there will also be a virtual Festival in addition to the physical display.

Another and totally different experience is provided by Snow Village, an indoor exhibit occupying a whole room. This large display features model trains wending their way through villages and vignettes, including Christmas in the City (Boston of course!), Fenway Park, a Dickensian village, the North Pole and hundreds of decorated houses and lights. There are too many Santas to count as well as skaters galore. This is a visual treat for young and old alike and each year it is a little different.

For tickets and more information visit https://www.masshort.org/festival-of-trees

Thursday, December 5, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Holiday Cheeseboard Arranging Workshop

Kick off the holiday season with an evening of cheese tasting, grazing board arranging, and festive beverages at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester. Join us on Thursday, December 5th, for a special Holiday Cheeseboard Arranging Workshop led by Life.Love.Cheese.

We’ll be sampling four delicious American artisanal cheeses, paired with a festive holiday drink. Then, we’ll guide you through arranging a 9-inch grazing board using those cheeses and a variety of holiday-themed accompaniments. Whether you’re looking to perfect your holiday hosting skills or simply enjoy a cozy evening of culinary creativity, this workshop is the perfect way to start the season.

Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your cheeseboard arranging skills while enjoying a fun and festive evening on the farm. Perfect for all cheese enthusiasts and anyone looking to add a special touch to their holiday celebrations.

Secure your spot now and get ready for a deliciously creative evening! Ticket options are available at https://www.wlfarm.org/kitchen-education/#1633049178282-9de9b858-c4b8

Tuesday, November 26, 4:00 am – 5:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Chinoiserie: Tea, Trade Routes, and a Taste for the Exotic, Online

The Georgian era is often seen as the pinnacle of garden design in England, as the formal, baroque style of the late 17th century gave way to the looser, more naturalistic designs of what became known as the English Landscape Movement. It was a style that spread around the world.

This Gardens Trust online series will trace the development of the landscape style, beginning with early examples full of decorative garden buildings and classical allusions, and then the impact of England’s most famous landscape designer, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, who laid out vast parklands with rolling lawns, serpentine lakes and clumps of trees. As we’ll see, the century ended with a clash between the wild, rugged aesthetic of the Picturesque and the start of a return to formality and ornamentation in garden-making.

As well as examining individual gardens and designers, we will explore some of the myriad social and economic influences at work on Georgian design. These included political upheaval, changing land use, foreign trade and the lure of exoticism, alongside the impact of the European ‘Grand Tour’ undertaken by wealthy men, which instilled an admiration for classical art and poetry, and for French and Italian landscape painting.

The fourth lecture in this Gardens Trust series brings back Dr Laura Mayer on November 26. Chinoiserie – an early European interest in the arts, architecture and gardening of the Far East – blossomed in Georgian Britain, coinciding with the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution and modern consumerist society. Soon, every landscape park and public pleasure ground in the country had a Chinese pagoda, bridge, barge or brightly painted tea-house in which to drink tea, that most fashionable of imported luxuries.

This lecture will examine the politics and trade routes of eighteenth-century Britain, as well as the growing craze for informal gardening. This had been gaining traction since 1685 when William Temple published his appraisal of East Asian garden asymmetry, without ever having traveled to China. The talk will consider the authenticity of British Chinoiserie, and reveal what, if anything, the landscape style owes to Asia’s early gardens. In short, just how English was the English landscape garden after all? Image: The Chinese House at Shugborough, Staffordshire, photo c.2009 © Laura Mayer. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-history-of-gardens-3-tickets-1011314337407

John Berryhill Named Executive Director of The Botanic Garden of Smith College

The Botanic Garden of Smith College is pleased to welcome John Berryhill as its new director. Berryhill has been serving as interim director since January as part of a career at the botanic garden that began over 27 years ago. He brings to this role an in-depth understanding of the botanic garden, a steadfast dedication to its mission and a strong commitment to the partnerships that are at the center of its work.

Berryhill has worked in many different roles during his tenure–as a garden steward tending to the outdoor collections, as an arborist caring for our historic arboretum, and most recently as landscape curator managing the outdoor team and launching several conservation initiatives. These projects and priorities have connected Smith students to the work of the botanic garden community at both a regional and national scale. In the summer of 2022, Berryhill earned a Master of Science from Smith making him the first Smithie to serve as director of the botanic garden. His research focused on mountain magnolia’s vulnerability to climate change, which led to the development of a conservation collection at Smith College. Berryhill has long been a proponent of social and environmental justice as being central to the botanic garden’s work. This priority has led to outreach and collaborations with local Indigenous leadership and conservation organizations, which will help shape the future direction of the Botanic Garden of Smith College.

Through Sunday, December 15 – Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature

Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature presents the vibrant career of the renowned Scottish artist, Rory McEwen (1932-1982). Focusing on his remarkable paintings of plants, the exhibition reveals McEwen’s lifelong enquiry into light and color in portraying his unique concept of the natural object. Over the course of his career, with his all-embracing perspective of modern art, McEwen developed a distinctive style, painting on vellum and using large empty backgrounds on which his plant portraits seem to float. In his paintings he forged his own personal interpretation of 20th century modernism, portraying individual flowers, leaves and vegetables as subject matter, “as a way of getting as close as possible to what I perceive as the truth, my truth of the time in which I live.”

Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature presents 85 watercolors on vellum and paper, representing a wide range of the artist’s work, along with many of the well-known 17th and 18th century masters who influenced him—including Robert, Redouté, Ehret, Aubriet as well as early illuminated manuscripts and folio volumes. McEwen’s work is also presented alongside the works of numerous contemporary artists who in turn continue McEwen’s artistic legacy. It includes works on loan from the Collection of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Mellon’s Oak Spring Garden Foundation Collection, the Shirley Sherwood Collection and the McEwen Family Estate Collection, as well as works from numerous private collections, most of which have never before been seen by the American public. McEwen’s work is found in private and public collections across the globe, including the British Museum; Victoria and Albert Museum; Tate; National Gallery of Modern Art, Scotland; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Hunt Institute, Pittsburgh; and Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The exhibition, Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature, is presented by the Davis Museum at Wellesley College in association with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (London) and Oak Spring Garden Foundation (Virginia); tour management by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA.

The Gerard B. Lambert Foundation has provided major support for the exhibition. Generous support for the Davis presentation is provided by Wellesley College Friends of Art at the Davis, the Alice G. Spink Art Fund, the Constance Rhind Robey ’81 Fund for Museum Exhibitions, and the Kathryn Wasserman Davis ’28 Fund for World Cultures. Below: Rory McEwen, Tulip ‘Julia Farnese’ rose feather, 1976, Watercolour on vellum, ©Estate of Rory McEwen

Friday, November 22 – Wednesday, January 1 – Holidays at the Newport Mansions

The Breakers, Marble House, and The Elms will be decorated in their traditional, lavish fashion for The Preservation Society of Newport County’s “Holidays at the Newport Mansions,” from November 22, 2024 to January 1, 2025. In addition, Chateau-sur-Mer will be open for the first two weeks of the holiday season. Its first floor will be fully decorated in the spirit of the holidays – the first time in 25 years! Nearly 30 Christmas trees are exquisitely decorated to complement the décor and theme of each room, like Mr. Vanderbilt’s tree in The Breakers, ornamented with trains and top hats! Hundreds of poinsettias, garlands, wreaths and fresh floral arrangements add color, warmth and life. As always, the 15-foot-tall poinsettia tree in the Great Hall of The Breakers – made up of 150 poinsettia plants – provides a perfect holiday photo opportunity. Admission for daytime house tours during the holiday period is by our regular tickets: The Breakers, One-House, Duo or Trio. These tickets are good for any date and time the mansions are open and can be purchased online or in person when you visit. All houses closed Thanksgiving Day, November 28, and Christmas Day, December 25. On December 24, all houses close at 2 pm.

Please note, Rosecliff will be open daily from December 9 – January 1 but will not be decorated for the holidays. For tickets and additional information visit https://www.newportmansions.org/events/holidays-at-the-newport-mansions-2024/

Saturday, November 30, 8:00 pm – Deadline for Community Client Project & Designer Application

COGdesign matches landscape architects and landscape designers with community initiated projects located in Eastern Massachusetts with a focus on Greater Boston. For 25 years COGdesign has facilitated open and inclusive community meetings so every project is informed by as many neighborhood voices as possible. All the work is pro bono. All projects are based on need. The concept drawing is an essential tool both for fundraising and for community building.

Wednesday, November 13, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Poinsettia Care 101: Keeping Them Alive

Are you tired of watching your poinsettia wither away before the new year even begins? You’re not alone! Whether you’re a first-time plant parent or have struggled with poinsettias in the past, this New England Botanic Garden workshop on November 13 from 6 – 8 is designed to take the mystery (and frustration) out of caring for this holiday classic.

In a fun, hands-on setting, we’ll teach you everything you need to know—from how to pick the healthiest plant, to watering and light tips, and even troubleshooting common problems like leaf drop. And don’t worry if you’ve never managed to keep one alive before—this class is perfect for beginners.

By the end of the workshop, you’ll feel confident in caring for your poinsettia and even have the know-how to help it bloom again next year. Plus, you’ll leave with your very own poinsettia to take home, ready to thrive with all your new plant care skills. $55 for NEBG members, $60 for nonmembers. The class will take place at Tower Hill, 11 French Drive in Boylston. Register at www.nebg.org

Monday, November 18, 7:00 pm – A Taste of Autumn

Russ Cohen, celebrated local naturalist and wild foods enthusiast, will teach us about the snacks we can find in our own backyards- there’s more out there than you think! On November 18 at 7 pm Russ will give a presentation about foraging and seeing a landscape with an eye for edibles. We’ve already harvested the garden, but there’s more to enjoy right at our feet if we know how and where to look, and how to gather safely and respectfully. Some of Russ’s favorites include shagbark hickory, black walnut and beach plum, and we’ll be lucky enough to taste some of his recipes. The event takes place at the Durant-Kendrick House, Education Center, 286 Waverly Avenue, Newton, Massachusetts.

Passionate about maintaining and expanding our native edible landscape, Russ can often be found removing invasives and planting native edibles in their place. He is an authority on edible plants, maintaining a list of about 190 native plant species in Massachusetts and the Northeastern US, and has led walks and workshops for 50 years. To register and for more info visit grownative.org/our-programs/workshops