Boston Flora

Saturday, June 15, 6:45 pm – Vermont’s Contribution to New England’s Rare Flora

The New England Botanical Club is sponsoring an Away Weekend in Vermont June 14 – 16, and on Saturday, June 15, welcomes Bob Popp of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, a botanist from Barre, Vermont, speaking on Vermont’s Contribution to New England’s Rare Flora. Bob’s talk will focus on the rare plants in the Champlain Valley. The lecture will be held at the Vermont Grange Center, 308 West Street in Brookfield, Vermont. Several workshops and field trips are planned for the weekend. The registration fee will cover accommodations at the Center, plus meals and activities. Reduced student rates and scholarships are available. For more information contact Matthew Charpentier at mpcharpentier93@gmail.com.

Registration deadline is June 7. The complete weekend program schedule is available at http://www.rhodora.org/meetings/notices/June2019-Away-Vermont-Schedule.pdf

Tuesday, June 25, 7:00 pm – 8:15 pm – The Art of Botanical Prose

All writers must contend with translation. A poet translates the movement of a dancing figure into a brief couplet, and an essayist translates the noise and commotion of the city where she/he lives into a single paragraph. The three-dimensional world filters into text, and when done especially well, the realm of literature and art readers often forget that translation has even occurred.

In this June 25 Arnold Arboretum talk, beginning at 7 p in the Hunnewell Building, Jonathan Damery, the associate editor for Arnoldia, will provide a readerly tour through horticultural and botanical reference books, encouraging readers to see the artistic endeavor within even the most exhaustive of botanical descriptions.

$5 for Arboretum members, $10 for nonmembers. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

Saturday, June 8, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Rose Garden Soiree

Celebrate peak rose season in the gardens which John and Helen Stevens Coolidge so lovingly tended at their summer estate in North Andover. Stroll past six acres of manicured flower beds while enjoying live music, garden-inspired libations, and delicious hors d’oeuvres.

By joining in this benefit celebration for The Trustees on June 8 from 5 – 7, your generosity will directly aid this property—a true community treasure—for generations to come.

Festive dress is encouraged. Flat shoes recommended. This event takes place outside. $32 for members of The Trustees, $40 for nonmembers. Space is limited. Pre-registration required. Early registration recommended. Call 978-356-4351, x 3202, or register online at http://www.thetrustees.org/things-to-do/northeast/event-43844.html

Sunday, June 2, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Garden Conservancy Open Day in Worcester County

On Sunday, June 2 from 10 – 4, visit four gardens in Hardwick, North Grafton, and Petersham, Massachusetts, open to benefit the Garden Conservancy. No reservations required; rain or shine.

Highlights include water features, a walled vegetable garden, a chicken house with a sedum roof, a greenhouse featuring succulents, herb gardens, and a large meadow garden.

A pop-up plant sale will take place in Petersham with Garden Vision Epimediums and the Bunker Farm.

Begin at Brigham Hill Farm or see www.gardenconservancy.org/open-days for additional locations.

Wednesday, June 12, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Guided Garden Tour on the Esplanade

On this Esplanade Association tour, we will share the amazing gardens that make the Esplanade so beautiful. Come learn about the history and plants that make up six of the Esplanade’s 13 ornamental gardens. Guided walking tours last about an hour-and-a-half and cover about a mile of the Esplanade. The June 12 tour begins at 10:00 am at Community Boating , 21 David G. Mugar Way in Boston, and is free. Registration requested at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/guided-garden-tours-on-the-esplanade-tickets-54545626437

Saturdays, June 1 & 8, and Sundays, June 2 & 9, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm – Hosta and Perennial Sale

Historic New England will hold its annual Hosta and Perennial Sale on the first two weekends in June at the Lyman Estate Greenouses, 185 Lyman Street, Waltham. Plants of all shapes, sizes, and colors are available, including many new and hard-to-find varieties. Our knowledgeable staff can help you choose the right hostas for your garden. Historic New England members save 10% on purchases. For more information visit www.historicnewengland.org.

Wednesday, May 29 or Tuesday, June 18, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Foraging Walks with Russ Cohen

The Greater Boston area is home to over 150 species of edible wild plants, many of which are more nutritious and/or flavorful than their cultivated counterparts. Join Russ Cohen, expert forager and author of Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten, on a two hour ramble through Allandale Farm, 259 Allandale Road in Brookline, to learn about at least two dozen species of edible wild plants. Pending favorable weather conditions, several edible mushroom species may be encountered as well. Keys to the identification of each species will be provided, along with information on edible portion(s), season(s) of availability and preparation methods. General guidelines for safe and environmentally responsible foraging will also be discussed. $20 per ticket, and two dates are offered: May 29 and June 18.
Space is limited so click here to purchase tickets.

Thursday, June 6, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Compost Compendium

Horticulturist Conor Guidarelli manages the Arnold Arboretum’s organic materials recycling area and has recently improved the production and quality of the resulting compost.

On June 6 at 6 – 8 at the Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Conor will discuss the components of compost and the nutrients that can be returned to a site when compost is applied. He will explain the mix of brown to green materials, moisture, and aeration.

Class participants will start in the classroom and then travel to the Arboretum’s materials yard to see compost in various stages of development.

Fee $20 Arboretum member, $30 nonmember.

Sunday, June 2, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Collections Up Close: Ginkgos

Celebrate plant diversity, natural history, and the work of public gardens by spotlighting plants and their families. Join the staff and volunteers at the Arnold Arboretum for tours, family activities and festivities in the ginkgo collection on Peters Hill on June 2 from 1 – 3. Most people can identify a ginkgo leaf – but what do you really know about the tree itself? Come learn more about this “living fossil” and explore a collection that reflects the greatest known genetic diversity of wild-collected ginkgos in North America.

This is a free drop in activity. The event will be taking place in the ginkgo collection on Peters Hill. Street parking is available on Bussey Street.

In case of inclement weather, contact 617.384.5209.

Saturday, June 8, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – Landscaping for Bird Diversity

Do you aspire to create landscapes with genuine ecological value for a wide array of avian species— from songbirds, to raptors, owls, woodpeckers, and more? Claudia Thompson, Founder, Grow Native Massachusetts, will lead an in-depth exploration of the principles and practices for achieving this objective, based on understanding the essential habitat requirements for bird survival. Our examination starts with the importance of native plants. Then we will take a deeper look at the value of different canopy layers, preferred planting strategies, techniques for providing water, and the critical role of active ecological systems to avian survival. We finish by considering our human interactions with birds. What are the pros and cons of feeding birds directly through seed and suet? Do nest boxes really help our native songbirds to breed? And given the threats from both human activity and non-native bird species, how can we tilt the balance in favor of our native songbirds? The class takes place on June 8 from 9:30 – 11:30 in Jennison Hall at Bentley University, 175 Forest Street in Waltham. $32 for Grow Native members, $42 for non members.

Claudia Thompson founded Grow Native Massachusetts in 2010. She is nationally recognized as a leader in the native plant movement, and was featured as one of the “Wild Ones” in Garden Design magazine along with Doug Tallamy, Darrel Morrison, and others. Claudia’s happiest moments are spent in her own garden where she has recorded 80 species of birds using the habitat she and her husband have created on their small urban parcel in Cambridge.

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