Boston Flora

Thursday, May 2, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Tree Planting Deep Dive

On May 2 from 6 – 8 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, join the staff of Worcester Tree Initiative to learn how to properly plant and care for young trees and shrubs. Topics include: planting container trees, ball and burlap stock, and bare root plants. We will also discuss the basic elements of choosing right tree right place and when to stake a tree. Each attendee will receive a tree care booklet to take home. $26 for Tower Hill members, $36 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

Saturday, May 4, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Beyond Crabapples – The Four Season Beauty of Ornamental Trees

Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road in Washington, Connecticut (the Berkshires) hosts a May 4 morning program entitled Beyond Crabapples – The Four Season Beauty of Ornamental Trees.

Surround yourself with the beauty of small, ornamental trees. In this illustrated talk, Elisabeth Cary will teach us how this underutilized group of plants can play an important part in the four season garden offering flowers, fruit, foliage and structure. These small trees can have a role in the mixed border, as a focal point to brighten a dark corner or as a canopy to brighten a dark corner. Learn about the many species available for the zone 5 garden and explore how to select, site, and cultivate this great group of plants.

Elisabeth Cary, former Director of Education at Berkshire Botanical Garden, has been gardening for over 30 years. She is currently developing Cooper Hill Farm, a micro flower farm in Sheffield, MA.

Hollister House Garden Members $25; Non-Members $35. Register at https://hollisterhousegarden.org/events/beyond-crabapples-the-four-season-beauty-of-ornamental-trees/

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Thursday, May 16, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – 90th Annual Tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill

Join the Beacon Hill Garden Club on Thursday, May 16 from 9 – 5 for a stroll through the charming streets of Beacon Hill. The Beacon Hill Garden Club is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The annual tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill honors a long tradition of urban gardening in Boston. The Club will welcome over 2,500 visitors to the neighborhood. Ticket holders will enjoy not only our hidden gardens, but also our shops, restaurants and museums. From its first garden tour since the club was founded in 1928, club members have opened their gardens every year on the third Thursday in May, even through the Depression and World War II. They hope you will enjoy the day visiting the nooks, crannies and charming spaces that make Beacon Hill special. Tour proceeds benefit local, state and national horticulture and conservation causes.

Tickets are available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-tour-of-the-hidden-gardens-of-beacon-hill-tickets-43114965021. $50 – $60, rain or shine, no refunds. Information and Ticket Booth will be located at 70 Charles Street, at the corner of Charles and Mt. Vernon Streets, on the day of the tour.

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Wednesday, May 1, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Hops Gardening

Learn all about cultivating hops for ornamental, homebrewing, and home remedy usage. Hop Gardening, a class to be held at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, on May 1 from 6 – 9, will introduce the novice and expert to hop planting techniques, the growth cycle, pruning, spacing and support methods, harvesting, drying, and diseases and pests. Take home your very own hop rhizome ready for cultivating.

Samantha Ambrose has been cultivating hops most of her life. Samantha’s grandfather cultivated Noble German hops on an 80 acre farm in Old Chatham, NY. In 2006 Samantha won the Gold Medal for Pale Ale category in the Boston Homebrewers competition using home grown hops. In 2004 Yankee Brew News produced a 7 page spread detailing Samantha’s Lancaster, Massachusetts hop garden. Warm, vibrant and engaging, Samantha is at home on the community theater stage or presenting, facilitating, and mentoring on a variety of gardening topics. $39 for Tower Hill members, $47 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

Wednesday, May 1, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – A Grassland Restoration Tale of Weeds, Wildlife, and Renewal

Restoring weed-dominated habitats comes with many complex challenges and often involves difficult tradeoffs. This process is even more complicated in public landscapes with diverse constituencies. Join landscape designer Jenna Webster, co-curator of the New Directions in the American Landscape conference, and a teacher in the Ecological Gardening Certificate program at the Mt. Cuba Center, on May 1 at 7 pm at the Cambridge Public Library at 449 Broadway in Cambridge to learn how Larry Weaner Landscape Associates negotiated these challenges in their restoration planning for a 100-acre grassland at Croton Point Park in New York. Located atop a capped landfill, this site provides vital habitat for imperiled bird species. The Park’s popularity and complex history led Jenna and her team to seek stakeholder input, synthesize crowd-sourced ecological data, and utilize scientific research— creating a thoughtful restoration plan that is now under construction. This case study gives us valuable lessons for land restoration on sites both large and small, and particularly for protecting specialized habitat used by native wildlife.

The Grow Native Massachusetts free program is part of its Evenings with Experts 2019 slate.

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Reconnect Parkland Through Storrow Project

MassDOT has opened a public conversation about the reconstruction of Storrow Drive near Kenmore Square where it intersects with the Bowker Overpass.

They have developed an approach that offers the exciting prospect of moving Storrow further back from the River and consolidating parkland. Planners are converging on Options 3A or 3B in this slide deck. Worth noting: The project does not include, but will be done so as not to foreclose, the daylighting of the Muddy River’s entrance to the Charles.

A lot of thinking has been to identify these options, but a lot of design and engineering work remains to be done in collaboration with neighbors and the larger public. A meeting was held to start the conversation with representatives of neighborhood groups and abutting institutions — much more conversation to come.

The project is likely to begin construction in roughly 2023. To learn more about this project, contact State Senator Will Brownsberger at http://willbrownsberger.com, or call his office at 617-722-1280.

Thursday, April 18, 12:00 noon – Memorial Tree Dedication

The Garden Club of the Back Bay announces a tree dedication to honor the memory of the two fire fighters who lost their lives five years ago fighting the nine-alarm fire at 298 Beacon Street. On April 18^th, at 12 noon, the families of Lieutenant Edward Walsh, Jr., of Engine Company 33, and Firefighter Michael Kennedy, of Ladder Company 15, will join the Fire Commissioner of the City of Boston and the Garden Club of the Back Bay to dedicate a new tree planted at the site of the fire.

Saturday, May 4, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm – Kentucky Dog Derby

Celebrate the Kentucky Derby in style with your pooch at the Esplanade on Saturday, May 4 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm.

The Kentucky Dog Derby is a 1/2-mile parade around Fiedler Field, hosted by the Esplanade Association, to benefit the park, highlighting it as a resource for dog owners while celebrating the arrival of spring. In addition to the parade, there will be a variety of games, demos, and giveaways for attendees to enjoy, as well as goody bags for all attendees.

We encourage both you and your dog to wear your Derby finest (bow ties, hats, sundresses, florals, and more) – there will be prizes for both best-dressed pup and for human/dog duet! Hosted in partnership with Pawsh Dog Boutique & Salon. To register, and for more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kentucky-dog-derby-tickets-58433617523

Monday, April 29, 11:00 am – Tour of the Boston Public Garden

Sherley Smith, Co-President of the Garden Club of the Back Bay and Docent for the Friends of the Public Garden, and fellow Docent Sidney Kenyon, will lead a one-hour tour of the Garden, covering history, discussion of trees and flora, and commentary on the statues, at The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s April meeting/field trip.

The Public Garden is the first public garden in America – its form, plantings, and statuary evoke its Victorian heritage. The Garden is accessible to all. Boston citizens have always played an extraordinary role in protecting and preserving the Garden. Our Club is a longtime supporter of the Friends of the Public Garden. Members have received notice of this meeting – if you are not a member, but are interested in attending, please email info@gardenclubbackbay.org. Space is limited. Meet at the Make Way for Ducklings Sculpture, near the corner of Beacon and Charles Streets, inside the Public Garden.

Wednesday, April 24, 5:30 pm – Curator’s Travelog: Todd Rounsaville in Japan

On Wednesday, April 24 at 5:30 at Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury, Martha’s Vineyard, take a virtual trip to the mountains and forests of Japan with PHA Curator Todd Rounsaville. In September 2018, Todd traveled to Honshu, Japan in collaboration with staff from the Arnold Arboretum and Morris Arboretum to collect seed of rare and horticulturally important plants. Collecting predominately in mountainous forests, the group returned with many species have never been cultivated at their respective gardens, with an emphasis on azaleas, enkianthus, stewartia, maples, and hydrangeas. $10 general admission, $5 for PHA members.