Boston Flora

Wednesday, March 13, 7:00 pm – Frederick Law Olmsted & the Massachusetts Legacy

For those of you who may have missed The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s program earlier this fall, the Garden Club of Norfolk presents Frederick Law Olmsted & the Massachusetts Legacy on Wednesday, March 13, at 7:00 PM at the Norfolk Public Library Community Room, 135 Main St, Walpole. Alan Banks will sample the rich landscape legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted, and explore the ideas that shaped some of the most treasured lands in Massachusetts. Banks oversees the historical interpretation of Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts. For details visit https://gardenclubofnorfolkma.com/

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Saturday, March 16, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm – Grafting Woody Plants

Grafting is the technique of joining parts of separate plants in such a manner that they unite and continue their growth as one. Learn basic principles of grafting with an overview of different types of dormant-season grafts. Arnold Arboretum propagator Sean Halloran will provide step-by-step instructions on Saturday, March 16 from 9 – 12:30 in the Dana Greenhouse Classroom, 1050 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, so that you can practice both cleft and side veneer grafts using apple root stock. Simple after-care will be required until planting out in springtime. Registrants will need to sign an Assumption of Risk and Release in order to participate in this class. Fee $62 Arboretum member, $75 nonmember. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

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Wednesday, March 13, 6:45 pm – Vegetable Gardening for Everyone

Pepperell Garden Club presents Vegetable Gardening for Everyone with Susan Hammond, Master Gardner on Wednesday, March 13 at 6:45 PM at the Pepperell Senior Center, 37 Nashua Rd, Pepperell. Public is welcome! Free to Pepperell Garden Club members. $5 for guests ($2 for Seniors). For more information visit http://pepperellgardenclub.org/wp/

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Wednesday, March 13, 10:00 am – Guided History Tour of The Esplanade

There are countless stories behind Boston’s most iconic park and The Esplanade Association wants to share them with you! The Esplanade Association’s free guided history tours will walk participants through the fascinating history of the Esplanade. Meet at Community Boating Inc., 21 David G Mugar Way The guided tours last about an hour-and-a-half and cover roughly a mile of the Esplanade and over 150 years of history. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/guided-history-tours-on-the-esplanade-tickets-54537671644

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Saturday, March 16, 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Planning and Creating a Compact Orchard

Become a backyard orchardist and grow your own fruit! Even with a small yard, you can enjoy fruit from your own trees with minimal effort and cost. This step-by-step Arnold Arboretum workshop at the Wakefield Estate in Milton on March 16 from 9 – 11 will teach you all you need to know to plan and create a compact orchard for years of enjoyment. Participants will spend part of the workshop outside in the orchard for a pruning demonstration, so dress accordingly. Space is limited; pre-registration required. Fee $20 Arboretum member, $30 nonmember. Offered with the Mary M. B. Wakefield Charitable Trust. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

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Saturday, March 9, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Plumage and Personality: An Art and Science Workshop

The world of birds is full of diverse behaviors and appearances. Some birds blend in with their environment, while others do everything they can to stand out. How and why do birds achieve these visual feats, and what can it tell us about their natural history and evolution? Harvard University biologist Dakota McCoy will use feather and bird specimens from the University’s collections to explore how and why this diversity of forms and behaviors arose. Artist Erica Beade will show participants techniques to capture the nuance of avian color and form in their drawings. The workshop takes place March 9 from 9:30 – 12:30 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge.

Fees: $45 members/$55 nonmembers. Advance registration is required. Register at https://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/plumage-and-personality-art-and-science-workshop

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Friday, April 12, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, and Saturday, April 13, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – The 15th Annual Great Gardens Symposium

The premier Great Gardens Symposium takes place on Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13, 2019, at the magnificent, world-class Woodstock Inn and Resort in Woodstock, Vermont. The symposium features:

Five info-packed lectures led by nationally and regionally renowned professionals in their fields

A Gardeners Marketplace with plant vendors, artisans, gardening gifts and products

An exquisite setting – The Inn is cherished for its preservation of New England history, heritage, and elegance as well as farm-fresh food and an emphasis on conservation

Terrific handouts, door prizes and garden gifts for everyone

Special overnight room rates for symposium attendees at The Woodstock Inn and Resort

An opportunity to connect with hundreds of gardeners from around the Northeast and beyond

The 2019 symposium is sure to be another sellout like past symposiums! Friday’s Pre-Symposium program from 1 – 4 with Kerry Ann Mendez is $55, and Saturday’s 8 – 4 day, with presenters Matthew Benson, Annie White, Warren Leach, and Kerry Ann Mendez, is $98. Full descriptions of the lectures and registration may be found at https://pyours.com/symposium/

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Tuesday, March 12, 7:00 p, – 9:00 pm – Flowering Trees and Shrubs for Home Landscapes

The North Andover Garden Club presents Flowering Trees and Shrubs for Home Landscapes on Tuesday, Mar 12, from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM at St. Michael’s Parish Hall, 196 Main St, North Andover. Suzanne Mahler explores the splendor of flowering trees and shrubs with a look beyond their fleeting flowers to varieties that provide colorful foliage and fruits, attractive forms, and textural bark, for interest in more than one season. The cost is $5 for the general public. Learn more at http://www.northandovergardenclub.com/

Thursday, September 5 – Thursday, September 12 – Gardens, Cuisine, & Royal Treasures of Vancouver, Salt Spring Island, & Victoria, BC

The American Horticultural Society with hosts Erich Veitenheimer and Drew Cariaso and Tour Leader Kiloran McRae of Beneficial Travel have planned another exquisite trip September 5 – 12 in British Columbia. Highlights includetThe charming city of Vancouver, including a guided tour of the green oasis of Stanley Park, The University of British Columbia’s Nitobe Memorial Garden, among the world’s top five Japanese gardens outside Japan, and UBC’s Botanical Garden, with a walk into the tree canopy along an aerial trail system. Also included is the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, which embodies the philosophy of yin and yang and was named the world’s top city garden by National Geographic and the VanDusen Botanical Garden (below), a 55-acre oasis whose features include a majestic stand of giant sequoias and a Sino-Himalayan garden. You will see the Vancouver Art Gallery, whose spectacular photography collection includes images by Ansel Adams, Cindy Sherman, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, and enjoy a wine tasting at the organic Garry Oaks Estate Winery. There will be the opportunity to tour organic farms, including the Salt Spring Apple Company’s orchard, the Salt Spring Island Cheese Company’s farm, and Foxglove Farm, created by organic-farming pioneer Michael Ableman. Private homes and gardens to which AHS has kindly been granted access, including a property named Canada’s best residential garden.

Top-rated Accommodations are: OPUS Hotel, a charming boutique hotel in Vancouver that TripAdvisor named one of the top five trendiest hotels in the world. Hastings House Country House Hotel, a small luxury resort on 22 waterfront acres that is a member of the prestigious Relais and Châteaux hotel group. The Magnolia Hotel and Spa, a luxury boutique property two blocks from Victoria’s picturesque Inner Harbour that is consistently selected as one of Canada’s top hotels. For more information and to make reservations, please contact Susan Klejst, Director of Development & Engagement at (703) 768-5700 ext. 127, or Laura Popovich, Development Coordinator, at (703) 768-5700 ext. 132, or email development@ahsgardening.org. Our fax number is (703) 768-8700.

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Saturday, March 9, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Creating a Varroa Management Plan

Keeping Varroa mites under control in a honeybee colony can be hard and confusing. There are lots of treatment options but no silver bullet. UMass extension educator Hannah Whitehead will lead a workshop on how to choose and combine treatment options in order to create a mite management plan. She will explain the theory of Integrated Pest Management, review mite treatment options and discuss the most effective non-chemical management tools. As part of the workshop, participants will fill out their own personal mite management plan for this coming summer.

Hannah Whitehead is a honey bee extension educator at UMass Amherst. She received her masters at The Ohio State University, where she studied drone brood removal and surveyed beekeepers about mite management choices. In addition to her interest in bees, she is also passionate about farming: before pursuing her masters, she worked on vegetable and dairy farms, studied urban agriculture in Chicago, and worked as a research assistant for OSU’s Agroecosystem Management Program.

$10 BBG members, $25 nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/creating-varroa-management-plan

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