Boston Flora

Sunday, February 24, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Build a Better Birdhouse

Learn how to build safe homes for native birds with Brendan Keegan at the Arnold Arboretum on Sunday, February 24 from 2 – 4. This class covers best practices for general bird house design using the Arboretum’s own nest boxes (for tree swallows, eastern bluebirds, black capped chickadees, and screech owls) as examples. You will learn tips for deterring predators and non-native competitors, as well as how to safely monitor young nestlings. Finally, you will build and take home your own “Chickadee Tube,” a design suitable for many Boston yards. Fee $28 Arboretum member, $35 nonmember. Register at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

Image result for Arnold Arboretum birdhouse

Wednesday, February 20, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – Finding Common Ground: In Pursuit of “Sustainable Landscaping” Webinar

Most landscape professionals have similar goals: happy customers, beautiful plantings, and a healthy environment. This free Ecological Landscape Alliance webinar presentation on February 20 from 12:30 – 1:30 seeks to broaden the dialog among landscape professionals who share these goals and to encourage all landscape professionals to work together to establish a new meaning for the term sustainable landscaping.

With a premise that the common goals are beautiful landscapes created with healthy environmental stewardship, this discussion will address positive communication and relationship building strategies that help to achieve these goals. As part of the discussion, examples of less successful (and often counterproductive) marketing strategies will be addressed.

Landscape professionals often need to think and work beyond the property line boundaries whether the broader context is necessitated by multiple stakeholders, regulations, certification, or community/customer goals such as water quality protection or wildlife support. In the midst of these “big picture” issues, effective communication is the foundation for success.

Whether farmers or gardeners, there is much work to be done to educate ourselves, as well as property owners, about the value of ecological landscape practices that result in a healthier and more sustainable environment. Let’s all begin with positive, honest, and straight-forward messaging.

Gary Fish is the Maine State Horticulturist, a position that he has held for the past two years. Previously, Gary was the Manager of Pesticide Programs for the Maine Board of Pesticides Control, a position he held for 28 years. Gary’s background also includes being a Licensed Professional Forester since 1985, Kents Hill Forestry Services, and a 10 year member and former Chairman of the Arborist Examining Board. Gary self identifies as an “entomologist from birth” and was inspired to love plants by his mother who grew beautiful roses and rock gardens. Gary is also a landscape and nature photographer (Phish Photography). Gary holds a B.S. in Forest and Wildlife Management from University of Maine, College of Forest Resources.

Image result for Gary Fish sustainable landscaping

Tuesday, February 19, 6:30 pm – The Invention of Rivers

Separating land and water is not just an act of division; it is also an act of creation. It creates land and water from ubiquitous wetness, defining them on either side of a line. It is one of the first acts of design, setting out a ground of habitation with a line that has largely been naturalized in features such as the coastline, the riverbank, and the water’s edge. These features are subjected to artistic representations, scientific inquiry, infrastructural engineering, and landscape design with little awareness of the act that brought them into being. Today, however, with the increasing frequency of flood and, not unrelatedly, sea-level rise attributed to climate change, the line of separation has come into sharp focus with proposals for walls, levees, natural defenses, and land retirement schemes. These responses raise questions on where the line is drawn, but they also raise questions on the separation that this line facilitates. Is this separation found in nature or does nature follow from its assertion? Are there other beginnings to design and consequently, other possible natures and grounds of habitation?

Join the Harvard Graduate School of Design on February 19 at 6:30 pm at Gund Hall Piper Auditorium, Quincy Street, Cambridge, for a free public lecture on The Invention of Rivers by Dilip da Cunha.

Dilip da Cunha is an architect and planner based in Philadelphia and Bangalore. He is co-director of the Risk and Resilience program at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, and Adjunct Professor at the GSAPP, Columbia University. He is author with Anuradha Mathur of Mississippi Floods: Designing a Shifting Landscape (2001); Deccan Traverses: The Making of Bangalore’s Terrain (2006); Soak: Mumbai in an Estuary (2009); and Design in the Terrain of Water (2014). His new book, The Invention of Rivers: Alexander’s Eye and Ganga’s Descent, was just published by the University of Pennsylvania Press (http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15913.html). In 2017, da Cunha along with Anuradha Mathur received a Pew Fellowship Grant in recognition of their collaborative work. They are currently working on a multimedia exhibition titled The Ocean of Rain. http://www.mathurdacunha.com

Anyone requiring accessibility accommodations should contact the events office at (617) 496-2414 or events@gsd.harvard.edu.

Image result for g.w. colton - mountains & rivers, 1856 giclee

Wednesday, February 27, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Making of a Community Garden Film

On February 27 at 6:00 pm, meet the gardeners and filmmaker who are working together on a documentary about Boston’s community gardens. Filmmaker Mark Gardner will show clips from the work in progress, and a few of the film’s stars will share their stories and answer your questions. You can help us make the movie by dreaming up a title and maybe even recording your own community garden story!

Enjoy locally sourced appetizers, beer, and wine. Advance ticket purchase is highly recommended: http://bit.ly/trusteesgardenfilm. Tickets are $12 for Trustees members and $20 for nonmembers and include food and one drink. All proceeds support Trustees Boston Community Gardens. Food, drinks and mingling start at 6pm; the program begins at 6:30. We’re pleased to partner with More Than Words Warehouse Bookstore in the South End for this event. More Than Words is a job training and youth development program that empowers nearly 350 youth each year to take charge of their lives by taking charge of their $4M bookselling business.

The bookstore, which doubles as a beautiful event space, will be open until 8pm so come early if you’d like to browse! Donations of books, CDs, DVDs, and video games are most welcome (please no encyclopedias, VHS tapes, audio cassettes, or magazines). The bookstore is a brick building at 242 East Berkeley Street (between Albany and Harrison) and is accessible by MBTA (Silver line and others). Paid parking is available at 274 Albany Street.

Image result for filmmaker Mark Gardner

Tuesday, February 26, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm, and Wednesday, February 27, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Green Industry Job Fair

Landscape, nursery and greenhouse companies will be on hand to talk with job seekers about a wide variety of jobs at the Massachusetts Landscape & Nursery Association’s Green Industry Job Fair taking place February 26 and 27 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Landscape, nursery and greenhouse companies will be on hand to talk with job seekers about a wide variety of jobs.The industry needs irrigation technicians, project managers, foremen, salespeople, managers and supervisors, horticulturists and licensed applicators, landscape designers, equipment and fleet mechanics, people with CAD experience and laborers. Green industry companies have offices and need support staff on their teams, too. The job fair is free but registration is required at https://www.mnla.com/events/event_details.asp?legacy=1&id=1162934

Image result for Massachusetts Landscape green industry landscape job fair

Bee Mine!

Give a BEE-autiful gift to that special someone in your life this Valentine’s Day by sponsoring bulbs or pollinator plants in his or her honor. Your gift will improve the biological diversity and beauty of the natural environment on the Charles River Esplanade through supporting its horticulture efforts. Your recipient will receive a custom e-card acknowledging your gift.

For years to come, when you walk the park and see flowers, you’ll know your gift helped support imperiled bee communities. Bulbs – Each year, thousands of flowers mark the arrival of spring. Give the gift of renewal and honor someone special by having bulbs planted at the park. Pollinator Plants – Pollinators such as bees and butterflies are declining around the world due to loss of habitat. Your donation will help create a lush and diverse habitat for our imperiled pollinators while beautifying the park for you and your loved ones for years to come. To purchase your Valentine gift, which range from $50 – $500, visit www.esplanadeassociation.org.

Image result for bulbs on Esplanade

Thursday, February 28, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Dripped Wax Resist with Watercolor

On February 28 from noon – 4 at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, explore the exciting possibilities of combining melted wax with watercolor. Instructor Nan Rumpf show you how to drip and draw gestural lines with liquefied beeswax. Then she will demonstrate how to develop your artwork with watercolor glazes. The wax dries quickly to offers a graceful resist for your watercolors, combining an important textural element with a fluid medium. The beeswax and the specialized melted beeswax tools will be provided by the instructor.

Nan Rumpf grew up in a small Iowa town on the banks of the Mississippi River, where she spent much of her childhood exploring the outdoors on her bicycle and daydreaming under a lilac bush. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. She currently lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She has worked as a professional puppeteer, designing and constructing her own puppets and masks. She organized dramatic arts workshops in public schools and libraries for twenty years.

$85 for Mass Hort members, $110 general admission. Register at https://masshort.org/education-events/dripped-wax-resist-with-watercolor/

Image result for dripped wax resist with watercolor

Sunday, February 10, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Team Esplanade Marathon Fundraiser

Join supporters of The Esplanade Association at The Point in Boston’s historic Haymarket Square on February 10 from 1 – 5 to celebrate the 15 runners on the Esplanade Association’s 2019 Boston Marathon® Team.

Your ticket ($25) will include food. You will also have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to win incredible prizes like a stay at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, SoulCycle classes, a gift card to Chestnut Farm, a gift card to Heartbreak Hill, rock climbing passes, and much more! All funds raised at this event will support the Esplanade Association’s 2019 Boston Marathon® Team.

TEAM ESPLANADE runners will play a part in Boston’s proudest sporting tradition by generously running the 2019 Boston Marathon® in support of the Esplanade Association. Through their passion and dedication, TEAM ESPLANADE will help us maintain and improve Boston’s iconic riverside park—a beloved training route for thousands of Marathon runners each year! To purchase tickets, visit www.esplanadeassociation.org.

Image result for Team Esplanade The Point

Friday, February 22, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Flora and Physical Features of the Alpine Zone

This New England Wild Flower Society program on February 22 from 10 – noon at Garden in the Woods focuses on the climatic and physical characteristics of New England’s alpine areas on the highest mountains of ME, NH, and VT. Botanist Ted Elliman details the unique, highly specialized, and beautiful flora that characterize the above-timberline community. $26 for NEWFS and NOFA members, $32 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/flora-and-physical-features-of-the-alpine-zone

Image result for New England alpine zone

Saturday, February 16, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, & Sunday, February 17, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Camellias in the Apothecary Garden

Camellias are truly the queens of the winter flowers. Come see them at this year’s Camellia Show, presented by the New England (Massachusetts) Camellia Society, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on February 16 & 17. Free with admission to the Garden. Saturday hours are 10 – 5, Sunday 10 – 4. For more information visit http://towerhillbg.org.

Image result for Camellias in the apothecary