Boston Flora

  • Saturday, March 21, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – What Linnaeus Saw

    Join Karen Beil, author of What Linnaeus Saw, through a true adventure story about an intriguing, world-renowned scientist who revolutionized the way we study plants and animals. The globetrotting naturalists of the 18th century were the plant geeks of their day. Foremost among them was Carl Linnaeus, a radical thinker who transformed biology. A medical doctor, botanist and enthusiastic professor in Sweden, he encouraged his devoted students to search the world for species. Now, more than ever, we need to learn about and value the world’s plants, animals, and habitats—both for the crucial roles they play in nature and for the benefits they provide to humankind. What Linnaeus Saw gives us a chance to examine the past and see what it can teach us for the future. A book sale and signing will follow the talk.

    Karen Beil was born in Boston, MA, into a family of book lovers, herself studying magazine journalism and English literature at Syracuse University. She reveled in the romantic poets, Shakespeare, and Chaucer.. But her greatest influence was a science professor, an expert on inland aquatic ecosystems. Her first professional job came as a news reporter in Chicago and later as a writer and editor at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, essentially translating the fascinating technical work of scientists and engineers into understandable English. 

    Later, reading with her own young children, she began to write articles for children’s magazines including Ranger Rick and National Geographic World, and has since written several picture books as well as a mid-grade nonfiction about wildfire. Her talk will take place at Berkshire Botanical Garden on March 21 at 2 pm. Free for students with valid ID, $15 for BBG members, and $20 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/what-linnaeus-saw-scientist%E2%80%99s-quest-name-every-living-thing

  • Saturday, March 21, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Ready, Set, Grow! Starting Seeds for Plants That Will Hit the Ground Growing

    Learn vegetable and flower seed-starting and plant-growing techniques that result in vigorous plants from organic grower Maureen Sullivan of Left Field Farm, in Middlefield, MA. This March 21 Berkshire Botanical Graden workshop from 10 – 1 will focus on indoor sowing and growing-on practices, including preparation of an effective seed-sowing schedule, techniques for successful germination of challenging seeds, and management of plants at various stages of growth. Workshop participants will practice seed sowing and transplanting a variety of plants to take home for the spring and summer growing season. All supplies included in cost.

    Farmer Maureen Sullivan and her partner Mitch Feldmessere, of Left Field Farm in Middlefield, MA, employ certified organic production methods and materials to grow hundreds of carefully selected varieties of heirloom and hybrid annual ornamental, herb, and vegetable plants in their greenhouses. $45 for BBG members, $55 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/ready-set-grow-starting-seeds-plants-will-hit-ground-growing

  • Friday, March 13, 10:00 am – 11:00 am – Gardeners’ Roundtable: Cold Frames

    A cold frame can be a gardener’s best friend. Their uses include extending the seasons to grow plants before and after frosts and hardening off young seedlings, plus propagating and overwintering plants, all without the expense of a greenhouse.

    This March 13. Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum class will explore the different types of cold frames and their uses, plus we’ll share a simple construction design that will be great in your home. Cold frames can be a wonderful way to discover the joy of growing plants. The session runs from 10 – 11 and is led by Gail Read and Joe Verstandig. Call 401-253-2707 for more information, or email jcleveland@blithewold.org.

  • Saturday, March 14, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Powisset Presents: Planning the Perfect Home Food Garden

    Interested in starting a home garden for veggies, herbs and all things edible? On March 14 from 2 – 4 in Dover, Powisset Presents welcomes Liz Green, Associate Director of the Trustees Agriculture Program, who will get you ready to grow the perfect home food garden. Learn what varieties work best, how and when to plant, talk spacing, fertility, weeding, watering, and more! You’ll also be able to custom-order transplants and seeds from our own certified organic farm and tour the Powisset greenhouse.  Trustees members $24, nonmembers $30.

    Pre-registration at http://www.thetrustees.org/things-to-do/metro-west/event-50639.html is required 2 days prior to this class lecture. If it is within 2 days and you wish to register, please email powissetfarm@thetrustees.org or call 508.785.0339 to find out if there is space remaining. 

  • Tuesday, March 10, 8:45 am – 3:30 pm – 41st Annual UMass Community Tree Conference: Challenges & Opportunities for 2020: What’s New in Arborculture & Urban Forestry?

    The 41st Annual UMass Community Tree Conference: Ecological Perspectives of the Urban Forest, will take place Tuesday, March 10 from 8:45 am – 3:30 pm at Stockbridge Hall the UMass Campus in Amherst. This one-day conference is designed for tree care professionals, volunteers, and enthusiasts including arborists, tree wardens/municipal tree care specialists, foresters, landscape architects and shade tree committee members.

    Sponsored by UMass Extension in cooperation with the UMass Dept. of Environmental Conservation, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the USDA Forest Service Urban Natural Resources Institute. Registration Cost is $95 for first registration, $75 for each additional registrant from the same organization. More information and on line registration may be accessed at http://ag.umass.edu/landscape/events/41st-annual-umass-community-tree-conference-challenges-opportunities-for-2020-whats

  • Wednesday, March 18 – Friday, March 20, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Bird Nests: Rendering Their Unique Beauty

    How many times have you looked in wonder at a bird’s nest and marveled at its construction?  Drawing a bird’s nest will invite you to look even closer and discover what nest materials the bird chose to create their unique design and shape. In this three session Berkshire Botanical class with botanical illustrator Carol Ann Morley, you will learn how to ‘map out’ the nest construction to keep track of where you are. Through close observation you will discover the pattern of the weave as you identify horse hair, grass, twigs and other plant materials. Have fun bringing to life one of nature’s wonders, in your choice of mixed media with colored  pencils, pen and ink, and gold paint on toned papers. Instructor will supply the bird nests to draw. Some drawing experience suggested. Class will take place at Berkshire Botanical Garden March 18 – 20 from 10 – 4, and is $340 for BBG members, $375 for nonmembers. Registration and supply list may be found at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/bird-nests-rendering-their-unique-beauty

  • Friday, March 13, 10:00 am – 2:30 pm – Sculpting Your Watercolors

    This Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, on March 13 from 10 – 2:30 explores a unique method of developing a watercolor painting  -using contact paper to create a template. We will start with a loose and playful watercolor wash using misting and tilting techniques to allow the colors to mix on the paper. Then we will develop the paintings using contact paper to facilitate various lifting methods and employ glazing techniques with emphasis on creative modeling and developing lost and found edges. All techniques will be demonstrated. This is a single session workshop so bring a bag lunch (there will be a half hour lunch break at noon). $75 for Mass Hort members, $100 general admission. Register at www.masshort.org.

    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. 

    She has studied watercolor painting with Susan Swinand, Jane Goldman, Paul George, Charles Reid, Miles Batt, and Cheng Khee Chee. Her paintings have been exhibited at The DeCordova Museum School Gallery, The Danforth Museum, The Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, The Attleboro Arts Museum, The Wellesley Free Library (First Place Award), The Center For The Arts in Natick, Art on the Common in Needham (First Place Award), The Clinton Art show (Best In Show), Post Road Art (First Place Award in the Abstract Show), The Wellesley Community Center (Margaret Fitzwilliam Award for Excellence in Watercolor), The New England Watercolor Society Show in Cotuit (Woodruff Art Center Award) and her painting Soaring was awarded by George Nick in Concord Art’s Juried Members show.  

    She is a member of the Concord Art Association, the Wellesley Society of Artists, The Rhode Island Watercolor Society and is a signature member of the New England Watercolor Society. She was chosen as one of the two art judges for The Amazing Things Summer Juried Art Show in 2012.

  • Wednesdays, March 11 – March 25, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Container Gardening

    This Berkshire Botanical Garden Container Gardening course meets for 3 weeks on Wednesdays, March 11 – March 25, 5:30 – 8:30 pm, at the Education Center at Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge.

    Get to know the plants that thrive in containers, how to care for them and keep them looking fabulous. During the three sessions of this course you will acquire a knowledge of the skills required for beautiful and successful container gardens. We will cover the full scope of gardening in pots – from container, plant and soil selection to grooming and maintaining your collection to techniques for overwintering.

    Instructor Jenna O’Brien, owner and founder of Viridissima Horticulture & Design since 2003, has been working in Berkshire gardens for over 20 years. Jenna specializes in container gardening, perennial garden design and care, and estate garden and conservatory management.

    BBG Members: $135, Non-Members: $145. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Thursday, March 12, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Design-less Gardening: A Natural Approach

    Traditional gardening methods can result in lovely landscapes but come with a high price in terms of maintenance. In this March 12 Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Horticulture Morning , Dan Jaffe invites us to rethink the old rules of gardening so we can spend less time working and more time enjoying our gardens. The class will take place at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, beginning at 10 am

    How many inches of bark mulch is needed between plants? Are there alternatives to bark mulch? Should weeds be pulled or are there other management strategies? Is it necessary to clean the garden every fall or are there habitat benefits to skipping some of the cleanup? Some gardening rules make sense; and others do not.

    Join Dan for an exploration of the rules of gardening and learn how to build beautiful, resilient, and ecologically viable gardens without the services of a full-time gardener. Dan Jaffe earned a degree in botany from the University of Maine and an advanced certificate in Native Plant Horticulture and Design from NEWFS (now the Native Plant Trust). After interning at Garden in the Woods, Dan worked for a year as Plant Sales Coordinator at the Garden. Suggested donation: $5 at the door. Rsvp to mistyfloral@yahoo.com

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  • Sundays, March 8 – April 5, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Cannabis Lecture Series

    Learn more about the plant that has been making news and sparking change across the country. In each lecture, experts will cover a different topic related to cannabis, as well as its connection to people throughout history. Topics include ethnobotany, evolution, horticulture, taxonomy and genetics, and hemp. Join us for one lecture or all. 

    March 8 will feature Peter Apicella, University of Connecticut, on Genetics and Taxonomy. March 15 lecture is on Horticulture with Maggie Kinsella of Coyote Cannabis Corporation. On March 29, John de la Parra of Harvard University’s Herbaria teams with Ernest Anemone of the Arnold Arboretum to talk about Ethnobotany, and finally, on April 5, Monique McHenry of University of Vermont speaks on Evolution. $20 per lecture for Tower Hill members, $25 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.