Fridays, November 2 – November 16, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm – The Business of Gardening

This Berkshire Botanical Garden course on The Business of Gardening meets for 3 weeks on Fridays, November 2-16, 1 – 5 pm.

This course is a must for those working or planning to work professionally in the field of horticulture. Participants will learn how to write a simple business plan, understand a team approach using employees and subcontractors, leasing equipment, bidding out materials and plant materials to a business advantage. Also general ways to organize a business, from sole proprietor to incorporation (S-Corp, Inc., LLC) and the legal deductions it is allowed. Learn the industry standards for markups on materials and labor, what the going rate is to charge clients, and how to cost-estimate projects. Students will complete a cost estimate for a residential project—start to finish. The focus will be how to best prepare yourself to run your own business and how to make a profit.

Instructor: Craig Okerstrom-Lang, A.S.L.A. BBG Members: $175, Non-Members: $185. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

---

Thursday, November 15, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm – Examining Nature as Medicine: Designing Landscapes that Improve Quality of Life and the Human Psyche

The Ecological Landscape Alliance Mid-Atlantic Conference on November 15 at Winterthur from 8 – 5 explores the intersection of ecological landscape design and its effect on human beings. Sometimes referred to as Social Landscape Design or Ecological Psychology, emerging research is taking a closer look at the interaction of people and landscapes. Join ELA for leading-edge research, compelling case studies, and practical strategies to consider in your future designs.

In both urban and suburban locales, rising health concerns have prompted research on how the human body changes when introduced to planned landscapes. Compelling conclusions point to the benefits of evaluating the intersections between specific elements in ecological landscapes and human health, specifically in the context of urban, public spaces. As an ecosystem of people, nature, and infrastructure, the built landscape can become a prescription to improve human health. This landscape trend in urban social-ecology is a design imperative to create gardens informed by nature in order to improve the environment, benefit human health, and develop cities that are resilient, healthy, sustainable, and livable.

Sessions include Time in Nature = A Healthier You with Dr. Donald Rakow, Beyond “Nature is Good”: Research on the Benefits of Contact with Nature on Human Health, The Vibrant Cities Lab and Urban Forest Toolkit with Larry Wiseman, Observe/Inform/Improve: Nurturing Living Landscapes through Social Performance Research with Lauren Mandel and Erin Ramsden, and Landscapes as Living Infrastructure with Gena Wirth. Complete biographies and descriptions are found at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/ela-mid-atlantic-conference-winterthur/. $119 for ELA members, $139 for nonmembers.

---

Saturday, November 10 – Sunday, November 11 – What’s Out There Weekend: San Antonio

San Antonio’s rich landscape legacy includes cultural institutions, places of worship, historic districts, public parks, gardens, and a famed river walk – among many others. Participate in a weekend of free, expert-led tours exploring this vibrant and diverse city, during the celebration of its tricentennial year. The What’s Out There Weekend is sponsored by The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

An opening reception will take place on Friday evening, November 9, at San Pedro Springs Park (details TBA). Additionally, TCLF will be hosting tours to the following cultural landscapes throughout the weekend:

– The Alamo
– San Antonio River Walk
– The Blue Hole
– Brackenridge Park (pictured below)
– Miraflores
– Confluence Park
– Hemisfair Park
– La Villita
– Main Plaza
– Military Plaza
– The Spanish Governor’s Palace
– Pearl District
– Phil Hardberger Park
– San Antonio Botanical Garden
– San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
– Trinity University
– Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower
– Villa Finale Museum and Gardens
– Steves Homestead
– King William Historic District
– San Pedro Springs Park
– San Pedro Creek Culture Park
– San Antonio National Cemetery
– Chris Park
– McNay Art Museum

Tour registration information may be found at https://tclf.org/whats-out-there-weekend-san-antonio?destination=events . An online city guide highlighting the landscapes of San Antonio is forthcoming.

---

Thursday, November 1, 6:00 pm – Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore

Harvey. Maria. Irma. Sandy. Katrina. We live in a time of unprecedented hurricanes and catastrophic weather events, a time when it is increasingly clear that climate change is neither imagined nor distant and that rising seas are transforming the coastline of the United States in irrevocable ways. In her new book, Rising, Elizabeth Rush guides readers through some of the places where this change has been most dramatic, from the Gulf Coast to Miami, from New York City to the Bay Area. For many of the plants, animals, and humans in these places, the options are stark: retreat or perish in place.

Elizabeth Rush’s journalism has appeared in the Washington Post, Harper’s, Guernica, Granta, Orion, and the New Republic, among others. She is the recipient of fellowships and grants including the Howard Foundation Fellowship, awarded by Brown University; the Andrew Mellon Foundation Fellowship for Pedagogical Innovation in the Humanities; the Metcalf Institute Fellowship; and the Science in Society Journalism Award from the National Association of Science Writers. She received her MFA in nonfiction from Southern New Hampshire University and her BA from Reed College. She lives in Rhode Island, where she teaches creative nonfiction at Brown University.

The Preservation Society of Newport County will host the author on Thursday, November 1 at 6 pm at Rosecliff, 548 Bellevue Avenue in Newport. Advance ticket purchase is required. Preservation Society Members $10 / General Public $15. You may purchase tickets at https://www.newportmansions.org/learn/adult-programs

---

Saturday, November 3, 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm – Introduction to Bonsai

Bonsai is the ancient Japanese method of growing and caring for a tree whose growth is restricted by the size of the shallow pot in which it is planted and by the pruning of its branches and roots.

In this Arnold Arboretum class on November 3 from 1:30 – 4:30, Glen Lord, who consults for the Arnold Arboretum’s bonsai (Japanese) and penjing (Chinese) collection of dwarf potted plants, will speak first about the history of bonsai. He will then demonstrate the methods employed in creating and caring for a bonsai.

Participants will plant a tropical specimen and learn about basic pruning, styling, and aftercare. The methods learned in this class can then be applied to other plants, such as temperate trees. The class fee includes a tropical plant, tools, soil, and a pot. $80. Register on line at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu

---

Holiday Wreaths 2018 – We’re Back!

2018 Order Forms will soon arrive in the mailboxes of past customers and Club members, and for those of you new to the game, now is the time be part of the exclusive group of holiday wreath and poinsettia buyers supporting the charitable work of The Garden Club of the Back Bay. Every penny of our net proceeds goes to neighborhood beautification projects and area-wide grants to not for profit horticultural organizations with missions mirroring our own, especially in support of trees. You may order on line, of course, in our store (www.gardenclubbackbay.org/shop), and if you search on our website you may view hundreds of photos of past wreaths. Remember, you are not ordering any specific style – our volunteers never copy, and each wreath is original – but if you especially like a specific wreath, we can assign your order to a decorator who specializes in that particular look.  Questions? Email info@gardenclubbackbay.org.

---

Saturday, October 27, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm – 8th Annual Canine Promenade

Named to Boston Magazine’s 10 Can’t-Miss Halloween Events Around Boston, the Canine Promenade is a dog fair, costume contest, and 1/2‐mile Halloween costume parade around the Esplanade to celebrate the Fall season!

SCHEDULE

12:00pm: Dog Fair

1:00pm: Costume Parade Begins

1:45pm: Prize Winners Announced

PRIZES

Gift baskets will be awarded to the Top 3 Individual Costumes and Top 3 Group Costumes overall. Some of the prizes include:

$150 Cunard Tavern gift card

$100 Bar Boulud gift card

$100 Pawsh gift card

$75 75 Chestnut gift card

Fluff & Tuff toys

All registered dogs will receive a favor bag with their costume contest entry! All dogs must be registered to be eligible to receive a goody bag and prizes. Sign up at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/8th-annual-canine-promenade-tickets-50452318242 Spectators are welcome!

DOG FAIR

Prior to the Costume Parade there will be a Dog Fair featuring local companies giving away samples and treats while showcasing their services for dog owners in the community. Vendors include:

Back Bay Veterinary Clinic

Boston Dog Lawyers

Boston Veterinary Clinic

Bridget Foster Reed Art

Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Fred Levy Pet Photography

Lina Kriva Homes International

Pawsh Dog Boutique & Salon

Polka Dog Bakery

Red Dog Pet Resort & Spa

Shameless Pets

WalkyWalk

The Esplanade Association event is hosted in partnership with Pawsh, a dog boutique and saon conveniently located on Gloucester Street in Back Bay.  Photograph below of past winner copyright Fred Levy Pet Photography.

---

Sunday, October 28, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Pollinator Symposium

On Sunday, October 28, at the Susan N. McLane Audubon Center in Concord, New Hampshire, attend a day-long symposium to discuss interactions between native plants and pollinators and learn how to combat the pollinator crisis through panels and workshops led by specialists in the field. The symposium addresses such topics as: researching and tracking different types of native pollinators, creating and growing gardens that support the region’s native pollinators, and selecting the most effective pollinator-friendly native plants for particular habitats and ecoregions. With an engaging keynote by Dr. Robert Gegear, creator of The Beecology Project, this symposium offers a fitting culmination to a summer of pollinator programs and a vision for next steps. Register and be part of the solution!  $75 for members of the sponsoring organizations, the New England Wild Flower Society, New Hampshire Audubon, and the New England Field Office of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, $90 for nonmembers. Photo from the Times Free Press. Register at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/pollinator-symposium

---

Monday, November 5, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm – DCR Charlesgate: A Template for Creative Spacemaking

On November 5 at 6:30 pm, Ron Mallis of Boston APP/Lab will present a design workshop to address questions of access when developing public spaces and public art. Using the emerging vision of Marie Law Adams and Dan Adams of Landing Studio and the universal design practices of Charles Baldwin at the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The Charlesgate Alliance invites you to this experiential workshop on art, access, and design. The Fenway Community Center, where the event will take place, is on Jersey Street, around the corner from Blaze Pizza in the 1282 Boylston Street building. The event is free, but please RSVP here so that we can get a sense of how many people are coming.

---

Wednesday, October 31, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Winterizing the Garden

Join Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s talented horticultural team on the last Wednesday of the month as they share their expertise through garden tours, demos, Q&A and more. On a walking tour of the garden on October 31 at 2 pm, learn the steps Tower Hill’s horticulture team takes to keep winter stress and damage to a minimum. Free with admission, but registration is requested at www.towerhillbg.org.

---

---