Boston Flora

Thursday, October 18, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – Sustainable Site Design

This New England Wild Flower Society one-day intensive seminar on October 18 from 9 – 5 at Garden in the Woods, taught by Tom Benjamin, explores the fundamentals of integrating buildings within landscapes and reducing maintenance needs through landscape design. Participants investigate sustainable design strategies that address the ecological, water, energy, and food systems. Topics include design principles and process, native plant community restoration and maintenance. Participants complete a short design assignment. Cosponsors: Ecological Landscape Alliance and Boston Society of Landscape Architects. $106 for members of sponsoring organizations, $128 for nonmembers. Register at www.newenglandwild.org.

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Thursday, October 25, 10:00 am – Boston Committee of the GCA Fall Annual Meeting – Pedestrian Bridges: Context and Landscape Integration

The Boston Committee of the GCA announces its Fall members annual meeting lecture and luncheon on Thursday, October 25 at 10 am at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street in Chestnut Hill, featuring Miguel Rosales, speaking on Pedestrian Bridges: Context and Landscape Integration. Rosales + Partners specializes in the design, engineering and architecture of bridges, highway corridors, interchanges, streetscape elements, and other transportation facilities. From pedestrian bridges to twelve-lane landmark river crossings, the firm’s work encompasses landmark projects large and small located both in the United States (yes – the Zakim Bridge!) and abroad. Members of the garden clubs comprising the Boston Committee will receive written invitations to the event. For more information visit http://bostoncommitteegca.org.

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Wednesday, October 17, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Landscaping for Bird Diversity

This Landscaping for Bird Diversity workshop, to be held Wednesday, October 17 from 5:30 – 7:30 at Great Hall Lodge at Cedar Hill, 265 Beaver Street in Waltham, is organized by Grow Native Massachusetts, and taught by Claudia Thompson, the founder of Grow Native.

Do you aspire to create landscapes with genuine ecological value for a wide array of avian species from songbirds, to raptors, owls, woodpeckers, and more? Claudia will lead an in-depth exploration of the principles and practices for achieving this objective, based on understanding the essential habitat requirements for bird survival.

Our examination starts, of course, with the importance of native plants. Then we will take a deeper look at the value of different canopy layers, preferred planting strategies, techniques for providing water, and the critical role of active ecological systems to avian survival. We finish by considering our human interactions with birds. What are the pros and cons of feeding birds directly, through seed and suet? Do nest boxes really help our native songbirds to breed? And given the threats from both human activity and non-native bird species, how can we tilt the balance in favor of our native songbirds?

Claudia Thompson founded Grow Native Massachusetts in 2010. She is nationally recognized as a leader in the native plant movement, and was featured as one of the Wild Ones in Garden Design magazine along with Doug Tallamy, Darrel Morrison, and others. She has had an extensive career as an ecologist and environmental educator. Claudia’s happiest moments are spent in her own garden where she has recorded 77 species of birds including woodpeckers, migrating songbirds, and even rare woodcocks, all using the habitat she and her husband have created on their small urban parcel in Cambridge.

$28 for members of Grow Native Massachusetts, $38 for nonmembers. Sign up at www.grownativemass.org, or email mgallogly@grownativemass.org.

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Saturday, October 20, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Pruning Ornamental Trees and Shrubs

Autumn is a great time to assess your woody plants for shape and structure.This Berkshire Botanical Garden demonstration/workshop on October 20 from 10 – 1 taught by Ken Gooch will focus on pruning, including when, why and how to shape, renovate, train or rejuvenate your woody plants. Learn about pruning tools, timing and specific techniques available to the home gardener. Pruning techniques for both evergreen and deciduous hedges will be covered. Wear waterproof outerwear and boots and bring pruners. $25 for BBG members, $35 for nonmembers. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Ken Gooch, is a Massachusetts Certified Arborist and the former Forest Health Program Director for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation.

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Sunday, October 14, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Photography for Gardeners

Good photography is not about fancy equipment or post-image processing; it is about capturing a subject and inspiring viewers with the final image. Join Dan Jaffe at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on Sunday, October 14 from 2 – 4 for a discussion of composition, lighting, angles and other aspects of photography. Emphasis will be on the gestalt of photography rather than the technical details. Bring a camera and good walking shoes. $26 for NEWFS members, $32 for nonmembers. Register online at www.newenglandwild.org.

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Wednesday, October 17, 7:30 pm – Food Heals Our Communities

Community Servings is a Boston-based not-for-profit that engages the community in preparing and delivering made-from-scratch medically tailored meals to individuals coping with chronic illnesses throughout Massachusetts. In his talk at Wright-Locke Farm, CEO David Waters, will delve into the successful partnerships they’ve created with local farms and food purveyors through their “Abundance Initiative” to increase access to fresh produce in their kitchens, eliminate waste in the food system, and, ultimately, use food to heal.

David Waters has been involved with Community Servings since its inception in 1989, moving from volunteer to board member, Board Chair, Director of Development, and eventually CEO, in 1999. Under David’s leadership, Community Servings has evolved from a small neighborhood meals program delivering dinner to 30 people, to a critical regional program providing 15 medically-tailored meals plans to 2,000 people with acute life-threatening illnesses, their dependents, and caregivers in 20 Massachusetts communities. He is the former Board Chair of the Association of Nutrition Service Agencies, and is a founding member of the national Food Is Medicine Coalition. In recognition of his leadership and impact at Community Servings and within the Greater Boston community, David was named a Barr Foundation Fellow in 2017. A resident of Cambridge, he holds graduate degrees from Middlebury College and Boston University.

The session will be held at 7:30 at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester on Wednesday, October 17 in our beautiful 1827 Barn, and will be followed up with a Q&A session. We will also offer a casual supper before each presentation. For more details, check out our website, http://wlfarm.org, or to RSVP, email Kim Kneeland at kkneeland@wlfarm.org.

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Tuesday, October 16, 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm – Daytime Floral Design

Join the Boston Center for Adult Education, 122 Arlington Street, on October 16 from 2:30 – 4:30 for a relaxing afternoon of floral design. In this class, you’ll create your very own beautiful floral arrangement with the help of accomplished floral designer Jimmy Guzman. You’ll leave feeling refreshed, with your lovely floral arrangement to display in your home or give as a gift.

Jimmy N. Guzman possesses an impressive breadth of experience in the hotel, catering, floral, and events industries having performed executive roles for various firms in and around Boston. His background includes: General Manager of a hotel and restaurant, Retail Manager for Winston Flowers‘ two acre flagship property in Chestnut Hill, Operations Manager for Off the Vine Catering, and Sales & Marketing Manager for an event design firm.

JNG Event Consulting grew out of Jimmy’s immense desire to assist industry professionals with all aspects of event execution as well as to provide consultation on how to market their firms. Jimmy’s love of design and his love of people, lend passion to his work and he is able to contribute his expertise to events of all sizes.

JNG Event Consulting is a proud sponsor of the American Theater Wing, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Red Sox Foundation, and the Victim’s Rights Fund. JNG has also executed design for non-profit organizations such as the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, the Boston Center for the Art’s “BCA Ball” at the Cyclorama, the Sumaria Foundation’s 2nd Annual Gala at the Mandarin Oriental, Boston, and the Philippine Medical Society’s Gala at the Four Seasons Hotel, Boston.

Jimmy is the recipient of a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Communications from Boston College (cum laude), and a Master of Science degree in Economic Development and Tourism Management from Boston University. While at Boston University, Jimmy completed a certificate course at Rittners’ School of Floral Design and took courses towards a Certificate in Professional Cooking from Newbury College, where he also served as an adjunct professor teaching hotel industry Issues.

$45 for the session, plus a $25 materials fee. Register at https://bcae.org/product/daytime-floral-design-10-16-2018/

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Sunday, October 14, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Growing Pollinator-Friendly Plants From Seed

Learn how to grow the top New England plants for pollinators from seed. The fates of native plants and pollinators are intricately interwoven; both are essential to the environment. Growing from seed is an affordable solution for creating pollinator habitat in a home gardener’s yard. This New England Wild Flower Society class, to be held at Nasami Farm in Whately on Sunday, October 14 from 10 – 1, covers all information needed to raise these pollinator powerhouses. Instructor Kate Stafford leads the class. $40 for NEWFS members, $48 for nonmembers. Register online at www.newenglandwild.org. Image from www.northeastpollinator.com.

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Thursday, October 25 & Friday, October 26, 8:45 am – 3:30 pm – Landscape Design School

The popular Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Landscape Design School (LDS) will be held at St. Brigid’s Keilty Hall, 2001 Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington on October 25 and 26, 2018. Landscape Design School (LDS) is a series of four courses presented by distinguished lecturers on landscape design, methods, history, theory and analysis. LDS is open to the public. While the courses do not confer professional status, it is an enriching experience and can serve as an entrée to the subject.

The speakers this year include Historian Lucinda Brockway; Darrah Cole, Senior Horticulturist and Designer on the Rose Kennedy Greenway; Christie Dustman, APLD; Heather Heimarck, ASLA, of HighMark Land Design; landscape architect and designer Laura Eisener; Designer Yvonne Watson, and Andrew Whittaker, Green Abundance by Design.

To find out more and obtain a registration slip visit https://sites.google.com/site/ldcmass/lds-course-1—oct-30-to-nov-1-2014. Registration deadline is October 15. $110 for NGC Garden Club Members, $125 for nonmembers.

Tuesday, October 9, 7:30 pm – The Whole Story: A Celebration of Caterpillars in All Their Incarnations

Samuel Jaffe from the Caterpillar Lab will present a photograph and video packed talk on Tuesday, October 9 at 7:30 that explores backyard pollinators, plants, and the many caterpillars that are positioned at the center of it all. He will introduce a “Whole Story” perspective of natural history study and appreciation that just might make you reconsider a herbivore’s place in our gardens. The “Whole Story” is a celebration of caterpillars in all their incarnations. Sam founded “The Caterpillar Lab” in 2013, a non-profit educational outreach organization. He travels the country working with museums, nature centers, schools, and individual teachers helping native insects find their place in our everyday lives.

The talk is free and open to the public. It will be held in Room 101 of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join The Cambridge Entomological Club for dinner before the talk (beginning at 5:45 PM) at the Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave., Cambridge. For more information visit http://entclub.org.

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