Boston Flora

Saturday, July 28, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – Native Lawn Alternatives for Urban Spaces

“Lawns are a soul-crushing time suck” cries the media. Lawn covers more surface area of the U.S. than any other single irrigated crop, according to NASA. Lawns are resource-heavy, requiring irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticides to thrive in our climate. Learn some of the best, environmentally friendly lawn alternatives for urban gardens. Mark Richardson will discuss Native Lawn Alternatives for Urban Spaces on Saturday, July 28 beginning at 10:30 am. The program is free. The Urban Gardening Series is a set of lectures designed to help city dwellers grow healthy, sustainable, and beautiful gardens. Led by New England Wild Flower Society in partnership with the Cambridge Conservation Commission, these free lectures take place at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA.

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Saturday, July 21, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Living in Harmony With Nature: Gropius Landscape and House Tour

Join Historic New England for a special evening tour of Gropius House and its grounds. Find out why Walter Gropius believed that the relationship between a house and its landscape was of peak importance. He designed the grounds of his family home as carefully as the structure itself. Gropius, founder of the German design school known as the Bauhaus, was one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. The landscape of his 1938 home reflects Modern spatial principles, which Gropius integrated into a New England agricultural environment. Both the house and landscape reflect what Gropius called “living in harmony with nature.” Light refreshments provided at intermission. $35 Historic New England members, $45 nonmembers. Space is limited. Advance tickets required. Please call 781-259-8098 or buy online at www.historicnewengland.org. Gropius House is located at 68 Baker Bridge Road in Lincoln.

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Through August 4, 2019 – Wild Designs

Wild Designs at the Peabody Essex Museum features works by artists and other creatives who are looking to nature and living systems for new ideas and creative solutions to human problems. The exhibition takes place in PEM’s Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center and explores biomimetic and bio-informed innovations in design and technology that either model or engage nature to generate novel products and more sustainable solutions. Included are design projects ranging from preliminary concepts to realized products and buildings, as well as mixed media sculptures, artist installations and drawings.

Some of the featured designs will be as familiar as velcro, created in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral, who went for a walk in the woods and wondered if the burrs that clung to his socks — and his dog — could be turned into something useful. An air purifier made from a living plant inspired by early research from NASA turns nature into practicality as does a backpack designed to mimic the sliding scales of a pangolin. MiRo, a personal companion robot that resembles a small dog, includes smart sensors based on 20 years of research on animal brains and behaviors by UK scientists.

Other featured projects aid with energy conservation, personal gear design, agriculture and water collection. One exhibition area features Geckskin, a super adhesive based on the toe pads of geckos created by researchers at UMass Amherst. This inspired material allows for an index card-sized piece to hold around 700 pounds without leaving behind a sticky residue. Scaling a building, like Spiderman, by wearing a pair of gecko-tape gloves may not be too far off.

The exhibition will be on view through August 4, 2019. Image below is Jube, 2015, a bioinspired live edible insect trap, modeled after pitcher plants. Biomimicry Global Design Challenge entry by Pat Pataranutaporn with Ratchaphak Tantisanghirun, Purichaya Kuptajit, Tavita Kulsupakarn, Alfredo Raphael. Image courtesy of BioX team.

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Sunday, July 29 – Farm To Table Dinner at E. Cecchi Farms

You’re invited to join The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts for an elegant dining experience at E. Cecchi Farms and engage in a discussion about the important role local farms play in feeding our neighbors in need. The meal will be prepared by the creative chefs at Wheelhouse Farm Truck & Catering, using ingredients sourced directly from the farm.

E. Cecchi Farms, 1131 Springfield Street in Feeding Hills, has been family owned and operated for more than fifty years. Their motto, “everything you’d grow if you had forty acres,” encapsulates their commitment to a diverse variety of fruits and vegetables, including asparagus, kale, melons, carrots, strawberries, squash, beets and much more.

Tickets ($80) for this 21+ event will include food, beer, cider and non-alcoholic beverages. To purchase, visit https://www.foodbankwma.org/events/farm-to-table-dinner/

All proceeds from the event will benefit The Food Bank. Together, with your support, we can continue to cultivate these partnerships and put more fresh food on dinner tables across our region.

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Thursday, August 2, 8:00 am – 5:30 pm – Trip to The Blue Garden in Newport and Green Animals Topiary in Portsmouth

Enjoy a presentation and an exclusive tour of the privately owned Blue Garden with Director Sarah Vance, followed by time for lunch and strolling on your own in downtown Newport. After lunch, we’ll travel to the Green Animals Topiary Garden before heading home. The field trip, sponsored by Tower Hill Botanic Garden, will take place Thursday, August 2. Group will leave from Tower Hill at 8 am and return by 5:30. If you wish to meet the group in Rhode Island, call 508.869.6111.

The Blue Garden was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., and the Olmsted firm from 1910-1918 for Arthur Curtiss and Harriet Parsons James for their Newport estate, Beacon Hill House. Blasted from the surrounding ledge, this garden room is a classical form with formal beds planted with blue and white flowering perennials, annuals, and vines. The garden is framed by evergreen trees that enclose the space and buffer the transition from the formal symmetry of the garden to the windswept, rocky landscape. The 125-acre James estate was eventually divided into smaller residential properties, one of which included the Blue Garden. The property was purchased in 2012 by Dorrance Hamilton, a resident of Newport who had a deep interest in horticulture and preservation. Only the pools, runnel, and part of a pergola remained; the architecture and remaining features of the spaces had disappeared, subsumed under a thick covering of invasive trees and vines. Thanks to the vision and generosity of Dorrance Hamilton, the garden was restored using original drawings and photographs from the archives of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The Green Animals Topiary Garden, located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, is the oldest and most northern topiary garden in the United States. The 7-acre estate overlooks the Narragansett Bay. It contains a large collection of topiaries including eighty sculptured trees. Favorites include teddy bears, a camel, a giraffe, an ostrich, an elephant and two bears made from sculptured California privet, yew, and English boxwood. There are over 35 formal flower beds, geometric pathways, rose arbor, grape arbor, fruit trees, and vegetable and herb gardens. A greenhouse is used extensively to provide seedlings used on the estate. The 1859 Victorian Brayton house museum contains a small display of vintage toys and the original family furnishings.

Tower Hill Member $125, Non-member $150; includes transportation, admissions and guided tour of the Blue Garden. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

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Monday, July 30, 7:00 pm – Slow Money and Nurture Capital: A New Vision of Food, Money, and Soil

On Monday, July 30, beginning at 7 pm, come hear Slow Money founder Woody Tasch speak about his new book Soil 2017, and Slow Money’s progress, including the $65 million invested in more than 728 small organic farms and local food businesses. This free event will take place Monday, July 30 at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury, and is sponsored by the Dukes County Conservation District, Island Grown Initiative, Slough Farm Foundation, Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society, and The Polly Hill Arboretum.

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Thursdays, July 26 and August 30, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Native Herbaceous Plant Materials: Late Season

Discover numerous native perennials suitable for New England gardens. We’ll look at native herbaceous plants that bloom in late summer and fall, focusing on their characteristics and environmental preferences as well as their uses in landscapes and gardens. Be prepared to walk in the Garden each day. This New England Wild Flower Society two session class is appropriate for landscape professionals and avid home gardeners. The instructor is Leslie Duthie, and the classes will be held at Garden in the Woods on Thursdays, July 26 and August 30, from 1 – 3:30. $77 for NEWFS members, $91 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/native-herbaceous-plant-materials-late-season-1

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Sunday, July 29, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Charlton Blueberry Festival

The Charlton Arts & Activities Center is excited to offer a summer celebration on July 29 from 10 – 4 where blueberries are just the start of the fun! This family friendly event is fast becoming a Charlton area favorite. There will bea live animal show by Animal Adventures Family Zoo and Rescue Center from 1 – 2, live music, an amateur cooks blueberry bake-off and silent auction in the farmhouse, locally grown blueberries for sale, and pony rides. The address is 4 Dresser Hill Road in Charlton, and more information may be found at http://www.pickyourown.org/PYO.php?PAGGE=/BlueberryFestivals.php&NAME=Chalrton%20Blueberry%20Festival&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.charltonarts.org/blueberry-festival Admission is FREE. You may also email charltonarts7@gmail.com.

Saturday, July 28 & Sunday, July 29, 10:30 am – 2:30 pm – Drawing Birds in Their Habitats

This two day New England Wild Flower Society workshop taught by Dorie Petrochko will introduce students to the fascinating world of drawing and painting birds. We will learn how to observe the structure and form of various bird species by field-sketching birds. A small field-painting kit with graphite pencils, micron pens, a small watercolor set, and colored pencils is all you will need to render successful bird studies. Hands-on demonstrations and individual guided instruction and critiques will be offered. Participants will produce a finished portrait of the bird of their choice in its habitat. The sessions will take place at Garden in the Woods on July 28 and 29 from 10:30 – 2:30. $100 for NEWFS members, $115 for nonmembers. Materials not included. Register at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/drawing-birds-in-their-habitats

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Saturday, July 21 – Sunday, July 22 – The Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Show

Each summer, the Berkshire Botanical Garden hosts the Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Fine Arts Show and Silent Auction, when Guild members exhibit and sell unique, hand-made products ranging from furniture to musical instruments. Guild members also provide ongoing demonstrations highlighting their trade and providing an educational component to the weekend event. Bench below by Jeffrey All of Allwoodwork.

This year’s show is scheduled for July 21 – 22 in the Garden’s Education Center. For complete hours and details visit https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/woodworkers-guild-show

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