Boston Flora

  • Thursday, October 25, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Frederick Law Olmsted Lecture: Michael Van Valkenburgh

    Michael Van Valkenburgh is the founder of the landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, with offices in Brooklyn, New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts. The firm works at all scales, from large urban green spaces like Brooklyn Bridge Park to intimate gardens like the Monk’s Garden at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Other recent projects include Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago (rendering below), A Gathering Place for Tulsa, and master planning and design for a new neighborhood at the mouth of Toronto’s Lower Don River.

    Michael earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and a Master of Fine Arts in Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

    Currently the Charles Eliot Professor Emeritus in Practice of Landscape Architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Michael is a registered landscape architect in more than 25 states. On Thursday, October 25 at 6:30 pm in the Piper Auditorium at Gund Hall at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Michael will deliver the Frederick Law Olmsted Lecture, free and open to the public. For more information visit http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/michael-van-valkenburgh/

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  • Saturday, October 27, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – Lichen Diversity

    This New England Wild Flower class on October 27 from 9:30 – 2:30 at Garden in the Woods begins with a morning in which participants compare lichen collections to study the features that distinguish species. An afternoon visit to a local site offers an opportunity to study the diversity of lichens commonly found growing on rock walls and the factors that influence lichen colonization and growth. Lichenologist Elizabeth Kneiper leads the session. $66 for NEWFS members, $80 for nonmembers. Register at www.newenglandwild.org.

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  • Sunday, October 21, 2:00 pm – Frederic Church’s Olana on the Hudson: Art, Landscape, and Architecture

    As the leader of the acclaimed Hudson River School, Frederic Church made his name as a painter of large and enduring landscapes throughout the mid-1800s. His talents can be seen throughout the interior and landscapes of his property Olana, located in the heart of the Hudson River Valley. On Sunday, October 21 at 2 pm, join Larry Lederman, photographer of historical and important building interiors and landscapes as he discusses his newest book. Explore the stunning 250-acre estate through Larry’s images, including panoramic and aerial views, sunsets, and detail shots. A book signing will follow. The lecture is part of the 22nd Annual Boston International Fine Art Show taking place October 18 – 21 at the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts. The event is free with admission to the show. For more information visit http://www.fineartboston.com/special-programs

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  • Saturday, October 27, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Fabulous Fungus Fair

    Saturday, October 27, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Fabulous Fungus Fair

    Explore the wondrous world of fungi on Saturday, October 27 from 2 – 4 at the Harvard Museum of Natural History on Oxford Street in Cambridge. Join Harvard students for a closer look at the mushrooms, yeasts, and molds found in gardens, forests, labs—even in our own refrigerators. This is an opportunity to investigate museum collections and participate in hands-on activities led by Harvard students. Regular museum admission rates apply. Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

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  • Saturday, October 27, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Delicious and Nutritious Seasonal Salads

    In this Berkshire Botanical Garden class on Saturday, October 27 from 1 – 4 taught by Anna Gershenson, we will focus on a variety of seasonal salads you can easily throw together. We will start with what you need to have on hand in your pantry and refrigerator, which utensils should be in your kitchen, and how to use grains, beans and local produce. We will also learn how to use herbs and spices to flavor your salads and how to dress them.

    Anna Gershenson is a professional cook and television personality. She has run a successful catering business since 1980, and has coined her own style of cooking, healthy gourmet, which focuses on creating delicious meals using seasonal ingredients and healthy preparations. Anna has developed a strong connection with the local farms in the Berkshires, where she lives, and where she hosts The Natural Cook with Anna Gershenson on Pittsfield Community Television, often featuring local farmers and food producers on her show. Her recipes have been published in the Boston Globe and on Food52.

    Kitchen classes are sponsored by Guido’s Fresh Marketplace. $45 for BBG members, $55 for nonmembers. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

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  • Thursday, October 25, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Growing the Future of Garden in the Woods

    From the renewal of the Curtis Woodland Garden to the old meadow renovation, Garden in the Woods continues to evolve each season. On October 25 from 6:30 – 8 at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, learn from Botanic Garden Director Mark Richardson what changes to expect in the upcoming season and what plans are underway for the future of the Garden. $20 for NEWFS members, $24 for nonmembers. Register at www.newenglandwild.org.

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  • Wednesday, November 14, 2:00 pm – European Floral Design Demonstration and Reception

    Rhode Island Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc. presents, on November 14, 2018, a European Floral Design Demonstration and Reception at the Agawam Hunt, 15 Roger Williams Avenue, Rumford, RI 02916. The demonstration features Francoise Weeks, a world renowned floral designer, who has developed her singular style of Textural Woodlands and Botanical Haute Couture. Her dynamic work has been published in national and international publications, garnering her a global following. The demonstration begins at 2:00 pm, followed at 4:00 pm by a lavish reception to meet Ms. Weeks. Tickets are $60.00 per person.

    Born in Belgium, Ms. Weeks has infused her work with a quintessential European reverence for flowers and nature. Combined with creativity and mechanical ingenuity, she has honed her singular style garnering a global following. Her generosity of knowledge and perspective in use of floral materials, structure and techniques, create rigorous and exciting learning opportunities for her students to explore all that nature has to offer. Her studio is located in Portland, Oregon.

    Click on http://rigardenclubs.org/rifgc//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018.11.14-Weeks-Brochure-PDF.pdf for complete information, including the registration form for attendance. $60 per person. Deadline for registration is October 25, 2018.

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  • Sunday, October 28, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Water Features in the Residential Garden

    Water has been an ever present element throughout garden history. Water features were influenced by agricultural, horticultural and architectural trends, leading to many fine examples around the world. In this Tower Hill Botanic Garden presentation on Sunday, October 28 from 1 – 2, landscape architect Paul Maue highlights ten of his New England projects, discussing how they respond to the site architecture and needs of the client, from concept to construction to completion. Gain inspiration for how to use water features in your own garden. $15 for Tower Hill members, $20 for nonmembers. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Award winning landscape architect Paul Maue is principal of Paul Maue Associates whose residential design projects have been featured in Boston Magazine, This Old House Magazine, and Tennis Magazine.

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  • Thursday, October 25, and Saturday, October 27, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Framework Trees of New England

    Forests are a dominant feature of the New England landscape. This two day New England Wild Flower Society course on October 25 and 27 from 10 – 5 at Nasami Farm in Whately, and other field sites, covers the history, changes in composition, and ecology of the region’s forest from the Ice Age through European settlement. Learn to identify native trees, their habitats, and their communities. Explore the impact of past natural and human disturbances on the landscape and learn how current forestry practices shape forest communities. Taught by forester Jonathan “Yoni” Glogower, and co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions, the cost is $216 for sponsor members, $254 for nonmembers. Register at www.newenglandwild.org.

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  • Monday, October 22, 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm – Marty Poirier

    For 40 years, Marty Poirier has combined insatiable curiosity with love of community life to practice landscape architecture fused with urbanity, social purpose, and aesthetics. His designs strive to shape expressive places that people connect with. Marty’s career is filled with assignments informed by the downtown centers in which he has lived and worked – Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cambridge, New York, and San Diego. His work has focused on places of dense human interaction – parks, college campuses, and city centers – where rigorous site analysis and program definition are masterfully transformed into remarkable landscapes.

    After 27 years of co-directing SPURLOCK POIRIER Landscape Architects, Marty rejoined mentor Peter Walker, to practice with PWP Landscape Architecture. The recipient of numerous design awards, Poirier has lectured widely throughout North America. He serves on the Harvard Graduate School of Design Alumni Council, and co-founded the Harvard DISrupt! conference series.

    Poirier finds great inspiration for his aesthetic pursuits through dialogue and collaborative projects with a diverse range of artists including Robert Irwin, Alexis Smith, Quincy Troupe, Ned Kahn, and Tim Hawkinson. This passion for aesthetics – conditioned to each setting – shapes his ongoing collaboration with Chef Thomas Keller and Laura Cunningham at The French Laundry and Bouchon. He will speak on Monday, October 22 at noon in Gund Hall, 112 Stubbins, at the Harvard School of Graduate Design. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information visit http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/marty-poirier/