Boston Flora

Wednesday, April 2, 7:00 pm – American Oaks: A Genus to Love

American Oaks are diverse, display complex ecological relationships, and play an important role in ecosystem stability.Â Join Grow Native Massachusetts on Wednesday, April 2, at 7 pm at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge, to examine this wonderful genus, with an emphasis on the oaks of eastern North America.

Tim Boland, Director of the Polly Hill Arboretum in Martha’s Vineyard, will discuss their evolutionary history, importance to flora and fauna, and challenges in a rapidly changing climate. They also have a deep connection to humanity, and are revered for their resilience, age, and multiple uses. Admission is free.Â Image from www.forestertreeservice.com. For more information visit www.grownativemass.org.Â

Tuesdays, April 1 – June 3, 9:00 am – 11:30 am – Botanical Drawing

Taking your inspiration from the historical tradition of botanical illustration, learn to draw botanical specimens in a wide range of drawing media, including graphite, pen and ink, colored pencil, and watercolor pencil. In this 10 week, Cambridge Center for Adult Education class, you will look at the work of great botanical illustrators. You will explore composition and personal style as you execute carefully observed perceptual drawings. The instructor, Sean Dunstan-Halliday, will supply some plants, but you also will be asked to bring in specimens. The class includes excursions to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The first class will take place Tuesday, April 1 at 42 Brattle Street in Cambridge. The tuition is $249, and you may sign up at www.ccae.org. Thank you Meg Muckenhoupt for the tip.

Saturday, March 22, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – 2014 Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference

The 24th Annual Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference, Healthy Land – Healthy Communities, will take place Saturday, March 22, from 8 – 4 at the Worcester Technical High School. One Skyline Drive in Worcester. This annual, day-long training and networking event provides land trust board members and staff, parks administrators and advocates, colleagues from federal, state and local government agencies, students, and philanthropists an opportunity to participate in a full day of workshops and discussions that focus on fostering healthy communities in Massachusetts through land conservation. Join your colleagues in land conservation and acquire the information, skills, and connections you need to be most effective.

This year’s Keynote Speaker is Dr. Eric Chivian, Nobel Laureate, Founder of Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, Director of The Program for Preserving the Natural World, and heirloom apple farmer, pictured below.

Registration is $42 for MLTC members, $62 for non members, and $30 for students.Â Register online at http://www.massland.org/conference.

Thursday, March 27, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Mikyoung Kim’s Transformational Landscapes

Mikyoung Kim, M.L.A., Landscape Architect, Mikyoung Kim Designs and Professor Emerita, Rhode Island School of Design, will speak on Thursday, March 27 at 7 pm at the Weld Hill Research Building, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain. The interplay of sound, light, and color is ever-present in the award-winning designs of Mikyoung Kim. She juxtaposes constructs of intimacy with vibrancy, solitude amid community, technology with nature, and formality with playfulness in the public spaces she designs for respite and revitalization. With a background in music, her work is an alchemy of multisensory experience. Mikyoung Kim will speak about her design process, where she finds inspiration, and the ways that her landscapes inform and move people, in a range of project types; from healing environments to public parks. She will discuss her most notable projects: the ChongGae Canal Restoration in Seoulâ€™s Central Business District for which her firm transformed two superblocks into a central gathering space, re-engaging visitors with the ChongGae River and the Crown Sky Garden (pictured below), a healing environment for the Chicago Lurie Childrenâ€™s Hospital, which was recently highlighted in The New York Times.Â Free for Arboretum members and students, $15 nonmember.Â Register on line at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Thursday, March 27, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Spring Care of Trees and Shrubs

The key to healthy trees and shrubs is proactive monitoring. Hartney Greymont tree professional Scott McPhee will take you through their checklist of spring chores at this Massachusetts Horticultural Society lecture on Thursday, March 27, beginning at 7 pm at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley. Learn to look for the signs of pests and disease and learn the appropriate time for tree care. What should you look for when doing a spring tree inspection? What should you use to fertilize your trees and shrubs and when should you do it? When should you prune? When is it too late to save a tree? When is the best time to plant new trees and shrubs? Scott will answer these and many more questions you have about the care of your landscape as well letting you know when it’s time to call a professional to do the job.

Scott McPhee has a BS in Urban Forestry and Arboriculture from UMass Amherst, is a Mass Certified Arborist and ISA certified arborist. Scott also has 30 years experience working with people and their plants as a pruning instructor for the home gardener and the industry professional alike.

Hartney Greymont, a tree, turf and landscape specialist company and a division of Davey Tree, is passionate about the services it provides and is committed to exceeding customers’ expectations.

Lecture Fee $10 Mass Hort members; $15 non-members.Â Register at www.masshort.org or call 617- 933 – 4973.

Tuesday, April 29, 10:00 am – Boston Committee Spring Lecture and Luncheon

Garden Club of the Back Bay and other Boston Committee club members will receive a written invitation to the spring meeting.Â If you are interested in attending, and are not a member of a Boston Committee club, please email info@bostoncommittee.org for more information.

Saturday, April 5, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm – Ready, Set, Grow! An Expert’s Guide to Growing Vegetables and Annuals

On Saturday, April 5, from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm at Left Field Farm, 20 Root Road in Middlefield, Massachusetts, learn from experts how to start seedlings, both vegetables and annual flowers, indoors for the coming growing season. Expert growers Maureen Sullivan and Mitch Feldmesser will lead a tour of their growing operations and explain how they select ornamental varieties for their plant vigor, flower form, fragrance and color. They also do extensive growing of herb and vegetable plants, selecting for flavor as well as garden performance and productiveness. Learn about growing techniques necessary to give garden plants a good start, and garner growing tips from these professionals. In addition to the tour, practice sowing and transplanting, and take home a few special plants to grow on.

Maureen Sullivan and Mitch Feldmesser own Left Field Farm, a certified organic farm located in Middlefield. They grow hundreds of carefully selected varieties of heirloom and hybrid ornamental, herb and vegetable plants from their certified organic greenhouses. The field trip is sponsored by the Berkshire Botanical Garden, and the cost is $30 for BBG members, $35 for non-members. Participants can choose to carpool or drive separately. Those joining the carpool should meet in the parking lot at Berkshire Botanical Garden for a 9 am departure. Carpool will return at approximately 2 pm. Directions may be found at www.berkshirebotanical.org. Sign up on line or call 413-298-3926, x 15.

Saturday, March 22, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Perennial Garden Basics: Spring Perennial Garden Care

Boston Natural Areas Network will host Perennial Garden Basics: Spring Perennial Garden Care on Saturday, March 22, from 10 – 12 at the James J. Chittick School, 154 Ruskindale Road, Mattapan.Â In this workshop presented by Adam Monroy, learn how to prepare, plant and fertilize a perennial garden bed for multi-season interest.Â Registration required by calling 617-542-7696 or by emailing info@bostonnatural.org. Photo from www.perennials-made-easy.com.

Wednesday, September 24 – Friday, September 26 – Rhode Island Garden Tour

Join The Polly Hill Arboretum for a visit to southeastern Rhode Island September 24 – 26. This historic area is rich with diversity, natural beauty and culture. We will be based in the Narragansett Bay town of Bristol for two nights. Thursday we travel to Little Compton to visit three spectacular private gardens, with lunch included. Friday we have a special tour at nearby Blithewold Gardens concluding with a boxed lunch at the mansion. Plan your trip to include extra time to explore many other area attractions on your own, including Green Animals Topiary Gardens, Herreshoff Marine Museum/ Americaâ€™s Cup Hall of Fame, self-guided town tree tour, and more!

Tour includes:

Two nights at the Bristol Harbor Inn; continental breakfast included

Transportation to Little Compton gardens

Evening wine and cheese reception

Boxed lunch both days

Garden admissions: (Sakonnet Garden, pictured below, and Blithewold special tour fee)

$150 tax deductible donation to the Polly Hill Arboretum

Tour Price:Â $500 Per person, based on double occupancyÂ $650 Single

Tour size limited, sign up early!Â Call 508-693-9426, or visit www.pollyhillarboretum.org.Â You may also email karin@pollyhillarboretum.org.

Tuesday, March 25, 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Movers + Shakers, and Wednesday, March 26, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Pennoyer Newman Trunk Show

You are invited to a Boston Design Week event at ARTEFACT Home/Garden on Tuesday, March 25, from 5:30 – 9 at 1000 Pleasant Street, Suite 2, Belmont, Massachusetts.Â Meet award winning designers and artists Tom Verellen of Verellen, Virginia Newman of Pennoyer Newman, Shawn Laughlin of Caskata, Alison Evans of Alison Evans Ceramics, Monica Porter of Montes Doggett, and Carol Canner of the Carver’s Guild.Â Bubbly and bites will be served.Â Space is limited so please rsvp to Makers + Shakers by emailing artefacthome@gmail.com.

The following day, from 10 – 2, enjoy a trunk show of Pennoyer Newman’s containers, large, small, classic and contemporary (see below. ) Your rsvp to the trunk show would also be much appreciated.Â Sue Walsh and Maureen Walsh will be on hand to discuss container plantings. The shop has furniture, lighting, decorative accessories and gifts, as well as being home to a boutique container-gardening and floral design venture. They continually seek out beautifully designed pieces from local artisans and craftsmen from around the globe.