Boston Flora

Sunday, March 9, 2:00 pm – Echoes of Their Wings: The Life and Legacy of the Passenger Pigeon

The passenger pigeon once ruled the skies of North America, numbering in the billions and comprising upwards of 25% of the regionâ€™s bird population in the mid-1800s. By 1914, however, the species was extinctâ€”a downfall hastened by Americaâ€™s growing hunger for land development and hunting.Â Author and naturalist Joel Greenberg will discuss how the passenger pigeonâ€™s extinction may inform todayâ€™s conservation decisions. The author talk and book signing will take place on Sunday, March 9, beginning at 2 pm at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge. Regular museum admission rates apply.

Wednesday, March 12, 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Principles of Sustainable Landscape Maintenance Webinar

In the Ecological Landscaping Association presentation to be held on line on Wednesday, March 12 from 7:30 – 8:30 pm, Tim Downey, owner of Aesthetic Landscape Care Inc, will discuss with attendees a practice heâ€™s pioneered called mulch mowing for all seasons. With particular emphasis on the autumn leaf challenge, aka â€œleaf cleanup.” This is an old approach, with newer technology which not only makes this practice good for the environment, but ridiculously profitable for businesses, and affords cost controls, saving clients money and more.

The presentation will quickly look into the evolution on how this practice came about, its benefits to the environment, benefits to communities/municipalities, and finally a detailed explanation on how to get started with your own business, making you a leader in your area while realizing greater profits and fewer aches and pains.

There be plenty in the presentation for Q & A, and Tim will be available after the Go To Meeting time limit ends for e-mails and phone calls to answer individual question and provide clarification where needed.

Tim’s Bio:

Tim Downey, a landscape contractor responsible for landscape design, installations and maintenance, has been serving clients in the Westchester County NY area since 1983. An ardent environmentalist, Tim has worked to evolve his business to work more closely with natureâ€™s principles, attempting to keep the Hippocratic Oath, â€œFirst, do no harmâ€ as his mainstay. Tim is the pioneer largely responsible for the revived practice of mulch mowing, becoming part of a growing trend in Westchester and beyond. In this presentation, heâ€™ll look at using mulching mowing through out the year, with particular emphasis on â€œfall cleanupâ€ and leaves.Â The webinar is free, but you must register in advance at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/788429990. Image from www.turfmagazine.com.

Saturday, March 8, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Ladies of the House – Otis House Tour

Otis House, owned by Historic New England and located at 141 Cambridge Street in Beacon Hill, is rich with stories of remarkable women, from a wealthy politician’s wife and mother in the late eighteenth century, to an entrepreneur and holistic physician in the 1830s, to four sisters who ran a Victorian boarding house.Â On this tour, taking place Saturday, March 8 from 11 – 12:30, discover these stories and relevant social history of women’s lives in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.Â A Mercy Otis Warren doll is pictured below.

$15 fee. Registration is required. Sign up by calling 617-994-5920, or email programinfo@HistoricNewEngland.org.

Saturday, March 22, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm – Ikenobo Ikebana Workshop

The Ikenobo Ikebana Chapter of Boston invites you to experience the Art of Japanese Flower Arranging in a one-day, hands-on workshop on Saturday, March 22, from 9:30 – 3 at Whitcomb Hall, First Parish Church, 50 Church Street, Waltham, Massachusetts.

Learn about Ikenobo, an Ikebana school grounded in a finely developed aesthetic sensitivity born of the beauty of Japan’s natural environment. Ikenobo is unique to Japan, with its awareness that beauty lies not only in a flower in full bloom but in leaves, branches and grasses without flowers. This aesthetic began in 15th century Japan with the development of the Ikenobo school of flower arranging. Ikenobo arrangements extend from fixed form designs developed over centuries, to modern, contemporary styles that break with the original traditions but still retain an emphasis on good design: linear perfection, color harmony, space and form. This workshop will serve as an introduction to Ikenobo for beginner and advanced floral designers. You will make two arrangements that show the core rules of Ikenobo and how those rules have and can be adapted to contemporary designs.

The morning lesson, Shoka Shofutai, will be taught by Mimi Santini-Ritt. Bring Shoka container, kenzan (pinholder), small pebbles or aquarium gravel to fill container, scissors, cloth for under scissors, bucket to hold flowers, and brown paper bag for trash. The Chapter will provide the floral materials. The afternoon session, Shoka Shimputai, will be led by Kathy Marble. Bring a Shoka container, another kenzan if possible, small pebbles or aquarium gravel to fill container, cloth for under scissors, and bucket. Best not to dismantle the first arrangement in order to create the second. Again, the Chapter will provide materials, but feel free to bring a special stem or two of your own. Arrangements will be corrected by the teachers. The cost is $40 for the day – coffee and tea will be provided, but please bring your own lunch.

Reservations must be made no later than March 10 by sending a $40 check payable to IKENOBO IKEBANA SOCIETY OF BOSTON to Mimi Santini-Ritt, 92 Grant Avenue, Newton, MA 02459. Include your name and telephone number and reference the March 22 workshop. Flower material will be provided only for those who send their reservations and payment on time. Below is a picture of a Shoka container, for your reference. For more examples click HERE.

Thursday, March 6, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Extending the Garden Season

Cold frames, hot beds and hoop houses are great season extenders, allowing vegetables to be planted 2-4 weeks earlier than unprotected plants as well as extending the growing season in the fall. They can also play a key role in the transition of seedlings of all kinds from the sheltered windowsill / greenhouse environment to the outdoors. How do they work and what factors do you need to consider when acquiring or building one. Learn how, where and when to use these interesting tools in your own garden, at this Thursdays at the Hort lecture to be held Thursday, March 6 from 7 – 8:30 at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley.

Gretel Anspach is a Trustee of Mass Hort, a Lifetime Master Gardener, past-president of the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association and a systems engineer for Raytheon. Gretel is also a member of the Garden to Table committee at Mass Hort and helped to establish and maintain a food production garden at Raytheon that has provided fresh produce to the Marlboro Food Pantry for five years.

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

Saturday, March 8, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm – 2nd Annual Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference

The 2nd Annual Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference (UFC) is designed to advance urban farming issues ranging from farming techniques and business models to climate change adaptation and food security. The UFC contributes to short-term and long-term state-wide strategic planning for a sustainable food system in Massachusetts.

Network with Massachusetts’ diverse, multi-sector stakeholders in this dynamic event that looks at current issues, emerging practices and programs, and markets that can contribute to Massachusetts’ urban farming sector resiliency.

For more information, contact Rose Arruda at MDAR: Rose.Arruda@state.ma.us. The conference will take place at Northeastern University on Saturday, March 8, from 8 – 4:30. $30. To register online visit http://www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-massachusetts-urban-farming-conference-tickets-7547919029. Thank you www.digboston.com for the image below.

Friday, April 4, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, and Saturday, April 5, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium

The 11th Annual Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium, April 4 & 5, 2014 at The Equinox Resort in Manchester, Vermont , will be sponsored by: The American Horticultural Society, Corona Tools, Equinox Valley Nursery, Espoma, Gardenerâ€™s Supply Company, Liquid Fence, Neptuneâ€™s Harvest and Proven Winners.

This premier symposium takes place April 4 & 5, 2014 and will be held at the world-class Equinox Resort (www.equinoxresort.com) in Manchester, VT. The symposium features six dynamic lectures, a Gardener’s Marketplace, great food, door prizes, and gifts. Over 200 gardeners from around the Northeast annually attend this popular event. NEW for 2014 is a special Garden Design Workshop on Friday from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. This workshop is in addition to the symposium. Featured speakers, horticultural experts and notable authors are: David L. Culp: owner of award-winning gardens that have been featured on HGTV and in Martha Stewart Living, VP of Sunny Border Nurseries, instructor at Longwood Gardens (PA), former contributing editor to Horticulture magazine, and author of the top selling book The Layered Garden; Thomas Christopher: a highly respected expert on sustainable gardening practices with articles in The New York Times and Martha Stewart Living; owner of a sustainable lawn consulting business, Greener Grasses/Sustainable Lawns, graduate of the New York Botanical Garden’s school of professional horticulture and editor of a best seller – The New American Landscape: Leading Voices on the Future of Sustainable Gardening, which contains his own chapter on water-wise gardening; Deborah Trickett: a highly applauded container designer who works with clients throughout New England, owner of The Captured Garden, instructor at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, and her work has been featured in The Boston Globe, Garden Gate and New England Home magazines as well as on the TV show New England Dream Home; Adam R. Wheeler: a plant fanatic who is the propagation and new plant development manager for Broken Arrow Nursery – a destination garden center in CT, and adjunct instructor on plant propagation and woody plant identification at Naugatuck Valley Community College; and Kerry Ann Mendez: owner of Perennially Yours, garden designer and consultant, guest on HGTV, former TV garden series host, her gardens have been featured in Garden Gate, Fine Gardening, Horticulture, and Better Homes and Gardens SIP, and author of The Ultimate Flower Gardenerâ€™s Top Ten Lists and Top Ten Lists for Beautiful Shade Gardens.

How-to, informative lectures include: 50 Perennials I Could Not Live Without; The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year Round Beauty; A Back Yard Revolution – alternative grasses and compatible perennials that provide all the benefits of a conventional lawn; Celebrity Pots, an entertaining presentation on creating flashy containers that portray celebrities like Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and Grace Kelly; Fun with Color: Variegated Foliage in the Garden; and Flashy New or Underused Perennials for 2014. Overnight packages and day only rates are available. Symposium Day Only rates: $98 per person by March 1, $108 after March 1; special rates for groups and Master Gardeners. Overnight packages including symposium programming, accommodations, meals and all taxes & gratuities start at $300.29 for a single or $430.09 for a double ($215.05 per person). For more information and registration details, visit www.pyours.com/symposium.

Wednesday, March 12, 6:00 pm – Evolutionary Forces in Humans and Pathogens

Have you been watching Helix on the SciFi Channel? This Evolution Matters Lecture on Wednesday, March 12, beginning at 6 pm, will appeal to you. The genome revolution has created unprecedented opportunities to study human biology, evolution, and infectious diseases. Geneticist Pardis Sabeti, Associate Professor, Center for Systems Biology at Harvard University, and a member of the Department of Immunology and Infection Diseases at Harvard School of Public Health, will discuss the rapidly emerging techniques and resources her lab is applying to advance our understanding of natural selection in the human genome and the genomic evolution of microbial pathogens such as Lassa virus, Ebola virus, Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and Vibrio cholerae.

The Evolution Matters Lecture Series is supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit.Â Free and open to the public. The talk will be held at the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Free event parking in the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

Wednesday, March 5, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Best New Plant Varieties for 2014

If you enjoy the White Flower Farm mail order catalog, then this Evening Garden Club of West Roxbury presentation on Wednesday, March 5, beginning at 7 pm, is a “must.” The presenter will be Barbara Pierson, WFF nursery manager for 15+ years. Barb is a graduate of Cornell’s School of Horticulture and has appeared on radio, TV and in The New York Times. She is responsible for trialing all of the plants that White Flower Farm sells â€” which makes for some extraordinary photographs and great insights into what to buy (and what to avoid) for 2014, as well as plants being trialed for 2015 release. In early 2013 Barb gave this presentation to a packed house at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. Her presentation to our club will be her ONLY appearance in MA this year – don’t miss it!Â Location: Elks Lodge, 1 Morrell St., West Roxbury, MA. Cost: $10 at the door (one lucky attendee will win a $50 White Flower Farm gift card).Â For more information please visit http://gcfm.org/eveninggcwestroxbury/Home.aspx

Monday, March 3, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – The Swan Boats

The Swan Boats are some of the most historic figures in the Boston Public Garden, but do you ever wonder where they came from? Lyn Paget is the fourth generation of Swan Boat operators, dating back to 1877. Originally started by Lynâ€™s great grandfather, Robert Paget, and preserved by her great grandmother, Julia Paget, the Public Gardenâ€™s Swan Boats are enduring and iconic symbols of Boston.

Initially starting out with one row boat, the Paget family adopted a number of paddle boats and christened them with the now iconic Swan imagery. Inspired by â€œLohengrinâ€, an opera based on the medieval German story in which the protagonist traverses on a boat that is pulled by a swan, the Swan Boats are an important part of the Public Gardenâ€™s history.

While the Swan Boats may not be in operation until April, the opportunity to learn more about them is coming up. On March 3rd, the Connolly branch of the Boston Public Library will be hosting a talk given by Lyn Paget on the Swan Boats. This will be a great chance to learn about the Swan Boatâ€™s history, the Paget familyâ€™s traditions, and practices behind a quintessential Boston activity that has been enjoyed by Bostonians and visitors alike for over 136 years.

This lecture is free of charge on March 3rd at 6:30 to 7:30 at the Connolly Branch of the Boston Public Library, located at 422 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain. This event is recommended for young adults, college students, adults and seniors and is sponsored by the Jamaica Plain Historical Society.