Boston Flora

Thursday, May 9, 10:30 am – Boston Committee of the GCA Spring Meeting and Luncheon

The Boston Committee of The Garden Club of America invites members of its constituent fourteen clubs to its Spring Meeting and Luncheon on Thursday, May 9, beginning with registration and coffee at 10:30 am at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street in Brookline. The featured speaker will be John Tschirch, Director of Museum Affairs for the Preservation Society of Newport County, speaking on The Eden of America.

John Tschirch is an architectural historian specializing the in the artistic and social evolution of historic houses and landscapes. He joined the Preservation Society of Newport County in 1986; in 2010, he became the director of the newly created Department of Museum Affairs, where he oversees curatorial, conservation and academic program functions. Mr. Tschirch has lectured widely on houses and gardens from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century. He is the author of the Preservation Society publication Newport Landscapes (2004) and The Evolution of a Beaux Arts Landscape: The Breakers in Newport, RI for the Journal of the New England Garden History Society (Fall 1999) and serves as historic advisor for the Preservation Societyâ€™s 11 historic landscapes.

Newport was referred to as the â€œEden of Americaâ€ by Jedediah Morse in the First Geography of the United States (1789). This illustrated lecture presents landscape paintings by leading American artists and rare photographic views that capture Newportâ€™s distinguished gardens from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Avid patrons, talented gardeners, legendary garden parties and present-day efforts to preserve this remarkable landscape heritage will come alive as historian and raconteur John Tschirch evokes the history he seesâ€” quite literallyâ€”thick on the ground.

The cost of the lecture and luncheon is $60, lecture only $30. Please make your check payable to The Boston Committee of the GCA and mail to Karen Gregg, 238 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston,Â Massachusetts 02116 before Monday, May 6 and note on the memo portion of your check your Garden Club affiliation. All reservations will be held at the door. Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive written invitations and a car pool notice in the mail.

Tuesday, May 7, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – Creative Feast: Edible Landscaping

The Andover Garden Club will hold its Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Tuesday, May 7 beginning at 10 am at South Church, 41 Central Street in Andover. The public is invited for a charge of $20, which includes refreshments and lunch. Liz Barbour of Liz Barbour’s Creative Feast (http://www.thecreativefeast.com/) will take attendees on a visual tour of her cottage-sized gardens to show how every inch can be used to maximize beauty and bounty with herbs, edible flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

Following the slide presentation on edible landscaping, Barbour will prepare luncheon dishes featuring fresh, healthy ingredients. Recipes will be provided.

Barbour has been cooking professionally in the Boston area since 1992 and started Liz Barbour’s Creative Feast in 2004. Having built her cooking career in a variety of restaurant and catering settings, she now serves as an instructor, sharing her professional experiences and knowledge through cooking demonstration classes, in-home cooking parties, and boutique-style private catering. Her cooking demonstrations and recipes have been featured on New Hampshire Chronicle, and she appears regularly on WMUR Channel 9’s Cooks Corner. Her recipes are featured in various publications, including New Hampshire Magazine and the Nashua Telegraph.

Event begins with refreshments and social time, followed by business meeting, program, and lunch. Reservations must be made by April 19 by calling 978-475-7119, or emailing pianopasta@comcast.net.

Tuesday, April 30, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Mycorrhizal Symbioses and the Functioning of Terrestrial Ecosystems

The Ecological Landscaping Association, The Arnold Arboretum, the New England Wild Flower Society, and The Boston Mycological Club will co-sponsor a lecture on Tuesday, April 30, from 10 – noon at the Weld Hill Research Building, 125 Arborway in Boston, on Mycorrhizal Symbioses and the Functioning of Terrestrial Ecosystems.Â The lecturer is John Klironomos, Professor of Biology at University of British Columbia – Okanagan.Â Mycorrhizal symbioses are mutualistic associations between plant roots and a small group of soil fungi.Â These symbioses are very common – found in the majority of terrestrial plants.Â Plants benefit from increased nutrient and water uptake, and also from increased protection from root pathogens.Â Recent research has also shown that the symbiosis promotes higher diversity and productivity within plant communities.Â This presentation will discuss the structure and functioning of mycorrhizal symbioses and the potential for their application and management.Â $25 for members of the sponsoring organizations, $35 for nonmembers.Â Register on line with one of the sponsors, callÂ 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net.

Sunday, April 21, 2:00 pm – Historic Interiors: Evolution and Preservation

Historic interiors are an often overlooked element of historic properties which can tell a compelling story of a house’s history and evolution over time. Join Historic New England’s Sally Zimmerman and Jess Phelps as they chart home interiors over time and explore options and tools for protecting these unique components of our collective built heritage, on Sunday, April 21, 2:00 P.M. in Eliot Hall (home of the Footlight Club), 7A Eliot Street in Jamaica Plain.Â Co-sponsored by the Jamaica Plain Historical Society and the Footlight Club.

Saturday, April 27, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Transplanting Shrubs and Planting Small Ornamental Trees

Learn by doing in this hands-on shrub and tree planting/transplanting workshop at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, April 27, from 10 – 1. All aspects of successful planting will be demonstrated, and participants will assist in transplanting a multi-stem shrub and planting a small tree. Learn how to successfully transplant shrubs by correct timing and placement and techniques designed to create minimal disturbance and ensure smooth transition to a new site. Consider the differences between bare-root, container-grown or balled-and-burlapped trees and understand the importance of siting. $35 for BBG members, $42 for nonmembers.Â Register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org.Â Bring gloves and dress for weather.

Ken Gooch is the Forest Health Program Director for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Additionally he is a Massachusetts Certified Arborist and teaches arborculture at the Garden.Â Image from www.organicconnectmag.com.

Wednesday, April 24, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Plants of New England: A History in Deep Time

Andrew Knoll,Fisher Professor of Natural History and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, and Curator of Paleobotanical Collections, Harvard University Herbaria, will speak in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum on Wednesday, April 24, from 7 – 8:30, on Plants of New England: A History in Deep Time. Celebrated as a land of marble and granite, the bedrock of New England also includes patches of sedimentary rock that document ancient landscapes and vegetation. From Earthâ€™s deep Precambrian past dominated by bacterial photosynthesis, through the early history of land plants and tropical coal swamps of the Carboniferous Period, and on to warm temperate forests of 25 million years ago and conifer forests established as ice age glaciers melted, New England rocks and fossils shed light on our regionâ€™s deep photosynthetic past. Free for Arboretum members, $10 nonmembers.Â Register on line at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Sunday, April 28, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History

The Ecological Landscaping Association, New England Wildflower Society, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Massachusetts Audubon Drumlin Farm, and Tower Hill Botanic Gardens will co-sponsor Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History, with author Carol Gracie, on Sunday, April 28, from 1:30 – 3:30 at Garden in the Woods in Framingham.Â The wildflowers that brighten our woodlands in spring are more than just a delight for the eye and a lift for the winter-weary spirit.Â Each has a role in the environment, with often interesting interactions with pollinators and seed dispersers.Â Topics will include adaptations for early blooming, medicinal and other uses, the origin of wildflower names, pollination and seed dispersal, and the latest scientific research on the ecology of these beautiful plants.Â Following the lecture and book signing, enjoy an optional docent-led walk through Garden in the Woods in its early spring glory.Â $15 for members of a sponsoring organization, $18 for nonmembers.Â Register by calling 617-436-5838, or visit www.ecolandscaping.org.

Monday, April 29, 6:00 pm – Bring on Spring Vegetables!

Join Chef Barry Maidenâ€”of the wildly popular and nationally renowned restaurant Hungry Motherâ€”as he puts his Southern spin on some of the seasonâ€™s offerings. Just when spring leaves you pining for something green, Chef Maiden will work with you to some of his signature vegetal favorites, and introduce you to new and delicious recipes. This Boston University class is open to the public ($125) and will meet in the Kitchen at 808 Commonwealth Avenue at 6 pm. Enroll by calling 617-353-9852 or register on line at www.bu.edu/foodandwine.

Monday, April 22 – 5% for Earth Day

Boston has long been known for its commitment to preserving green space. The Boston Common, The Public Garden, the Emerald Necklace, the creation of the Charles River Basin, the clean-up of Boston Harbor, the revitalization of the Waterfront, the completion of Big Dig and the opening of the Rose Kennedy Greenway are but a few examples of the Commonwealth and the Cityâ€™s dedication to public, open space throughout the years. All of these improvements were made possible through the commitment of a number of non-profit organizations that work hand in hand with our local, state and national government to keep our parks and open spaces in shape.

For Earth Day 2013, five of these non-profits (the Charles River Conservancy, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Esplanade Association, the Friends of Public Garden, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy) are joining forces to bring 5% for Earth Day to Boston. The campaign, which has seen three years of success in Austin, TX and expanded to the Houston, TX area in 2012, will ask Boston-area retailers to donate 5% of their gross proceeds on Monday April 22, 2013 to a coalition of non-profits that support projects in Bostonâ€™s parks and open spaces.

Kickass Cupcakes, Roxy’s Grilled Cheese, Momogoose, Mei Mei Street Kitchen, Henrietta’s Table, SkinHealth Centers, Shuckin Truck, and The Chubby Chickpea are among the participating businesses. Go to www.give5Boston.org for a complete list.

Wednesday, April 24, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – The Vertical Garden: Biological Design and Urban Architecture

Patrick Blanc, the inventor of the gravity-defying vertical garden, tells the story of his lifelong passion for botanical pursuits, and reveals his methods for transforming naked walls with nature, in a lecture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, on Wednesday, April 24, from 7 – 8. Blanc changes the way the public considers architecture and landscape design.Â Book signing follows. Tickets are $15 for MFA members, seniors and students, and $18 for non members.Â Purchase tickets at www.mfa.org,Â or call 1-800-440-6975.