Boston Flora

  • Sunday, March 17, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – The First Perky Plants of Spring

    Once a month, the Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens host a free program for families to discover, through art, culture and science, just how fantastic plants can be. Drop in any time between 1 – 4.  Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a look at the green starting to appear outside.  Do you know any plants that can actually melt their way through snow?  Come on a “signs of spring” scavenger hunt, and search the greenhouses for relatives of the shamrock.  For more information call 781-283-3094.

  • Monday, March 18, 1:30 pm – Garden as Community

    Looking for a way to get a bigger bang from your garden, be it a small or large space?  Struggle no more.  Follow nature’s lead by combining plants into guilds – diverse assemblages of plants growing in healthy, self-sufficient communities in nature.  Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Director Kristina Jones will explore the functions and interrelationships of organisms in natural plant communities, and how they can be applied to our gardens.  A primary example will be the Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden at Wellesley College, where the understory communities are designed to support the needs of focal fruit and nut trees.  Following the lecture, if the weather cooperates, join us for a late winter tour of the Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden and a spot of tea.  Offered in collaboration with Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston Junior League Garden Club, New England Wild Flower Society, and Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens.  Members $10, non-members $15.

  • Monday, March 18, 6:30 pm – An Illuminating Look at Tiffany Lamps

    The 2013 Jonathan L. Fairbanks Lecture Series at The Ayer Mansion, 395 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston will continue Monday, March 18 with a lecture by Lindsy Parrott, Director and Curator of The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in New York City, who will speak on An Illuminating Look at Tiffany Lamps.  Wine and cheese will be served beginning at 6:30 and the lecture begins at 7.  Tickets ($25, $5 students) may be purchased on line at www.AyerMansion.org.

  • Saturday, March 9, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Seed Starting Workshop

    This Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop on Saturday, March 9 from 10 – noon will give you hands-on experience in starting your own seedlings. Each participant will take home a flat of planted seeds—flowers, vegetables, herbs, or a combination. Instructors David Fiske and Gretel Anspach will also cover the next step in the process, which is “potting seedlings on”, so some seedlings will be available to take home too. All materials will be provided. $25 for Mass Hort members, $30 for non members. Register on line at www.masshort.org.

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  • Saturday, April 27 – Monday, April 29 – Art In Bloom

    Once again, garden clubs (including The Garden Club of the Back Bay) and professional designers from around New England will create floral arrangements inspired by works of art.  Art in Bloom 2013 includes the transformed William I. Koch Gallery with its collection of 16th and 17th century European paintings and Hanoverian silver as well as a spectacular new display of the Museum’s prized Korean collection.  Special events include an illustrated lecture and floral demonstration as well as flower arranging master classes presented by Shane Connolly, the heralded British floral designer and author.  Space is limited.

    The Shane Connolly Master Classes will take place Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, from 10:30 – 12:30.  These are hands-on workshops, and are priced at $200 each.  Mr. Connolly will also present, on Monday, April 29 at 10:30 am, the lecture and demonstration entitled A Year in Flowers: Inspiration for Everyday Living, followed by a book signing ($55.)

    For those who missed her at our Club’s March meeting, Maureen Bovet will present The Gardens of New York on Sunday, April 28 from 3 – 4, and past GCBB lecturer Suzanne Mahler will present Designing a Garden for All Seasons on Monday, April 29, also from 3 – 4.

    Ikebana International Boston Chapter #17 will demonstrate floral creations from three Ikebana schools on Saturday, April 27, from 3 – 4.  For complete information and ticketing, visit www.mfa.org/artinbloom, or call 1-800-440-6975.

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  • Sunday, March 10, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm – Celebrating 550 Years of Ikenobo Ikebana

    The Japan Society of Boston and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston present The 2013 Rad Smith Program in Art: Celebrating 550 Years of Ikenobo Ikebana, featuring 45th Generation Headmaster Sen’ei Ikenobo and 46th Generation Headmaster Designate Yuki Ikenobo, on Sunday, March 10, from 3 – 4:30 at the Remis Auditorium of the Museum of Fine Arts. Commemorate the auspicious occasion of the 550th year since Ikenobo, a highlight of Japanese aesthetics, first appeared in public records. Ikenobo is the original school fo Ikebana, Japanese traditional flower arranging. The 45th Generation Headmaster, Sen’ei Ikenobo, talks briefly about Ikebana and Japanese traditional culture, and 46th Generation Headmaster Designate, Yuki Ikenobo, presents an Ikebana demonstration. Followed by a Mawari-ike ceremony, a traditional Ikebana-judged competition.  Tickets ($15 MFA members, seniors and students, $18 non members)  are available on line at www.mfa.org.

  • Tuesday, March 12, 6:00 pm – From the Big Bang to Broadway: How Things Evolve

    Robert Hazen, Research Scientist, Carnegie Geophysical Laboratory and Professor of Earth Sciences at George Mason University, will speak at the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge on Tuesday, March 12, beginning at 6 pm. The concept of evolution by natural selection has long been a lightning rod for anti-science rhetoric. Such attacks are usually aimed at the biological realm, but Darwin’s opponents must now face evidence that complex evolving systems also drive phenomena beyond life science, such as the diversification of minerals on earth. Part of the Evolution Matters Lecture Series, supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit. Free and open to the public. Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Free event parking for evening lectures in the 52 Oxford Street garage.

  • Saturday, March 9, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – From Garden to Plate: Nutritional Value of Garden-Grown Vegetables

    Learn about nutrition, the cornerstone of health, and how the vegetable garden can provide the six categories of nutrients the body needs, on Saturday, March 9 from 10 – 12 at the Berkshire Botanical Garden.  Growing a garden and harvesting and cooking with garden-fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers moves us toward a healthy body and develops an awareness of the role that food plays in preventing disease and promoting health. Consider the six categories of nutrients that the body needs and learn what vegetables make the most sense to grow in family vegetable plot.

    Dr. Marie Mammone graduated from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, OR, with a doctoral degree in Naturopathic Medicine. She teaches adult education classes in nutrition, homeopathy and culinary herbs at Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT. Her interests include making naturopathy relevant to modern living and working toward integrating naturopathic medicine into Connecticut’s medical world.  $22 for BBG members, $27 for nonmembers.  Register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Thursday, March 7, 6:00 pm – Cooking in Captivity: How American Civilians Survived World War II in Japanese Prison Camps

    While this free lecture at Boston University on Thursday, March 7, part of the Pepin Lecture Series in Gastronomy, is not strictly speaking a horticultural event, we thought our readers would find the topic interesting. Barbara Haber, author and food historian, has had a growing interest on the effects of war on the availability of food. Immediately after attacking Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invaded the Philippines and imprisoned thousands of American civilians who spent the war years deprived of food. Among them was Natalie Crouter, a remarkable Boston-bred woman who kept a diary that describes how food preoccupied every internee: They talked about it, dreamed about it, and used any available resource to cook ersatz dishes that would get them through WWII. Haber will share her research and insights about Crouter and other internees who spent the war years in prison camps. The lecture will take place in the Demonstration Room at 808 Commonwealth Avenue, and you may sign up on line at www.bu.edu/foodandwine.

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  • Thursday, March 7, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Starting Seeds Indoors

    Gretel Anspach, Lifetime Master Gardener, will lead a session of Thursdays at the Hort on Thursday, March 7, from 7 – 8:30 at Elm Bank in Wellesley.  Get a jump on the season by starting your plants from seeds—it’s cheaper than buying transplants, offers a much broader variety of plants, and can be quite addictive. Whether you are interested in annuals, perennials, edibles, or even shrubs and trees, this lecture will give you the information you need to go from starting a seed to planting in the ground. $10 for Mass Hort members, $15 for non-members.  Reserve your space at www.masshort.org.  Image from www.motherearthnews.com.

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