Boston Flora

Tuesday, January 24, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Help Promote Trees in Boston

For all those interested in improving and expanding Boston’s Urban Forest. Become a part of a resident based stewardship and advocacy group whose goals are to plant trees and educate the public about the benefits of trees. The meeting will take place Tuesday, January 24, from 6:30 – 7:30 at the BNAN offices, 62 Summer Street in downtown Boston. Please RSVP to reserve your spot at 617-542-7696 ext 20 or email mathew@bostonnatural.org.

Wednesday, February 1, 6:00 pm – The Origin of Cellular Life

The amazing diversity of life is a result of billions of years of evolution. But how did the process of evolution begin? Nobel Prize winner Jack Szostak, a Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Distinguished Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital, will describe how efforts to design and build very simple living cells are testing our assumptions about the nature of life, generating ideas about how life emerged from the chemistry of early Earth, and offering clues as to how modern life evolved from its earliest ancestors. Free and open to the public, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Free parking available in the 52 Oxford Street garage. Part of the Evolution Matters lecture series at The Harvard Museum of Natural History. Supported by a gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit.Â For more information, visit www.hmnh.harvard.edu.

Wednesday, February 1, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Creating Beautiful Gardens Filled with Life

Instructive examples of gardens full of native plants are hard to find. On Wednesday, February 1, from 7 – 8:30 at The Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, landscape architect and author Carolyn Summers fills that void with a plethora of images and commentary to fire our imaginations. She reviews the science behind the essential life support function of indigenous plants, takes us on a journey through a variety of formal gardens and more â€œnaturalisticâ€ landscapes, and illustrates the effective use of our northeastern native flora so that we can better visualize their full design potential. Ms. Summers is an adjunct professor at Westchester Community College and has been an effective advocate for native plants in the urban landscapes of New York City.Â The lecture is free. For more information, call 617-354-0502.

Saturday, January 21, 3:30 pm – Mill Brook Restoration: Opportunities and Challenges

There will be a discussion on the Mill Brook restoration with Michael Hopper, President of the Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition, on Saturday, January 21 at 3:30 pm at the West Tisbury Library on Martha’s Vineyard.Â Mr. Hopper will share his experiences of restoration efforts for stream restoration in southeastern Massachusetts for sea-run brook trout habitat.Â Free and open to the public.Â For more information visit www.searunbrookie.org.

Monday, January 30 – Saturday, March 10 – Verdant

The exhibition entitled Verdant: An Exhibition of Contemporary Art Utilizing Living Plants, explores the interactions between people and the natural environment; delving into the complexity of humanity’s relationships with the landscape through the work of contemporary artists who use living plants in their art.

Rather than simply drawing inspiration from the biosphere, artists Binh Danh, Paula Hayes, Tim Knowles, and Workingman Collective utilize plant matter as their artistic media, incorporate natural growth processes to create striking images, employ plants with pollutant-eliminating abilities in interactive sculptures to create healthy social spaces, and even embrace plants as active collaborators in their work. The free exhibition will run from January 30 – March 10 at the Sandra and David Bakalar Gallery at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, 621 Huntington Avenue in Boston. Times are Monday through Saturday 12 – 6, Wednesday 12 – 8, closed Sundays. For more information call 617-879-7333.

Sunday, February 5, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Starting Vegetable and Herb Seeds Indoors

This Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop, led by Christie Higginbottom on Sunday, February 5 from 1 – 4, will teach home gardeners how and when to start their favorite garden crops indoors. Topics covered include selecting and preparing supplies, seed sowing techniques, caring for developing seedlings, re-potting, and transplanting plants to the garden. Workshop participants will take home planted seed flats and handouts that include plans for a two-tiered plant table that can easily be constructed at home.Â Then they can settle down to watch the Super Bowl that evening.Â THBG member fee is $35, nonmembers $40.Â For more information, and to register, visit www.towerhillbg.org.

Monday, February 13, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Seeds Up Close: Amazing!

Enjoy the beauty of seeds and learn about plant conservation projects from Julie McIntosh Shapiro at a Horticulture Morning sponsored by the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts on Monday, February 13, from 10 – noon at the Espousal Center in Waltham.Â Â The Seed Herbarium Image Project, or SHIP, is an initiative of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University to create a web-based repository of high-resolution digital images documenting the morphology of woody plant seeds and selected fruit structures.Â SHIP is headquartered at the Arboretum’s Dana Greenhouse facility and is coordinated and photographed by curatorial assistant Julie McIntosh Shapiro.Â The Seed Herbarium Image Project supports the work of educators and professionals in horticulture and the botanical sciences, particularly in conservation research and management of rare and endangered species. The digitized images of seeds offer an important new aid for teaching seed identificationâ€”a fundamental skill in plant propagation, hybridization, and distributionâ€”and serve as a resource for nurserymen, horticulturists, botanical curators, taxonomists, ecologists, and the general public. SHIP also provides an online resource for botanical institutions and nurseries to verify their collections and inventories. SHIP is made possible through the generous support of the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, and the J. Frank Schmidt Family Charitable Foundation.Â A $5 donation is requested.

Saturday, January 28 – Sunday, January 29 – Be Healthy Boston

Be Healthy Boston is a two day urban wellness retreat, right in the heart of Boston, at The Westin Boston Waterfront, 425 Summer Street.Â Meant to educate, inspire and empower members of the Boston and surrounding communities to live and maintain healthy lifestyles, Be Healthy Boston promises to be a unique experience in a unique environment, like no other.

There’s lots to look forward to! Just a few things include:

Learning how to adopt a healthy lifestyle holistically
Sampling new and exciting fitness classes from local studios
Trying acupuncture, reiki, and other integrative therapies
Enjoying mini-massages and other spa-therapies
Speaking with local health and wellness experts and business owners (Siena Farms owner Chris Kurth and his fabulous chef wife Ana Sortun will be among them)
Be Healthy Boston will be more than just an event; it will be an experience like no other. Nowhere else can you meet face to face with local wellness providers, services, and businesses, all of which can help you create the healthy lifestyle you want, all under one roof.

Your Two-Day Pass includes:

15 Workshops on innovative topics, including nutrition, stress management, and green living
Sample fitness classes in Gyrotonics, Yoga, Kettlebells, Zumba and more
Mini spa treatments and integrative therapies from Aveda, Chuan Body + Soul, Spa Intercontinental, Massage Envy and others
Coaching and wellness consultations with leading wellness coaches
Cooking demonstrations with award-winning chefs, such as Oleanaâ€™s Ana Sortun
Book signings with best-selling authors, great take home gifts and plentiful samples
Healthy and delicious lunches and Saturday early evening reception
Silent auction to benefit Dana Farberâ€™s Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies
and more!

Be Healthy Boston is a two day urban wellness retreat, right in the heart of Boston! Meant to educate, inspire and empower members of the Boston and surrounding communities to live and maintain healthy lifestyles, Be Healthy Boston promises to be a unique experience in a unique environment, like no other.

There’s lots to look forward to! Just a few things include:

Learning how to adopt a healthy lifestyle holistically
Sampling new and exciting fitness classes from local studios
Trying acupuncture, reiki, and other integrative therapies
Enjoying mini-massages and other spa-therapies
Speaking with local health and wellness experts and business owners
Attending innovative workshops
Participating in cooking demonstrations with local restaurants and chefs
Meeting like minded Bostonians interested in their health and wellbeing
And more!

Come to Be Healthy Boston and be inspired to create the healthy life you deserve!
Attending innovative workshops
Participating in cooking demonstrations with local restaurants and chefs
Meeting like minded Bostonians interested in their health and wellbeing
And more!

Come to Be Healthy Boston and be inspired to create the healthy life you deserve! For complete information, log on to www.behealthyboston.com.Â Register by January 8 for the best price ($79 – $159).

Friday, February 17, 7:30 pm – Friends of Copley Square Second Annual Mardi Gras Celebration

The Friends of Copley Square, a non-profit organization that provides funding to assist the City of Boston with the preservation, maintenance, and beautification of the Copley Square, will host its second annual Mardi Gras Celebration on Friday, February 17, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. The event will be held at The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel.

The evening will bring the feeling of the French Quarter into the heart of Bostonâ€™s Back Bay. The event will include a New Orleans dinner buffet, live music and dancing, and auction prizes. Guests are encouraged to come in festive Mardi Gras attire, including masks if desired.

Tickets are $300 per couple, which includes two tickets to the event, as well as accommodations on February 17 donated by The Copley Square Hotel, The Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel and The Lenox Hotel. Hotel availability is limited so guests are encouraged to make their reservations early. Individual tickets are available for $175 per person.

To purchase tickets, please visit www.friendsofcopleysquare.org. All of the proceeds from the event benefit The Friends of Copley Square. The organizationâ€™s activity includes maintenance of the fountain, care of the trees and the development of programming to create a vibrant park for all to enjoy.

For more information on The Friends of Copley SquareÂ email friendsofcopleysquare@gmail.com. The Friends of Copley Square is a registered 501(c)3 not for profit corporation.Â Photo by Courtney Sacco from www.backbay.patch.com.

Saturday, January 28, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm – A Progressive Floral Feast

Join Hazel Schroeder, Maureen Marshall, and Cathie Healey at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Saturday, January 28, from 12 – 1:30. These highly decorated designers will teach participants how to create arrangements for each course of a progressive dinner party. They will use affordable flowers to create extraordinary arrangements to “wow” any guest. Enjoy tea, coffee and light refreshments as we watch and learn. We will hold a raffle to award the arrangements to several lucky winners.Â Free with Tower Hill admission.Â Photo from www.visualvamp.blogspot.com.