Boston Flora

Tag: And I Shall Have Some Peace There

  • Saturday, March 28, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Making a Garden for the Birds – Postponed

    “I always say the birds taught me to garden. And I thank them.” – Margaret Roach
    What started out decades ago as merely a semi-conscious wish to see more birds as she started a garden on a former blank canvas, ended up bringing about 68 avian species into Margaret’s garden each year, each in its own time, with a smaller but substantial number nesting in it or at its periphery. Margaret will share all her “if I knew then what I know now” aha’s about setting realistic aims (no, not every site is going to attract bluebirds, no matter how many boxes you buy!) and accomplishing them-all within the context of a visually pleasing home landscape. She’ll cover her top tips for making a garden that makes birds right at home, must-have resources, and much more.

    Margaret will be signing copies of her all-new version of A Way to Garden after the talk, which takes place at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on March 28 from 2 – 3:30. The book is available in Tower Hill’s Garden Shop. Margaret Roach, after 15 years at Martha Stewart Living and a decade each at Newsday and The New York Times, now writes the nationally acclaimed blog “A Way to Garden” and is author of the 2011 corporate-dropout memoir, And I Shall Have Some Peace There, about walking away from “success” for a quieter life lived closer to nature. The Backyard Parables (2013) blends garden memoir and how-to advice. An all-new version of her first award-winning book A Way to Garden was published in spring 2019, on its 21st anniversary. She has worked for more than 25 years to make her garden in the Hudson Valley-Berkshires area a visual treat every day of the year. It has been open for Garden Conservancy Open Days for more than 20 years.

    The lecture is $15 for Tower Hill Members, $18 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Thursday, October 18, 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Massachusetts Horticultural Society Honorary Medals Dinner

    The Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s 118th Honorary Medals Dinner will take place Thursday, October 18 from 5:30 – 9 in the Hunnewell Building at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley.

    Margaret Roach (pictured below) is the 2018 nominee for the George Robert White Medal of Honor, the highest honor given by the Society. Ms. Roach will be honored for her distinguished career in horticulture as a garden writer for publications, such as Newsday and Martha Stewart Living, where she was able to reach millions of people as she shared her knowledge of gardening. The author of three books, A Way to Garden, And I Shall Have Some Peace There, and The Backyard Parables and her web site, A Way to Garden. She also hosts a public-radio show and podcast which all continue to make meaningful connections between people, plants, and their beloved gardens.

    The George Robert White Medal of Honor was established in 1909 and is among the most distinguished horticultural awards in the United States. The first honoree was Charles Sprague Sargent, Director of the Arnold Arboretum. Other recipients have included Gertrude Jekyll, Jens Jensen, The Royal Horticultural Society, Massachusetts General Hospital and Tasha Tudor.

    Dale Deppe of Spring Meadow Nursery is the 2018 nominee for the Jackson Dawson Memorial Award. This award is given for exceptional skill in the science or practice of hybridization or propagation of hardy, woody plants.

    William Cannon is the nominee for the Thomas Roland Medal, which honors men and women who have shown exceptional horticultural skill. Mr. Cannon is honored for his expertise of holly and his garden in Brewster, MA.

    Betsy Ridge Madsen will receive a Gold Medal for her leadership as Chair of Massachusetts Horticultural Society and her dedication to help continue the Society’s legacy. Betsy’s volunteerism at the Flower Show as a judge, clerk, and many other positions helps continue Mass Hort’s tradition of promoting Amateur Competitions for passionate designers and plants people. As a floral designer, gardener, horticulturist and spokesperson, Ms. Ridge Madsen has advanced the art and science of horticulture by example and her willingness to share her expertise with others.

    Carol Stocker will receive a Gold Medal in recognition of her work as a garden writer for the Boston Globe and other publications which has promoted the art and science of horticulture to thousands of readers.

    Karen Perkins is nominated for the Silver Medal for her efforts in the propagation and promotion of Epimediums. She is the owner of Garden Vision Epimediums, and has demonstrated her dedication to the science of horticulture and promoting plants for people to enjoy in their gardens.

    Trish Wesley Umbrell is nominated for the Silver Medal for her extraordinary skill as a garden educator, both formerly with Mass Hort and currently with the Natick Community Organic Farm.

    Reservations are required ($125 per person).  Visit https://masshort.org/education-events/honorary-medals-dinner/

    Image result for margaret roach

  • Saturday, March 2, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Two Lives, Two Books, and Some Common Themes

    Join two beloved authors, Katrina Kenison and Margaret Roach, on Saturday, March 2 at 1 pm at the Berkshire Botanical Garden for readings and conversation inspired by their much-anticipated new books, Magical Journey: an Apprenticeship in Contentment and The Backyard Parables: a Meditation on Gardening, and Life. Katrina has spent 25 years nurturing a marriage, raising two sons to adulthood and tending to the myriad demands of home and family life. Margaret has spent precisely the same amount of time nurturing countless plants in the garden—a generous plot that has proven to be as worthy and complicated a life partner as any human mate. Now, despite different paths and charges, they find themselves in much the same spot, asking “What next?”—even as they learn to let go of what was, clearing space for new growth. Come connect with two authors, two friends, two lives, two books—and some common themes for discussion by all.

    Margaret Roach is the author of A Way to Garden and the memoir, And I Shall Have Some Peace There. She has been an editor at The New York Times, fashion editor and garden editor at Newsday, the first garden editor for Martha Stewart Living and the editorial director of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Margaret is now a consultant and avid gardener, keeping fans up to date on her website, awaytogarden.com.

    Katrina Kenison is the author of The Gift of an Ordinary Day and Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry, and, with Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga. Her writing has appeared in O: the Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Family Circle, Redbook, Woman’s Day and Health. From 1990 until 2006, Kenison was the series editor of The Best American Short Stories, published annually by Houghton Mifflin. She co-edited, with John Updike, The Best American Short Stories of the Century. A certified Reiki master and Kripalu yoga teacher, Katrina lives with her family in rural New Hampshire.

    Register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org.  $15 for BBG members, $20 for nonmembers.

  • Saturday, March 5, 2:00 pm – At Home in the 365-Day Garden

    On the last day of 2007, Margaret Roach made the life-altering decision to walk away from New York City and her job as EVP/Editorial Director of Martha Stewart, a career many would describe as highly successful. But she craved completely different rewards: solitude, a return to the personal creativity of writing, and a closer connection to nature and her first passion, the garden she had been making on weekends for 20 years. She moved to a rural New York State town of 300, began AWayToGarden.com (called “the best garden blog” by The New York Times and named for her prize-winning 1989 book), and wrote her dropout memoir, And I Shall Have Some Peace There. On Saturday, March 5, beginning at 2 pm, Ms. Roach will discuss how you can have a visually exciting landscape every day of the year – if you know what to plant, and also (just as important) how to “see”. As on her website, she’ll deliver both “horticultural how-to and woo-woo”, encouraging not only the smart use of great plants but also an intimate connection between the gardener and the garden, even in its most subtle moments. Copies of And I Shall Have Some Peace There will be available for purchase and signing after the lecture. The program will take place at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, and there is a $15 charge for THBG members, $20 for non-members. For more information, and to register, log on to www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Saturday, February 19, 2:00 pm – At Home in the 365-Day Garden

    Berkshire Botanical Garden presents noted author Margaret Roach on Saturday, February 19, (snow date February 20) 2 pm, at Monument Mountain Regional High School, Great Barrington, MA, for the 2011 Winter Lecture, “At Home in the 365-Day Garden.”

    Margaret will discuss her own gardening journey – highlighting personal experiences leading to the creation of a beautiful, year-round landscape. She will present slides of plants and vistas of her own inspirational garden to illustrate her approach to making a non-stop, year-round garden along with sprinklings of her unique and irreverent sense of humor. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet the woman behind the highly successful garden blog, Awaytogarden.com, where she provides informative posts, photos, links, and whimsical meanderings from her 2.3 acre zone 5B garden in the neighboring Hudson Valley.

    This lecture also marks the debut of Margaret’s memoir, And I Shall Have Some Peace There, documenting her transition from working at high-powered jobs in Manhattan, (Martha Stewart Living, New York Times, Newsday), to living full time in the country, reinventing her life, and creating a 365-day garden. A recent gold-star rating by Kirkus Reviews describes And I Shall Have Some Peace There as “a moving, eloquent and joyously idiosyncratic memoir.” A reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

    Proceeds from the Winter Lecture support Berkshire Botanical Garden’s popular Horticulture Certificate Program and other Education Programs, which provide hands-on workshops and classes to children and adults year-round. Additional information on education programs can be obtained through the Garden’s web site, www.berkshirebotanical.org.

    Tickets to the lecture are: $35 Garden Members / $42 non-members, and group discounts are available. Seating is limited and reservations are required. For more information and to reserve tickets, call Berkshire Botanical Garden at 413 298 3926, or visit the web site, www.berkshirebotanical.org.