Boston Flora

Tag: Annuals

  • Garden How-To Free On Line Workshops

    Horticulture Magazine’s free online Smart Gardening Workshops give you access to great garden speakers from the comfort of your own home. They have no new workshops scheduled at this time, but you can access recordings of past workshops at http://www.hortmag.com/smart-gardening-workshops. Here is a sampling:

    Dr. A’s Greatest Perennials & Annuals

    Dr. Allan Armitage talks about new and great performers for your garden. Annuals aren’t just petunias anymore—they are extraordinary, diverse and colorful. Perennials continue to excite all gardeners, and Dr. A. highlights some of the most exciting, from hellebores to heucheras, American natives and more.

    Grow Organic: Making The Transition

    Growing a beautiful and productive garden without chemicals isn’t difficult, but it does require a shift in attitude and a dose of patience. In this workshop, Jessica Walliser (pictured below) shares a new understanding of the ease and convenience of organic practices. From soil management and cultural practices to pest control and dealing with “the junkie issue” (plants that have developed a fertilizer dependency), this talk is meant to present attendees with a deeper understanding of organic practices and offer plenty of tips for ensuring a successful garden.

  • Sunday, February 14, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Coloring Outside the Lines: The Use of Annuals at Tower Hill

    Many of the gardens at Tower Hill have been purposefully designed to allow the professional staff a chance to paint a fresh scene, and create a new mood, each year with artful plant combinations. These annual and seasonal changes require all the skills that define the field of horticulture – the combination of the art and science of growing plants. It’s not enough to simply choose colors that look good together in the nursery in April – many other factors go into selecting combinations that will go from alluring in April to awe-inspiring in August. Spend an hour at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Sunday, February 14, beginning at 1 pm, with Horticulture Director Joann Vieira learning about where the horticulture team at Tower Hill derives their inspiration for fresh displays; how they balance the science of growing plants with the art of color and texture; and how space and time influence their choices.

    To register for this event, please call Gayle Holland (508) 869-6111 x124 or email gholland@towerhillbg.org. Free with admission.

  • Friday, September 27, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Growing a Cutting Garden Part II

    For gardeners the ultimate pleasure is to be able to cut flowers from their own garden to beautify their home and give it a fresh look and feel. At Blithewold, located at 101 Ferry Road in Bristol, Rhode Island, which has tended a cutting garden for over 100 years, flowers from the garden have been brought into the Mansion for everyday pleasure as well as for special events, or given away to friends and family. Others who keep a cutting garden love to have home-grown blossoms, foliage, and seed heads handy for fresh or dried floral arrangements and crafts, and even for cooking.

    Guests at this Friday, September 27 session, beginning at 10 am, will meet at Blithewold’s Greenhouse, then accompany Gardens Manager Gail Read into the Cutting Garden, where she will share what she likes to grow for cut flowers. The June session of the two-part series highlighted cutting-garden annuals and planting plans; a walk around the property highlighted a variety of flowers worthy to be cut and brought into the home. The cutting bed comes into its own in July through September. September is Gail’s favorite time in the cutting garden—the flowers are so exuberant! And, it’s a great time to demonstrate cutting techniques as well as the possibilities for favorite foliage cuts. $20 for Blithewold members, $25 for nonmembers. Sign up by calling 401-253-2707, or online at www.blithewold.org.   Photo from www.theruralsociety.com.

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  • Saturday, October 22, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon – Putting Your Landscape to Bed

    Mahoney’s Garden Center in Concord will conduct a free seminar entitled Putting Your Landscape to Bed on Saturday, October 22, from 11 – noon.  Do you know how to prepare your roses, dahlias, delphiniums or azaleas for the cold weather?  Mahoney’s in-house expert will show you how to prepare your beds and containers for the long wintr months.  Topics covered include annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs, and the best way to winterize pottery, statuary, and fountains.  Sign up at www.mahoneysgarden.com.  In keeping with our “Japan Year” garden club program theme, below is a picture of cycads wrapped for winter in Kyoto, Japan, from Tokyo Moe, a blog about Nakano, Tokyo and public space, found at www.jaredinnakano.wordpress.com.

     

  • Saturday, May 15, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – 57th Annual First Parish Plant & Craft Fair

    Whether your thumbs are green or not, we trust that you’ll want to visit Bedford Common on May 15 for the 57th Annual First Parish Plant & Craft Fair.  You’ll find specialty annuals, heritage perennials from members’ gardens, crafts, activities for kids, cook out lunch, bake sale, live music, annuals, herbs and vegetables from Massachusetts growers, and more.

    The Fair features world-class Massachusetts-grown annuals and field-grown perennials, herbs and veggies along with a glorious selection of Heritage Perennials dug from our members’ gardens — in some cases by dividing plants that were originally purchased generations ago at First Parish sales.  There will also be crafters (more than 50 vendors are expected to grace Bedford’s Town Common), a cookout lunch, outstanding bake sale and live music by the Yankee Doodle Dixieland Band.

    To entertain the kids they’ll offer a professional face painter, a petting zoo sponsored by Bedford’s 4-H club, a games tent and a roving magician.  Come early to snag the best plants and stay around to enjoy the music, activities and lunch!  The Annual Plant & Craft Fair is a fundraiser for Bedford’s First Parish on the Common and its work in the community.

    The fair is held Saturday, May 15, from 10 – 3 at First Parish on the Common, 75 The Great Road, Routes 4/225, in Bedford.  Free.  Telephone 781-275-7994 for more information, or email plantfair@uubedford.org.

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  • Saturday, June 13, 11 – 3 – Elm Bank Plant Sale

    From 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM this Saturday, Joe Kunkel, horticulturalist extraordinaire, and David Fiske, Mass Hort’s Gardens Curator, will be on hand to show our great selection of plants for sale and to answer any questions you may have.

    EchnaceaThe plant sale will be outside the Greenhouse area of our site. You’ll find a wide selection of annuals and perennials, many brand new to the area.  On hand are new varieties of petunias, Vinca, and many unusual species.  Most plants are in 4″ pots at $2 a piece with a special tray price of 15 for $20.  You can mix and match on full trays.

    VincaWe also have a wide selection of perennials in gallon containers at the great price of $8 or six in tray at $35.  You’ll find brand new varieties of Achillea and Echinacea that are being seen in the latest horticultural magazines.  We also have plenty of tried and true favorites as well.

    So if you are still looking for plants for your garden and you want beautiful specimens at a great price, come down to Elm Bank this Saturday for a rewarding experience.

    Joe Kunkel will be on hand to help you choose the right plant for your garden.  Joe is a dedicated Trustee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and oversaw the planting of the MHS Gardens on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.  For more information, log on to www.masshort.org.