Boston Flora

Tag: Arnold Arboretum

  • Thursday, September 24, 5:30 pm – 10:30 pm – Afterglow at the Arnold

    The Arnold Arboretum and The Young Friends of the Arnold host Afterglow at the Arnold on Thursday, September 24, in the Arnold Arboretum’s Explorers Garden. The VIP experience begins at 5:30pm, and the afterparty begins at 7:30.

    This enchanting evening of discovery under the stars celebrates the Arboretum as a free public park in the City of Boston, a “museum of trees,” a conservation and research institution, and a community resource for education and well-being. The event will be hosted in our Arnold Arboretum’s Explorers Garden on Bussey Hill, where plants collected from around the world are cultivated to support the study and preservation of biodiversity. Guests will engage with Arboretum experts while enjoying cocktails and passed food in the living collections, followed by music and dancing under a tent.

    Pricing ranges from $115 – $1,000 (patron ticket). Register and learn more at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/support/afterglow-at-the-arnold/

  • Saturday, August 22, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Biodiversity in the Solar Pollinator Meadow

    The Arnold Arboretum will host a members only event on August 22 from 10 – 11:30 in front of the Weld Hill Research Building with Naturalist Louise Miller. The Horticulture team planted the Solar Array Pollinator Meadow to provide a habitat for a wide variety of insects, birds, and other pollinators under and around the Weld Hill solar panels. Until recently, they had no good way of knowing just how well their experiment was working. Louise Miller took it on as a research project for her Mass Audubon Field Certification. She conducted a biodiversity survey of the meadow and recorded 70 species of plants and nearly 300 species of non-plant creatures, from snails and mushrooms to insects and salamanders. Join her to learn about the diversity she found here, view some of her incredible photographs, and get a chance to record some observations yourself. Visit https://arboretum.harvard.edu/events/ for more information, and if you aren’t already a member, join now.

  • Wednesday, August 19, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – The Fungal Lens: An Interactive Primer on Nature Writing & Science Communication

    Aspiring writers and naturalists will enjoy this Polly Hill Arboretum interactive workshop on August 19 hosted by author Maria Pinto. Participants will learn how their interactions with the ‘more than human’ world around them equip them to be effective science communicators and nature writers. Attendees will analyze the work of seasoned writers and do a series of exercises to draw out their own lyrical and scientific encounters with our planet.

    Maria Pinto is an author and educator living in the Boston area. Maria has led workshops and lectures for mycological societies around the country, and leads regular forays at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.

    Pre-registration required. PHA Members: $20; Non-Members: $30. Click here to register.

  • Tuesday, May 19, 6:30 pm – When Trees Testify

    Join The Emerald Necklace Conservancy, The Arnold Arboretum, and plant biologist and author Beronda Montgomery for a discussion on May 19 at 6:30pm of her new book, When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy. Taking place at Hunnewell Hall at the Arnold Arboretum, Montgomery explores the way that eight trees and shrubs testify to the experience of black Americans and takes us through black American history with trees and shrubs as our guides. Register here www.arboretum.harvard.edu/event/when-trees-testify-by-beronda-montgomery/

  • Wednesday, April 22, 6:45 pm – The Camel’s Garden: Drought Tolerant Plants for a Changing Climate

    The Burlington Garden Club will host Jen Kettell, Radiant Leaf Consulting, on Wednesday, April 22 at 6:45 pm in the Murray Kelly Room in the Burlington Council on Aging Building, 61 Center Street in Burlington. Jen will speak on The Camel’s Garden: Drought Tolerant Plants for a Changing Climate. The program is funded in part by a grant from the Burlington Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a State agency.

    Jen Kettell, BCMA is a consulting arborist serving the New England area (and occasionally beyond). As the owner of Radiant Leaf Consulting, she shares her passion for horticulture through the training she provides to both homeowners and green industry professionals. She started landscaping as a teen, continuing to farming, greenhouse production, and finally the Arnold Arboretum before she began building Radiant Leaf Consulting. Today, Radiant Leaf is celebrating just over ten years as a small local business.

    She has consulted for Safdie Architects and The Trustees’ public gardens, and has served as a guest lecturer for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the Arnold Arboretum, and the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).

  • Sunday, February 1, 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm – Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless

    Join the Arnold Arboretum on February 1 at noon for a talk by popular Mushroom Hunt instructor Maria Pinto on her new book, Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless: What Fungi Taught Me about Nourishment, Poison, Ecology, Hidden Histories, Zombies, and Black Survival. Maria weaves together memoir, mycology, and cultural history to illuminate the deep and surprising ways fungi connect with human life. With vivid storytelling and a fiercely original voice, she explores fungi not just as biological wonders but as tools of survival, subversion, and spiritual sustenance – especially for thos living at the margins. The program takes place in Hunnewell Hall. For more information visit https://arboretum.harvard.edu/events-2/program-catalog/

  • Thursday, December 4, 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm – Young Friends at the Arnold

    Keep in step with science and the Young Friends of the Arnold! Meet us for an unforgettable evening at the Weld Hill Research Building on Thursday, December 4 from 6:30–9:30pm. This special event is tailored for those aged 21-45 or anyone young at heart who enjoy learning about nature, conserving biodiversity, and engaging with a community of plant enthusiasts. Enjoy seasonal refreshments, explore the Arboretum’s cutting-edge research, and learn how your support helps preserve one of Boston’s most treasured landscapes. Whether you’re a longtime member or new to the Young Friends, this is a fantastic opportunity to deepen your engagement with the Arboretum and meet others who value trees, science, and sustainability. Your participation helps fund vital programs and supports our mission to connect people with the natural world. Don’t miss this festive and meaningful gathering—purchase your tickets today and get ready for a night of discovery and delight!

    lease note that this is a 21 and older event.

    Purchase tickets for $110/person, which covers individual admittance to the event, passed food, and an open wine and beer bar. Members of the Arnold Arboretum are eligible to purchase tickets (up to 4 tickets) for $75/person. Patron level tickets are available for $250/person and include a hand-turned wood bowl crafted from a felled Arnold Arboretum tree. Purchase tickets at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/support/young-friends-of-the-arnold-arboretum/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=aa_nov_2025_newsletter&utm_term=young_friends

  • Sunday, November 9, 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm – Mushroom Hunt

    Hundreds of mushrooms hide beneath the Arboretum’s canopies, silently blossoming into unique forms then withering away again just as quickly. Join local mushroom enthusiast Maria Pinto on November 9 at noon at the Bussey Street Gate to search for these fascinating organisms on the Arboretum grounds, both edible and poisonous alike. Along the way you will learn what mushrooms to look for in different habitats and seasons, how they move through ecosystems, and what the Arboretum’s unique collections affect what mushrooms you might find here.

    Accessibility: Participants will need to navigate woodchip, gravel, and dirt paths, and climb moderate hills (Hemlock Hill, specifically).

    Audience: This program is geared towards adults.

    Inclement weather policy: Participants will be notified via email at least one day in advance if a program needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather, and will be notified by phone if a program must be cancelled with less one day’s notice. Click here to view our full inclement weather policy. If you have questions about the status of a program, please email publicprograms@arnarb.harvard.edu (inbox monitored on weekdays) or call the Visitor Center desk between 10:00am and 4:00pm at (617) 384-5209. Register at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/

  • Saturday, November 15, 10:00 am – 10:45 am – Tree Mob: The Oldest Tree in the Arboretum

    Long before anyone dreamed of this landscape becoming the Arnold Arboretum, a white oak grew quietly on the slope of today’s Peters Hill. Years passed and Arboretum staff eventually incorporated this very old tree into the collections, making it possibly the oldest accessioned tree in the landscape. Join Assistant Curator Miles Sax for a Tree Mob on November 15 at 10 am to learn about this oak, what the landscape looked like before it was an Arboretum, the science of tree age, and how the Arboretum manages those trees that we never chose to plant but which are a treasured part of our collections nonetheless. This is a members-only event, so sign up now at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/support/

  • Saturday, November 1, 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm – Make Nature Art Like Andy Goldsworthy

    Use the freshly fallen leaves at the Arnold Arboretum to make beautiful art, just like the famed nature artist Andy Goldsworthy. This is a chance to play in the leaves and make something beautiful– even if it only lasts until the next gust of wind!

    We will meet on Saturday, November 1 at noon in front of the Hunnewell Visitor Center and then walk to the maple collection, collecting materials along the way. This is a members-only program. Not a member? Click here to join!

    Accessibility: This program involves a short walk over paved roads to the grassy maple collection.

    Audience: This program is suitable for all ages.

    Inclement weather policy: Participants will be notified via email at least 24 hours in advance if a program needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather, and will be notified by phone if a program must be cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice. Click here to view our full inclement weather policy. If you have questions about the status of a program, please email publicprograms@arnarb.harvard.edu or call the Visitor Center desk between 10:00am and 4:00pm at (617) 384-5209.

    Register at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/events/make-nature-art-like-andy-goldsworthy-470/?occurrence=2025-11-01