Did you know that almost all of the new plants in the Arboretum begin their lives in the Dana Greenhouses? Get a behind-the-scenes look of the greenhouse growing process, from seed to sprout to seedling to tree, on Tuesday, April 3, beginning at 1 pm. Meet at the Bonsai Collection. There is a 15-person maximum. There is no fee, but registration is required by emailing arbweb@arnarb.harvard.edu, or by calling 617-384-5209. The address for the Dana Greenhouse is 1050 Centre Street, Boston.
Through lectures and work in the laboratory, Dr. Gandhi will provide a deeper understanding of the plant kingdom, from the simple plants to those that are highly evolved. He will outline the structure and reproduction of bacteria, cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, mosses, ferns, pines, and flowering plants, in this 6 session course taking place Tuesdays beginning April 3 (excluding April 17) at the Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Avenue in Cambridge.
You will learn about the fundamental differences in the plant structure of these groups and also their capabilities in reproducing both sexually and asexually. The role of xylem, phloem, fruits, and seeds in the success of flowering plants will be discussed. Cost: $145 for Arnold Arboretum members, $180 for nonmembers. To register, call 617-524-1418, or email adulted@arnarb.harvard.edu.
Ethnobotanist Dr. Selena Ahmed, co-author of the book Tea Horse Road, tackles the origins, culture and diversity of tea on Monday, March 26, from 7 – 8:30 at the Weld Hill Research Building at the Arnold Arboretum. Camellia sinensis is a species with a long history of cultivation, trade and consumption for well being. Hear about Selena’s discoveries of tea’s journey from the birthplace of the tea plant along the oldest tea trade road from a historical and contemporary perspective. Enjoy some of the beautiful photographs of southwest China by co-author, award-winning photographer and writer Michael Freeman. Sample a variety of teas traded along the ancient tea route, tea-infused gin, and tea candies presented in collaboration with botanist Rachel Meyer, Brooklyn Gin and Strawberry Hill Confectionery. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Read about Selena and view a slideshow of images by Michael Freeman. Free, but registration requested at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
The March meeting of the Garden Club of the Back Bay will take place at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden on Monday, March 19 beginning with tea at 2 pm, followed by another of our “Japan Year” programs, Bonsai: History, Facts and Myths. Learn how bonsai are created and tips for keeping them alive as long as possible. Pauline F. Muth will present a program on the history, art and horticulture of bonsai. She will illustrate her talk with both a photographic and live collection of various types of bonsai. Pauline has been involved with bonsai for almost 40 years. She maintains a teaching studio in West Charlton, NY exclusively dedicated to the art of bonsai. Her gardens are open to the public by appointment. She sits on the executive boards of Mohawk Hudson Bonsai Society, The Mid-Atlantic Bonsai Societies, The American Bonsai Society and Bonsai Clubs International. Her studioʼs web site is www.pfmbonsai.com. The program is co-sponsored by The Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive written notice of this meeting, along with car pool information. Others may register on line (Arnold Arboretum and Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture members $10, non-members $15) at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.
Artist Warren Mather, a member of the faculty at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, makes circular panoramas, presenting a simultaneous view of what is in front at the same time as what is behind. In this Arnold Arboretum exhibit, running from March 17 – April 29, he creates inverse panoramas of the bark of various trees. These images are formed into a ring and transferred to silk-screens, printed in ceramic pigments on clay, then fired and glazed. There will be an artist reception on Saturday, March 17, from 1 – 3 in the Hunnewell Lecture Hall at the Arboretum, and an artist talk on Thursday, April 12m from 6:30 – 8, also in the Hunnewell Lecture Hall. For more information visit www.arboretum.harvard.edu, or call 617-384-5209.
Microorganisms are ubiquitous and abundant on Earth. You inhale thousands of microbial cells in every breath and your body is home to 100 trillion of them. Only in the past few years have we been able to describe the enormous diversity of microorganisms that live in familiar environments, including your forehead, your computer keyboard, plant leaves, and the soil in your garden. Noah Fierer, Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Fellow at the Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will speak on Monday, March 19, from 7 – 8:30, in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum, about recent work exploring microbial diversity on the human body, the effects these organisms (most of which are not pathogenic) may have on our health, and how we may be able to use bacteria for forensic identification. He will also discuss ongoing work exploring bacterial diversity in the atmosphere through which unexpected sources of airborne bacteria in U.S. cities have been identified. He will finish by highlighting some future research directions in the burgeoning field of microbial ecology and how this research will likely alter how we think about ‘germs’ and human-microbe interactions. The lecture is free, but registration is required by calling 617-384-5277, or by visiting www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
In 1975, dendrologist Zsolt Debreczy and nature photographer István Rácz (then still a university student) set themselves a goal: to search out and document all the conifers in the world’s temperate zones and their adjacent regions — if possible in their most pristine natural habitats. Over the next thirty years, and with the eventual assistance of over a hundred nature-loving volunteers, generous financial supporters, and field associates from hundreds of regional and local institutes and organizations, Debreczy and Rácz spent almost 2,000 days (over five continuous years) in the field on the trail of conifers. They were able to visit and document the world’s most inaccessible conifer taxa and to include the accompanying flora and vegetation in their documentation. They compiled a collection of 340,000 photographs representing thousands of taxa and backed with precise documentation. This collaborative effort produced Conifers around the World in which they present 500 species of conifers of 52 genera, including several that were new to science. Join the Arnold Arboretum on Friday, March 2, from 5:30 – 7 at the Weld Hill Research Building in celebrating this accomplishment, seeing some of these exquisite images, and hearing about this grand search for conifers. Free, but registration requested at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
On Tuesday, February 28, beginning at 7 pm, James Jiler will speak at Trinity Church, Copley Square, in a program co-sponsored by Trinity Church and The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University entitled Growing Potential: Gardening Behind Bars. James Jiler is former Director of the GreenHouse Project, a renowned horticultural job training program for inmates at New York City’s Rikers Island prison and is author of Doing Time in the Garden. He is currently director of GreenWorks, a re-entry program in Florida offering vocational training in “Greencollar” jobs, both inside and outside prison walls. Jiler will discuss horticultural therapy, the role of gardens inside and outside of prison walls and the human and landscape transformations he has witnessed. Jiler was featured in the documentary Dirt! which explores the life-changing effects that dirt and “doing time in the garden” have had on improving/reclaiming the lives of inmates. Book-signing to follow.
For more information on James Jiler, please see www.nativesplendor.com.
Tickets available at the Shop at Trinity, by phone (617.536.0944 x225) or online arboretum.harvard.edu.
Questions: Kathy Acerbo-Bachmann, kacerbobachmann@trinitychurchboston or 617.536.0944 x217.
Jules Janick, James Troop Distinguished Professor of Horticulture at Purdue University, will speak in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum on Monday, March 5, from 7 – 8:30, as part of the Director’s Lecture Series. Works of art from antiquity to the present constitute an alternate source of information on horticultural technology and science, providing significant information on subjects such as the history of technology, crop evolution, lost traits, and crop dispersal. Sources include ancient mosaics, sculpture, illustrations of medieval manuscripts, renaissance paintings, and illustrations from illuminated and printed herbals. The uses of art as a source of horticultural technology will be illustrated using examples of Paleolithic sculpture and painting, Egyptian and Mesopotamian sculpture and painting, ancient Greek paintings, Roman mosaics, Medieval illuminated herbals, and Renaissance art in its many manifestations including illustrated prayer books, fresco ceilings, paintings, drawings, sculpture, and woodcuts from printed herbals. The program is free but registration is required at 617-384-5277, or sign up on line at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
The quantity and diversity of trees and shrubs in our area provide shelter and food to a wide assortment of birds throughout the year. Three fantastic bird photographers have combed their portfolios for images that capture both floral and avian organisms in tandem. By giving a measure of parity to the plants, these images invite the viewer to consider the vital interactions between all living things. The Arnold Arboretum hosts the show Aviflora: Plants and Birds That Love Them from January 14 – March 11, 2012, in the Hunnewell Lecture Hall at the Arboretum, with an artists reception on Saturday, February 18 from 1 – 3. For more information visit www.arboretum.harvard.edu, or call 617-384-5209.
