Boston Flora

Tag: Bark

  • Sunday, January 7, 11:00 am – Barking Up the Right Tree: A Tour of Bark Diversity at the Arboretum

    What is there to see at the Arboretum after all of the leaves have fallen and before spring flowers start to bloom? Bark! Shaggy bark, mottled bark, striped bark: the Arboretum has it all. Join Horticulturist Rachel Lawlor at 11 am on January 7 to see some beautiful bark highlights, learn how to identify some trees by their bark, and learn why that bark looks the way it does. Accessibility: Participants will walk over paved roads, woodchip paths, and mowed grass. Parking: There is limited parking outside of Centre Street Gate, and additional parking on Arborway near Forest Hills Gate (a 10 minute walk from the meeting point).

    In the event of inclement weather, registrants will be notified via email. If you have questions, 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/event-signup/?id=82442

  • Friday, April 29, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm – Celebrate & Explore the Growth of Trees on Arbor Day

    Have you been yearning to know more about trees? Arbor Day is the perfect time to learn about them. No single view of a tree is a fixed snapshot in time that tells the complete story. Join Michael Wojtech (one of the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s speakers this season) on April 29 at The New England Botanical Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston and discover how trees grow, reproduce, and interact with their environment across days, weeks, seasons, and years and over varying scales—from the intricate details of buds, flowers, and leaves that we use for species identification to the collaborative roles of trees in ecosystems. Learn more about the function and experience the beauty of overwintering buds, lobed or toothed leaves, flowers by the thousands, seeds that fly on the wind, and more.

    Michael Wojtech is the author of Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. As a naturalist and educator, Michael strives to share the science and wonder of trees in an accessible and compelling fashion. He writes, photographs, illustrates, and presents programs about the structure, growth processes, and ecology of trees-including their bark, buds, leaves, roots, and wood-for audiences at all levels of experience. He is especially interested in the process of discovery and engagement, and draws his greatest inspiration from sharing the sense of wonder, awe, and the recognition of beauty that result from these investigations.

    $60 Member Adult; $75 Adult (Registration includes admission to the Garden) Register at www.nebg.org.

  • Thursday, February 17, 10:00 am – Garden Club of the Back Bay February Meeting – A Growth of Trees: A Journey Through Time, Online


    No single view of a tree is a fixed snapshot in time that tells the complete story. Join Michael Wojtech and discover how trees grow, reproduce, and interact with their environment across days, weeks, seasons, and years and over varying scales—from the intricate details of buds, flowers, leaves, and bark that we use for species identification to the collaborative roles of trees in ecosystems. Learn more about the function and experience the beauty of characteristics such as peeling bark, overwintering buds, lobed or toothed leaves, flowers by the thousands, and seeds that fly on the wind. This Garden Club of the Back Bay meeting will take place February 17 at 10:00 am.

    Michael Wojtech earned his Masters degree in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England, where his coursework brought a welcomed, intense immersion into the natural history and ecology of the plants, critters, and other organisms in the landscape. As a naturalist and educator, he strives to share the science and wonder of trees in an accessible and compelling fashion. He writes, photographs, illustrates, and presents programs about the structure, growth processes, and ecology of trees—including their bark, buds, leaves, roots, and wood—for audiences at all levels of experience.  

    Michael previously presented to the Garden Club of the Back Bay in 2013, when he spoke to us about his book, Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast.  We are delighted to bring Michael back to speak to us  again!  To learn more about Michael Wojtech, visit his website at http://knowyourtrees.com. Please rsvp by February 11th by clicking HERE.  A ZOOM link will be sent a few days before the program.  The program will not be recorded.

  • Saturday, April 4, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – The Growth of Trees: A Journey Through Time – Postponed

    No single view of a tree is a fixed snapshot in time that tells the complete story. Join Michael Wojtech on April 4 from 9:30 – 12:30 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, for this combination indoor presentation and outdoor exploration and discover how trees grow, reproduce, and interact with their environment across days, weeks, seasons, and years and over varying scales-from the intricate details of buds, flowers, leaves, and bark that we use for species identification to the collaborative roles of trees in ecosystems. Learn more about the function and experience the beauty of characteristics such as peeling bark, overwintering buds, lobed or toothed leaves, flowers by the thousands, and seeds that fly on the wind.

    Michael Wojtech is the author of Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. As a naturalist and educator, Michael strives to share the science and wonder of trees in an accessible and compelling fashion. He writes, photographs, illustrates, and presents programs about the structure, growth processes, and ecology of trees-including their bark, buds, leaves, roots, and wood-for audiences at all levels of experience. He is especially interested in the process of discovery and engagement, and draws his greatest inspiration from sharing the sense of wonder, awe, and the recognition of beauty that result from these investigations.

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden members $42, nonmembers $56. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Saturday, December 14, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Bark and Buds

    On Saturday, December 14 from 10 – 2 at Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, discover the many plants that lend bark, buds, fruit and structural interest to the garden in fall and winter. Students will develop the ability to identify winter trees by twig and bud anatomy, bark features and plant architecture while practicing their skills with winter tree dichotomous keys. BBG members $25, nonmembers $35. Register at http://berkshirebotanical.org

  • Sunday, November 3, 12:45 pm – 3:45 pm – Bark: Get to Know Your Trees

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden will host a lecture on November 3 from 12:45 – 3:45 with Michael Wojtech. Tower Hill members $42, nonmembers $56. Register at www.towerhillbg.org

    The traits typically used to describe trees-leaves, twigs, and buds-are often hard to see or seasonally absent. Join Michael for this indoor presentation and outdoor exploration of bark, which is always visible, in any season. As you hone your perceptive abilities you will learn about a system for identifying tree species by their bark, and discover why such a variety of bark characteristics exist. Why do some species have smooth bark, while on others it is thick and broken? Why does bark peel?

    Michael Wojtech is the author of Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. As a naturalist and educator, Michael strives to share the science and wonder of trees in an accessible and compelling fashion. He writes, photographs, illustrates, and presents programs about the structure, growth processes, and ecology of trees-including their bark, buds, leaves, roots, and wood-for audiences at all levels of experience. He is especially interested in the process of discovery and engagement, and draws his greatest inspiration from sharing the sense of wonder, awe, and the recognition of beauty that result from these investigations.

     

  • Saturday, December 8, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Bark and Buds: Winter Tree ID

    Discover the many plants that lend bark, buds, fruit and structural interest to the garden in fall and winter. Under the expert guidance of Brad Roeller, students registered in this December 8 Berkshire Botanical Garden class will develop the ability to identify winter trees by twig and bud anatomy, bark features and plant architecture while practicing their skills with winter tree dichotomous keys. This program will be held primarily indoors, and students will work with collected specimens. Bring a bag lunch and dress for occasional outdoor fieldwork. The class begins at 10 am and ends at 2 pm. $25 for BBG members, $35 for nonmembers.

    Brad Roeller is a private landscape garden supervisor for Altamont Estate in New York. He is the former Garden Manager for the New York Botanical Garden and has spent his entire career in horticulture, with a focus in sustainable gardening. He lectures extensively and instructs at the New York Botanical Garden, Berkshire Botanical Garden, and New England Grows.

    To register and for additional information visit https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/bark-and-buds-winter-tree-id

    Image result for winter tree bark

  • Saturday, February 10, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm – Bark: A Multi-Sensory Experience of Trees

    Michael Wojtech, Naturalist, Author, and past Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker, will lead an Arnold Arboretum session on Saturday, February 10, 9:00am–1:00pm. Explore the wonderful variety of bark textures, shapes, thicknesses, and colors, which are always-visible clues to tree identity. Through presentations and a series of participatory exercises, learn how to identify tree species by their bark, and uncover why such a variety of bark characteristics exist. See, touch, smell, and trace the contours of bark to hone perceptive skills and deepen intimacy with trees and the places where they grow. Class will meet indoors and in the landscape of the Arnold Arboretum. Open to tree enthusiasts at all levels of experience. Michael will be available to sign copies of his book, Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. For more details visit: http://www.knowyourtrees.com. Fee $60 Arboretum member, $75 nonmember. Register at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

  • Saturday, October 21, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Tree ID Using Bark and Habitat Clues

    Join naturalist Nancy Goodman and take a close look at trees and other botanical wonders we encounter at Northfield Mountain. Have you ever looked at a tree in winter and wondered what it might be? For more than half the year, bark provides the best clue to tree identification. We will be keying out some of the trees to see what we can learn. Become familiar with the characteristic bark of different trees in different habitats and at different stages of growth, as well as identification from leaves and other clues. Bring binoculars, water, lunch, sturdy walking shoes and the book Bark by Michael Wojtech, if you have a copy. This program is co-sponsored with the Athol Bird and Nature Club and will take place at Northfield’s scenic Riverview area along the Connecticut River. This special location has an especially rich variety of tree species. Meet in the Riverview parking area at 10 or at the Northfield Mountain Visitors Center in Northfield at 9:45 a.m. for a short walk to Riverview. For ages 16 and older. FREE , but pre-register by calling 800-859-2960.

  • Sunday, October 25, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pmm – Bark: A Multi-Sensory Experience of Trees

    Explore the wonderful variety of bark textures, shapes, thicknesses and colors, visible in any season. Through presentations and a series of participatory exercises you’ll learn how to identify tree species by their bark, and uncover why such a variety of bark characteristics exist. As we practice seeing, touching, smelling and tracing the contours of bark, you will hone your perceptive skills and deepen your intimacy with trees and the forests they grow in. We will begin indoors, and then head out to explore the trees of Tower Hill. Open to naturalists at all levels of experience. Michael Wojtech will be available to sign copies of his book, Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast.

    Michael is a freelance writer, educator, photographer, and illustrator. He continues to focus his work on the identification, physiology, and ecology of trees. He is especially interested in the process of studying natural history-the keen observation, the discovery of nuance in infinite layers, the evocation of multiple senses-and the creative expressions that flow from these experiences. He spoke to The Garden Club of the Back Bay two years ago and for those who missed his presentation and walk on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, we highly recommend attending this Tower Hill Botanic Garden lecture, walk, and book signing. $30 for Tower Hill members, $45 for non-members. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.