Boston Flora

Tag: BBC

  • Thursday, August 8, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern – A Short History of Flowers: The Stories that Make Our Gardens, Online

    Advolly Richmond’s beautifully illustrated talk highlights some of the flowers featured in her upcoming book, A Short History of Flowers. Many of the plants we love and grow as ornamentals first appeared in early herbals for medicinal and culinary use. But how often do we stop to think about how these beautiful flowers ended up in our tiny corner of the world?

    Flowers have played pivotal roles in societies for centuries, from the wild fuchsia hedgerows of Ireland, to the lily of the valley bringing luck and making a bold fashion statement in Paris. All of these blooms hold a treasure trove of stories. Have a giggle, shed a tear, but most of all, enjoy the tales of exploration in disguise, enduring love, cultural appropriation, and hybridization that Advolly will bring to life in this webinar. You will also get a glimpse of some of the gorgeous, specially commissioned botanical illustrations which appear in the book. Advolly Richmond is a plants and garden historian, TV and radio presenter, and independent researcher in social history based in England. She lectures on garden history subjects from the sixteenth to twentieth centuries, contributes garden history features on BBC Gardeners’ World, presents plant history profiles for BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, and produces The Garden History Podcast.

    $5 for Garden Conservancy members, $15 for nonmembers. A recording of this webinar will be sent to all registrants a few days after the event. We encourage you to register, even if you cannot attend the live webinar. Register at https://www.gardenconservancy.org/education/education-events/virtual-talk-a-short-history-of-flowers

  • Tuesday, April 27, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Why Our Gardens Should Change: Adapting Our Gardens for Insects, Online

    We are in the midst of the 6th mass extinction event, with extinctions occurring faster than at any time in the last 65 million years. ‘Bioabundance’ is in decline, with recent studies showing that insects in particular seem to be disappearing fast. If it continues, this will have profound consequences for mankind and for our planet. Dave Goulson will explain why insects are in decline, and suggest how we can all help to tackle this crisis, by turning our gardens and urban greenspaces into oases for life. He will discuss the many things we should do, and those things we should not do, to welcome bumblebees, butterflies, and a plethora of other wildlife into our gardens and into our lives.

    Kent Gardens Trust (organized jointly with The Gardens Trust) present an online talk with Dave Goulson, Tuesday 27th April at 2.00 pm, £5. Register through Eventbrite by clicking HERE.

    Dave Goulson is Professor of Biology at University of Sussex, specializing in bee ecology. He has published more than 300 scientific articles on the ecology and conservation of bumblebees and other insects. He is the author of Bumblebees; Their Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation, published in 2010 by Oxford University Press, and of the Sunday Times bestseller A Sting in the Tale, a popular science book about bumble bees, published in 2013 by Jonathan Cape, and now translated into fourteen languages. This was followed by A Buzz in the Meadow in 2014, Bee Quest in 2017, and The Garden Jungle in 2019. Goulson founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in 2006, a charity which has grown to 12,000 members. He was: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s Social Innovator of the Year in 2010; given Zoological Society of London’s Marsh Award for Conservation Biology in 2013; elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2013; given the British Ecological Society Public Engagement Award in 2014; given Zoological Society of London’s Clarivate Award for Communicating Zoology in 2020. In 2015 he was named number 8 in BBC Wildlife Magazine’s list of the top 50 most influential people in conservation. In 2018, 2019 and 2020 he was named as a “Highly Cited Researcher” by Thompson ISI. He is a trustee of Pesticide Action Network, and an “Ambassador” for the UK Wildlife Trusts.

  • Tuesday, April 20, 2:00 pm – The Naturally Beautiful Garden: Designs That Engage with Wildlife and Nature, Online

    Drawing from her new book The Naturally Beautiful Garden: Designs That Engage with Wildlife and Nature (Rizzoli, April 2021), Kathryn Bradley-Hole will consider ‘what makes a naturally beautiful garden?’ Interest in growing plants and creating attractive spaces that support pollinators, birds, and other wildlife is a recurrent theme in garden-making today. This online illustrated lecture will be held on April 20 at 2 pm and sponsored by The Royal Oak Foundation. $15 Royal Oak members, $20 general public. Register at https://www.royal-oak.org/events/spring-2021-online/naturally-beautiful-garden/

    Often it goes hand in hand with organic principles that shun the use of short-term, quick-fix chemical solutions. Kathryn will illustrate inspiring contemporary gardens that exemplify these principles from the UK and across the globe.

    These gorgeous gardens are located in a broad variety of climates and feature correspondingly varied flora, which support their local fauna in engaging ways! From 21st century public green spaces to modern cottage gardens, and from large country gardens to intimate city courtyards these gardens benefit people of all ages who use them, bringing the beauties of Nature close to hand.

    Kathryn Bradley-Hole’s distinguished career as a horticultural writer includes 18 years as Gardens Editor of the iconic English weekly magazine, Country Life, between 2000 and 2018. She has authored six books on a variety of garden subjects, including the bestselling BBC “Gardeners’ World” Garden Lovers’ Guide to Britain and Lost Gardens of England from the Archives of Country Life; and English Gardens from the Archives of Country Life Magazine (October 2020).

    A Fellow of the Linnean Society, her personal gardening interests focus in achieving visual harmony with the broader landscape and creating environments that assist wildlife. Her personal gardening interests focus on achieving visual harmony with the broader landscape and creating environments that assist wildlife

  • Wednesday, July 22, 7:00 pm – What a Plant Knows

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden will host Professor Daniel Chamovitz of Tel Aviv University on Wednesday, July 22 from 7 – 8 pm for a lecture and book signing. Highlighting the latest in plant science, renowned biologist Professor Daniel Chamovitz takes us into the lives of different types of plants and draws parallels with human senses to reveal that we have more in common with sunflowers and oak trees than we realize. What a Plant Knows was listed as one of the Top 10 Science Books on Amazon and has been featured on the BBC, NPR, and CBS. Tower Hill members $15, nonmembers $25. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Saturday, March 16, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – 21st Annual Birders’ Meeting

    Saturday, March 16, the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Brookline Bird Club (BBC) — one of the largest bird clubs in the state—will co-host the 21st annual Birders Meeting at Bentley University in Waltham. Exploring the theme Birding: Past Present, and Future Challenges and Opportunities, we will take a look back at 20th century birding through the lens of one of America’s oldest bird clubs, as well as examine how modern technological advances are revolutionizing our understanding of bird classification, migration, and key conservation issues. This popular event, which supports Mass Audubon’s Science and Bird Conservation work, draws birders of all levels as well as photographers, students, and conservation and academic professionals from across the state for a day of presentations, workshops, exhibitors, silent auctions, and raffles.

    Proceeds from the Birders Meeting help to strengthen Mass Audubon’s statewide bird monitoring initiatives aimed specifically at protecting species at risk at a time when more than one-third of Massachusetts’ breeding bird species have suffered significant declines. For complete event details, including a comprehensive agenda, speakers list, and registration information, visit www.massaudubon.org/birdersmeeting.

  • Tuesday, November 13, 10:00 am – Immortal Garden

    Gloria Lieberman, world-renowned expert on antique jewelry, will trace the different ways that floral motifs are incorporated into jewelry designs. She will cover all different periods and some of the more prominent retailers’ designs. Lieberman’s many television appearances include the BBC’s The Great Antiques Hunt, the PBS series The Antiques Roadshow, and the Boston-based series Chronicle. The program is presented at the South Church Fellowship Hall, 41 Central Street, Andover, on Tuesday, November 13, beginning at 10 am, and is sponsored by the Andover Garden Club.  Free for members of the Andover Garden Club, non-members $10.