Boston Flora

Tag: Betsy Williams

  • Sunday, February 11, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Pot-et-Fleur

    Plant a lovely winter garden at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Sunday, February 11 from 1 – 3 with Betsy Williams. Garden indoors while you are waiting for the garden to return outdoors. A Pot-et-Fleur combines potted plants with fresh flowers in a decorative container. Flowering and tropical plants accented with lacy ferns, trailing ivies and fresh cut flowers become an enchanting table garden. With proper care, the plants will last for many months and the fresh flowers may be replaced when desired. Please bring floral scissors and an apron to class. Plants, flowers, container and mechanics will be supplied by the instructor. $80 for THBG members, $95 for nonmembers. Register online at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—pot-et-fleur-2018

    Betsy Williams teaches, lectures and writes about living with herbs and flowers. A gardener and herb grower since 1972, Betsy trained as a florist in Boston and England. She combines her floral and gardening skills with an extensive knowledge of history, plant lore and seasonal celebrations. Betsy is the author of several books on the uses and stories of herbs and flowers. She has appeared on the Discovery Channel and greater Boston cable stations as well as local and national radio talk shows. Betsy lectures and teaches locally and nationally.

  • Saturday, November 18, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – The Festive Table

    Learn how to combine fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts with seasonal berries and gathered evergreens to decorate your home and table for Thanksgiving and the Winter Holidays. Betsy Williams will demonstrate simple ideas and techniques for creating naturalistic, seasonal centerpieces, guest favors and door treatments. Each attendee will decorate a gourd with dried flowers, nuts and berries and make a boxwood apple candle to take home. All materials and handouts included. This Tower Hill Botanic Garden class will take place Saturday, November 18 from 10 – 12:30.

    Betsy Williams teaches, lectures and writes about living with herbs and flowers. A gardener and herb grower since 1972, Betsy trained as a florist in Boston and England. She combines her floral and gardening skills with an extensive knowledge of history, plant lore and seasonal celebrations. Betsy is the author of several books on the uses and stories of herbs and flowers. She has appeared on the Discovery Channel and greater Boston cable stations as well as local and national radio talk shows. Betsy lectures and teaches locally and nationally. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Sunday, June 11, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – The Wonderful World of Basils

    On Sunday, June 11, from 1 – 4 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, explore the fascinating and delicious world of basils with Betsy Williams. There are dozens of varieties of culinary basil: basils with huge leaves, basils with tiny leaves, basils from Asia, Italy and Greece, tall elegant basils, purple and variegated basils. There are basils that smell like cinnamon, cloves, lime and lemon: there is even a basil that smells like black walnuts. Learn the long, curious history of basil, its magical and medicinal associations and how it became America’s favorite culinary herb. We’ll smell and nibble different types of basil, discuss its growing requirements, how to use it in the kitchen and ways to preserve it. Students will enjoy a tasting of basil butter, vinegar, sauce and wine. Each person will plant 3 10″ pots of three varieties of basil to take home and enjoy during the warm days of summer.

    Please bring an apron and floral scissors to class. Recipe sheets are included. All materials included. $65 for Tower Hill members, $85 for nonmembers.  Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Betsy Williams teaches, lectures and writes about living with herbs and flowers. A gardener and herb grower since 1972, Betsy trained as a florist in Boston and England. She combines her floral and gardening skills with an extensive knowledge of history, plant lore and seasonal celebrations. Betsy is the author of several books on the uses and stories of herbs and flowers. She has appeared on the Discovery Channel and greater Boston cable stations as well as local and national radio talk shows. Betsy lectures and teaches locally and nationally.   Image from www.kingbasils.com.

  • Saturday, January 29, 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm – Open Top Terrarium

    On Sunday, January 29 from 12:30 – 2:30 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, learn how to plant, and maintain, a miniature garden in a bowl. Plant an attractive 8″ open-topped glass container with a selection of decorative slow-growing plants, then design a landscape for your indoor garden. Choose from a selection of polished stones, river pebbles, sea glass, shells, lichen covered twigs and decorative mosses to create a living picture that will delight your eye all winter long. With a little water and occasional pruning, your open terrarium will give you many months of pleasure. Please be sure to bring a pair of floral scissors to class. All other materials included. THBG members $60, nonmembers $75.

    Betsy Williams teaches, lectures and writes about living with herbs and flowers. A gardener and herb grower since 1972, Betsy trained as a florist in Boston and England. She combines her floral and gardening skills with an extensive knowledge of history, plant lore and seasonal celebrations. Betsy is the author of several books on the uses and stories of herbs and flowers. She has appeared on the Discovery Channel and greater Boston cable stations as well as local and national radio talk shows. Betsy lectures and teaches locally and nationally.

    Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.  Image from www.27east.com.

  • Thursday, November 17, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – The Festive Table

    Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on Thursday, November 17 from 1 – 3 at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street for a workshop on The Festive Table with Betsy Williams, just in time for your Thanksgiving and holiday entertaining. Betsy Williams teaches, lectures and writes about living with herbs and flowers. A life long gardener, herb grower and cook, Betsy trained as a florist in Boston and England. She combines her floral, gardening and cooking skills with an extensive knowledge of history, plant lore and seasonal celebrations. An entertaining lecturer, she weaves stories and legends throughout her informative talks and demonstrations.

    She has presented at Monticello, The American Horticultural Society’s Youth Symposium, the Pennsylvania Lavender Festival and International Herb Association as well as Colonial Williamsburg, the Ozark Folk Center and the New England, Rhode Island and Cincinnati Flower Shows. $25 for Mass Hort members, $40 for nonmembers.  Register at http://www.masshort.org/adult-education

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  • Sunday, November 13, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – The Festive Table

    Learn how to combine fruits, vegetables and nuts with locally harvested greens, berries and candles for a creative holiday decoration.  Betsy Williams will teach this Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop on Sunday, November 13 from 1 – 3. Take home a decorated gourd and boxwood apple candle.  All materials and handouts included in the fee of $50 for Tower Hill members, $65 for nonmembers.  Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Saturday, August 27, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm – Slow Flower Arranging: Bee and Pollinator Friendly Bouquets

    On Saturday, August 27, beginning at 10:30 am, fill a graceful glass vase with an abundant, naturalistic bouquet of lovely, freshly harvested, and locally sourced Slow Flowers. Slow Flowers are local, sustainably-grown flowers that are pollinator friendly and enjoyed in season. Gathered from the garden and the wayside or purchased at a near-by farm stand, Slow Flowers bring long-lasting natural beauty and delicate fragrance into your home. Learn when and how to cut garden and wayside flowers for arranging, which nectar rich herbal flowers add color and fragrance to seasonal bouquets and how to condition freshly picked stems for lasting beauty. Then, create your own personal, gardenesque bouquet to take home with you!

    Flowers, greens, mechanics and container are supplied by the instructor Betsy Williams. Class handouts include a list of garden and wild flowers that provide the most nourishment to pollinators. $60 for Tower Hill members, $75 for nonmembers. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Tuesday, August 16, 10:30 am – 4:00 pm – “Slow Flower” Farm Tour and Class

    Slow Flowers are flowers that are grown and sold locally. Seventy five years ago there were lots of flower farms in New England. Almost all flowers were locally grown and available for purchase shortly after picking. Today most flowers travel hundreds of miles before we have the opportunity to purchase them. Some are grown in California but the majority arrives from South America and Africa. A national movement, SLOW FLOWERS, is reconnecting consumers with the pleasures and benefits of buying locally grown blossoms. Like vegetables and fruit, locally grown flowers are available in season. Freshly picked, they often last longer then standard florist flowers. Buying locally grown flowers and produce benefits our local economy and keeps us connected to our communities in special ways.

    Join Betsy Williams and Tower Hill Botanic Garden for a tour of two local flower farms. Our tour will begin at the Cupp farm in Littleton, Mass. where acres of sunflowers and other flowers are grown every year for the local florist trade. After a stop for lunch on our own, we will continue to Stow Greenhouses in Stow, Mass. to visit the fields and greenhouses of Barbara Rietscha, who grows flowers for both the wholesale and retail trade. Our afternoon will conclude with a flower arranging class on Barbara’s screened porch. Using freshly harvested, Stow Greenhouse flowers, each person will make an arrangement of Slow Flowers to take home and enjoy.

    Directions will be mailed. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org. Tower Hill member price $75, nonmembers $90. Photo from www.sunflowerfarming.com.

  • Saturday, July 30, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – Pesto, Pistou, Pound: Herbal Sauces and Pastes

    Betsy Williams will lead a Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop on Saturday, July 30 from 10 – 12:30 on herbal sauces and pastes. Summer is pesto season. It’s time to gather fresh greens from gardens and farmer’s market and turn them into flavorful sauces to freeze for winter enjoyment. A dish of fragrant, pesto-slathered pasta really warms up an icy day.

    Pesto alla genovese, the classic sauce of Genoa, and Pistou, the traditional herb paste of Provence, are made with basil. However basil is only one of many flavorful greens that can become the heart of a rich, flavorful pesto or paste. A wide variety of flavorful leafy greens, such as mints, kale, garlic mustard, parsley, spinach, sage, dandelion greens, cilantro and arugula, can be used to make pesto and herb pastes. Pestos and pastes can be with or without cheese, nuts and garlic. We will taste a wide variety of pestos and discuss the ingredients used. After a demonstration of to how to make pestos and pastes, each person will make a pesto or herb paste to take home.

    Recipe sheets are included. Tower Hill member price $50, nonmembers $65. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org. Image of pea and arugula pesto from www.floatingkitchen.net.

  • Thursday, May 12, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – Boston Flower Exchange Tour

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden will conduct a tour led by floral designer Betsy Williams on Thursday, May 12, from 9:30 – 11:30 am.  The tour will begin in Boston.  See New England’s wholesale flower market, normally open only to floral professionals.  Tower Hill members $45, nonmembers $60.  Register online at www.towerhillbg.org, or call 508- 869-6111 ext 124.  Image from www.scoopnest.com.