Boston Flora

Tag: Dwarf Conifers

  • Thursday, July 9, 10:00 am – 1:30 pm – Hosta, Japanese Maples, and Dwarf Conifers: Collectors’ Plants for the Garden Obsessed

    Join plantsman extraordinaire John O’Brien on Thursday, July 9 from 10 – 1:30 for a walking tour of his fabulous specialty nursery, O’Brien Nurserymen, located in Granby, Connecticut. View this exceptional collection of rare and beautifully grown specimens with a focus on dwarf conifers, Japanese maples and hundreds of hostas and other rare woodland perennials. There will be plenty to see in this meticulously maintained small-batch nursery, and John will devote the tour to teaching us the virtues of the many fabulous selections cultivated on his property. Following the tour there will be time to purchase plants. Then the group will head over to nearby Lost Acres Orchard. Lunch is available for purchase and includes a nice selection of homemade sandwiches and salads. Relax on the porch of the wonderful barn or wander through the orchard, sit in the shade and enjoy a wonderfully prepared lunch.

    John O’Brien is owner of O’Brien Nurserymen, LLC, which has grown into New England’s premier hosta nursery. The extensive display gardens feature over 1,600 hosta varieties, as well as other shady characters, including asarums, pulmonarias, epimediums and arisaemas. The gardens also include a wide variety of unusual dwarf conifers and over 100 varieties of Japanese maples. Participants can choose to carpool or drive separately.Those joining the carpool should meet in the parking lot at Berkshire Botanical Garden for an 8:30 am departure. BBG members $40, nonmembers $50. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Saturday, September 11, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – A Gathering of Gardeners 2010: A Garden of Glamour

    The Master Gardeners of Monroe County and the Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester, NY will present a Gathering of Gardeners 2010: A Garden of Glamour on Saturday, September 11, from 8 – 4.  The programs feature nurseryman Bill Hendricks and garden consultant (and past Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker) CL Fornari.  All presentations take place in the Eisenhart Auditorium of the Rochester Museum & Science Center.

    Bill Hendricks will speak about Shrubs for the Mixed Border – Great Complement to Perennials, and Dwarf Conifers, an Investment in Garden Treasures. CL Fornari’s topics are The Top 25 and Myths, Lies, and the Latest Dirt.  There will also be a raffle, book signings and sales, and a parking lot sale.

    Bill Hendricks has been president of Klyn Nurseries in Perry, Ohio since 1987. He is a member of the American Nursery & Landscape Association and International Plant Propagator’s Society. Bill taught a plant material course at Cleveland State for 20 years, and provided review for publications including Handbook of Landscape Tree Cultivars and Landscape Plants for Ohio. He demonstrated his horticultural interest as early as age 9, starting a cactus & succulent collection ultimately including over 3,000 species as an ongoing hobby.

    Bill has received several professional awards for his extensive contributions to the green industry, and is the source of numerous photos featured in professional horticultural publications. Klyn Nurseries has more than 430 acres of fieldstock and container plants, listing more than 1,600 varieties in its catalog.

    CL Fornari is a Massachusetts free-lance garden consultant providing help with garden design, plant selection, and insect/disease concerns while concentrating on low-maintenance landscaping and least-toxic solutions to problems. A life-long grower of flowers, vegetables, shrubs and trees, she is a popular speaker at events like the New England Flower Show and Philadelphia Flower Show and has taught at the New York Horticultural Society.

    She is the author of works including Your Garden Shouldn’t Make You Crazy, A Garden Lover’s Martha’s Vineyard, A Garden Lover’s Cape Cod, and Gardening in Sandy Soils, many illustrated with her photos. CL has served as a volunteer Master Gardener with the Barnstable Cooperative Extension Service and as a seasonal employee at Hyannis Country Garden working with annuals and propagation of perennials. She believes that the lessons learned in the garden are relevant to work, relationships, spirituality and personal growth. CL shares her plant and garden experiences at her website, gardenlady.com, authors the Whole Life Gardening blog, and hosts the “GardenLine” – call-in program on WXTK radio.

    Tickets are $48, with a $5 discount if registration is postmarked by August 1.  You may download a registration form by logging on to www.gatheringofgardeners.com.  An optional box lunch is available for $11 (specify veggie wrap, tuna or turkey.)  All proceeds from this event will be used by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County to support future horticultural education programs.