Boston Flora

Tag: Ecological Landscaping Association

  • Wednesday, September 14, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Design Magic for a Family Farm

    Join Ecological Landscaping Association host Laura Kuhn on Wednesday, September 14 beginning at 3 pm for a unique glimpse of Bent Stone Farm, a 32-acre private property transformation in Sudbury, from a horse farm to gourmet vegetable production, in a beautifully landscaped setting.  Located in a picturesque New England setting, this tour features a major repurposing of a 200+ year old property from horse farm back to its 20th century agricultural roots, updated to gourmet vegetable farming for the high-end Boston restaurants.  This project included removal of paddocks and extensive soil management, barn renovation and expansion, greenhouse installation, new orchard and vineyard, as well as updates to many of the utility systems.  The project involved both infrastructure as well as artistic design elements and necessitated a careful balance to ensure success as both a business and residence.  The property straddles a flood plain and there are three buffer zones and a nearby vernal pool which posed additional design challenges.  Reuse of materials was a priority, including large stone slabs that became steps and landings throughout the property and hundreds of weathered paddock cedar posts and rails, which were later used in the orchard and as fencing.  The property’s sense of place as a historic farm in a rural setting served as a constant guide during design.  Maintaining the bucolic views while providing adequate privacy was accomplished in part by the installation of large ornamental gardens outside the patio.  Wide meandering paths are sized appropriately for the large property and provide access s well as a sense of mystery as they curve just out of sight.  The design includes a mixture of both native and non-native plants and includes many large drifts reminiscent of farm gardens from a century ago.  Register online at www.ecolandscaping.org, or call 617-436-5838 for more information.  $20 ELA members, $25 non-members.

    Sudbury Farm Design

  • Saturday, September 17, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – Native Gardens in Newton

    Learn how a landscape designer working with urban properties and their sustainably- minded owners can create enticing native gardens in small spaces. The first garden we visit, situated around a Victorian house, received a front yard overhaul, which was achieved by removing lawn and creating a habitat garden by adding many natives with four-seasons of interest. A photo of this property illustrated an article in Money Magazine naming Newton as one of the best places to live in America. The second homeowner wished to make her garden as eco-friendly as possible, reducing its carbon footprint, reusing materials and creating habitat for wildlife. A walkway of recycled brick was installed, rain gardens improved drainage around the existing edible garden, and 100-year old recycled seawall blocks were installed as sitting walls. Shrubs from the front of the property were replanted in the back and a mostly native woodland garden was created under a red maple. The New England Wild Flower Society tour is co-sponsored by the Ecological Landscaping Association. Fee is $22 for members of the sponsoring organizations, and $25 for non-members.  Register at www.newfs.org.  Photo of a Newton garden space by Lorianne DiSabato, published on her blog, www.hoardedordinaries.wordpress.com.

  • Wednesday, August 3, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Bird Park: Ecological Beauty

    Join Trustees of Reservations Ecologist Russ Hopping on Wednesday, August 3 at 10 in the morning for a unique walking tour of Francis William Bird Park, an 89-acre reservation in Walpole, designed by renowned landscape architect and town planner John Nolen.  Russ will discuss the park’s land use history and The Trustees’ current efforts to promote biodiversity and ecological resiliency.  His passion for the sustainable landscape management practices employed here is contagious.  Attendees will learn about lawn reduction to create meadows for native pollinators, birds, and bats, sustainable mowing practices, removal of invasive species, and monitoring waterways to plan pond restoration.  Registrations are limited.  $15 for Ecological Landscaping Association and Trustees of Reservations members, or $20 for nonmembers.  For more information call 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net.  You may register online at www.ecolandscaping.org or www.thetrustees.org.  Meet at the park, on Washington Street in Walpole.

  • Tuesday, June 28, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – Urban Sustainability: Roger Williams Park Botanical Center and Beyond

    Join the Ecological Landscaping Association and University of Rhode Island Research Associate Kate Venturini for a unique insider tour of the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center complex in Providence, Rhode Island, an urban oasis nestled in the heart of the 427 acre park designed by Horace Cleveland in 1878.  Through a partnership between the URI Outreach Center and the Providence Parks Department, the Botanical Center complex is being transformed both inside and out as a model for sustainable urban horticulture.  Located on an island surrounded by man-made ponds, the complex features a newly designed and installed rain garden to capture greenhouse roof runoff, Rhode Island’s largest community garden, the future site of a permaculture food forest, extensive outdoor display gardens featuring native and sustainable plants, and the largest public indoor display gardens in New England.  This Tuesday, June 28 tour will cost $20 if you are an ELA member or $25 for non-members.  Please call 617-436-5838 to register, or visit https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1008073.

  • Saturday, May 21, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Successful, Ecological Lawns

    Join the Ecological Landscaping Association on Saturday, May 21 at Look Memorial Park in Florence, Massachusetts from 10 – noon, and then move on to Rocky Hill co-Housing in Northampton, Massachusetts from noon – 2 pm, for an informative walking tour of two successful, ecological lawns, with co-hosts Bernadette Giblin and Julie Meyer.  Look Memorial Park is a 157 acre private park, one of two organic lawn demonstration projects in Western Massachusetts.  The Pines Theater is being transitioned from a traditional turf management program to organic, non-soluble, slow release fertilizers and organic pest management strategies.  Bernadette will explain the organic cultural practices that promote beauty, environmental efficiency, and cost effectiveness being used on the Pines Theater lawn.  She will also discuss what organic products are most effective in working with nature to achieve greater soil stability while lowering ecological and human health threats on lawns.

    Rocky Hill is a thriving community of neighbors committed to living lightly on the earth.  This mission led to the choice to plant low-mow turf.  This tour will include discussion about low-mow grass including why it might be a good choice for lawns, where this lawn alternative is used, what species were selected, and research findings on new cultivars.  Julie Meyer will also share residents’ evaluation of its aesthetics, maintenance, and performance ov er time and across micro-climates.  Visitors will review the planting plan of the property, and visit areas of the neighborhood where low-mow turf is growing.  The Eco-Tour begins at Look Memorial Park, located at 300 North Main Street, Florence, and then will continue on to Rocky Hill, where guests should park on Black Birch Trail, not the parking lot.  The tour will meet at the Common House entrance at 100 Black Birch Trail.  Registrations are limited.  Call 617-436-5838 or email ela.info@comcast.net.

  • Tuesday, March 29, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Vernal Pools: Ecology and Design Considerations

    Elizabeth Colburn, Ph.D., Aquatic Ecologist with the Harvard Forest, Harvard University, will give an illustrated presentation at the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum on Tuesday, March 29, from 1:30 – 3:30. Betsy will speak about the natural history and ecology of New England vernal pools in the context of ecological landscaping. Topics will include the origins and annual cycles of vernal pools; life histories of common pool animals; year-round habitat needs of pool inhabitants; linkages among vernal pools, adjacent uplands, and other water bodies; factors affecting water quality and hydrology; plants associated with vernal pools; and strategies for avoiding damage to vernal pool ecosystems within managed landscapes.  Fee $20 Ecological Landscaping Association and Arnold Arboretum members, $25 nonmember.

    Co-sponsored by the Ecological Landscaping Association and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.  Register online at https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu or by phone at 617-384-5277.

  • Saturday, March 19, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Gardening for the Birds

    Join Stephen Kress, author of The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds and Vice President for Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society, for a lively presentation on desirable gardening practices-from a bird’s viewpoint.  An expert in seabird conservation, Kress successfully led Audubon’s Project Puffin in Maine. He is also an associate at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology where he teaches a Field Ornithology course. He will explain bird-plant interactions and suggest landscaping options for creating enticing and safe habitats. He’ll provide solutions for reducing bird encounters with windows and cats, as well as some tactics for preventing the spread of avian diseases. He will also share tips for learning to recognize common backyard birds by sight and song. His book will be available for purchase and signing. $40 for ELA, WCFH members, Audubon Society members and Arnold Arboretum members, $48 for non-members. Registrations are limited – call 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net. This Saturday, March 19 event is offered in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum, Boston Nature Center, Grow Native Massachusetts/Cambridge, and Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture, and will take place from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum, 125 The Arborway, Boston.

  • Thursday, February 17, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Winter Garden Design

    Winter in cold climates drives most gardeners indoors, but with winter garden design tips, the view out the window can be spectacular. Winter interest can be achieved through a wide palate of architectural plants that persist through winter. The New England Wildflower Society staff will expand our considerations beyond evergreens to include the form of many deciduous trees and shrubs, grasses, and a few perennials that remain attractive throughout winter. Co-sponsored by the Ecological Landscaping Association and NEWFS, the February 17 event, which will take place from 1:30 – 4 at Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road in Framingham, will cost $20 for ELA and NEWFS members, $25 for non members. To register, log on to www.ecolandscaping.com.  Image below from www.theartistichouse.com.

  • Thursday, March 3, 8:00 am – 8:30 pm – 17th Annual ELA Conference and Eco-Marketplace

    ELA brings together all of the essential information on rain gardens that really work, healthy soils for healthy trees, plant choices for food productive landscapes, and more at the 17th Annual ELA Conference and Eco-Marketplace on Thursday, March 3 from 8 am – 8:30 pm. Co-hosted by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, New England Wild Flower Society, NOFA Organic Land Care Program, Society for Ecological Restoration, New England Chapter, and the Ecological Landscaping Association. Panelists include William Cullina, Dr. Peter Del Tredici, and Jono Neiger, three leading experts in the field of plant selection, who will share their unique perspectives on Native, Introduced, Invasive, and Endangered Plants in the Landscape: Untangling the Roots of the Problem. Visit www.ecolandscaping.org for online registration, or call Penny Lewis at 617-436-5838. The conference will take place at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Rooms at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel are available to participants for $109/night. Complete package (not including hotel) for members of one of the sponsors is $170 before 2/15, $225 after 2/15; non members $190/$245.

  • Wednesday, February 9, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – What Does Sustainability Really Mean?

    Join the Ecological Landscaping Association on Wednesday, February 9, from 1:30 – 4 at Nordic Hall, 106 Waltham Street, West Newton, for this mid-winter round table discussion with Hasso Ewing, a landscape designer and environmental activist, to discuss how we can apply basic principles of sustainability to guide us towards long-term sustainable landscape practices. Hasso will introduce us to the four Principles of Sustainability from the Natural Step, a framework developed in Sweden and used worldwide.  Register online at www.ecolandscaping.com.