Boston Flora

Tag: Garden Design

  • Wednesdays, February 17 & 24, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Design & Native Plant Palette

    This two-part in-person Berkshire Botanical Garden design class led by Bridghe McCracken, the founder of Helia Land Design, will introduce students to native plants and their effective use in the residential garden. Part I of the class will focus on perennials and grasses. Learn about our gorgeous native perennial plant palette from rare beauties to classic stand-bys, as well as what plants to add to your garden to attract pollinators, provide butterfly habitat and enhance visual interest throughout the season. Class two will focus on designing with woody plants and ferns. Learn what shrubs to use for screening, habitat creation and four-season interest. Delve into the world of ferns, how to integrate them into your garden design and which native ferns thrive in our region. Students enrolled in this class are encouraged to also participate in Stewardship in your Gardens and Land. To add your name to the wait list, visit https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/design-native-plant-palette

    Bridghe McCracken, founder of Helia Land Design, has over 20 years of experience in land stewardship and designing landscapes, gardens and beautiful food systems. Bridghe has a BA in biology from Colorado College, is a Certified Organic Landcare Professional from the Northeast Organic Farmers Association, a Certified Horticulturist from MCLA, a Massachusetts Master Gardener and a graduate and advanced practitioner of the Four Winds Society. Photo courtesy of Berkshire Eagle.

  • Saturday, October 24, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – Eco-restorative Garden Design, Online

    What does it take to create a conservation and restoration landscape project in your own backyard? In this October 24 half-day Native Plant Trust workshop with Staci Jasin, we will explore the principles and specific steps to keep you engaged and confident in small-scale projects. You will learn tips, techniques, and a well-defined process for transforming a small plot of land to a native plant landscape. Topics cover everything from removing invasives to analyzing the site, conserving resources, and enhancing aesthetics and wildlife habitat. $38 for NPT members, $45 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/eco-restorative-garden-design/

  • Wednesdays, September 16 – October 14, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Drafting for Garden Design

    Led by Steven Foster, this Berkshire Botanical Garden five-week studio intensive is essential for those who would like to take their in-garden planning and design to the next level. Learn basic drafting skills necessary to record and effectively communicate scaled site plans. The course, beginning September 16 from 5:30 – 8:30 pm, will cover reference books, drafting supplies, media/paper types, line weights, lettering and scale reading. Drafting demonstrations will familiarize students with professional drawing techniques, and students will begin to draft basic site plans and explore map-making. During the last half of the course, students will learn to develop a landscape graphic palette to illustrate trees, shrubs, perennials and groundcovers, as well as hardscape materials such as stone terraces. This course is designed for beginner to intermediate students. As with all in person classes scheduled during the pandemic, please reconfirm before the class begins, and pre registration is required. $255 for BBG members, $275 for nonmembers. Sign up at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/drafting-garden-design-0

    Steven Foster, A.S.L.A. is a registered landscape architect in MA with over 30 years of experience. He previously taught at the Landscape Design Institute affiliated with the Arnold Arboretum and Harvard University.

  • Thursdays, September 10 – October 1, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Designing with Annuals, Tropicals, and Unique Hardy Perennials

    This four-session Berkshire Botanical Garden class from September 10 – October 1, 5:30 – 8:30, is designed to add drama to your gardens with big, bold and beautiful plants. Under the guidance of Robert Clyde Anderson, students will learn to utilize underused annuals, seasonal tropicals and hardy perennials that can really make a splash in your garden with overscale, luxuriant and dramatic foliage effects. Also covered will be tips and techniques for how to create exuberant and impactful container plantings and groupings for versatile display on terraces, decks and poolside.

    Robert Clyde Anderson found his way to the Hudson Valley after a New York City career in illustration and book design. A native of Louisiana, Robert is a lifelong gardener and has designed and maintained gardens in Columbia County as well as serving as right-hand man for eight years at the former Loomis Creek Nursery in Claverack, NY. From 2012 to 2017, Robert served as Creative Director for Pondside Nursery in Hudson, NY, where he helped launch the business and was the buyer for perennials, annuals, tropicals and hard goods. He continues to serve as a client consultant and writes about plants and gardening on his personal blog, Sempervivum, at www.robertclydeanderson.com.

    BBG members $175, nonmembers $185. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/designing-annuals-tropicals-and-unique-hardy-perennials-0

  • Sunday, April 19, 11:00 am – 4:30 pm – Kitchen Garden Design – CANCELLED

    In this April 19 two-part Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop with Ellen Ecker Ogden, author of The Complete Kitchen Garden, you will learn the six steps for successful kitchen garden design that combine art with productivity. The morning lecture, The Art of Growing Food, is a photo presentation and talk, and the afternoon session is a hands-on workshop.

    Lecture only: $15 Member; $20 Non-Member

    Lecture and Workshop: $45 Member; $55 Non-Member

    The Art of Growing Food, Sunday, April 19, 11AM-12:30PM

    A true kitchen garden opens your senses in new and inspiring ways, both in the garden and in the kitchen. You’ll start dinner by simmering onions on the stove, then dash to garden to see what you can harvest. It might be tiny artichokes, fresh peas, purple basil tips, tiny rainbow chard or spoon shaped mache, harvested in bare feet and brought into the kitchen in a lovely basket.

    In this lecture, The Art of Growing Food, you will take home new ideas for designing your kitchen garden to be more productive and more beautiful—combining art with practical technique and design. Best of all, you garden will be easier to maintain.

    In this one hour presentation, you’ll revel in the colorful photos from my book, and take a journey to visit many of my favorite kitchen garden designs, that will leave you with fresh ideas for your own.

    Ideal for gardeners just starting out and experienced gardeners who are planning to take the next step in their garden odyssey.  Participants will learn new ways to design, select the best plants, and how to include arbors, fences and practical paths that add personalized touches to bring style and whimsy.

    Lunch – 1 hour. Bring your own or eat at the cafe

    Workshop: Kitchen Garden Design The above lecture is a prerequisite, and taught as part of the full day program. Sunday, April 19, 1:30-4:30PM

    With graph paper, pencils and photos of your own kitchen gardens, participants brainstorm ways to integrate a garden into the rest of their home landscape and to design the kitchen garden of their dreams. Basic organic gardening techniques are covered: from building healthy soil, selecting seeds and how to read a seed catalog to getting the right garden tools.  Adding personality to the garden with trellises, benches and garden arts is also key. Lots of individual attention and sharing among participants. Everyone will leave with a plan, a list of plants and a vision for their new kitchen garden. Space in the workshop is limited, so sign up early!

  • Thursday, March 12, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Design-less Gardening: A Natural Approach

    Traditional gardening methods can result in lovely landscapes but come with a high price in terms of maintenance. In this March 12 Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Horticulture Morning , Dan Jaffe invites us to rethink the old rules of gardening so we can spend less time working and more time enjoying our gardens. The class will take place at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, beginning at 10 am

    How many inches of bark mulch is needed between plants? Are there alternatives to bark mulch? Should weeds be pulled or are there other management strategies? Is it necessary to clean the garden every fall or are there habitat benefits to skipping some of the cleanup? Some gardening rules make sense; and others do not.

    Join Dan for an exploration of the rules of gardening and learn how to build beautiful, resilient, and ecologically viable gardens without the services of a full-time gardener. Dan Jaffe earned a degree in botany from the University of Maine and an advanced certificate in Native Plant Horticulture and Design from NEWFS (now the Native Plant Trust). After interning at Garden in the Woods, Dan worked for a year as Plant Sales Coordinator at the Garden. Suggested donation: $5 at the door. Rsvp to mistyfloral@yahoo.com

    Image result for Butchart Gardens

  • Sunday, February 9, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Authentic, Immediate, and Alive: Design Lessons from Wild Landscapes

    This February 9 program at The Groton Center, 163 West Main Street, Groton, is free and open to the public; made possible by a grant from the Groton Trust Funds’ Lecture Fund. It is co-sponsored by the Groton Garden Club and the Nashua River Watershed Association.

    What if our back yards could inspire, challenge, and delight us in the same ways that wild places do? For this year’s topic, join Groton’s own landscape architect Toby Wolf as he presents Authentic. Immediate, and Alive: Design Lessons from Wild Landscapes.

    Toby will explore ways that designed landscapes can draw from the ecology and the human experience of fields and forests. He will describe design strategies that not only support biodiversity and protect waterways, but also foster meaningful encounters with the natural world. Along the way, Toby will highlight some native plant species that can bring life and resilience to any New England garden Snow Date: February 16 –  Check NRWA@NashuaRiverWatershed.org for weather cancellation.

  • Saturday, February 1, 9:30 am – 11:00 am – Foundations in Gardening: Small Gardens for Big Enjoyment

    Are you reconsidering the size of your garden or thinking of simplifying your garden space? This Blithewold class on February 1 from 9:30 – 11 will focus on basic garden principles applied to small spaces to maximize your garden enjoyment. Small gardens can be both beautiful and functional: from creating a mini wildlife sanctuary to expressing dynamic tastes to providing a space for relaxation. Learn from Gail Read’s photo visits to friend’s gardens – discover how they enjoy their small gardens in a big way. Blithewold is located at 101 Ferry Road, Rt. 114, in Bristol, Rhode Island.

    $25 Members | $30 Non-Members. For more information, and to register, visit https://www.blithewold.org/event/foundations-in-gardening-small-gardens-for-big-enjoyment/

  • Friday, June 28, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Low Maintenance Design

    Learn how to design unique garden spaces that strengthen your connection to our wonderfully varied New England landscape. Discover important functional and aesthetic qualities of native plants that can provide the building blocks for creating easy-to-care-for, sustainable gardens. Using strategies based on the observation and emulation of naturally existing plant communities, landscape designer Owen Wormser offers key techniques for creating enjoyable, low-maintenance garden spaces. In this interactive format, you are encouraged to bring your ideas, along with photographs, plans, or sketches of your own property. The Native Plant Trust class ($40 for members, $48 for nonmembers) will take place at Nasami Farm in Whately on June 28 from 1 – 4. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/low-maintenance-design/

  • Tuesday, October 23, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Designing a Garden for All Seasons: Autumn Edition

    Tuesday, October 23, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Designing a Garden for All Seasons: Autumn Edition

    How do you both captivate people and provide for wildlife year-round in a garden for all seasons? Anna Fialkoff will discuss garden designs that focus your plant palette on structure and seasonal themes to carry you through the year. This New England Wild Flower Society class will take place Tuesday, October 23 from 1 – 3. Afterward, you will walk through Garden in the Woods to see how the horticulture team tackles the autumn season at Garden in the Woods. $26 for NEWFS members, $32 for nonmembers. Register at www.newenglandwild.org.

    Image result for Garden in the Woods Framingham autumn