Boston Flora

Tag: Garden in the Woods

  • Wednesdays, July 14 and July 21, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – Identifying Natives with Newcomb’s

    Learn to use Lawrence Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide for the first time or revisit an old friend to understand why this book remains one of the most popular and useful field guides for a non-botanist (botanists like it too). With its unique key, short accurate descriptions, and sensitive drawings by Gordon Morrison, you will be able to identify both woody and herbaceous native plants from rare wild flowers to tiny interesting weeds. Even if you have used this book before, you will enjoy getting to know about Newcomb’s history, his close observations in the field and in his own garden that helped him create a book light enough to carry, yet filled with 1,375 wildflowers, shrubs and vines of the Northeastern United States. Receive a solid grounding in “Newcomb’s,” which will serve you well as you take other botany courses in the New England Wild Flower Society’s Certificate Program.  The classes will be held on Wednesday, July 14 and Wednesday, July 21, from 10 – 12:30, at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, and are taught by Carol Govan, a past speaker at  Garden Club of the Back Bay meetings.  NEWFS member fee is $55, $65 for nonmembers, and you may register at www.newfs.org.

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iwgYXDv5f7w/Sipnyyrbb3I/AAAAAAAABFc/CXETCnLI3OA/s320/Newcomb.jpg

  • Saturday, June 12, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Container Gardening With Native Plants

    Forget the petunias and potato vines; create container plantings using native perennials adapted to our New England winters. Container plantings add accents to your outdoor spaces whether large or small. Learn which natives are ideal for containers and how to combine them effectively. First, explore design elements, container and plant selection, lighting requirements, temperature, growing media, irrigation, fertilization, over-wintering, and long-term maintenance. Then assemble and plant your own container under the instructor’s guidance.  BYOC–bring your own container. The class fee includes potting mix, fertilizer and mulch for your container. Plants will be available for sale at a discount to class participants that day.  The workshop will be held simultaneously in two locations. Kate Pawling leads this New England Wild Flower Society hands on workshop at Nasami Farm in Whately, and Terry Morrow is in charge of the workshop at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, both on Saturday, June 12 from 10 – noon. The cost per person is $25 for NEWFS members and $30 for nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.newfs.org.

    http://www.ces.purdue.edu/CES/Marion/images/Hort/GauraContainerPlanting.jpg

  • Friday, May 7, 6:30 pm – Seventy Years of Change in the Flora of One New England County

    Dr. Robert Bertin, Professor and Department Chair, Biology Department, College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, will address the May 7 meeting of the New England Botanical Club at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts, beginning at 6:30 pm. His lecture is entitled Seventy Years of Change in the Flora of One New England County. For specific directions log on to www.newfs.org.

    The sponsor, The New England Botanical Club, which originated in 1895, is a non-profit organization that promotes the study of plants of North America, especially the flora of New England and adjacent areas.  The Club publishes the journal Rhodora, holds monthly meetings during the academic year, maintains an herbarium of more than 253,000 sheets, has a small library, and annually grants a graduate student research award.  An office for the Club is maintained at the Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, and you may reach the office at 617-308-3656 for membership information, or log on to www.rhodora.org.  Regular member dues are $50 annually, and a family rate, including a copy of Rhodora, is $60.  Student membership costs $25.

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  • Saturday, May 15, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – The Botany of Design

    Using his latest book, Understanding Perennials as a starting point, Bill Cullina tackles the thorny subject of garden design in a completely different way. In this fun and information-filled talk, to be held at Garden in the Woods on Saturday, May 15, from 10:30 – 12 noon, he explores such things as the reasons for big leaves, variegation, red foliage and flowers and ways to create more satisfying designs without breaking the budget. He looks at life beyond the color wheel, the importance of healthy soil and reveals some of his best horticultural secrets while weaving together aesthetics, psychology, botany, and ecology into a fascinating one hour ride. It is a talk that beginning gardeners as well as seasoned pros will both learn from and enjoy. Bill will be available to sign books after the lecture.  For more information, log on to www.newfs.org.

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  • Thursdays, May 6 and 13, 12:00 pm – 3:30 pm, and May 20, 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Native Herbaceous Plant Materials: Early Season

    Many native North American herbaceous plants are suitable for growing in New England. This course examines the characteristics of horticulturally important native plants that grow and/or flower early in the season. Discussion includes how a plant’s cultural requirements relate to its wild habitat. Lectures are accompanied by firsthand looks at plant materials used at Garden in the Woods. Designed for anyone wanting to work at a professional level with native plants, this course is also appropriate for the avid home gardener.  This three part New England Wild Flower Society class is being taught by Jessie Panek, costs $130 if you are a member of NEWFS, and $150 if you are not.  You may register on line at www.newfs.org.

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  • Tuesdays, April 27, May 4, 11, and 18, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – Wildflowers of New England

    A great way to begin the study of native plants, this course focuses on learning to identify wild plants and provides field experience across the spectrum of New England flora.  Sessions will cover plant identification using Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide.  Students will become familiar with the family characteristics, growth patterns, habitats, and pollination mechanisms of many of our native wild flowers.  We will also practice plant identification and study plant habitats in the field.  Bring a hand lens to each class.  Required text: Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide.  Sessions (April 27, May 4, 11, and 18) will take place at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, from 10 – 12:30, and the series costs $130 for NEWFS members, and $150 for nonmembers.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.newfs.org.

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  • Saturday, April 17, 10 am – 2 pm – Invasive Plants: Identification, Ecology and Control

    Ted Elliman, Vegetation Manager of the New England Wild Flower Society, in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum, will present this one day class on Saturday, April 17, from 10 am – 2 pm at Garden in the Woods in Framingham.  This course will provide an introduction to about 40 of the most common invasive non-native plants in our local landscapes (see Japanese knotweed below). Through lecture, discussion, power point presentation, herbarium specimens, and a walk outside, you will become familiar with identification clues as well as the habits of a number of these plants which are so disruptive of natural ecosytems. Ted will discuss management techniques for many of these species, on both a home and a larger landscape scale. Homeowners and property managers who wish to get a head start on invasive control this year will appreciate the timing of this course, which will allow them to learn to identify young invasive plants before they become camouflaged by other vegetation. The New England Wild Flower Society’s Invader’s Magazine, as well as the Massachusetts Field Guide to Invasives, will be available for purchase at a discount. Fee $44 for members of the Arboretum or NEWFS, $52 nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    http://www.thewildflowersociety.com/wfs_images/fallopia_japonica_japanese_knotweed.jpg

  • Saturday, December 5, 10:00 – 1:00 – Identifying and Enjoying Herbaceous Plants in the Late Fall

    When herbaceous plants have died back and look “disenchanted,” it is still possible to identify some of them by closely examining their dried leaves, stems, and persistent fruits and seeds.

    Join Frances Clark on Saturday, December 5, beginning at 10 am, for a classroom exploration to investigate 25-30 weeds and native herbaceous species growing in disturbed habitats, fields, and woodland edges. Examine specimens close at hand to learn identification features and intriguing seed- dispersal mechanisms. (Naturalist photographer Nathan Cook took the image of arrow leaf plantain below)

    Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.  The program will take place at Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road in Framingham, and is co-sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society and by Massachusetts Audubon, Drumlin Farm.  The cost is $36 for members of NEWFS or Mass Audubon, and $42 for non members.  You may also email registrar@newenglandwild.org, or log on to www.newenglandwild.org/learn.http://www.isledegrande.com/giimages9/arrowleafwaterplantainseedpod.jpg

  • Wednesday, October 21, 5:00 – 7:00 pm – Night Lights

    Say goodbye to the season at Garden in the Woods in Framingham with a candlelit stroll through parts of the garden on Wednesday, October 21, from 5 – 7 pm.  This is a New England Wild Flower Society members only event, but annual membership levels begin at $50, and entitle you to a host of benefits, which can be found on the web site, www.newfs.org.  Make your reservation for this lovely evening by calling 508-877-7630, ext. 3001, or email information@newenglandwild.org.  The Cabot Creamery Cooperative has donated cheese for this event.  If you are interested in gardens at nightfall, we recommend Linda Rutenberg’s beautifully photographed book The Garden at Night.

    http://www.thegardenatnight.com/site_images/tgn_book.jpg

  • Sunday, November 8, 9 am – 4 pm – Natural History and Ethnobotony of Medicinal Plants

    Judith Sumner, Botanist and author of The Natural History of Medicinal Plants, will present a fascinating lecture on Sunday, November 8 beginning at 9 in the morning. Before the time of written records, early people used plants to relieve symptoms and cure disease, forming the basis of the modern study of ethnobotany and the starting point for the history of medicinal plants. During this one session intensive course on the history and current directions of medicinal botany, to be held at Garden in the Woods, we will track the knowledge of medicinal plants from prehistory through the spectacular work of the Renaissance herbalists, the Doctrine of Signatures, and the development of the European medical tradition. New World settlers carried the seeds of medicinal plants with them to North America, where European medical knowledge commingled with Native American lore. The class will consider herbal medicine in nineteenth century America, the field of zoopharmacognosy, and the current ethnobotanical approach to drug discovery. You will gain an understanding of human-plant interactions and botanical cures for human disease and the importance of preserving the diversity of medicinal plants.
    Fee $77 member of either the Arnold Arboretum of NEWFS, $91 nonmember
    Offered in collaboration with the New England Wild Flower Society. To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    Medicinal plant by Khor Hui Min.