Boston Flora

Tag: garden tour

  • Thursday, October 13 – Saturday, October 15 – Tour of Garden in the Brandywine Valley

    Join Berkshire Botanical Garden staff Dorthe Hviid, Elisabeth Cary and Molly Boxer October 13 – 15 for a three-day study weekend in the Brandywine valley of Pennsylvania. The cornerstone of this trip includes attendance to the Perennial Plant Conference held at the extraordinary Scott Arboretum located on the campus of Swarthmore College (pictured below.)  Attended by both professional and avid home gardeners from the northeast and mid-Atlantic states, this conference is by far the most sophisticated, cutting edge gardening conference held on the East Coast. This three-day trip includes transportation tours of exceptional gardens both private and public, admission to a world class gardening conference and optional evening lectures. There will be a bit of free time for relaxing and resting weary feet! The staff is eager to share this wonderful gardening adventure with you.

    Included in the $765 cost (add $180 for a single room, and one must join the Berkshire Botanical Garden if not already a member):

    Attendance to The Fall Perennial Plant Conference at Swarthmore College. Speakers include Fergus Garrett, Nan Sinton, Sydney Eddison, Roy Diblick, Gregg Tepper and the ever popular Promising Perennial Forum. For more information visit www.perennialplantconference.com.

    Garden visits include:

    Hortulus Farm, the private garden of Renny Reynolds and Jack Staub, New Hope, Pennsylvania.

    Chanticleer Garden, Wayne, Pennsylvania

    Scotts Arboretum, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

    Longwood Garden, Kennett Square, PA

    Overnight accommodation at the Radnor Hotel on Philadelphia’s Main Line in Wayne, PA conveniently located near area gardens.

    All lunches and breakfasts, admission to all gardens and the conference are included in the fee. Evening meals are on your own – a variety of different restaurants are located within walking distance to the hotel.  A non-refundable $400 deposit is due by August 15.  For more information, visit www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Sunday, June 26, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – City Spaces/Country Places

    Tower Hill’s 17th annual tour of exceptional private gardens this year will feature the gardens in Worcester and nearby Holden on Sunday, June 26.  Discover the gardeners’ unique perspectives, and return to your own garden with fresh ideas and inspiration.  As always, a ticket to “City Spaces/Country Places” includes FREE admission all day to Tower Hill Botanic Garden.

    “City Spaces/Country Places” is an important fund-raiser for the Worcester County Horticultural Society and helps to support the educational programs and the ongoing care and stewardship of the gardens at Tower Hill. You can show your support for the Garden Tour by purchasing a sponsor ticket at $125 or a patron ticket at $75. These tickets help Tower Hill meet its mission and must be purchased in advance. Order tickets in advance: Members $20, Non-Members $25.  Day of tour Members $25, Non-Members $30.  Call 508-869-6111 x 136 to order your tickets, or log on to www.towerhillbg.org and purchase securely on-line.

     

     

     

  • Friday, July 8 – Saturday, July 9, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Coastal Garden Tour

    The Rockport Garden Club’s 2011 “Coastal Garden” tour will feature thirteen gardens. Many of these private gardens have never been open to the public. While the gardens vary in size, location, composition, and plant material, there is a common thread: each garden has had significant owner input. Some of the features which stand out are several water gardens; an impressive collection of low maintenance grasses and bamboo; one-of-a-kind garden sculptures; several cottage gardens bursting with color from early spring through late autumn; dramatic use of local granite as hardscape; and a beautifully crafted garden overlooking the sea. An expansive ocean side garden will host the special events: a luncheon and a sale of original artwork and note cards by local artists. Proceeds from the garden tour help to fund the planting and maintenance of Rockport’s twelve town gardens, various civic projects and several scholarships. Tickets ($25 each) may be purchased in advance by calling 978-546-2896 or 978-546-6861 or emailing tandrsanantonio@verizon.net.

    Town Gardens

  • Wednesday, June 22 – Saturday, June 25 – The American Hosta Society National Convention

    The 2011 American Hosta Society National Convention will take place June 22 – June 25 right here in Massachusetts, hosted by the New England Hosta Society.  This year’s theme is Hostas and Heritage.  There will be optional bus tours to hosta gardens in four states – Wednesday, see the garden of Bernie and Sue Apter and the garden of Carol Brashear and Bill Meyer, in Connecticut, along with O’Brien Nurserymen Display Garden and Nursery and the garden of Kathie Sisson.  Friday’s main tour in Massachusetts includes Bob and Diane Adams’ Oakenstone Gardens, Mary Arnberg’s garden with roughly 500 varieties of hosta, the Cochato Nursery and Display Gardens, and Paula Lehtola’s “Deer Buffet”.  Saturday will bring you to New Hampshire to the garden of Cheryl and Rick Cravino aptly named HostaAmour, the garden of Roger Kinchen, and Chuck and Sue Andersen’s Mason Hollow Nursery.  There are also three gardens on display following the official end of the show – Sunday brings a chance to see the Hanover, Massachusetts garden of Gerry and Rindy Bennet, the garden of Rick Goodenough, and the Plymouth, Massachusetts garden of Rosemary and David Parks.  There will be seedling and sport competitions (called “First Look”), lectures and classes, auctions, ice cream socials, a judged hosta show entitled One if by Land and Two if by Sea (show schedule available for download on web site, www.hosta2011.org), the ultimate hosta supermarket, with nationally known hosta vendors, and all this within a short drive of Boston – in beautiful Marlborough, Massachusetts, at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel.  Fee to attend is $225, and you may register on line.  Make reservations at the hotel, if you are not inclined to drive back and forth, no later than May 28 by calling 888-543-9500 and mention “American Hosta Society” to receive the convention room rate.

  • Thursday, May 19, 7:00 am – 7:00 pm – Planting Fields Arboretum and Old Westbury Gardens

    This year’s annual Berkshire Botanical Garden benefit garden tour on Thursday, May 19 will explore two extraordinary estate gardens on Long Island’s “Gold Coast:” Planting Fields Arboretum Historic State Park, Oyster Bay, NY, and Old Westbury Gardens, Old Westbury, NY.

    The day will begin with a tour led by Vincent Simeone, Director at Planting Fields Arboretum (pictured below), a premier public arboretum and historic site. A former Gold Coast estate of over four hundred acres, it contains greenhouses, gardens, woodland paths, and outstanding woody plant collections. The grounds, landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts, are spectacularly beautiful at this time of the year. Following the tour enjoy a picnic lunch on the grounds of the Arboretum.

    The afternoon will include a tour of Old Westbury Gardens. Completed in 1906 by the English designer, George A. Crawley, the magnificent Charles II-style mansion is nestled amid 200 acres of formal gardens, landscaped grounds, woodlands, ponds and lakes. Although the guided tour will focus on the horticulture of the gardens and grounds, history and architecture will be included. Tours of the house will be possible only if time permits.

    A mid-morning refreshment and late afternoon wine & cheese snack will be provided. Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes, dress for the weather, and bring a bagged picnic lunch. (Lunch can also be purchased at the Arboretum’s café.) Due to travel time and traffic the coach will leave promptly at7 am from the Garden’s main parking area, and return at 7 pm.Tickets: $125 Members / $150 non members.  You may register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org. For more information, call 413-298-3926.

  • Monday, May 16 – Thursday, May 19 – Delaware Valley Garden Tour

    Don’t miss this incredible opportunity – a spring garden tour of the Delaware Valley. Join Polly Hill Arboretum Executive Director Tim Boland and Education and Outreach Administrator Karin Stanley from May 16–19 to visit the gardens of the Delaware Valley including Winterthur, the Scott Arboretum, Chanticleer, Mt. Cuba Center (pictured below), and the Jenkins Arboretum, as well as two private gardens. The tour package includes accommodations at the extraordinary Wayne Hotel in Wayne, Pennsylvania, as well as all garden tours, daily lunch and a spectacular dinner at the Mt. Cuba Center.  Tour price is $1,200 per person based on double occupancy, with a $262 single supplement.  This price includes 3 nights lodging, private transportation with guide, entrance fees to gardens with private guided tours, 3 lunches, 1 dinner, tips and taxes.  $200 is ta tax deductible donation to the Polly Hill Arboretum. Maximum number of participants is 24, and the deadline for reservations is April 14, 2011. Space is limited. Call Karin for more information. 508-693-9426.  Image from www.thegardenlady.org.

  • Saturday, September 25, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm – Traveling Landscape Design Clinic

    This fast-paced, information saturated clinic sponsored by the Berkshire Botanical Garden will be held at the homes of several of the workshop participants on Saturday, September 25, from 9 am – 5 pm. An active discussion format will focus on common design principles. Problem solving, conceptualizing a landscape master plan and understanding the design process are among the topics to be explored. All attendees will participate in the process of observing and designing. Should time permit, you will visit some of Walter’s projects completed or in-process. This field trip will be held rain or shine. If you would like your property to be one of the site visits, let BBG know. There will be a $40 charge for design visits which may last up to one hour.

    Walter Cudnohufsky is owner of Walter Cudnohufsky Associates Landscape Architects, Ashfield, Mass. He is the founder, and for twenty years the director, of the Conway School of Landscape Design. Mr. Cudnohufsky received his M.L.A. from Harvard Graduate School of Design and his firm has received numerous awards and Walter has been recognized as an outstanding educator.
    $85 for BBG members, $90 for non-members. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or call 413-298-3926.

  • Friday, September 17, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Suburban Surprises in Lexington

    Two diverse Lexington properties offer a wonderful contrast in garden content and gardening styles. Jim Jones, past president of the Rock Garden Society, began gardening with something of a “one of each” mindset. “Reality set in after a while, but not before I had accumulated quite a collection of oddball plants.” Recently, his focus has shifted to a week-by-week distribution of bloom across the seasons, with the fall portion dominated by native species. Carolyn Plourde’s garden was designed as a place of beauty for herself and her family with hardscape, a waterfall area, and large plantings. Over time, it has been reworked and expanded in many ways. Learn about “gutter” gardening between sidewalk and road, and how a flock of chickens can add delight to the garden and eggs to your basket. This tour, to be held Friday, September 17 between 10 am and 1 pm, is sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society, and costs $32 if you are a NEWFS member and $38 if you are not. Register at www.newfs.org and you will receive directions to the gardens.

  • Saturday, August 28, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – World’s End

    World’s End, a 275-acre peninsula owned by The Trustees of Reservation, is well known for the beauty of its landscape and its views of Boston Harbor. The property, which was farmed for several hundred years, was slated in the late 19th century to be subdivided under a plan (later abandoned) designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It has a remarkable variety of naturalized as well as native flora. Its woodlands include communities dominated by Norway maple and English oak as well as an impressive stand of native red oak and hop hornbeam. Its old fields and thickets contain an exceptional diversity of herbaceous plants, including the rare showy goldenrod, and its lowland habitats have both freshwater wetlands and salt marshes. This New England Wild Flower Society walk led by Jessica Korecki on Saturday, August 28, from 10 – 1 will cover a variety of communities from the high points of the property’s open drumlins to rocky coves and shaded overlooks. We will look at both native and naturalized flora, and at the dynamics of their coexistence in this unique environment. World’s End is also a great place for birding, and binoculars are recommended. Bring a bag lunch and a hand lens if you have one. Fee: $24 (Member) / $27 (Nonmember).  To sign up, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

  • Saturday, August 7, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Massachusetts Marketplace Festival

    Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for the Annual Massachusetts Marketplace Festival on Saturday, August 7, from 10 to 4, at Elm Bank Horticulture Center.  The event will feature the finest products from the region’s fields, farms, gardens and kitchens, with over 60 vendors offering new and locally produced food products, crafts, garden ornaments and gifts.  There will also be a plant sale and garden tours.  Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for MassHort members, and $2 for children under 12.  Tickets are available on site the day of the event.  Massachusetts Marketplace Festival is produced by MassHort with in-kind support from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and the Massachusetts Specialty Food Association.  For more information, log on to www.masshort.org, or call  617-933-4981.

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