Boston Flora

Tag: Garden Writers Association

  • Tuesday, November 17, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – David Culp: The Year-Round Garden, Online

    Award-winning gardener-lecturer-naturalist David Culp has spent more than 30 years creating a four-season blooming habitat and sanctuary on two-acres of hillside nestled between forks of the Brandywine River. As in his latest book, A Year at Brandywine Cottage, Culp encourages us to choose plants for twelve months of interest, weave edibles into the mix, and bring the bounty indoors with simple arrangements and homegrown recipes. David will give an online lecture through the New York Botanical Garden’s Adult Education program on November 17 at 1 pm. $15 for NYBG members, $18 for nonmembers. Register HERE.

    Principal of David L. Culp Designs and owner of Brandywine Snowdrops, David Culp has received the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Distinguished Garden Award, and his The Layered Garden was named 2013’s Best Overall Book by the Garden Writers Association.

  • Tuesday, July 13 – Thursday, July 15, 2021 – Nantucket Garden Festival: A Celebration of Island Gardens

    As we are moving through these uncertain times, Nantucket Lighthouse School’s Board of Trustees has made the tough decision to postpone the 2020 Nantucket Garden Festival to July 13-15, 2021. 

    Tjeu are grateful that they will be able to offer the unparalleled line-up of events that was announced for this year next summer, and look forward to welcoming you then.  They are thinking about you and your families and hope that you are all well and safe.

    The line up will include keynote presenter Christin Geall. Christin Geall is a Canadian floral designer, writer, gardener, photographer, and author of the book Cultivated: Elements of Floral Style (Princeton Architectural Press, 2020). Trained in horticultural at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, she completed a BA in Environmental Studies & Anthropology and a MFA in nonfiction before becoming a gardening columnist for Gardenista, a professor, and designer. Through her company, Cultivated, she teaches floral design in the UK, US, and Canada. Her writing and floral work focuses on the intersections of nature, culture, and horticulture.

    A second keynote presenter is Stephen Orr, the Editor-In-Chief of Better Homes and Gardens and Author of The New American Herbal and Tomorrow’s Garden. Orr will be joining us to explore the versatility of herbs in all their beauty and variety.

    Orr has been a regularly featured gardening expert on “The CBS Early Show,” “The Martha Stewart Show,” and “The Today Show.” In addition he was a segment producer for the PBS television series “Cultivating Life” and edited two cookbooks by British author Sarah Raven for Rizzoli.

    Orr is a featured speaker across the country for organizations such as The Garden Conservancy, The Garden Club of America, the Garden Writers Association, and a variety of national programs.

    A third presenter, Jennifer Jewell is the creator/host of Cultivating Place, an award-winning public radio program & podcast on natural history and the human impulse to garden. Her first book, The Earth In Her Hands, 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants, centering women transforming horticulture around the world, is published by Timber Press.

    Jewell’s writing and photography have been featured in publications including Gardens Illustrated, House & Garden, and Pacific Horticulture. From 2008 – 2016 Jewell created, wrote and hosted the weekly, regionally-focused In a North State Garden on North State Public Radio. From 2010 -2017 she worked as the curatorial assistant to the director and the curator of the native plant garden at Gateway Science Museum on the campus of CSU, Chico in Chico, CA. 

    Finally, Peggy Cornett is the Historic Gardener and Curator of Plants at Monticello and received the SGHS Flora Ann Bynum Medal for exemplary service in the garden history field and the Garden Club of America’s Zone VII Horticultural Commendation for Horticultural Expertise.

    In addition to managing the historic plant collection, Cornett oversees educational programs at Monticello including the Garden and Grounds tour and the Garden Tasting Tours as well as natural history walks, lectures, and horticultural workshops throughout the year. She is the co-director of the Historic Landscape Institute, a unique one-week educational experience in the theory and practice of historic landscape hosted at Monticello.

    Cornett also shares her knowledge in horticulture as a frequent guest on NPR and PBS. She also writes articles and lectures nationwide on vegetable gardens and historic plants.

    For complete registration information for next summer, bookmark http://www.ackgardenfestival.org/

  • Wednesday, March 2, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Restoring Nature’s Relationships at Home

    If we are to make our residential landscapes truly living ecosystems once again, we need to understand the specialized relationships that make plants and animals interdependent. Who better to take us on an in-depth journey into this fascinating and complex world than Doug Tallamy? On Wednesday, March 2 at 7 pm at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, he will give us detailed examples of these co-evolutionary relationships, showing us how they determine the stability and complexity of local food webs providing birds with insects and berries, dispersing bloodroot seeds, pollinating goldenrod, and much more. This knowledge equips us to knowingly select plants and to construct landscapes that restore nature’s relationships at home.

    Doug Tallamy is a Professor of Entomology and Wildlife Biology at the University of Delaware. His groundbreaking book, Bringing Nature Home, was published in 2007 and continues to have national impact; it was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden Writers Association. In 2014, he co-authored The Living Landscape with Rick Darke. Doug’s conservation work and science-based advocacy for native plants has earned him numerous awards. Sponsored by Grow Native Massachusetts – admission free.

  • Wednesday, September 10, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Infusing Your Life with Herbs

    Learn how to take simple culinary staples, such as butters, sugars, vinegars, liqueurs and more and transform them into something special with the addition of fresh herbs. Infuse your pantry as well as the rest of your home with the scents and colors of summer, adding a year-round herbal experience. Sample an array of herb-kissed food products, which will enliven your meals throughout the year, and begin your own herbal adventure. This Massachusetts Horticultural Society class will take place on Wednesday, September 10 from 1 – 3 at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley. $20 for Mass Hort members, $25 for non-members. Register on line at www.masshort.org, or call 617-933-4943.

    Karen O’Brien runs her herbal business, The Green Woman’s Garden, www.greenwomansgarden.com, in the central MA town of Mendon. She has unusual herb plants, including medicinal, for sale, runs workshops on various herbal adventures, and occasionally participates at farmers markets and fairs.

    She is the Development Chair of The Herb Society of America, currently serves as Chairman of the New England Unit of H.S.A., is Secretary of the International Herb Association, and is President of the Greenleaf Garden Club of Milford.

    A member of Garden Writers Association, she is the editor and contributing author to the latest Herb of the Year book on Artemisia, produced by the IHA.

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  • Friday, February 7, 9:00 am – Garden Writers Association Region 1 Meeting

    Garden Writers Association members, Region 1, will meet during New England Grows on Friday, February 7 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center on Summer Street, receiving complimentary registration for all three days of the trade show. Guest speaker: Kevin Sprague of Studio Two in Lenox, Massachusetts, will speak on Making the Web Work for You. Participation is by pre-registration only. For information about New England Grows, visit their website at www.newenglandgrows.org. For information about GWA, call 806-832-1870, or visit www.gardenwriters.org. Cost, before January 17, is $40 for GWA members, $55 for nonmembers. After January 17, the price is $50 for GWA members and $65 for nonmembers.

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  • Wednesday, September 22, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm – MassHort and the Perennial Plant Association Seminar

    On Wednesday, September 22, MassHort and the Perennial Plant Association are teaming up to offer a day-long seminar titled, Exploring Design, Plant Selection, and Maintenance of the Mixed Border. Some of the best writers and creative plantsmen in the business will be here, and you’re invited to listen, learn and ask questions.

    The speakers include Adrian Bloom (of Blooms of Bressingham); Kirk Brown, national director for the Garden Writers Association; Kerry Mendez, author of The Ultimate Gardener’s Top Ten Lists; Laura Deeter, professor at the Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI), The Ohio State University; Roy Diblik, co-owner of Northwind Perennial Farm located in Burlington, Wisconsin; and Brent Heath, co-owner with his wife, Becky, of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs.

    The Program Schedule:

    8:00 am – 8:45 am – Registration

    9:00 am – 10:00 am – Sustainability and the American Dream, Kirk Brown, Joanne Kostecky Garden Design of Allentown, Pennsylvania

    The United States is currently the single largest user of energy on the planet. Since GIs returned from WWII, we have been a nation of extremely successful consumers. When the oil spigots run dry, the bright lights of retailing dim, and the bank account’s empty, will we be able to adapt our search for the biggest and best? Kirk Brownwill disucss how we can we prepare our children and grandchildren for a world that should leave us naturally richer and ecologically healthier.

    10:00 am – 10:30 am -  Break and Visit to the Elm Bank Gardens

    10:30 am – 11:30 am – Designing for Four Seasons of Color – Hit the Easy Button,  Kerry Mendez, Perennially Yours, Ballston Spa, New York

    Kerry Mendez will show you the tricks of the trade for having the WOW factor in your garden month after month with smart plant selection, design tips, and surefire maintenance shortcuts. And because it will be low maintenance, you will finally be able to ‘ease’ back in the ‘easy’ chair. Kerry is a “passionate perennialist” with more than 20 years of hands-on experience. As a garden consultant, designer, writer, teacher and lecturer, Kerry specializes in low-maintenance garden and landscape design that includes perennials, ornamental grasses, flowering shrubs, bulbs, and no-fuss annuals.

    11:30 am – 12:30 pm – Bulbs as Companion Plants,  Brent Heath, Brent & Becky’s Bulbs, Gloucester, Virginia

    Brent Heath will illustrate the best of the best – the right bulbs for the right spots. He will show how to combine bulbs, perennials, annuals, ground covers and flowering shrubs to create just the feeling you want to generate four seasons of color in your garden.

    12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – Lunch

    1:30 pm – 2:30 pm – Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses: Expert Plant Choices and Dramatic Combinations for Year-Round Gardens
    Adrian Bloom, Bloom’s Nurseries Ltd,  Norfolk, England

    From his long experience on both sides of the Atlantic in using hardy perennials and grasses together and with other plants for year round effect, Adrian Bloom will highlight some plants of great value for gardeners. He particularly believes there is much in the phrase less is more which can apply to the early or beginner gardener, and will develop his theme through 12 specially selected perennials and grasses for year-round interest.

    2:30 pm – 3:00 pm – Break and Visit to the Elm Bank Gardens

    3:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Perennial Plant Communities: The Know Maintenance Approach™,  Roy Diblik, Northwind Perennial Farm, Burlington, Wisconsin

    Roy Diblik’s thoughtful way to design perennial plantings welcomes fresh contemporary styles and plant diversity integrated with responsible maintenance concerns. Using a selection of regionally dependable perennials, endless natural plant patterns can be constructed, each relating to time and cost to maintain. Roy has been growing plants for more than 25 years. Recently, Roy was the plant purchasing coordinator for the Lurie Garden in Chicago’s Millenium Park, growing 11,000 of the plants at Northwind. He was also very involved in the installation of the garden. He also installed the Sullivan Arch Garden for the modern wing of the Art Institute in Chicago.

    4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Bringing Your Perennials Up Right,  Dr. Laura Deeter, ATI Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio

    The day’s final speaker will be Dr. Laura Deeter,  whose lecture is entitled Bringing Your Perennials Up Right. Are you the parents of unruly toddlers, aggressive or lazy teenagers, or are your babies closer to middle age and just aren’t the same anymore? Perhaps they simply aren’t living up to their full potential. Learn how to make your perennial babies work for you! Laura will provide a fun and lively romp through perennial maintenance!

    Registration Fee: $95/person before September 14. $110/person after September 14.  This price includes lunch.  You may register on line at www.masshort.org, or call 614-771-8431.

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  • Friday, September 10 – Monday, September 13 – Garden Writers Association 62nd Annual Symposium

    You are invited to the Hyatt Regency in Dallas, Texas on September 10 – 13 to celebrate the 62nd Garden Writers Association Annual Symposium. The objectives of this year’s meeting are to provide information on trends and current issues important to garden communicators, to address professional development subject matter covered in the core competency schedule, to provide as many opportunities as possible for the development of new story ideas, and to promote an active information exchange between members through networking. There is a vibrant and informative schedule of activities to highlight the Dallas/Fort Worth area, such as a trip to the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden (below), and to Highland Park and East Dallas private gardens,  and those of you interested in even more story tours and private garden photo opportunities are invited to attend the special optional tours on Tuesday, September 14, which will include Oak Cliff  private gardens or the Fort Worth Botanical Garden.

    This year’s Symposium will explore beautiful Dallas. Dallas’ new slogan “Live Large. Think Big” describes the essence and vitality of a city built on big dreams. Make a donation to the GWA Foundation and have your name entered to win a great prize – drawing will take place at the Annual Awards Banquet, and attendance is not necessary to win.  The keynote speaker is Kierstin De West, the CEO, co-founder and key strategic and research mind at Conscientious Innovation, a Vancouver, BC  consultancy.  Her topic is Social Responsibility with Substance and Style.  For a complete schedule of speakers and events, log on to www.gardenwriters.org.