Boston Flora

Tag: Greenhouses

  • Monday, October 26, 9:30 am – noon – Volunteer Training at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens

    The Wellesley College Botanic Gardens depends on its many Friends of Horticulture volunteers to assist the WCBG  in gardening tasks, host campus events, lead tours, work on special research projects, and share their enthusiasm with other plant lovers.  Volunteer meetings are the third Monday of the month, and the first volunteer training session of 2009/2010 will be held at the Greenhouses on October 26, with additional training dates of November 2, 9, 16, and February 1 and 8, 2010.  Training for the Arboretum begins March 20, 2010.  Additional information can be found at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or by emailing horticulture@wellesley.edu, or calling 781-283-3094.  Sometimes you just want to hang out in the Greenhouses!

    http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1197/529668793_ae69fe7466.jpg?v=0

  • Saturdays, October 3 & 24, 9 am – 4 pm – Propagating Trees and Shrubs from Cuttings and Seeds

    Need to nurture?  Then join longtime Arnold Arboretum propagator Jack Alexander to learn basic information and techniques for propagating most woody plants.  Session One includes a lecture and workshop on seed propagation and construction of a propagation case.  Session Two will be a lecture and workshop on hardwood cuttings.  You will leave class with numerous cuttings and seeds to cherish and grow.  To participate, you must sign an assumption-of-risk-and-release form in order to practice the techniques taught in class.  Bring a lunch and a beverage.  If you own hand pruners, bring them to the second class.  A sharp knife and an apron may also be helpful.  You will be collecting propagules from the Arboretum grounds on both afternoons regardless of weather, so dress accordingly and wear comfortable shoes.  The classes will take place at the Dana Greenhouses, Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain.  For directions, and to register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu, or www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.  You may also email horticulture@wellesley.edu.  Course Number HOR 10 010, WCFH and Arboretum member price $180, Non-Members $215.

    Tree Branches 4 by LynGi.

  • Tuesday, September 15, 7:30 – 9:30 pm – Annual Orchid Auction

    The Massachusetts Orchid Society will hold its annual orchid auction on Tuesday, September 15, from 7:30 – 9:30 pm at the Waltham Field Station, 240 Beaver Street in Waltham, Massachusetts.

    The Massachusetts Orchid Society is a non-profit educational organization of individuals from all walks of life, who share an interest in orchids. These interests range from the simple appreciation of orchids as beautiful flowers to highly technical involvement in orchid breeding and taxonomy. Most MOS members are active orchid growers, growing their own plants under conditions ranging from window sills to artificial light gardens to automated greenhouses.

    The MOS holds monthly meetings throughout the year, encompassing a broad range of topics. The program for a typical meeting includes an orchid show table, plant sales, social time with refreshments, a short business meeting, a presentation by a guest speaker usually with slides, discussion, and Q&A, and a raffle for orchid plants.  Annual membership is $20.  For more information, log on to www.massorchid.org.

  • Plant Society Magazine Launches

    Matt Mattus, of Worcester, Massachusetts, maintains a very good website, www.growingwithplants.com, and this week formally announced the publishing of the first prototype issue of Plant Society Magazine, available now at Magcloud.com.  Here is what Matt says about his new venture:

    “Magcloud is HP’s new Beta self publishing site for magazines, and I am using it to launch the first few issues. Magcloud tells me that that they can currently ship directly to USA, Canada and the UK. Let me know how it works if you are outside of the US. As a designer, horticulturist, trend hunter, artist, photographer, blogger and plant collector, it only seemed natural to use this new platform to launch this venture. After all, I design magazines for a living, I evaluate publication design for many of the major graphic design journals and annual award issues, I speak at both leading visual design conferences, and plant societies, and I have a vault of images taken over the past ten years from my greenhouses, alpine house and gardens.

    The publishing business is changing so fast, that what once was seen as vanity publishing, is now much more accepted in our new digital world of blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. You can think of this as a magazine, or a blogazine. Either way, it will morph and change as I develop future issues to include both plant related features focusing on subjects not examined by the mass market magazines, and garden lifestyle – with inspirational crafts, holiday design, food, travel, and more all planned for future issues.

    The first issue of this quarterly magazine is for people who are serious about plants. You know who you are, you don’t just like plants, you are crazy about them. You don’t just collect them, you curate your collections and you will do most anything to get that plant that you do not have.  This stunningly designed plant quarterly is a plant connoisseur’s dream come true.  It’s part botanical journal, part lifestyle magazine and part blogazine.

    This issue focuses on high summer, both in the greenhouse and in the garden of the plant collector. Learn about Nerine sarniensis, the Guernsey Lilies, Japanese trained chrysanthemums, rare South African Geraniums (Pelargonium in the section Horarea), and Crocosmia.

    Currently the magazine sells for $14.99. at 75 pages, but it is on sale as a feature of Magcloud for around $12.00 US give or take some change for shipping and handling directly through the website MAGCLOUD. Anyone in the US, Canada or UK can order direct from the Magcloud website portal, and can even pay directly from their credit card or Paypal on the site. Magcloud prints to order, and the process is very easy. In five days or less, the magazine will be printed, bound, and mailed directly to you.”

  • Friday, September 4, 10:00 a.m. – Growing Edible Tropical Fruit

    Few things are more rewarding than plucking a lemon off your plant in the middle of the winter or savoring your own fresh figs in the middle of summer. Learn to grow numerous types of citrus including; lemons, limes, and oranges, along with delicious figs, on your windowsill or in your garden. We will cover propagation, light, feeding, and general culture. Each participant goes home with a plant.  This workshop is sponsored by Historic New England at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses in Waltham, Massachusetts.  For more information and directions, log on to www.historicnewengland.org, or call Susanna Crampton at 781-891-4882.  She can also be reached by email at scrampton@historicnewengland.org.  The fee is $35 per participant.

    http://www.magicreef.co.nz/images/Fruit.jpg

  • Friday, August 21, 10:00 a.m. – Planting and Growing a Kitchen Garden

    Learn about planting and growing kitchen gardens from the Pilgrims to the present, and find out what past generations relied on to nourish and cure them. We will talk about heirloom varieties, their culture, and how to plant and harvest herbs and vegetables for the rest of the season.  Admission is $35, and reservations are required.  The event will take place at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses in Waltham, Massachusetts, and is run by Historic New England.  For further information, contact Susanna Crampton, 185 Lyman Street, Waltham, MA 02452, 781-891-4882, scrampton@historicnewengland.org.  You can get directions to the Lyman Estate on Historic New England’s website, www.HistoricNewEngland.org.