Boston Flora

Tag: Harvard University

  • Now Through Summer, 2022 – Meaningful Beauty: The Vibrant Vocabulary of Honeysuckles

    The exhibition, Meaningful Beauty: The Vibrant Vocabulary of Honeysuckles, celebrates the diversity of honeysuckles, and explores how differences in form allow various species of the plant to effectively communicate with their environment. Through a blend of artistic and scientific imagery—including illustration, animation, photography, maps, and diagrams—the exhibition conveys key concepts in evolution and plant form. The exhibition further engages visitors of all ages through digital and interactive technology, including projection, kiosks, as well as extensive use of augmented reality to blend art with science and personalize the experience for each visitor. Arnold Arboretum art shows are offered in-person at the Hunnewell Building at 125 Arborway (open noon–4pm, Friday through Monday) and virtually by clicking HERE.

  • Monday, May 16, 7:00 pm – Director’s Series – Life: The Arnold Arboretum as an Institution of Public Health

    Join the Arnold Arboretum’s Director William (Ned) Friedman for the annual Director’s Series! To celebrate the Arboretum’s sesquicentennial, this year’s series will explore the Magic and Meaning of a Garden of Trees. Over the course of four sessions, we will trace the Arnold’s significance in the landscape architecture movement, value for the people of Boston, and leadership in creating global connections between plants and people. This session will include brief presentations and a moderated panel. The program is free and is offered both in person and livestreamed. 

    Panelists:

    • Dr. Michelle Kondo, Research Social Scientist, UDSA-Forest Service
    • Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space, City of Boston
    • Laurence Cotton, Consulting Producer, “Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America,” PBS

    Moderator: Dr. William (Ned) Friedman, Director, Arnold Arboretum

    To sign up for the virtual event, click HERE. This event will also be presented in-person at the Arboretum’s Weld Hill Research Building at 1300 Centre Street, Boston, MA 02131. To sign up for the in-person event, click here.

  • Thursday, April 14, 2:00 pm – Garden Club of the Back Bay April Meeting – Trees from Seed: Conservation, Biology, and Ecology

    Sean Halloran, Plant Propagator at The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, will speak to us about Tree Propagation. Sean will start off with a brief overview of the plant conservation efforts at the Arnold Arboretum, and how plant conservation fits into every part of the Arnold’s mission.  He will then cover the basics of seed biology, and how seed biology and plant sexuality guide decisions about conservation and propagation. Sean will conclude by covering the many roles an urban tree may play, while highlighting a few underutilized native trees and shrubs. Questions are welcome throughout, with more opportunity for discussion at the conclusion of the talk.

    Sean Halloran received a Bachelor’s in Horticulture and a Master’s degree in Plant & Environmental Science from Clemson University where he focused on nutrient media in tissue culture propagation. His professional background includes private residential horticulture, greenhouse and nursery production, plant nutrient management in soil-less media, and temperate woody plant propagation and conservation. As the Arnold Arboretum’s Plant Propagator, Sean continues a 150-year tradition of growing woody temperate species from seed, cuttings, grafts, layers, and more; as well as being given the honor to travel and wild collect plants for the Arnold Arboretum.

    rsvp to Jolinda Taylor before April 8 by clicking HERE. Tea and light refreshments will be served after the lecture. Please be sure to let Jolinda know if you’ll be staying afterwards.

    Note the change of location. This program was originally planned to be at the Lutheran Church but will now be at the College Club

  • Tuesday, April 12 – Thursday, April 14 – The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Flower Show School Course II: Growing, Staging, Exhibiting and Judging

    The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts will conduct a Flower Show School Course II: Growing, Staging, Exhibiting, and Judging, on April 12 – 14, featuring one of our own members, Kaye Vosburgh, along with Cathy Felton, as instructors. The event will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 11 Beaver Street in Milford, Massachusetts.

    Kaye Vosburgh has a B.S. in Biology and a Masters in the Art of Teaching. She is an NGC Master Judge and a Design and Procedure Instructor. Kaye has chaired several award winning Standard Flower Shows and won numerous awards in the New England Spring Flower Show. She is a member of 3 garden clubs, including the one she started with her Master Gardener co-workers. Kaye is a Sogetsu Ikebana Instructor of the highest rank, Riji. She has demonstrated throughout the Central Atlantic Region, at CFAA in Florida and in Ecuador. Kaye’s favorite activity is sharing creative moments with other designers and students.

    ​Cathy Felton has a B.S. in Zoology and has studied at the former Landscape Institute of Harvard University, but a love of horticulture led her into the garden club world which now includes lecturing and teaching. She is a Garden Club of America Horticulture Judge; American Daffodil Society Judge; and Chairman of the American Daffodil Society Judging School; and a Master American Hosta Society Judge. Cathy has served on the National Garden Clubs, Inc. (NGC), national board as Horticulture Chairman and Vice Chairman of Gardening Study Schools. She is also an NGC Master Flower Show Judge and Horticulture Instructor for flower show schools, and a member of both the Hamilton-Wenham Garden Club and the the North Shore Garden Club in MA.

    To register, contact Ruth Gorman at Ruth.Gorman3@gmail.com.

  • Tuesday, March 29, 2:00 pm – Celebrating a Sesquicentennial: The Founding of the Arnold Arboretum, Live and Online

    The Arnold Arboretum was founded on Friday, March 29, 1872. Exactly 150 years later, we invite you to join Lisa Pearson, Head of the Arboretum Library and Archives, for a special sesquicentennial lecture! Pearson will discuss the earliest benefactors of the Arboretum, the events surrounding the founding of the institution, and the busy first two decades during which the infrastructure and living collections were installed on the grounds. This event will also be livestreamed to YouTube. To sign up for the virtual livestream instead, click here. To sign up for the live presentation, click here.

    All attendees age 12 or over must bring proof of vaccination in order to enter the building—please bring either a vaccination card or a digital copy. Visitors age 17 and older must also present a valid driver’s license or government-issued form of ID, such as a passport. Attendees are required to wear masks indoors. 

    Registration is limited to 40 in-person attendees. We ask that you only register if you are sure you will attend, and only register one person per form submission. Parking is available on-site at the Weld Hill Research Building. Find directions here.

  • Saturday, March 12, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Olmsted and Yosemite: Civil War, Abolition, and the National Park Idea, Online

    Out of the 1860s, as the United States engaged in a civil war, abolished slavery, and remade the government, the public park emerged as a product of these dramatic changes. New York’s Central Park and Yosemite in California both embodied the “new birth of freedom” that emphasized the duty of republican government to enhance the lives and well-being of all its new citizens. A central figure directly connected with abolition, the Civil War, and the dawn of urban and national parks is Frederick Law Olmsted, whose pre-war journalism about the South, design work on Central Park, and ground-breaking Yosemite Report created an intellectual framework for the “park idea.” Marking the bicentennial of Olmsted’s birth, a new book by Rolf Diamant, former superintendent of Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site and Ethan Carr, Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, offers a new interpretation of how the American park—urban and national—came to figure so prominently in our cultural identity, and why this more complex and inclusive story deserves to be told.

    The Arnold Arboretum will present Rolf Diamant and Ethan Carr on March 12 from 2:30 – 4, and will also be presented in-person at the Arboretum’s Weld Hill Research Building at 1300 Centre Street, Boston, MA 02131. To sign up for the in-person event, click here. Presented in collaboration with Friends of Fairsted, the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, and the Library of American Landscape History. Register HERE.

  • Sunday, February 27, 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm – Botanical Gardens World Tour: Innisfree and Fairchild Tropical Garden, Online

    Smithsonian Associates invites you to indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural experts lead a series of virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens in settings as far-flung as Shanghai, the Hudson River Valley, and Australia. In vibrant visuals they explore how each garden has taken a unique approach to design and interpretation as they all celebrate plant collections, conservation, education, and the distinctive environments and landscapes in which they bloom. On February 27, the third and final installment will feature Innisfree and Fairchild Tropical Garden.

    Travel from the scenic Hudson River Valley to subtropical peninsular Florida to visit two diverse gardens. Developed between 1930 and 1960, Innisfree was the private garden of Walter and Marion Beck and drew its inspiration from scroll paintings of the 8th-century Chinese poet and painter Wang Wei. With the help of landscape architect Lester Collins from Harvard University, the garden journey was shaped to lead visitors through individual “cup” garden scenes inspired by the Chinese paintings, which meld seamlessly into one large cup around a glacial lake.

    Fairchild Tropical Garden in Coral Gables (below) melds a sublime subtropical landscape with important plant collections and horticultural excellence, as well as research, conservation, and education. Palms are a particular specialty, with an outstanding collection of over 400 species. An internationally important collection of more than 3,700 cycads is displayed in sweeping beds under spreading oaks. The conservatory features orchids, aroids, and bromeliads. The garden is set against a backdrop of lakes in a park-like setting.

    Presenter C. Colston Burrell is a lecturer, garden designer, and photographer. The author of 12 gardening books, he has twice won the American Horticulture Society Book Award.

    $25 for Smithsonian Associates members, $30 for nonmembers. Register HERE.

  • Wednesday, February 9, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Harvard University Herbaria Live Tour

    Native Plant Trust has partnered with staff at university herbaria throughout New England to offer a special inside look at the region’s most impressive plant specimen collections. The February in person program will feature the Harvard University Herbaria with Michaela Schmull, on February 9 from 1 – 2. $15 for Native Plant Trust members, $18 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/harvard-university-herbaria/

  • Thursday, January 13, 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm – A Brief History of Earth, Online

    How well do you know the ground beneath your feet? Odds are, where you’re standing was once cooking under a roiling sea of lava, crushed by a towering sheet of ice, rocked by a nearby meteor strike, or perhaps choked by poison gases, drowned beneath ocean, perched atop a mountain range, or roamed by fearsome monsters. Probably most—or even all—of the above.

    The story of our home planet and the organisms spread across its surface is far more spectacular than any Hollywood blockbuster, filled with enough plot twists to rival a bestselling thriller. But only recently have we begun to piece together the whole mystery into a coherent narrative.

    Drawing on his decades of field research and up-to-the-minute understanding of the latest science, Andrew H. Knoll, a geologist and professor at Harvard University, offers a short biography of Earth, charting our home planet’s epic 4.6 billion-year story and placing 21st-century climate change in deep context. This Smithsonian Associates online lecture will take place January 13 from 6:46 – 8:15. $20 for Smithsonian Associates members, $25 for nonmembers. Register HERE.

    His book, A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters (Custom House), is available for purchase.

    Book Sale Information

  • Thursday, October 28, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Top 10 Native Plants for Residential Landscapes Webinar

    Native plants are an important part of establishing a sustainable environment. In this October 28 Tower Hill Botanic Garden session from 6:30 – 7:30 pm, we’ll learn about the tried and true natives that can complement your garden, attract pollinators and withstand our New England weather. Successful herbaceous and woody plants will be included.

    Cheryl Salatino is the principal designer and owner of Dancing Shadows Garden Design, a residential landscape design and services firm. She has been designing gardens across Massachusetts since 2002. Cheryl is a Certified Landscape Designer and a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist (MCH). She received her certificate in landscape design from the Radcliffe Seminars Landscape Design Program of Harvard University. She was awarded the status of Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist by the Massachusetts Nursery & Landscape Association (MNLA) as evidence of achieving the industry’s highest standards in nursery and landscape professionalism. Cheryl has also earned an Advanced Certificate in Horticulture and Design as part of the New England Wildflower Society’s Native Plant Studies Program. This program will be held virtually. Once you register you will receive a zoom link in the confirmation. This webinar will also be RECORDED and available for 2 months to all registrants. $10 for Tower Hill members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.