Boston Flora

Tag: Horticulturist

  • Tuesdays, April 6 – 27, 6:30 – 8:30 pm – Growing Vegetables in the City

    Abby Hird, Putnam Fellow at the Arnold Arboretum, will give a three session class in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum on Tuesdays, April 6, 13 and 27, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm.   Learn the where, what, and why of urban vegetable gardening with horticulturist Abby Hird. Raised on a Nebraska farm, educated in horticulture, and now living here in Boston, Abby Hird will talk about her gardening adaptations in the city environment. She will guide you through site evaluation, plant selection, and common problems and possible solutions in raising home-grown food. She’ll also talk about community resources for gardening, ideas for maximizing yield from a small plot, as well as ways to grow food more sustainably. This class is for nascent gardeners and those who have been frustrated by previous run-ins with vegetables.  Fee $60 Arnold Arboretum member, $72 nonmember. To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3631/3642385367_0f64ebee25.jpg

  • Saturday, April 3, 9 am – noon – Pruning Basics

    Learn the why’s and how’s of pruning – why to prune, if you even need to prune, when to prune, and what cuts to make.  Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Senior Horticulturist Tricia Diggins teaches you to make cutting edge decisions about nearly every pruning job from house plants to large tres.  She explores with you how these general principles relate to specific plants like flowering shrubs, evergreens, older trees, young plants and fruit trees.  Approximately half the class time will be indoors and the remaiinder will be outside in the Hunnewell Arboretum and Alexandra Botanic Gardens, looking at the pruning needs of a variety of trees and shrubs.  The Wellesley College Hunnewell Arboretum can be damp under foot in early spring.  Please dress appropriately for the weather.  Class number HOR 10 080, WCFH members $20, non members $25.  To register, or for directions, log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu.

    Pruning Tools

  • Thursday, November 5, 7:00 – 9:00 pm – Pruning: When, Why, and How

    Confused about when and how to prune your trees and shrubs?  Chuck Sherzi, Certified Arborist and Horticulturist, will help you sort that out.  Chuck will cover pruning practices, tools, and techniques.  He has taught classes and workshops at the Landscape Institute and the Arnold Arboretum.  This program, on Thursday, November 5, beginning at 7 pm, will take place at the Medford Public Library, 111 High Street, Medford, Massachusetts, and is sponsored by the Medford Garden Club.  The program is free and open to the public.  For more information, email sbcummer@msn.com.

    http://huntertreeremoval.com/images/pruning.jpg

  • Friday, November 6, 10 a.m. – Beginning Orchid Growing Clinic

    Historic New England is sponsoring a Beginning Orchid Growing Clinic at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses in Waltham, Massachusetts on Friday, November 6, beginning at 10 a.m.  Learn the essentials of growing orchids, including requirements of growing media, light, water, temperature, and fertilization. With their long-lasting and showy blooms, orchids are one of the most beautiful and dramatic of all flowering plants. This popular course is taught by Lyman Estate horticulturist Lynn Ackerman, an accomplished orchid grower and member of the Orchid Society.  Admission fee is $35.  Contact Susanna Crampton at scrampton@historicnewengland.org, or call her at 781-891-4882 to register.  For more information, log on to www.historicnewengland.org.

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fv8msJy4PhQ/SdnR7GZ2adI/AAAAAAAAANg/UDh3VQJt9R4/s400/OrangeOrchid.jpg

  • Wednesdays, October 21 & 28, 7 – 9 pm – Greening Up Your House: A Guide to Growing Indoor Plants

    Not sure your thumb is green enough?  Wellesley College Botanic Garden Senior Greenhouse Horticulturist Tony Antonucci helps dispel any black thumb self-images.  Tony oversaw the Ferguson Greenhouses “greening” and shares how your houseplants can be grown more safely without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers.  In the first session, he will show you the basics and special Greenhouse tips for houseplant care: light, water, pruning, and feeding.  Trouble shooting and pest control will also be covered.  Session two will be a hands-on workshop using the same plants the Greenhouse staff grows for the New Student Plant Give Away.  You will get your hands dirty and discover proper techniques for repotting, dividing, and pruning pot bound plants with their masses of tangled roots.  Take home your newly potted plants and watch them grow.

    As a special topic, Tony will cover Indoor Kitchen Gardens.  Apply green methods of growing indoor plants to indoor herbs, lettuce, and other food plants.  Tony explains the particular needs of an indoor kitchen garden and discusses the various methods you can use to successfully create one of your own.  Course Number HOR 10 040.  WCFH members $36, non-members $45.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu.

    beautiful houseplant by katiescrapbooklady.

  • Saturday, October 10, 10 am – 12 noon – Gardening with Bulbs

    Consider the many ways to integrate bulbs into the home landscape including enhancing the perennial border, designing foundation plantings or naturalizing a woodland setting. Learn all about the cultivation of bulbs both minor and major. Review a wide variety of both traditional bulbs (daffodils, tulips, lilies and hyacinth) and learn about the more unusual ones including allium, colchicum, scilla, galanthus, camassia, and frittilaria. Watch a demonstration on planting. David’s wonderful bulbs will be on sale following the lecture. David Burdick has been a practicing horticulturist in Berkshire County for more than twenty years. He worked for nine years at BBG and an additional nine years at Windy Hill Nursery. He is a popular teacher for the Horticultural Certificate Program and is currently operates a specialty bulb and cut flower business Daffodils and More at Holiday Farm, Dalton.  This program will take place at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts on Saturday, October 10, from 10 – noon, and costs $16 for BBG members, $21 for non members.  For more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.

    http://www.artcom.com/Museums/nv/af/Chicago%20Botanic%20Garden%20Bulb%20Garden%20SpringBlooms.jpg

  • Saturday, October 3, 9 am – 11 am – Save Those Seeds for Next Year’s Garden

    Horticulturist Jeremy Dick will present a program at City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive in Mattapan, on Saturday, October 3, from 9 – 11 am.  Learn how to collect, process, and store seeds from your garden and from the wild.  This program will cover the proper handling and preservation of seed to greatly increase your success with germination.  Become a seed saver, grow your favorite plants year to year, and share seeds with friends.  Registration is required, although program is free of charge.  To register, call 617-542-7696, or email info@bostonnatural.org.

    Poem on Patience to Plant Seeds by pictoscribe.

  • Friday and Saturday, October 23 and 24 – Garden Gate Magazine Program at The Sagamore

    This program generated a lot of interest when it was initially scheduled for March 2009. But due to the massive renovations the resort was undertaking, the program was rescheduled for October 23 & 24, 2009. The Sagamore’s multi-million dollar facelift will provide the perfect setting for an unforgettable gardening event. Overnight package and day only rates are available.

    Garden Gate magazine (http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/), the program sponsor, is an outstanding publication that is pure pleasure to read. Features include top plant picks; detailed garden plans; maintenance tricks and techniques; featured gardens used to illustrate design tips; what’s new in garden products and plants; how-to-do or build fun projects; and much more. And there are no advertisements! All program participants will receive a complimentary, one-year subscription to Garden Gate, a $24 value.

    The program kicks off 7:00 p.m. Friday night (October 23rd) with a lively PowerPoint presentation by Lindsay Irish, a history buff and specialist on The Sagamore’s fascinating history. A gourmet dinner in the newly renovated Trillium Restaurant follows. Saturday the fun continues with five lively gardening talks:

    *The Art and Science of the Perennial Landscape. Designing a successful landscape with
    perennials involves both art and science. Horticulturist and avid gardeners, Dr. Leonard Perry will discuss and illustrate through photos of various garden settings the aesthetic considerations and habitat considerations (the “science”) when choosing and placing flowers. Best plant growth with the least maintenance, and fewest problems, is in large part a result of picking the right plant for the right environmental habitat. The common garden habitats, with some representative and choice perennials for each, will be featured.
    *The Art of Shade Gardening – Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark. Kerry Mendez will introduce
    you to some perennials, flowering shrubs, and annuals that steal the show in less than sunny
    areas. Discussion includes design tips and as well how to care for low-maintenance gardens.
    *Some of the Newest and Best Annual Flowers. Dr. Perry has managed the All-America
    Selections Flower display garden in Burlington, Vermont for 25 years. He’ll illustrate some of
    the best of the flowers, as well as some of the best new introductions (including perennials
    disguised as annuals), for outstanding performance in colder climates. Learn some tips on
    combining the many choices available through viewing some eye-catching examples.
    *Garden Thugs in Disguise. As an undercover agent on the lookout for garden thugs being
    promoted as valued perennials, Kerry Mendez will blow the whistle on plants that become
    maintenance nightmares despite what the plant tags tell you. Some of these impersonators
    may surprise you. She’ll also share how to corral the ones already in your gardens and
    give some helpful trade secrets on jump-starting gardens in the spring.
    *Floral Design with Flare! Join Tanya Sawn as she shows you how to make incredible
    floral arrangements for your home as well as unique gifts. Tanya does all of the floral displays
    for The Sagamore’s grandiose hotel and special events. The talk includes a tour of the resort’s
    new floral workshop.

    Dr. Perry

    is the Greenhouse and Nursery Extension Specialist for the University of Vermont. He is a frequent guest on the television show Across the Fence as well as on the radio. Professor Perry, along with graduate students, has an active research program on all aspects of perennial production and overwintering. Communities across the U.S. have met him through his past role as a judge for the America in Bloom program. Dr. Perry is becoming known across North America for his internet web site– Perry’s Perennial Pages (www.perrysperennials.com) which features information, links, news articles, research and more on herbaceous perennials.

    If you’ve never stayed at The Sagamore before, you’re in for a treat. Even if you have, you’re still in for a surprise when you see the completed multi-million dollar renovations. It seems no expense is being spared to create a spectacular resort featuring fine dining, accommodations, health spa, and other amenities.

    The Friday night package includes a presentation on The Sagamore’s history,
    gourmet dinner, room accommodations, Saturday’s breakfast, five gardening talks,
    handouts, garden catalogs, door prizes, and a garden gift. The single rate is $336; a
    double room is $507 ($253.50 per person). Weekend packages include all of the
    above plus Saturday’s dinner and accommodations as well as Sunday’s breakfast. The
    single weekend package is $597; $864 for a double room ($432 per person).     Taxes
    and gratuity are additional for all packages    .     These are incredible package prices
    given the usual one night room rate is $410!     For reservations, please call The
    Sagamore at (866) 385-6221 and ask for the fall gardening package.

    The Saturday day only rate is $89 per person. This includes five garden talks on
    Saturday, morning coffee, handouts, catalogs, door prizes and a garden gift. Registration for
    day only guests is through Perennially Yours. Please visit
    www.pyours.com/gardenclasses.htmlor call me at (518) 885-3471.

  • Saturday, September 26, 1 – 3 pm – Bring Nature into the Home: Build a Terrarium Garden

    Come to the Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts on Saturday, September 26, beginning at 1 pm, for this workshop, lecture and book signing with Tovah Martin. Learn about the whimsical yet practical world of gardening under glass – a way to bring nature indoors year round. When encased in glass, plants thrive with almost no help from out side their little enclosed world. This hands-on workshop will address the aesthetics and technical aspects of terrarium building. Plants, soil preparation, planting, container selection, design and maintenance will be covered. Participants will practice planting a glass terrarium with a selection of unique plants. A book signing of Tovah’s latest book The New Terrarium will follow the workshop. Tovah Martin is a horticulturist, writer and garden personality living in Northwest Ct. She writes for many horticultural publications and latest book is The New Terrarium published in 2009. She serves as editorial producer for the PBS television gardening series “Cultivating Life”.  Cost for BBG members is $45, non members $50, plus a materials fee of $25 paid to the instructor.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.

    http://blog.craftzine.com/bookcover_thenewterrarium.jpg


  • Saturday, September 26, 1 – 3 pm – Behind the Scenes at the Chelsea Flower Show

    Spend an inspiring afternoon at the Heritage Art Museum in Sandwich, Massachusetts, with Paul Miskovsky, an award winning landscape designer/horticulturist from Falmouth, MA.  In 2007, Miskovsky had the opportunity to work at the world’s most prestigious horticultural event, The Chelsea Flower Show, in London England for The Blooms Of Bressingham as a volunteer. Join him for a behind the scenes photo journey of the show’s setup to the completion – you will be astounded at the scale and quality of this event!  For more information, log on to www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/event.  The lecture will take place in the North Wing of the Art Museum. Free with Museum admission.