Boston Flora

Tag: Information Log

  • Friday, April 23 – Sunday, April 25 – Nantucket Daffodil Festival Weekend

    From early-April to mid-May, over three million daffodils of every color, shape and size will bloom on Nantucket Island. This blossoming, and the advent of spring itself, is the focal point of the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Daffodil Festival, this year taking place April 23 – 25. Originated by the late Jean MacAusland, a summer resident of Nantucket and former publisher of Gourmet Magazine, the weekend has grown into a full-scale celebration of winter’s thaw, joyous for both islanders and visitors alike. Daffodils adorn the island’s roadsides, gardens and shop windows with blossoms of yellow, orange, white and even pale pink. The Daffodil Festival’s grand event, held on Saturday (Rain or Shine) is the Annual Antique Car Parade, featuring over 100 daffodil-bedecked antique cars (pre-registration necessary for participation.) After winding through town and across the island to the charming village of Siasconset, participants join residents and visitors for the Annual Daffodil Tailgate Picnic. Held on the lush lawns leading into the village the picnic boasts fare ranging from elaborate gourmet cuisine served on fine china to box lunches and burgers. Other highlights include the Nantucket Garden Club’s Annual Daffodil Show, Daffy Dog Parade, Children’s Daffodil Parade and The Daffy Hat Pageant.For more information, log on to www.nantucketchamber.org.

    http://www.nantucketchamber.org/members/photos/daffy.jpg

  • Saturday, May 1, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Medieval Gardens Workshop

    This one-day workshop on Saturday, May 1, from 10 – 4, traces the history and evolution of medieval gardens in western Europe, from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance. Topics of discussion include the varieties and influence of monastic gardens, the impact of the water gardens of Islamic Spain, and the exquisite ornamental gardens of the fifteenth century, designed solely for pleasure and sensual delight. Selected slide images of paintings and manuscript illuminations illustrate details of medieval gardeners at work, the tools they used and the surprising views of their garden designs.

    The image below is the re-created medieval garden Commanderie des Templiers de Coulommiers.  The buildings were part of a monastery belonging to the Knights Templar.  The garden design, inspired by paintings of medieval gardens, was designed by Joel Chatain, a landscape architecture graduate from Versailles, and the work was carried out by young volunteers.  Extensive use is made of wattle fencing.

    The course is taught by Priscilla Baumann, Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from Boston University, and is part of the Lesley University/Art Institute of Boston’s  Spring Seminar Series in the Arts.  The cost of this workshop is $100, and it will take place at University Hall, Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Room 4-040.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.lesley.edu/aib/EXTRA/courses.html, or email darcadip@aiboston.edu.

    http://www.gardenvisit.com/assets/madge/coulommiers_medieval_garden_2061_jpg/600x/coulommiers_medieval_garden_2061_jpg_600x.jpg

  • Saturday, March 13 – Sunday, March 14 – Hebron Maple Festival

    The 20th Annual Hebron Maple Festival will be held the second weekend in March throughout the town of Hebron, Connecticut.  People come from miles around to enjoy and experience the weekend of maple-related events.  The goal of this festival is to bring families together and provide noncommercial inexpensive enjoyment in a quiet time of the year.  There will be self tours, demonstrations, and a variety of maple products in the participating sugar houses.  Learn how maple syrup is produced, and how to use it.  Last year visitors enjoyed the “Shack Out Back” chainsaw carvers, the  Connecticut Valley Siberian Husky Club dog sled exhibition, an historical quilt exhibition and sale, plus blacksmiths crafting hand forged items, woodworking and wood turning demonstrations, and a Revolutionary War encampment.  For more information log on to www.hebronmaplefest.com.

  • Wednesday, March 3, 9:00 am – New Harmonies in Container Gardening

    The Powisset Garden Club presents this program, open to the public, on Wednesday, March 3, beginning at 9 am at the Dover Town House, 5 Springdale Avenue in Dover, MA.  Katherine Tracey is co-owner of Avant Gardens, a small specialty nursery in Dartmouth, MA.  They grow a wide variety of uncommon plants, with an emphasis on tender perennials.   Kathy has been selecting uncommon plants for the container displays at Avant Gardens for over a decade.  Her years of experience have allowed her to refine the list to the best and easiest choices for easy care for plant combinations.  This slide presentation will introduce you to many new cultivars and start our creative juices flowing.  For additional information log on to http://maclubs.esiteasp.com/powissetgardenclubofdover.

  • Saturday, February 20, 1 – 3 pm – Summer in Winter: Paintings by Anthony Apesos

    The Arnold Arboretum invites you to a reception with artist Anthony Apesos on Saturday, February 20, from 1 – 3 pm, at the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall in the Arnold Arboretum.  The exhibit, Summer in Winter, will be on view January 9, 2010 through March 3, 2010, and Mr. Apesos will also give an artist talk on Thursday, February 25, from 6:30 to 8 pn.  For more information log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    Anthony Apesos has been painting the Arboretum since he moved to Jamaica Plain in the early 1990s. His recent series of paintings shows the Arboretum at the height of summer’s verdant glory. A perfect antidote to winter weather, Apesos depicts the wide-ranging Arboretum landscape in deep summer, from the rugged outcrops of Hemlock Hill to the meadows from which dawn redwoods spring.

    Anthony Apesos is a professor of painting and art history at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. His paintings are inspired by such landscape artists as George Inness, John Constable, and Samuel Palmer.

  • Saturday, February 20, 9 am – 12 noon – Pruning in Winter

    Join Jen Kettell, Horticultural Technologist at the Arnold Arboretum, on Saturday, February 20  at 9:00 a.m. in the Hunnewell Building at the Arboretum for this single session pruning workshop. Jan presented this program earlier in January, and you have a second chance.  With no leaves on the branches to obscure your view, this is the best time of year to study a tree’s structure and shape it for improved air circulation, silhouette, and strength. Jen Kettell, an International Society of Arboriculture-certified arborist and accredited Organic Land Care professional, will explain the reasons for pruning and what to consider when pruning dormant trees, shrubs, and vines. She will demonstrate techniques, give guidelines for determining which plants benefit from winter pruning, and explain how plants heal from pruning wounds, even when dormant. Bring your questions to this classroom discussion and demonstration. Fee $30 Arnold Arboretum member, $35 nonmember.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

  • Thursday, February 11, 6:00 – 7:00 pm – The Origins of Agriculture: Everything You Need to Know in 50 Minutes or Less

    The transition from hunting and gathering to food production was a seismic shift in human history. With it, we transformed the world. But how and when did this happen, and why is it important to understanding our current human condition? Bruce Smith, curator of North American archaeology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, will discuss his current research on agricultural origins — and how the story is more complicated than you’d expect.  This free lecture will take place at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge, on Thursday, February 11, from 6:00 – 7:00 pm.  For more information, log on to www.hmnh.harvard.edu.

  • Saturday, February 6, 5:00 – 9:00 pm – Earth Dinner

    The First Parish Church, 3 Church Street in Cambridge will host an Earth Dinner potluck on Saturday, February 6, from 5 – 9 pm, which will feature local foods, with a Slow Foods Boston representative, local farmers, and food producers discussing the local food movement.  For more information, log on to www.slowfoodboston.com, or call the church at 617-876-7772.

    http://cubedtv.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/slow_food_cubed_tv.jpg

  • Tuesday, February 16, 9:30 am – Demonstration by 11 Members Representing Different Schools of Ikebana

    Come to the University of Massachusetts Waltham Center, 240 Beaver Street in Waltham, on Tuesday, February 16, beginning at 9:30 am, for a fascinating demonstration of the art of ikebana, and to see a demonstration of furoshiki, which is Japanese Gift Wrapping with Cloth, by Minal Akkad.  For more information, log on to www.ikebanaboston.org.

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DsdjXHm4IO4/R_Ral3RebHI/AAAAAAAAB3A/lHahPcT-pBA/s400/Furoshiki+P1021746_edited-2.jpg

  • Saturday, January 30, 10 am – 2:30 pm – Winter Tree Observations: Evergreens

    Carol Govan has been a popular speaker with The Garden Club of the Back Bay.  Join her on Saturday, January 30 at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden for this one session class beginning at 10 am.  Winter is a great time to identify trees based on their overall structure and twig and bud characteristics. Close observation can also reveal clues to the adaptive strategies of various tree species. You will begin indoors at the Wellesley College Greenhouse Visitor Center, carefully looking at twigs and other tree parts, discovering family and genus similarities, and examining indicators of the growth cycles of evergreens. After lunch Carol will lead you through the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens to identify trees, observing both large- and small-scale details. Bring a lunch and hand lens and dress for cold weather. (Snow date: February 13) Fee $50 Arnold Arboretum or Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture member, $65 nonmember.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    Evergreen Needles and Snow by ...Rachel J....