Garden History Consultant Christie Higginbottom’s illustrated program at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts on Sunday, November 1 beginning at 2 pm will explore the role played by apples at the table and on the farm landscape in the past, and will look at the revival of interest today. The program is free with admission to the Museum. For more information, log on to www.fruitlands.org.
Meet author Ben Watson at the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts on Sunday, October 25 at 3 pm. He is a Yale alumnus, Slow Food proponent and farm activist living in Francestown, New Hampshire, and will speak about his new book, Cider Hard & Sweet: History, Tradition & Making Your Own. Ben provides instruction, recipes and background on cider and cider-making in his work. Localvores will delight in the idea of preserving apple essence for year-round consumption and historians will enjoy the thought of John Adams drinking hard cider for breakfast. Free with museum admission. For directions and more information, log on to www.fruitlands.org.
November 2 is the date of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), the traditional Mexican ceremonies honoring family and friends who have died. Over the past few years, Forest Hills Cemetery has served as a location for such a ceremony, and this year is no exception. The ceremony begins at 4:00pm, as the sun is setting. Hundreds of people, including families with children, attend and participate with their own private remembrances.
Join The Forest Hills Educational Trust for a traditional Mexican celebration of remembrance co-sponsored by Latin American folkloric performance group La Pinata. Based on the ancient traditions of Mexico’s indigenous peoples who believed that the souls of the dead return each year to visit their families, the Day of the Dead celebrates the continuous cycle of life and death, embracing cultures from all throughout the Americas. Enjoy a program of music and dance as individuals bring offerings of flowers, copies of photos, mementos, and traditional skull-shaped sugar candies to leave on a decorated candle-lit altar for those departed loved ones. Dress warmly. Bring a flashlight. Bilingual: English/Spanish. Admission: Free. Co-sponsored by La Piñata and Spontaneous Celebrations. Visit them at http://www.spontaneouscelebrations.org.
For more information, log on to www.foresthillstrust.org.
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.
Come to The Landscape Institute, 30 Chauncy Street, Cambridge, MA on Thursday, October 29 to hear Ann Kearsley speak about her exhibition of landscape design work, including drawings and photographs that document the process from foundations to cranes to finished installation of built landscapes and of sculpture installations. Ann Kearsley MLA, MLAUD, principal/owner of Ann Kearsley Design, has been designing landscapes for art since 1996. Her lecture will discuss the challenges of designing landscapes for modern sculpture, using examples of her work that include sculpture by Tony Smith, Mark di Suvero, Willem de Kooning and others. Sculpture has been placed in landscapes for millennia. For centuries, figurative forms in public landscapes and private gardens communicated specific meanings through formal expressions of shared cultural iconographies. In the 20th century, as the imagery of abstract art moved away from mainstream culture, the role of sculpture in designed landscapes began to change as well, creating an opportunity for our consideration of the relationship between sculptural and landscape forms.
This lecture is free and open to the public. The exhibition will continue through December 3, 2009. The reception begins at 5:30, the lecture at 6:00. Please rsvp to landscape@arnarb.harvard.edu, since seating is limited. For directions and parking information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
Two interesting hands on workshops will be held at Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge on Saturday, October 24. Each session may be taken separately, or both may be taken – there is a 10% discount if a student takes both classes.
The first, Stone Walls for the Garden, begins at 9 am. This hands-on program will cover the basics of wall building, including: planning and layout, learning to look at stone and demonstrations on cutting and fitting. Various applications for the garden will be considered, with special attention to building a freestanding wall. All questions will be answered. Participants should bring: work gloves and safety glasses; dress for outdoor work. Mark Mendel is the master mason of Monterey Masonry. He apprenticed with Maine stonemasons in the 1960’s and taught at the Haystack School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. He has built scores of walls, arches, terraces and walks in addition to many fireplaces in both brick and stone. Locally, his work includes the kitchen at Hancock Shaker Village, and Guido’s Marketplace. BBG members $45, non-members $50.
The second, Stone Steps, Pathways and Flatwork, will begin at 2 pm. Flatwork will be the focus of this workshop: paving with stone and brick for terraces, walkways, paths and garden edging. Watch a demonstration and participate in construction of a stone walkway using a variety of materials including stone and brick. Learn how to evaluate a project and choose the best material. All questions will be answered in this popular workshop. BBG members $45, non-members $50.
To register, or for more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org. Rain date for both sessions is Sunday, October 25.
For those of you without a car, or who hate to drive but love autumn scenery, there is a daily option (through October 25).
Enjoy the spectacular New England countryside as the leaves turn a multitude of colors during the fall season. A pleasant afternoon tour of foliage display is capped by a stop at a native orchard for apples and cider.
Experience the gently rolling New England countryside, awash with the colors of Indian Summer. Travel past quiet ponds and ancient farms, weathered roadside taverns and sturdy colonial churches. Enjoy a hot Yankee style lunch at a quaint New England tavern nestled in the heart of the mountains (cost is additional).
Finish your afternoon with a visit to a native orchard where apples are grown and local (non-alcoholic) cider is made. Pickup and drop off at 16 South Charles Street and, upon advance arrangement, from selected Boston and Cambridge hotels (such as the Back Bay Hilton, the Boston Park Plaza, the Colonnade, the Copley Square Hotel, the Fairmont Copley Plaza, the Lenox, the Marriott Copley Place, etc.). Designed for the tourist, but accessible to the resident, the cost for this ten hour bus trip is $58, plus gratuities. Customer reviews are excellent. For more information, log on to www.viator.com/tours/Boston/Fall-Foliage-Spectacular-Tour-from-Boston/d678-3978TOUR11?SSAID=333659&aid=463296857.
Beautiful orchids from all over the world will be displayed by hobbyists, commercial growers and orchid societies on Sunday, October 25, 2009, at the “Come See Our Bloomers!” Show and Sale. The event will take place at The Pond House at Elizabeth Park, 1555 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford, Connecticut, and admission is free. See exhibits by orchid and orchid supply vendors, enjoy related arts and crafts, and participate in a teacup raffle. For further information, contact Jeanne McDermott, President of the Nutmeg State Orchid Society, Inc., at PO Box 131, Farmington, CT 06034-0131, 860-677-5381, or email NSOScontact@comcast.net. For more information, log on to www.nutmegorchids.org.
The Arnold Arboretum invites you to attend a reception with Artist Marty Klein on Saturday, October 24, from 1 – 3 pm in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall of the Arnold Arboretum.
Marty Klein is fueled by an insatiable and wide-ranging curiosity to see familiar natural forms in new and refreshing ways. Using a flatbed scanner as a camera, Marty Klein captures images of plants and other natural objects with incredible depth and contrast. The images are very different from traditional photographs, yet remain close in spirit, imbued with an arresting vitality. Several new works in this show use specimens gathered by special permission from the Arboretum’s living collections. The exhibition continues through December 15, 2009.
Marty Klein holds a BA and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts, and over the years has worked as an artist, photographer, blacksmith, and land protection activist. For more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
Consider keeping a beehive in your backyard for pollination in addition to collecting and harvesting your own honey supply. This discussion at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on Saturday, October 17 from 1 – 3, will cover the basics of bees and beekeeping for the homeowner. Learn about the equipment, site selection, how to start a hive, maintenance, collection and storage of honey. Topics including bee diseases, health care and protection from predators will be covered. This class gives a realistic perspective for beginner and novice beekeepers. Learn how you can help save the bees! Dominic Palumbo owns Moon in the Pond Farm, a NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmers Association) certified organic farm in Sheffield, Mass. He produces organic eggs, meat, wool, yarn and honey. He teaches regularly for Berkshire Botanical Garden on topics related to family farming. BBG members $16, non members $21. For more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.
