Boston Flora

Tag: Isabella Stewart Gardner

  • Thursday, November 20, 6:30 pm – 8:15 pm – Gardner’s Eden: A Conversation & Book Signing

    Join friends at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on November 20 in Calderwood Hall for a special evening with James Prosek—award-winning artist, writer, and naturalist—in celebration of Gardner’s Eden, one of the Museum’s newest publications and the culmination of Prosek’s 2018 residency at the Gardner. In conversation with Pieranna Cavalchini, Tom and Lisa Blumenthal Curator of Contemporary Art at the Gardner Museum, Prosek will trace the roots of inspiration for the book and provide insights into his artistic practice. An audience Q&A and book signing will conclude the event. Copies of Gardner’s Eden will be available for purchase from Gift at the Gardner.

    During his artist residency at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, James Prosek was drawn to Gardner’s collection, her love of plants, and the relationships she nurtured. Over the course of several visits, he created a series of 54 exquisite drawings capturing everything from rarely seen personal mementos and carefully arranged gallery objects to the ever-changing flora and fauna of the Museum’s iconic Courtyard.

    Each drawing is paired with carefully selected quotations from letters, poems, and journals by Gardner, her friends, and contemporaries. These selections highlight the breadth of Isabella’s eclectic interests and reveal Prosek’s own keen, observant eye. Thoughtfully paired with an essay by the artist, they invite readers to reflect on the enduring dialogue between art, nature, and personal history.

    For tickets and more information visit https://www.gardnermuseum.org/calendar/gardners-eden

  • Thursday, February 27 – Sunday, May 25 – Waters of the Abyss: An Intersection of Freedom and Spirit

    Multi-disciplinary Fabiola Jean-Louis’s captivating exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum invites visitors on a journey through the ancient and eternal, earthly and divine, personal and political. On view from February 27 – May 25, 2025, Waters of the Abyss: An Intersection of Spirit and Freedom by Fabiola Jean-Louis features a large amount of original commissions from the Haitian artist, crafted from the stunningly intricate marriage of paper pulp, mineral stones, shells, metals, glass, and more. Invoking the sanctity of Vodou and its role in Haitian liberation, these works will transform the Museum’s three rotating exhibition spaces, Hostetter Gallery; Fenway Gallery; and the Anne H. Fitzpatrick Façade, into a map of personal histories, a site of communion, and a spiritual portal. Portrait courtesy of the artist. © Fabiola Jean-Louis. For complete information on hours, visit https://www.gardnermuseum.org/calendar/fabiola-jean-louis-water-of-the-abyss

  • Monday, November 18 and Wednesday, December 18, 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm – Botanical Talk and Tour at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

    Join a member of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum horticulture staff on either November 18 or December 18 for a 30-minute presentation about the role of plants at the Museum, past and present. Then, step into the enchanting world of plants at the Gardner Museum for an hour-long guided experience through the galleries. Experience the magic of the verdant Courtyard, view the Monks Garden designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (below), and discuss botanical imagery embedded throughout Isabella Stewart Gardner’s collection.

    This is a ticketed event, and space is limited. Click HERE to see pricing and availability, and to purchase tickets.  

  • Through July 31 – Summer Blues Courtyard Display at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

    Late-flowering hydrangeas make the Isabella Stewart Gardner Courtyard a delightfully cool retreat in the summer, beginning with large, spectacular mopheads and ending with the tall Paniculata ‘Grandifolia’, known in America as PeeGees. In July, the statuesque Agapanthus appears in the Courtyard with its large umbels of inky blue flowers. Hydrangeas are native to Japan, where they have been grown as ornamental plants for centuries; Western travelers brought them to their gardens in the late 18th century.

    Please note that the Courtyard displays are part of a living collection and as such the actual flowers may be different than what is described on our website. Visit https://www.gardnermuseum.org/experience/courtyard/summer-blues

  • Virtual Tour of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Greenhouses

    Director of Horticulture Erika Rumbley takes you on a tour of the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum’s South Shore greenhouses and nursery, and discusses the process by which the iconic Hanging Nasturtiums are grown each year. The three minute video may be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtSqEROD5pY

    Erika is also the co-founder and director of The New Garden Society, run by farmers, landscapers, and horticulturists. Each year the Society trains over 100 incarcerated students in Greater Boston in the art and science of plants.

  • Tuesday, March 6, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – A Visit with Isabella Stewart Gardner

    A few years ago, The Garden Club of the Back Bay welcomed acclaimed performer Jessa Piaia, who took attendees back to 1910 with her dramatic portrayal of Isabella Stewart Gardner, America’s first patroness of the arts, and lover of plant material.  For those who missed the meeting, you’ll have another chance on Tuesday, March 6, from 10 – noon at South Church, 41 Central Street in Andover.  The Andover Garden Club is sponsoring the program, and a $5 guest charge includes refreshments. Piaia studied performance at London’s Oval House Theatre and graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Boston. An employee of Harvard University, she conducts most of her historical research at the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe Institute, which specializes in the history of women in America.

    Founded in 1927, the Andover Garden Club is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that encourages the study and practice of horticulture, landscape design, and floral design; aids in the beautification of the town of Andover; and helps protect and conserve natural resources. A member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc., and National Garden Clubs, Inc., the club provides both financial and hands-on support to a variety of municipal, educational, and environmental organizations throughout the region.  To reserve, please call 978-475-7119.

  • Tuesday, February 22, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm – Orchids and Bromeliads Courtyard Display Opens

    The Orchids and Bromeliads Courtyard Display at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway, Boston, opens Tuesday, February 22.  Cure your winter blues with a visit to the Gardner’s lush green courtyard, filled with yellow and red bromeliads and stunning orchids, including large colorful cymbidiums and dozens of lady’s slippers.  For more information, log on to www.gardnermuseum.org.

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  • Saturday, February 19, 1:30 pm – Nature Revisited

    The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Landscape Visions Lectures continue Saturday, February 19, beginning at 1:30 pm in the Kotzen Meeting Center, Lefavour Hall, Simmons College, with Amale Andraos, co-founder of WORKac, NYC, speaking on Nature Revisited.

    Today, in the face of global urbanization, exploding population, and shrinking resources, architecture, cities, and nature are at a crossroads. Moving beyond the binary—white or green, architecture or landscape, urban or rural—we must ask how we can reinvent nature for the twenty-first century. Andraos examines recent projects by WORKac that shed light on the current situation and suggest a new course for the future.

    Based in New York City, WORKac develops architectural and urban projects that engage culture and consciousness, nature and artificiality, surrealism and pragmatism. WORKac is involved in projects at all scales, ranging from a master plan for the new BAM cultural district in Brooklyn, to a single family villa in Inner Mongolia, China. Recent completed projects include the installation ‘Public Farm 1’ at PS1/MoMA and the new headquarters for Diane von Furstenberg. Current work includes the new Kew Gardens Hills Library in Queens, the extension of the Clark Art Institute at Mass MoCA, a new Children’s Museum for the Arts, and the first Edible Schoolyard New York City with Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Foundation.

    Amale Andraos is a visiting professor at Princeton University’s School of Architecture and has taught at numerous institutions including Harvard and Columbia Universities, the University of Pennsylvania, Parsons School of Design, and the American University in Beirut. She was born in Beirut, Lebanon. She has lived in Saudi Arabia, France, Canada and the Netherlands prior to moving to New York in 2002. She currently serves on the Architectural League of New York’s Board of Directors.  Tickets ($15 general public, $12 seniors, $5 members, students free) are available on line at www.gardenermuseum.org.  You will also find directions to the Kotzen Meeting Center on the site.

  • Saturday, January 22, 1:30 pm – 100 Gardens: Conceptual Gardens and New Landscapes

    The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Landscape Visions Lectures continue this winter at the Kotzen Meeting Center, Lefavour Hall, Simmons College, during the construction of the Gardner Museum annex.  The opening event for 2011 will take place at 1:30 pm on Saturday, January 22, with Alexander Reford, founder of the International Garden Festival in Quebec, speaking on 100 Gardens: Conceptual Gardens and New Landscapes.

    Every year, designers create ephemeral gardens on small sites with limited budgets for Quebec’s International Garden Festival. Hampered by few other constraints, they have complete liberty to experiment and innovate. The resulting conceptual gardens convey a message, encourage participation, and invite vigorous debate rather than quiet contemplation.  Reford presents selections from the gardens exhibited since 2000 and reflects on the ways they reinvigorate the traditional garden, offering new experiences to visitors and new ways of thinking about and designing gardens.

    Schooled as an historian, Alexander Reford is an honorary member of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. In 2009, he was awarded the Frederick-Todd Prize by the Association des Architectes Paysagistes du Québec. In the same year, the Montréal Botanical Garden bestowed the Henry-Teuscher Prize on Alexander Reford and Elsie Reford (posthumous) for their contribution to horticulture in Québec.  Tickets are $15 for the general public, $12 for seniors, $5 for members, and free for students.  Will-call tickets will be available for pickup at the Kotzen Meeting Center.  Tickets will be available for purchase on the day of each lecture at the Gardener Museum’s front desk, pending availability.  Please note that capacity is limited, and advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended.  You may order on line at www.gardnermuseum.org, where you will also find a map directing you to the site.

  • Tuesday, April 20, 7:30 pm – Restoring Historic Landscapes and Gardens

    The program “Restoring Historic Landscapes and Gardens” will be presented Tuesday, April 20th at 7:30 pm at the Acton Memorial Library. The evening’s speaker is JoAnn Robinson, Assistant Curator of Landscape, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Co-chair of the Arlington Historical Commission.

    Every historic property has a landscape component. Appropriate landscapes can make an immeasurable contribution to a property and town as whole.  Learn what some other towns such as Arlington have done, and how to begin researching and implementing a historic landscape to complement your property.  The program is co-sponsored by the Acton Memorial Library, the Acton Historic District Commission, and the Acton Historical Commission.

    The lecture is free and open to the public.  The library is located at 486 Main St., Acton, MA next to Town Hall.  The parking lot and entrance are reached from Woodbury Lane. For information, please contact the library at 978 264-9641 or Kathy Acerbo-Bachmann, Acton Historic District Commission, 617.536.0944 x217 or hdc@acton-ma.gov.

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