Boston Flora

Tag: Judith Sumner

  • Wednesday, July 12, 10:00 am – 11:00 am – Cultivating Cures: The Botany, Ecology, and Lore of New England Medicinal Flora

    In this Berkshire Botanical Garden slide-illustrated talk — July 12, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — we will explore medicinal plants in New England, from Old World introductions and the Doctrine of Signatures to Native American remedies and cures. Early colonial practitioners blended European herbal lore with Native American knowledge resulting in a uniquely American medicinal tradition. Topics will include the evolution of natural toxins and their uses in drugs, tonics and bitters, and food preservation in colonial and 19th century American homes.

    Professor Judith Sumner is a Massachusetts-born botanist who specializes in ethnobotany, flowering plants, plant adaptations, and garden history. She has taught at the college level and at many botanical gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum and Garden in the Woods. Her studies have taken her to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the British Museum (Natural History). For several years, under the pseudonym of Laura Craig, she authored a column, “The Gardener’s Kitchen,” in Horticulture
    Magazine.     Her most recent book is Plants Go To War: A Botanic History of World War II. This lecture is jointly presented by BBG and the Lenox Garden Club.

  • Thursday, April 13 – Saturday, April 15 – National Garden Clubs Gardening School, Course 1, Series 12, on Zoom

    The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts announces the upcoming National Garden Clubs Gardening School Course 1, Series 12, on Zoom April 13 – 15. Full course with exam is $110, full course, no exam, $100, full course for non-club members $125. Deadline for registration April 1. There will be lectures by Dr. Judith Sumner, Professor of Natural Sciences, Assumption College, Kathi Gariepy, Massachusetts Master Gardener, educator, garden writer, and lecturer, and Joann Vieira, former head of horticulture at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens and current head of horticulture for Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations. For more information and to register visit https://www.gcfm.org/gardening-study-school or email lindajean.smith@comcast.net Topics will include Basic Botany, Soils, Techniques for Growing Outdoor Flowers, and Plant Propagation.

  • Friday, February 18, 11:30 am – Herbs, Herbals, and Herbalists, Live and Online

    The Springfield Garden Club will host “Herbs, Herbals and Herbalists” presented by Judith Sumner on Friday, February 18 at 11:30 AM. The event will be in person at the Barney Carriage House at Forest Park as well as virtually via Zoom.

    Speaker Judith Sumner specializes in ethnobotany, flowering plants, plant adaptations, and garden history. She has taught extensively both at the college level and at botanical gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and Garden in the Woods.  Judith graduated from Vassar College and completed graduate studies in botany at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  She studied at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and at the British Museum (Natural History) and did extensive field work in the Pacific region on the genus Pittosporum and is widely published. She will talk on early herbals and plant life, including the Doctrine of Signatures, an ancient practice of using plants for their beneficial capacities through observation.

    The meeting will be held at the Carriage House at the Barney Estate, Forest Park, Springfield, MA 01108. Directions to Carriage house at: www.barneycarriagehouse.com. 

    The presentation is open to the public as well as club members via Zoom.  Social hour begins at 11:30, the club business meeting is at noon and the presentation will begin at 12:30. Tickets for guests are $5 and are available at EventBrite.com.

    For more information on this and other Springfield Garden Club events go to www.springfieldgardenclubma.org

  • Wednesdays, October 13 & 20, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm – Botanical Names for the Fearful, Online

    In this two-session Berkshire Botanical course offered on Zoom on October 13 & 20 at 5:30 pm, led by Judith Summer, we will begin with a tour of the plant kingdom with attention to plant names and their history. We’ll explore the work of Linnaeus and the origin of botanical binomials — the naming system in place since 1753 — and decode the Latin and Greek roots that occur commonly in plant names. Illustrated lectures will weave botanical nomenclature with science, exploration, history, and the state of modern plant names, from the ancient Doctrine of Signatures to modern DNA analysis. We’ll also discuss why names sometimes change (Hint: not to vex gardeners!). Visuals will include both familiar plants and some that are quite rare, accompanied by explanation and decoding of their botanical names. An opportunity to gain confidence in dealing with scientific plant names, we will examine several techniques for learning names with ease, and the course will conclude with a collaborative “quiz” to pool our collective knowledge. Participants will receive two recent articles written by Judith Sumne on Linnaean history and the useful details of botanical nomenclature.

    Judith Sumner is classically trained botanist and author who specializes in ethnobotany, flowering plants, plant adaptations and garden history. She is a graduate of Vassar College and completed her graduate studies in botany at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She studied at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; at the British Museum; the Jardin des Plantes; and did extensive field work in the Pacific region on the genus Pittosporum. In addition to writing, her projects include field studies in the Great Smoky Mountains and work with the United Nations developing petroleum-rich plants in the Caribbean. She served as a visiting scientist for several summers in the LEAP (Learning about Plants) program at Harvard for Boston school teachers and has volunteered as a National Public Radio Science mentor. Judith has been the scientist-in-residence at the Star Island Natural History Conference and a guest on the “Martha Stewart Living” TV show, the PBS program “Cultivating Life,” and various other PBS and educational programs. She lectures widely and is an award-winning writer including: The Natural History of Medicinal Plants (Timber Press); American Household Botany (Timber Press); and Plants Go to War: A Botanical History of World War II.

    $30 for BBG members, $45 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/botanical-names-fearful

  • Tuesday, March 17, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – The Herbal History of World War II – POSTPONED

    Based on research completed for her recent book, Plants Go to War: A Botanical History of World War II, Judith Sumner will discuss the importance of herbs and medicinal plants in the war effort. From the County Herb Committees in England to South American cinchona (quinine) missions, plants played essential roles in treating wartime illnesses and conditions. We’ll examine the botanical origins of treatments for ailments ranging from bacterial infections and tropical parasites to vitamin deficiencies and bombing-induced stress. The Tower Hill Botanic Garden talk on March 17 from 11 – 12:30 will also include historical perspective on the cultural and medicinal role of herbs in the Third Reich, including the cultivation of extensive herbal gardens at concentration camps.

    Judith Sumner is a botanist who specializes in ethnobotany, flowering plants, plant adaptations, and garden history. She has taught extensively both at the college level and at botanical gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and Garden in the Woods. Judith graduated from Vassar College and completed graduate studies in botany at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She studied at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and at the British Museum (Natural History) and did extensive field work in the Pacific region on the genus Pittosporum. She has published monographic studies in the American Journal of Botany, Pollen et Spores, and Allertonia, as well as monographing two families for Flora Vitiensis Nova.

    The session is $15 for THBG members, $20 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Thursday, April 2, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, & Friday, April 3, 8:15 am – 12:45 pm – Gardening Study School Course 3

    The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts’ Gardening Study School. Course 3, Series 11, will take place April 2 and 3 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston.

    Subjects covered: Thursday, April 2 (Tested subjects) Factors that Influence Plant Growth – Dr. Judith Sumner, Botanist

    New Plant Development & Evaluation – Dr. Judith Sumner, Botanist Teaching Tour of Tower Hill – Joann Vieira, Horticulturalist

    Supporting the Wild – Joann Vieira, Horticulturalist (non-tested)

    Friday, April 3, (Tested subjects) Container Gardening – Betty Sanders, Master Gardener

    Houseplants – Betty Sanders, Master Gardener

    Test for those becoming consultants begins at 1:45 PM. Registration deadline March 25.

    Make checks payable to GCFM and mail with your name, address, telephone number, email, Garden Club affiliation, to Linda Jean Smith, 23 Bentley Lane, Chelmsford, MA 01824. $110 GCFM Student Member, exam fee included, $100 Refresher, $140 non-member (2 day fee), $70 one day registration, & available box lunches $18/day (choose chicken, roast beef, or vegetarian wrap) For further information contact Joy DeMaggio at jmarykay2@outlook.com

  • Thursday, October 3, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Plants Go To War

    Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on October 3 at The Gardens at Elm Bank for a special presentation and book signing with author Judith Sumner. Drawing from her book, Plants Go to War, Sumner will examine the plants that provided wartime food, pharmaceutical drugs, timber, rubber, canvas, and other essential goods and survival techniques that helped to win the war. Join us for a fascinating story of the convergence of history and horticulture! Join us for a reception at 6 p.m. copies of Plants Go to War will be available for purchasing and signing. Presentation to begin at 7 p.m. $30 for Mass Hort members, $45 general admission. Register at https://masshort.org/garden-event/plants-go-to-war/

    Judith Sumner is a botanist who specializes in ethnobotany, flowering plants, plant adaptations, and garden history. She has taught extensively both at the college level and at botanical gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and Garden in the Woods. Judith graduated from Vassar College and completed graduate studies in botany at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  She studied at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and at the British Museum (Natural History) and did extensive field work in the Pacific region on the genus Pittosporum.  

  • Saturday, April 7, 8:30 am – 3:00 pm – Celebrating Herbs!

    The Herb Society of America, New England Unit, will sponsor Celebrating Herbs!, a symposium to be held Saturday, April 7, from 8:30 – 3 at the Hunnewell Carriage House, The Gardens at Elm Bank, in Wellesley. Speakers will include Kelly Orzel, Judith Sumner, and Betsy Williams.

    Betsy Williams will present Herbal Weddings: Old Traditions, Modern Uses. An herbal wedding is the essence of romance! The perfumed air, the delightful colors and the ancient symbolism of the plants blend to create a truly magical day. The program includes the stories and traditions of wedding herbs and the language of flowers, cultural directions for growing the herbs, garden design suggestions and how to use herbs and herbal flowers creatively in wedding flowers, food and drink. Image below from www.weddingwindow.com.

    Judith Sumner is a botanist and popular lecturer at the Arnold Arboretum, Garden in the Woods, and Assumption College. She is the author of American Household Botany, a History of Useful Plants, 1620 – 1900, and The Natural History of Medicinal Plants.

    Kelly Orzel, of Bowery Beach Farm at Cape Elizabeth, Maine, specializes in culinary and scented plants including 50 varieties of scented pelargoniums. The Backyard Gardener is her recent book.

    The early bird fee for Herb Society members is $85, $90 for non-HSA members, postmarked on or before March 10. All registrations after March 24 are $105, and registration closes March 28. No walk-ins. Registration includes coffee/tea and morning refreshments, plus a catered herbal lunch. The New England Unit of The Herb Society of America, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) educational organization. Proceeds from this fund-raising event will be used to help support educational projects. For more information visit http://www.neuhsa.org/2018Symposium.html

  • Thursday and Friday, April 6 & 7 – Gardening Study School Course IV, Series 10

    The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts will conduct a Gardening Study School, Course IV, Series 10 on April 6 & 7 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston.  Subjects covered will include Specialized Styles of Gardening with landscape designer Laura Eisner, Techniques for Growing Woody Ornamentals and Home Irrigation Techniques with Paul Rogers, Techniques for Growing Fruit with Joann Viera, Outdoor Identification of Plants with Dr. Judith Sumner, How to Exhibit Horticultural Specimens in a Flower Show with Sandy Joyce, and a test for those becoming consultants.  Suggested reading is Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon.

    Fees are $100 for GCFM members (exam fee included), $100 for nonmembers, $100 for a refresher, and $70 for a one day registration.  Box lunches are available on advance order ($18/day).  Send a check made out to GCFM, Inc to Linda Jean Smith, Registrar, 23 Bentley Lane in Chelmsford, MA 01824-2021, and include your name, address, telephone and email, and Garden Club affiliation.  For more information email lindajean.smith@comcast.net.  Registration deadline is March 16, and there are no refunds. Image from www.newportmansions.org.

  • Saturday, October 1, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – The Art and Science of Pickling

    Food preservation can be a challenge, and before refrigeration, pickling was an essential strategy for safe food storage. In this Berkshire Botanical Garden illustrated talk and demonstration on Saturday, October 1 from 1 – 4, participants will investigate the origins of vinegar, the alchemy of fermentation, and the anti-microbial properties of herbs and spices that are at the center of the art of pickling. Noted ethnobotanist and historian Judith Sumner will share modern pickling recipes and methods (and the science behind them), ranging from fresh pack dill pickles in crocks to bread and butter pickles processed in a hot water bath, and enjoy a tasting of pickle recipes and analysis of recipes from various historic sources. The workshop will also include making some quick pickled onions to be taken home by participants.

    Judith Sumner is a botanist who specializes in ethnobotany, flowering plants, plant adaptations, and garden history. She has taught extensively both at the college level and at botanical gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and Garden in the Woods. She has been a guest on the Martha Stewart Living television show, the PBS program Cultivating Life, the Annenberg Channel, and various other PBS and educational programs.  BBG members $30, nonmembers $35. Register online at https://berkshirebotanical.org/education/lectures-and-workshops/