Boston Flora

Tag: Kelly Orzel

  • Saturday, October 21, 10:00 am – 11:30 am, and 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm – Designing the Cottage Garden

    Creating a romantic and ethereal English cottage garden is all about embracing a natural, slightly wild aesthetic while maintaining a sense of structure and charm. Join Kelly Orzel as she leads a morning Massachusetts Horticultural Society lecture on the essentials of cottage—aka English—garden design. From how to choose plants, colors, and textures to create romantic, ethereal spaces. The importance of structure and how to achieve that intangible, whimsical sentimentality the cottage garden is known for. Whether looking for a formal space to entertain or an intimate, informal place for your own enjoyment, you’ll learn how to achieve both while keeping that charming, nostalgic quality of a cottage garden.

    In addition to the morning lecture, Kelly will be leading an afternoon design workshop for those looking to layout their space. From 12 pm to 1:30/2 pm, students will look at layouts, structural elements, how to balance formal with informal spaces, and more. Working with Kelly participants will map out their current garden/project, those taking the afternoon workshop are asked to bring basic measurements of their current gardens, and any current photos they have. Graph Paper and sketching materials will be provided. The afternoon session has a limited class size. 

    Kelly Orzel is a small-scale, organic herb farmer, author, and speaker growing in coastal Maine. As a lover of green things from an early age, she worked at a local farm—before she even had her license— and with serious growers throughout college. As an undergrad at Rutgers she won a USDA research grant in Plant Biotechnology. Several years after a stint as an actuarial analyst and high school math teacher, Kelly graduated with her Master of Science in Horticulture from Texas Tech University. Since then, Kelly’s been living the dream of growing organic herbs on her small-scale farm in Cape Elizabeth, Maine for 8 years. She’s done it all: from farmer’s markets and mail-order, to florists, brides, and wholesale. Kelly’s first book, The Backyard Gardener, was published by Lyons Press in 2017 and her freelance work has appeared in national garden magazines, including Hobby Farms as well as local newspapers. $75 – $95. Register at www.masshort.org

  • 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

  • Tuesday, April 26, 10:00 am – Herb, Knot, and Cottage Gardens

    Growing herbs is a right of passage for most gardeners. Many already know how to grow and harvest these essential plants for our kitchens and homes. In this April 26 lecture in the Putnam Building at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, Kelly Orzel of Bowery Beach Farm will discuss various herb garden designs ranging from traditional plans to more unique and specialized arrangements, including knot gardens. Planting suggestions and instructions on how to achieve these geometric patterns will be explained.

    Then we’ll talk about how to grow and use a few of her favorite rare and uncommon herbs including lovage, salad burnet and pelargoniums. And finally we’ll examine various styles, plants and design tips for a cottage garden that integrates herbs.

    Scented pelargoniums and unusual herbs for sale. RSVP to Anne.Stoma@gmail.com by April 19th. Free for NEUHSA members, $5 for HSA and Master Gardeners, $10 for everyone else. Image from www.nittygrittydirtman.com.