Boston Flora

Tag: Landscape Architect

  • Saturday, October 30, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Energy-Wise Landscape Design

    Learn how to design your landscape so it saves energy and contributes to a healthier environment. Join Sue Reed, a landscape architect with 23 years of experience in ecological design, at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge on Saturday, October 30, from 10 – 12, for a practical presentation that will help you: lower your home’s heating and cooling costs, minimize fuel used in your landscape construction, and consider maintenance and everyday living products and materials with lower embedded energy costs. Our landscapes are full of opportunities to reduce our consumption of energy. Most of them involve little or no cost, and some will actually save you money.

    Sue Reed is a registered landscape architect who has helped hundreds of homeowners create comfortable, livable and beautiful landscapes that save energy. She has worked in western Massachusetts for nearly 25 years, including twelve years as an instructor at the Conway School of Landscape Design. Her new book, Energy-Wise Landscape Design, was published in April 2010 by New Society Publishers and her recent article, “Sustainable Landscape,” appears in Volume II of the new Encyclopedia of Sustainability from Berkshire Publishing.  The lecture will cost $20 for BBG members, $25 for non-members, and you may register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or call 413-298-3926.

  • Saturday, October 23, 1:30 pm – Gardens for American Institutions: Reflections from Recent Practices

    The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Landscape Visions lectures for 2010/2011 begins Saturday, October 23 at 1:30 pm in the Tapestry Room with a presentation by Laurie Olin, landscape architect, author, and teacher, who has won numerous awards for his urban projects, including the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden (Washington, DC), the redesign of Columbus Circle in Manhattan, and Bryant Park.

    Formerly treasure boxes turned inward, American museums and cultural institutions have made dramatic shifts in their perceptions of themselves and social engagement. Now they are connected both architecturally and socially with their place in the world, often through ambitious and welcoming landscapes.  Olin reflects on this evolution and presents work by his firm for museums and libraries over the last thirty years.

    Tickets are $15 for the general public, $12 Seniors, $5 members, and free for students, and may be purchased online at www.gardnermuseum.org. The Landscape Visions lecture series is made possible by a bequest from Jeanne Muller Ryan.

  • Thursday, August 12 – Sunday, August 15 – Flowercarpet

    The Fourteenth Annual Flower Carpet will take place at the Grand-Place of Brussels in Belgium beginning with a grand opening celebration beginning with the official inauguration (by invitation) at 8:30 pm on Thursday, August 12 at the “Maison du Roi” and the Town Hall, and continuing Friday through Sunday with public viewings from 9:00 am through 11:00 pm.  Town Hall’s balcony will be open to visitors for a panoramic view for the price of three Euros, with children 12 and under admitted free.

    The flowers are set in place by hundreds of horticulturists, and there will be a fireworks display and music concert as part of the festivities.  Visit www.flowercarpet.be for a look at past flower carpet displays.  The painstaking recreation of Oriental carpet patterns is something to behold. Officially, the first Floral Carpet as its present-day form was created in 1971 on the Grand-Place by the landscape architect E. Stautemans, but, in fact, it was the culmination of a whole series created in various towns in Flanders. He had been experimenting since the early 50’s making simple small carpets, more like rugs, mainly consisting of begonias. He very quickly realized that floral carpets would be an excellent vehicle for the promotion of his beloved begonias which he had always worked with, both technically, economically and aesthetically.After years of attempts and calculations, this architect, who was inventive and imaginative, and knew how to make the most of the numerous resources of begonias, became an expert in the creation of superb floral carpets with sophisticated colors and complicated designs.

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  • Friday, February 19 – Friday, February 26, 2010 – Gardens of the Caribbean

    The National Trust for Historic Preservation will sponsor a one week trip from Barbados to Curacao aboard the Sea Cloud II from Friday, February 19 – Friday, Fecruary 26.  Here is what the National Trust says about this trip:

    With its balmy island breezes and centuries-old tradition of gardening, the Caribbean offers a delightful respite to a northern winter. This exciting new itinerary takes us to the coral islands of the Southern Caribbean, with both desert-like terrain in which aloe vera and other succulent plants grow wild, and luxuriant gardens full of tropical flowering trees and shrubs.

    We are delighted that noted landscape architect Patrick Bowe will travel with us to private plantations and botanical gardens of long standing. Author of Gardens of the Caribbean, Mr. Bowe is a sought-after study leader who has accompanied many previous National Trust garden tours to rave reviews. Also traveling with us will be Williams College Professor of Art Michael Lewis, who will discuss historic architecture and the Caribbean Sea battles of the Napoleonic Wars.

    Our voyage begins in Barbados, where we embark Sea Cloud II for the “Spice Island” of Grenada.  Visit several private homes and gardens, then dance under the stars to the music of one of the Caribbean’s best steel bands. Following a relaxing day at sea we arrive at the limestone island of La Blanquilla, off the coast of Venezuela, for swimming and snorkeling. Sail on to the Netherlands Antilles. In Bonaire, admire the island’s diverse flora and fauna and see a 14th-century Spanish village. Then view the impressive Dutch colonial architecture in Curaçao, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Fort Amsterdam.

    Exclusively chartered for this voyage, the elegant sailing yacht Sea Cloud II combines comfort and a casual atmosphere with fine service. Tasteful surroundings and five-star dining complement the heady experience of traveling under wind-lofted sails. We will be joined by members of The Royal Oak Foundation and alumni from Williams College.

    An optional prelude is also arranged in colorful Barbados, featuring private access to beautifully maintained botanical gardens and National Trust properties.

    Complete information may be found at www.preservationnation.org.  A deposit of $1,500 will reserve your spot – the total cost varies by room size, but this isn’t an inexpensive trip.  However, think about February in New England!

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  • Tuesday, November 17, 11:00 am – Isabella and Her Gardens

    The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America invites you to its 20th Birthday Celebration Annual Meeting and Fall Lecture on Tuesday, November 17, with registration at 10:30 am, and lecture at 11 am.  Patrick Chassé, the first Curator of Landscape, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, will give an illustrated lecture entitled  “Isabella and Her Gardens.”

    Like a horticultural Sherlock Holmes, Patrick Chassé tracks down clues to gardens of the past. His latest challenge is to unlock the secrets of a magnificent courtyard garden long identified with a Boston museum and its charismatic founder.

    Mr. Chassé, a landscape architect, has served since 2004 as the curator of landscape at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the first person to hold such a title there. His detective work involves documenting the courtyard’s evolution and reinstating elements of its design as envisioned by Isabella Stewart Gardner in the early 1900s.

    The event will take place at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.  Cost of lecture is $20 (public invited), Lecture and Luncheon $45 (members of Boston Committee Clubs only, please.)  RSVP by November 12.  Please make check payable to The Boston Committee of the GCA and mail to Mrs. William U. Shipley, 40 Dunster Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.

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  • Saturday, November 21, 1:30 pm – American Rural Cemeteries: Interpreted through the Lens

    The second of the Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Landscape Visions Lecture Series will take place Saturday, November 21, in the Tapestry Room of the Museum, beginning at 1:30 pm.  Alan Ward, landscape architect and principal, Sasaki Associates, will present American Rural Cemeteries: Interpreted Through the Lens. Boston has two iconic garden cemeteries: Mount Auburn and Forest Hills. The Rural Cemetery Movement in America began with the founding of Mount Auburn Cemetery in 1831, and spread from there across the country. Often the first designed public landscapes in American communities, rural cemeteries represent major shifts in cemetery landscape concept and form, and continue to resonate with the modern sensibilities they helped shape. Tickets: $15 General Public; $12 Seniors; $5 Members; FREE for Students.  To purchase tickets, log on to www.gardnermuseum.org, or call 617-566-1401. Image: Halcyon Lake in spring, Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Photo by Alan Ward.The Landscape Visions Lecture Series is made possible by a bequest from Jeanne Muller Ryan

    Mt Auburn Cemetery Alan Ward lecture

  • Wednesday, October 7, 10 a.m. – 12 noon – Secret Garden in Sudbury

    Through a white picket fence, discover an enchanting series of spaces, each with a different theme and focus, on this garden tour sponsored by The New England Wild Flower Society on Wednesday, October 7, from 10 – noon.  Landscape architect Karen Sebastian describes the collaborative design process working with clients and contractors and then leads a tour through this recently completed project. The woodland-themed entry garden thrives under mature trees with shade tolerant shrubs and perennials.  The Secret Garden is a quiet shady retreat with a focus on foliage and texture, planted with a mix of native and non-natives, including ferns, viburnums, hydrangeas and boxwoods. The terrace garden is a hub of family activity with an out door kitchen and dining area. The wide joints between the irregular bluestone paving stones are planted with a variety of thymes, sagina, and sedums.  Stone seating walls surround a raised central bed planted with a Cornus kousa and the raised stone vegetable garden with a pergola.  The Children’s Play Area is a “woodland adventure trail” with a stepping stone path, swings, a slide, and even a tree house.  Fee is $20 for NEWFS members, $24 for non-members, and is limited to 20 participants.  For more information, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

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  • Wednesday, October 7, 7pm – The Universe in a Garden with Charles Jencks

    Charles Jencks, architectural theorist, landscape architect, and designer, has become a leading figure in British landscape architecture. His landscape work is inspired by fractals, genetics, chaos theory, waves and solitons. These themes are expressed in his award-winning design, the Landform Ueda at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, Scotland, and expanded in his own private landscape, the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, at Portrack House, near Dumfries.  Also a furniture designer and sculptor, Jencks completed the DNA Sculpture in London’s Kew Gardens in 2003. Jencks will speak about his design process as it applies to landscapes.  See photo below of his “Life Mounds” at Jupiter Artland.

    Fee: $20 Arnold Arboretum member, $25 nonmember. Presented by the Arnold Arboretum and Trinity Church in Boston. For more information, or to register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu, or call 617-384-5277.

    "Life Mounds" by Charles Jencks by oosp.

  • Wednesday, August 5, 7:30 p.m. – Designing Gardens and Landscapes: 25 Years on Martha’s Vineyard

    A beautiful and dynamic landscape results from a design responsive to the natural environment, history, and social context of the site, as well as the user’s needs.  Join the Polly Hill Arboretum staff for an illustrated presentation of Vineyard landscapes designed by summer resident and award-winning landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.  From his first Island garden in 1984, to public projects like Ag Hall and the Polly Hill Arboretum parking lot, to a contemporary green roof, Van Valkenburgh will take the audience through a variety of Island landscapes.  Discover how practical issues like soil, micro-climate, and functionality are integrated with cultural history to create successful gardens and landscapes. $10 admission ($5 PHA members). Sponsored by Middletown Nursery.  For more information, call Karin Stanley at 508-693-9426, or email her at karin@pollyhillarboretum.org.