Boston Flora

Tag: Landscapes

  • Fridays, January 19 – March 22, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern – 2024 Home Gardener Boot Camp, Online

    In recent years, seasonal patterns have become unstable.  Climate change requires smart gardening practices. In response, horticultural science and gardening best practices are constantly evolving. As gardeners, we can have a positive impact by creating a resilient, ecologically-friendly landscape.

    Interested in digging deeper?  Massachusetts Master Gardeners’ ten-week boot camp will provide you with information to help combat climate change and support a healthier environment.  Our series begins with an in-depth discussion of what an ecosystem is and how you can use that knowledge to enrich your own landscape. We then explore how you can build ecologically-friendly gardens from shade to groundcovers.  

    WHY WE CALL IT BOOT CAMP: In recent years “Boot Camps” have become popular for everything from parkour to yoga to chess and even knitting! The MMGA is not about the latest fads or fashions, but it occurred to us that our program and all these other boot camps share something in common: they are short, focused, and led by subject matter experts. And they help you take a favorite pursuit to the next level by imparting knowledge and skills that you can put to use both immediately and long-term.

    WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Boot Camp is designed for home gardeners at all levels of experience who are looking to build an ecologically-friendly landscape. Information is presented in a way that is easily understandable to less experienced gardeners while including enough science-based background to be useful to everyone. While much of Boot Camp’s content is geared to Massachusetts, gardeners in other lower New England states may also benefit.

    WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN BOOT CAMP/Program Topics:

    • Landscapes / Ecosystems 
    • Native New England Plants
    • Creating a Pollinator Habitat Anywhere 
    • Creating an Eco-friendly Garden 
    • Shade Gardening
    • Groundcovers 
    • Lawn and Lawn Alternatives 
    • Water Wisdom: Save water, the environment and money 
    • Composting 
    • Inviting Wildlife into your Yard

    Click HERE for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), including a complete list of program topics.

    WHO ARE THE PRESENTERS: Sessions are taught by our most experienced Certified Master Gardeners who are passionate subject matter experts and trained presenters. They started out as home gardeners just like you, so they know what information will help you the most.

    YOUR INVESTMENT AND WHY IT’S WORTH IT: The fee for all ten sessions of Boot Camp is $250, payable online by credit card or PayPal. This averages out to just $25 per session – $12.50 for each of the 20 hours you’ll spend in class.

    Here are just some of what makes Home Gardener Boot Camp unique:

    • It’s the only program of its kind taught exclusively by Certified Massachusetts Master Gardeners.
    • Classes are geared toward learning about the biodiversity of landscapes and ecosystems which are intimately connected.  You’ll learn the right habitat for flora and fauna to thrive in your landscape. 
    • Because sessions are live, you will have the opportunity to interact with presenters via a 30-minute Q&A. No relevant questions will go unanswered: If we run out of time, we’ll get back to you with written responses.
    • Missed class?  No problem.  Classes will be recorded and available for viewing up to 1 week after the missed lecture to paid registrants.
    • To provide an ongoing reference, most lectures include handouts, which will be emailed.

    Register now at https://www.massmastergardeners.org/educational-resources/boot-camp

  • Thursday, September 29, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Massachusetts Green Career Conference

    The 2016 Massachusetts Green Career Conference will take place Thursday, September 29 from 9 – 4 at the Worcester DCU Center in Worcester. There will be breakout sessions on Career Development, Business, Government, Introductory Careers, and Education, along with a Summit where Massachusetts associations’ representatives will present on employer and employee resources, job openings, education training benefits and sustainability trends. After a Lunch Roundtable, additional sessions will focus on Upward Trends for Women and Minorities, Entrepreneurs, Resources for Employers Who Are Recruiting, Massachusetts Legislation and Clean Energy Jobs, City Planning, Food & Agriculture, Clean Energy, Climate Careers, Landscapes, Trees and Urban Infrastructure, The Media, Health & Toxin Reduction, High Schools, and College & The Future of Higher Education. For registration information visit http://www.massgreencareers.org/

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  • Sunday, January 16, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Borrowed Landscapes: Learning from Wild Places

    What are the places that you love the most? Is there a forest, a meadow, a hilltop, or a rocky cove that feels both simple and complex, mysterious and somehow just right? Explore how wild places can provide inspiration for design in spaces large or small. Examine New England’s archetypal natural landscapes and native plant communities and identify the qualities that give them the power to intrigue and enchant us. Next, discuss gardens that use the qualities of natural landscapes to create a powerful sense of place, even in the heart of the city. Along the way, discover design strategies that anyone, from a beginner to an experienced designer, can use to create places that are inviting, engaging, and memorable. Instructor Tobias Wolf leads this New England Wild Flower Society class on January 16 from 1 – 4 at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts. $33 member price, $39 nonmember. For more information, or to register, log on to www.newfs.org/learn/catalog/hor4020, or call 508-877-7630. Image courtesy of www.wn.com/forests.

  • Saturday, June 19, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – East Meets Southwest

    Twig, the  flower shop at 83 Charles Street, has invited noted Santa Fe impressionist Joseph Breza to exhibit his remarkable work at its Beacon Hill location.  Breza is extremely accomplished, and has exhibited internationally.  He is known for his use of color and bold brushstrokes in brilliant Impressionistic landscapes, garden still lifes and scenes from France, Italy and New Mexico.  Also on display, naturally, will be beautiful flowers and unique gift products.  The reception will begin at 6 pm and admission is free.  You may call 617-292-8944 for more information.  Roses For Emily is pictured below.

    http://www.josephbreza.com/show-image/456601/Joseph-Breza/---Roses-for-Emily.jpg

  • Friday, June 25 – Sunday, June 27 – Safari Flora & Fauna

    The 2010 Newport Flower Show will take place at Rosecliff from Friday, June 25 through Sunday, June 27.  Tickets may be purchased at www.newportmansions.org.  The Opening Night Cocktail Party will take place from 6 – 9 pm on Friday, although the show itself opens at 10:30 am that morning, closing at 5 pm to ready itself for the benefit gala.  Hours on Saturday and Sunday are 9 am – 5 pm.  Bartlett Tree Experts are the Presenting Sponsor.  All proceeds from the Newport Flower Show are dedicated to the ongoing restoration and maintenance of The Preservation Society of Newport County’s 88 acres of gardens and landscapes.

    http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1347/606190907_6fec4bd7ac.jpg?v=0

  • Saturday, April 17, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm – Cape Cod Horticultural Conference

    Come to the Barnstable High School Performing Arts Center, 744 West Main Street in Hyannis on Saturday, April 17, for a full day conference beginning at 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, sponsored by the Master Gardener Association of Cape Cod.  The program will feature:

    Rick Darke, The Wild Garden: A fresh look at the wild garden concept and will illustrate why it is the most enjoyable, sensible approach for livable, ecologically sustainable modern landscapes;

    Vincent Simeone, Wonders of the Winter Landscape: How to enhance the aesthetic value and interest of the garden by using horticultural treasures such as winter fruiting plants, broadleaved evergreens, conifers and trees with interesting bark;

    C.L. Fornari, The Top 25: 25 plants that she thinks you should know about, along with the 25 most interesting/amusing/useful bits of gardening information she has learned in over 25 years of gardening.

    Book signings with speakers, lunch, marketplace, and a raffle will be part of the day. MCLP and MCH professional credits are available.  The cost of $60 includes lunch.  For more information, call 508-375-6690, or email tramos@barnstablecounty.org.  You may also find information at www.capecodextension.org.

    http://diggingdog.com/bookcovers/pockgdgrasses.jpg

  • Saturday, April 17, 10 am – 2 pm – Invasive Plants: Identification, Ecology and Control

    Ted Elliman, Vegetation Manager of the New England Wild Flower Society, in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum, will present this one day class on Saturday, April 17, from 10 am – 2 pm at Garden in the Woods in Framingham.  This course will provide an introduction to about 40 of the most common invasive non-native plants in our local landscapes (see Japanese knotweed below). Through lecture, discussion, power point presentation, herbarium specimens, and a walk outside, you will become familiar with identification clues as well as the habits of a number of these plants which are so disruptive of natural ecosytems. Ted will discuss management techniques for many of these species, on both a home and a larger landscape scale. Homeowners and property managers who wish to get a head start on invasive control this year will appreciate the timing of this course, which will allow them to learn to identify young invasive plants before they become camouflaged by other vegetation. The New England Wild Flower Society’s Invader’s Magazine, as well as the Massachusetts Field Guide to Invasives, will be available for purchase at a discount. Fee $44 for members of the Arboretum or NEWFS, $52 nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    http://www.thewildflowersociety.com/wfs_images/fallopia_japonica_japanese_knotweed.jpg

  • Sunday, October 18, 10 am – 2 pm – Invasive Plants: Identification, Ecology and Control

    Ted Elliman, Vegetation Manager of the New England Wild Flower Society, in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum, will present this one day class on Sunday, October 18, from 10 am – 2 pm at Garden in the Woods in Framingham.  This course will provide an introduction to about 40 of the most common invasive non-native plants in our local landscapes (see Japanese knotweed below). Through lecture, discussion, power point presentation, herbarium specimens, and a walk outside, you will become familiar with identification clues as well as the habits of a number of these plants which are so disruptive of natural ecosytems. Ted will discuss management techniques for many of these species, on both a home and a larger landscape scale. Homeowners and property managers who wish to get a head start on invasive control this year will appreciate the timing of this course, which will allow them to learn to identify young invasive plants before they become camouflaged by other vegetation. The New England Wild Flower Society’s Invader’s Magazine, as well as the Massachusetts Field Guide to Invasives, will be available for purchase at a discount. Fee $44 for members of the Arboretum or NEWFS, $52 nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    http://www.thewildflowersociety.com/wfs_images/fallopia_japonica_japanese_knotweed.jpg

  • Thursday, October 8, 6:30 – 8:00 pm – Snapshot of Galapagos

    The Galapagos Islands have always attracted the imagination of potential visitors for its landscapes, fauna and high number of endemic species.  A booming tourism industry coupled with a resident population explosion from mainland Ecuador has forced the World Conservation Union to include Galapagos in the World Heritage in Danger List.  In his recent trip to these islands (another tourist?), Eduardo del Solar spent considerable time with Galagueno educators interested in conservation and reform.  For this Thursday, October 8 presentation at Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street in Mattapan, beginning at 6 pm, he will use his photographs and the website he created to talk about issues that face this incredible site.  For more information, log on to www.massaudubon.org.

  • Saturday, October 3, 9:30 – 12 noon – Autumn Beauties: Habitat Gardens in Acton

    Fall can be one of the most beautiful seasons in the garden. On Saturday, October 3, from 9:30 – noon, Dori Smith, landscape designer of Gardens for Life in Acton, leads this tour of several gardens designed primarily with native plants to please birds and butterflies, as well as her clients. Native shrubs such as fothergilla and cranberry viburnum glow with autumn color. Winterberries are ripening, and twigs of dogwood are turning crimson. Many of the fall flowers are still blooming. The designer shows you “before” photos of these landscapes, as well as photos taken in different seasons. She discusses the unique challenges, goals and methods of each project. Learn ways to use stone and water to enhance the effects of the plantings. You are welcome to tour the Acton Arboretum  before or after the garden tour. The tour is sponsored by The New England Wild Flower Society, and costs $25 if a NEWFS member, and $30 if a nonmember.  Limited to 20 participants.  To register, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

    http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/fothergilla_major.jpg