Contrary to what many people have traditionally believed, insects are at the heart of a successful garden. This two acre garden in Lincoln, forty years in the making, has from the start considered attracting – and providing for – insects as key to a successful horticultural venture. Birds, mammals, amphibians -and humans- have been the ancillary beneficiaries of this endeavor. The Garden Conservancy will host this two hour Digging Deeper event on September 13 beginning at 10 am. Registrants will be sent the exact address. Visit https://gardenconservancy.org/garden-directory/open-days/digging-deeper-gardening-to-create-an-insect-sanctuary
$30 Garden Conservancy Members | $40 General. Digging Deeper events sell out quickly so early registration is recommended.
Melvin Edwards: Brighter Days showcases six monumental, abstract sculptures by the acclaimed contemporary African American artist Melvin Edwards (b. 1937). This traveling exhibition, first organized by the New York City based nonprofit Public Art Fund for City Hall Park in 2021 constitutes Edwards’ first thematic survey of outdoor sculptures and deCordova’s first outdoor solo exhibition in many years. Brighter Days, a title chosen by the artist, brings forth conversations on Black history and identity, and evokes Edwards’ optimistic view of our shared future.
Brighter Days offers a focused look at Edwards’ accomplishments in large-scale sculpture and public art through five sculptures from 1970 to 1996, and a sixth commissioned in 2020 for Brighter Days. These six works elaborate on his examination of race, labor, and the African Diaspora, and feature his signature use of abstract, representational icons like chains. To the artist, the chain possesses numerous meanings, ranging from its function as a “welded rope” for pulling, its use for bondage and constraints, and its more metaphorical association to linkage and connectivity. By fragmenting and breaking the links, Edwards creates nuanced interpretations of the chain, including its allusions to slavery and violence, as well as liberation and connection. All at once, Brighter Days encourages mindfulness of the past, while inspiring resiliency, overcoming, and connection.
A pioneer of abstract sculpture, Houston-born Melvin Edwards began his career in the 1960s after studying at the University of Southern California. Edwards gained notoriety from his first solo exhibition at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 1965, where he uniquely blurred abstraction and symbolism to comment on social justice issues – an approach distinct from his Minimalist and Post-Modernist contemporaries. At this time, he initiated his renowned, ongoing body of work Lynch Fragments, a sculpture series investigating themes of racial violence, anti-war protest, and Edwards’ connections to Africa. Shortly thereafter, he exhibited at the Studio Museum of Harlem in 1969, and by 1970, became the first African American sculptor with a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Edwards has produced over 20 public works throughout his career for universities, public housing projects, and museums. Now living and working across multiple studios in two states and Senegal, Melvin Edwards continues to be a leading voice in sculpture, exhibiting nationally and internationally.
On Tuesday, October 19 from 10 – noon (rain date Wednesday, October 20, 10 – noon) get inspired by this hands-on opportunity to learn about all the various garden activities to do in the autumn. Get tips on planting, dividing, fall clean-up, pruning, and preparing for the winter months ahead. This combination garden walk and gardening workshop is set in a beautiful two-acre garden that includes a native plant woodland, a large vegetable garden and orchard, and diverse perennial beds. Robin Wilkerson leads this New England Wild Flower Society excursion, for a member fee of $24, non member fee of $29. To register, and for directions, log on to www.newfs.org. Photo credit to allanbecker.gardenguru.squarespace.com.
Author-mycologist Lawrence Millman will lead a mushroom walk in Concord or Lincoln (exact location to be determined before the event based on conditions). However dry or unpromising the conditions, he guarantees that participants will find a minimum of 30 different species. You will learn to identify mushrooms both with and without a guidebook, and you’ll also unlearn everything you were ever told about how to distinguish a poisonous from a non-poisonous species. Be aware, however, that the focus of this event is scientific, not culinary. Bring a basket, wax paper, a pocket knife, a hand lens (if you have one), and – most important of all – a spirit of adventure. Please join us come rain or shine! Dress appropriately for weather. Limited to 16. If students have questions for Larry Millman about the walk, call (617) 492-5861. Directions to Estabrook Woods from Concord Center, MA: Get to Concord Center and the Colonial Inn, in the heart of Concord Center. If you’re facing the Colonial Inn, take a right onto Monument Street and head toward the Old North Bridge. Take a left on Liberty Street, then right on Estabrook Road. After less than half a mile, take another right on Estabrook Road when it bends to the right. Go to the end of the road and park (space for cars on the left-hand side of road). Cost – $76.
The Food Project ( a past recipient of Garden Club of the Back Bay grants) invites you to join them for lunch on summer Mondays between 12:30 – 1:30. Each Community Lunch features the culinary creation of a local chef and highlights produce harvested fresh from the farms. Please come and enjoy a farm-fresh meal right on the land where it is grown. And, while you dine, Food Project interns will talk about their work. The lunches take place in two locations: Baker Bridge Farm on Route 126 in Lincoln: July 6, July 13, and August 3, and on the West Cottage Street Farm in Boston on July 20, July 27 and August 10. $15 reserves your seat (seating is limited). RSVP today: 781-259-8621 x30, or email events@thefoodproject.org.
