The Thornton W. Burgess Society will hold its 32nd Annual Herb & Plant Festival Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19, from 10 – 4, at the Green Briar Nature Center, 6 Discovery Hill Road in East Sandwich. Enjoy an extensive plant sale, an herb luncheon, garden lectures, children’s programs, wildflower garden walks, and browse the gift shop. Reservations are required for the delightful Friday luncheon. Call 508-888-6870, or visit www.thorntonburgess.org.
The Ashland Garden Club will present Autumn in Ashland, a garden tour with demonstrations and speakers, on Saturday, September 10, from 8:45 – 2, at a cost of $20 per person, which includes lunch. The event will be located in one of Ashland’s most spectacular private gardens. Activities will include guided garden tours and a raffle. Tickets will go on sale in late summer. Contact Diane at 508-881-8165, email info@ashlandgardenclub.org, or visit www.ashlandgardenclub.org for more information.
Participate in a hands on workshop at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts on Saturday, November 20 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. It is mysterious, but basket makers and gardeners alike love and collect beautiful stones! We keep them in our studios, gardens and touch them often. Now you can learn to “wrap stones” and further that connection between stones and people. Using raffia, waxed line and cane, each participant will weave an open pattern over each stone. Start collecting! Put them on your windowsills, line your garden paths or give them as gifts. Nancy Moore Bess is a master basket maker and exhibits her baskets worldwide. She has championed Japanese basketry in the west and is the author of Bamboo in Japan. Her popular workshops always sell out. Bring a bagged lunch. BBG members $75, non-members $85, plus a $15 materials fee paid directly to the instructor. For more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.
The Garden Club of the Back Bay, Inc. is a member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Metro East District. The Annual Meeting of Metro East and Metro West District Clubs will be held Tuesday, May 25, from 10:30 am – 1:30 pm at Elm Bank in Wellesley. The meeting will feature a floral demonstration by a designer from Winston Flowers, along with a boutique, lunch and raffle. The price for members of Metro East and Metro West clubs is $35 per person, and guests may attend for $40 per person. To register, send a check payable to GCFMA Inc to Alisa Billings, 12 Woodridge Road, Dover, MA 02030, and please note your garden club affiliation, if any, on your check. Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive a notice, with car pooling information, in the mail soon. Photo below by Karen Harvey Cox.
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.
Explore the Arnold Arboretum, off path and up hill, with Chris McArdle of the Appalachian Mountain Club. The three hour walk will be followed by a bagel lunch in Jamaica Plain. Meet at the Visitor Center on the Arborway. Park on the street or take the T to the Forest Hills stop. Call Chris at 617-480-3351 if the weather is bad and you’re unsure if the walk will take place. Registration is not required for this trip. $1 for non- AMC members, and sorry, no dogs on this outing. For more fabulous walks in the area, log on to www.outdoors.org.
Participate in a hands on workshop at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts on Saturday, November 21 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. It is mysterious, but basket makers and gardeners alike love and collect beautiful stones! We keep them in our studios, gardens and touch them often. Now you can learn to “wrap stones” and further that connection between stones and people. Using raffia, waxed line and cane, each participant will weave an open pattern over each stone. Start collecting! Put them on your windowsills, line your garden paths or give them as gifts. Nancy Moore Bess is a master basket maker and exhibits her baskets worldwide. She has championed Japanese basketry in the west and is the author of Bamboo in Japan. Her popular workshops always sell out. Bring a bagged lunch. BBG members $55, non-members $60, plus a $15 materials fee paid directly to the instructor. For more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.
Are you the new owner of a chainsaw or a weekend woodcutter? If so, are you using your chainsaw safely? If you’re at all in doubt, please put the saw down now and register for this class on Saturday, October 17, beginning at 9:30 a.m., at the Arnold Arboretum. In this lecture and demonstration by ISA-certified arborist John DelRosso, Head Arborist of the Arboretum, you will learn the basics of chainsaw use. John will talk about essential safety equipment and maintenance requirements. He will demonstrate sharpening and bar tensioning and discuss limbing and felling techniques, including tension cuts. Bring your saw, along with ear protection, for the maintenance discussion. Bring a lunch, too, and dress for the outdoors. C’mon, haven’t you all secretly longed to work with a big, loud power tool? Fee $60 Arboretum member, $75 nonmember. To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu. The awesome photo below was taken by Jason Levesque, and can be viewed, along with other fabulous and quirky shots, on xstuntkidx’s photostream on Flickr.com.
Asters can be among the more difficult species of native plants to identify in the field, for both amateurs and professionals. However, they are an important family of plants to know, for they comprise a substantial proportion of the late summer and fall-blooming herbaceous flora of our region. They’re also beautiful and have an exquisite structure which makes them exciting to study.
This workshop will focus on identifying 15-20 of the most common species – the ones most likely to be found in the wild most of the time. A field trip to a natural area close to the classroom will follow a two-hour lab.
Please note that this subject is somewhat technical. An identification key and other handouts will be provided. Bring hand lens, bag lunch, and wear hiking boots for damp conditions.
Location:
Nasami Farm
128 North Street
Whately , MA 01373
Sponsor: New England Wild Flower Society
Time(s): 10 a.m – 3 p.m.
Cost: $55 (NEWFS Member) / $65 (Nonmember)
Phone: 508-877-7630, ext. 3303
Fax: 508-877-3658
Email: registrar@newenglandwild.org
Please join The Herb Society of America (www.herbsociety.org)Â for its 62nd Annual Fair, celebrating herbs. See the glorious garden,and shop at tables featuring fresh herbs and wreaths, jams, jellies and vinegars, potpourri, baked goods, books, plants, and more. We will have a raffle and a delicious herb-filled lunch with our Northeast Unit’s signature Lovage Soup. Admission is free; proceeds support herb gardens in the New York area.
Location:
John Jay HomesteadContact Person: Betsy Rolls
Contact Phone #: 914.273.2155
Contact Email: brolls@optonline.net
