Bring a touch of nature into your home this holiday season by creating a stunning Boxwood Topiary Tree. In this Massachusetts Horticultural Society festive class at Elm Bank, you’ll learn how to craft and decorate a beautiful 14-inch tabletop tree that will remain vibrant for weeks with the right care.
The art of topiary dates back centuries, allowing for endless creative possibilities in shaping and design. Whether you’re looking to enhance your holiday decor or searching for the perfect hostess gift for your next holiday visit, this adorable topiary tree is sure to impress. Throughout this workshop, we will guide you through each step of the process, from selecting the freshest boxwood branches to shaping and decorating your tree with charming holiday ornaments.
By the end of the class, you’ll have a gorgeous centerpiece that adds a festive flair to any room. Plus, you’ll take home the skills to create more topiary trees in the future! $65 for Mass Hort members, $80 for nonmembers. The class takes place December 10 from 10 – 11:30. Register at www.masshort.org
The Board of Trustees of Massachusetts Horticultural Society (MHS) has announced its 2024 Honorary Medals recipients. The 7 winners will be celebrated at the 121st Honorary Medals Dinner at the Garden at Elm Bank in Wellesley, MA on October 30, 2024. This year, MHS will continue a 193-year tradition of awarding medals to individuals and organizations for their contributions to excellence in horticulture for the public good.
Douglas W. Tallamy will be awarded the George Robert White Medal of Honor, MHS’s highest honor, for eminent service in the field of horticulture, and will deliver the keynote speech during the ceremony. A New York Times bestselling author, his books, including Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard (2020) and The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees (2021), have delivered the importance of horticultural conservation to homes across the world. As a professor in University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, he advocates for smaller lawns, native plants, and habitats for native species. His advocacy work is echoed through his founding of Homegrown National Park, a grassroots organization that encourages everyone to grow native plants.
Matthew Cunningham will receive the Thomas Roland Medal for exceptional skill in horticulture and lectures. Founding Principal of Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design LLC, he is an award-winning and nationally recognized landscape architect.
Gold Medals for eminent horticultural accomplishments will be awarded to David Barnett (President and CEO Emeritus, Mount Auburn Cemetery) and Tom Ryan (Senior Principal and Owner, Ryan Associates Landscape Architecture and Planning). Patrick Chassé (landscape architect), Dr. Barbara E. Millen (Board Chair, Center for Plant Conservation; Trustee, Massachusetts Horticultural Society and a long time Board Member of The Boston Committee of the GCA), and Murphy Westwood, PhD (Vice President of Science and Conservation, The Morton Arboretum) will receive Silver Medals for their noteworthy service in horticulture. More details about each awardee and their recognition will become available at https://www.masshort.org/honorary-medals/.
The 121st Honorary Medals Dinner will take place Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 6 pm at Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Garden at Elm Bank. The dinner will be preceded by a day-long symposium, featuring lectures by medal winners Doug Tallamy, Matt Cunningham, Tom Ryan, and Murphy Westwood. Tickets for the awards ceremony including dinner and drinks are $180; symposium tickets are $250 for General Admission and $200 for Boston Society of Landscape Architects and MHS members. Proceeds benefit excellence in horticulture at MHS. For event information and to purchase tickets when they are released, please visit https://www.masshort.org/honorary-medals/
Learn the art of Japanese flower arranging from Joanne Caccavale, Riji, Sogetsu School. Joanne was born and raised in Singapore, she came to school in the US in 1985 and stayed. Educated and trained as an attorney, she, however, prefers flowers to law. A professionally trained floral designer she switched to Japanese Flower Arranging twenty-two years ago and has been teaching for sixteen years. She is a perennial exhibitor at the New England/Boston Flower Show and has taken part in the MFA’s Art in Bloom for many years for her Garden Club. She is a Past President (twice) of the Ikebana International Boston Chapter and is presently the Director of the Boston Chapter of Sogetsu School. She holds the rank of Riji (highest rank) from the Sogetsu School. She teaches regular classes at her studio at home and also at Massachusetts Horticultural Society. She regularly conducts workshops for the Sogetsu School of Massachusetts. On a yearly basis, she has made the Ikebana stage installation for the Japanese Emperor’s Birthday Reception at the Massachusetts State House.
In this six week Massachusetts Horticultural Society course, you will be taught the basic curriculum. Each session will focus on different styles and concepts, allowing you to develop your skills and understanding of this timeless art form. Instructor will provide demonstrations and one-on-one feedback with each class. Students will be provided with school books, plant material, containers and pin frogs when you come to class. Please bring garden scissors or ikebana scissors.
Classes will be held on Tuesday evenings, 6-8 pm in the Putnam Building at the Garden at Elm Bank. April 9 – May 28, 2024
Size is limited to 12 participants. Mass Hort members $402, General Public $458. Register at www.masshort.org
Get out into the garden and draw amongst the flowers with botanical artist & instructor, Carol Ann Morley. This summer will bring a special garden exhibit of Sunflowers to the Garden at Elm Bank. Capture the beauty of Sunflowers with quick sketches, study the details of the flower’s structure through observation, and add color notes of their vibrant colors. In the classroom have fun creating a color pencil palette to work from and discover what combinations work best for portraying greens and the tricky color yellow.
This class is for artists with some graphite experience. The two classes are Wednesday and Thursday, August 7 and 8, from 9:30 – 3:30, at the Garden at Elm Bank Cheney Classroom. $225 for Mass Hort members, $275 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org
A Japanese gardening tradition, known as the “poor man’s bonsai.” Kokedama, which translates to “moss ball,” is a centuries-old art form that celebrates the harmony between nature and design. This Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop on July 17 at 10 am is centered around creating a beautiful living plant arrangement that is both decorative and unique. Led by Garden Educator, Melissa Pace, participants will learn the step-by-step process of shaping and sculpting the moss ball base. We will discuss plant selection, soil composition, and moss manipulation. Each kokedama is not only a living garden but also a captivating conversation piece, feel free to display your piece in a shallow dish or by hanging it! $40 for Mass Hort members, $53 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org
In this three-session Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop, you’ll learn how to select a winning color palette, how to create planting combinations that will flower in season sequence, and how to use drifts, masses, and individual plants to create garden layouts. Lay out your plant pairings to create an abundant, dynamic, and colorful flower garden.
Our focus will be the perennial flower garden sequenced to bloom from spring through fall. You’ll have class time to practice new skills with in-class worksheets to create a new garden or apply them to a section of your garden (Sun or Shade) (about 8 x 20’). The instructor takes time to individually review your worksheets and your design layout and plant pairing choices. You’ll prepare before class by photographing and measuring the garden you wish to transform. A “de-cluttering” worksheet helps you take an inventory, so you’ll be ready to start your garden design.
Pre-class Homework will be sent a week prior. Tutorial walks in MHS’s Bressingham Garden will inspire our garden designs. (Dress for rain or sun!). Lectures include extensive handouts. Lecture images are from gardens in New England, MHS’s Bressingham Garden, and the author’s design work to inspire you and give you examples you can use right away.
This class is currently sold out but add yourself to the waitlist HERE
Register today for this year’s Perennial Plant Symposium at The Hunnewell Carriage House, The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley. The program is a joint presentation by The Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Perennial Plant Association. Featured speakers this year are Trevor Smith of Weston Nurseries, Holly Greenleaf of Greenleaf Design, LLC, Toshi Yano of the Perfect Earth Project, and Evan Abramson of Landscape Interactions. Register at https://www.masshort.org/perennial-plant-symposium-2024 Breakfast and lunch are included.
This Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop at The Gardens at Elm Bank on May 25 led by Garden Educator, Melissa Pace, offers a hands-on opportunity for participants to create their own personalized terrarium. During the workshop, attendees will have the chance to select from a variety of plants and design elements to craft a unique miniature indoor garden.
Melissa will provide guidance on plant selection, arrangement, and care techniques to ensure the long-term health and vitality of the terrariums. Participants will also learn about the importance of proper maintenance, including watering, light requirements, and common problems to look out for. Be sure to bring a box to transport your new creation home in! $40 for Mass Hort members, $53 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org
Herbs are such beautiful plants, useful in the garden as well as the kitchen, so why sequester them in the herb garden? Use herbs throughout the landscape, in flower gardens, in vegetable gardens (to attract pollinators and other beneficial insects), as ground covers, specimens, and in containers. Liberate them from their traditional roles, use your imagination – and bring them into your daily life. Learn about plants we already grow that we don’t know are edible and easy ways to use herbs in food and drink. This online Massachusetts Horticultural Society class with Karen Bussolini will be held on May 14 at 6:30 Eastern, and is $23 for Mass Hort members, $32 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org
Karen Bussolini is a nationally known garden photographer with 6 books to her credit, a writer and speaker, and an eco-friendly garden coach. Her art background and focus on environmental topics – ecological landscaping, native plants, biodiversity, xeriscaping, organic gardening, planting for wildlife, pollinators, and other beneficial insects – inform every aspect of her work. Her slide talks combine beautiful original images, recent scientific findings, personal observations, hands-on experience, and a touch of humor. She is a NOFA-Accredited Organic Land Care Professional and an active member of GardenComm (formerly GWA), The Association of Garden Communicators. Karen is currently the Senior Horticultural Advisor at White Flower Farm in Connecticut.
Don’t miss “Bulbs & Spring Ephemerals” — the MHS Botanical Art Program spring exhibit. Works by 14 artists detail the beauty of early spring blooms. A splendid variety of works will be on display in the Education Building from April 1 through May 15 at the Garden at Elm Bank. Included with Garden Admission. Below: Poet’s Narcissus (Narcissus poeticus) by Pam Harrington
