Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on Friday, April 19 from 5-7:30 pm for the opening reception of the Sogetsu Massachusetts Branch’s Ikebana Exhibition in the Hunnewell Building.
Wine & Cheese | Music | Ikebana Demonstration . $45. Register at https://www.masshort.org/plant-sale-and-showcase#reception
In early spring, as the snow begins to melt away, the days begin to get longer. Along the edges of the beach and in the habitat that surrounds it, buds are beginning to swell, fresh shoots are emerging, and the birds are chirping. There is an energy in the air and an excitement for warmer days ahead and the promise of spring.
With Sarah Roche as your guide, record the changing seasons as you botanically beachcomb, drawing the treasures and detritus that wash up along the shoreline and the evidence of last year’s flora that hints at the possibilities of this new season.
This three part Massachusetts Horticultural Society class will take place online on March 18, 20, and 22 from 10 – 1. $225 for Mass Hort members, $275 for nonmembers.
Prerequisite(s): Suitable for intermediate or advanced artists who have completed at least one “Techniques of Botanical Drawing & Painting” class, or equivalent.
There is a growing awareness that pollinators are important, and that they’re in trouble. We know that pollinators need flowers and that they are responsible for much of the food we eat, but we’re maybe a little vague on the details. Pollinators, particularly insect pollinators, do need flowers – lots of flowers, and the right kinds of flowers – so diversity and quantity are big factors. But let’s back up a bit. Why are there flowers in the first place? And for that matter, why are there fruits and berries? Surely they didn’t evolve just for human pleasure and sustenance. There’s more to it, and it’s a fascinating story of interrelationships.
This March 12 online presentation by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society is not an i.d. presentation, it’s about best plants and practices. Gardeners are uniquely able to support the entire life cycle of beneficial insects and other pollinators. Good plant choices and land care, coupled with simple awareness of the living world buzzing all around us make all the difference. After all, we’re not just cultivating flowers, we’re cultivating habitat.
Instrucctor 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.
$23 Mass Hort members, $32 nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org
If you want to attract and support pollinators, a succession of blooms is an absolute imperative in any landscape. From early spring through late fall, different species of pollinators look for different types of plants at different times of year. And, some plants are much more useful to pollinators than others. Is your garden ready? Learn what you need to know to make your garden beautiful and ecologically supportive throughout the growing season with great choices of natives.
This Massachusetts Horticultural Society online class is recommended for those who have a base knowledge of native plants in the Northeast. The fee is $25 for Mass Hort members, $33 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org
Kim Eierman is the Founder of EcoBeneficial LLC. She is an environmental horticulturist and ecological landscape designer specializing in native plants. Based in New York, Kim teaches at the New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Native Plant Center, Rutgers Home Gardeners School, and several other institutions.
Kim is an active speaker nationwide on many ecological landscape topics, presenting for industry conferences, sustainability events, corporate events, environmental organizations, and other groups interested in environmental improvements. Kim also provides horticultural consulting and native landscape design to homeowners and commercial clients, including landscape architects and engineers.
In addition to being a Certified Horticulturist through the American Society for Horticultural Science, Kim is an Accredited Organic Landcare Professional, a Steering Committee member of The Native Plant Center, and a member of The Ecological Landscape Alliance and Garden Communicators International.
Kim is the author of the book The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening.
This February 24 online illuminating, updated lecture will put the spotlight on gorgeous, rugged plants (shrubs & trees, evergreens, perennials, vines, annuals, and bulbs) that shine in lower light. Many of these stars also work great in containers. Topics include assessing shade; modifying shade to allow more light; key design tips for maximizing color; solutions for dry shade; and gardening under trees.
Lecture (12 – 5) will be recorded & CEU’s available. $13.95. Registration information is found at www.masshort.org
Kerry Ann Mendez is an award-winning garden educator, author, and design consultant based in southern Maine. In recent years she has presented over 500 lectures to more than 40,000 gardeners in 23 states and Canada. As a popular educator and communicator, she has received over 450 five-star reviews from her lecture audiences, which are available for review on the independent national website GreatGardenSpeakers.com. In 2014 she received the Gold Medal award from Massachusetts Horticultural Society for “Exceptional teaching and writing that increases public enjoyment and appreciation of horticulture.” Her gardens have been featured in numerous magazines including Better Homes and Gardens, Fine Gardening, Country Gardens, Garden Gate, and Horticulture.
In this three-session Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop, you’ll be introduced to how to create a winter garden for your front entry gardens or other borders. You’ll learn how to use drifts, masses, and individual plants to create garden layouts. Discover how to use shrubs and trees scaled to the home landscape. You’ll discover the role the Winter Garden plays throughout the seasons. And, how to create a garden color palette that will apply to later seasons.
If you’re redesigning an existing garden, we’ll start with a “decluttering exercise” to help you select the plants you love and thrive in your existing garden. Or if starting a new garden, a wish list of favorite plants. Then we’ll focus on designing the winter landscape of shrubs and trees—using conifers, deciduous, and broad-leafed plants. You’ll practice creating a small Winter Garden using your own pre-measured small garden (no larger 20 x 8’—bring photos too).
A Tutorial Walk in person at MHS’s Bressingham Garden will inspire our winter garden designs. Workshop complete with hand-outs, worksheets, and instructor review of your in-class work will get you started on learning the art of creating the Winter Garden.
Virtual via Zoom: January, 24 & 31, 2024. Tutorial Garden Walk Jan 25, 2024 (February 1st snow day) $135 for Mass Hort members, $170 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org
Maria von Brincken, principal of Maria von Brincken Landscape Garden Design, is an award-winning certified designer (APLD and LI) celebrating over 30 years in professional practice. Maria specializes in landscape plans and coaching that creates beautiful spaces and colorful flower gardens designed for you. A certified landscape designer by profession and an artist and gardener by obsession.
Native gardens do much more than look beautiful – they are mini ecosystems that support an abundance of vertebrate and invertebrate species, including songbirds, hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. Learn the principles of native gardening and how to choose the best native plants for your region and landscape conditions. Whether you have a yard, a rooftop, a terrace, or simply participate in a community garden – you can become a skilled native gardener and improve the environment around you. This class is recommended for those who have a base knowledge of native plants in the Northeast.
Class meets for four sessions: Tuesdays, January 16, 23, 30, & Feb 6, 2024. $203 for Massachusetts Horticultural Society members, $239 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org
Instructor Kim Eierman is the Founder of EcoBeneficial LLC. She is an environmental horticulturist and ecological landscape designer specializing in native plants. Based in New York, Kim teaches at the New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, The Native Plant Center, Rutgers Home Gardeners School, and several other institutions.
Kim is an active speaker nationwide on many ecological landscape topics, presenting for industry conferences, sustainability events, corporate events, environmental organizations, and other groups interested in environmental improvements. Kim also provides horticultural consulting and native landscape design to homeowners and commercial clients, including landscape architects and engineers.
In addition to being a Certified Horticulturist through the American Society for Horticultural Science, Kim is an Accredited Organic Landcare Professional, a Steering Committee member of The Native Plant Center, and a member of The Ecological Landscape Alliance and Garden Communicators International.
Kim is the author of the book, The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening.
Welcome to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s winter Introduction to Gardening series. This series consists of 6 individual lectures over the course of 6 weeks. Lectures take place on Zoom on Monday evenings at 6:30 pm. Save by purchasing the whole series. Lectures will be recorded and posted to the class webpage within 48 hours of the class. Recordings will be made available until November 2024. Register at https://www.masshort.org/
This series will cover the following topics: Siting, Water, Soil & Light, Setup: Tools, Fencing, Beds, Seed Starting and Planting, Diseases, Maintenance & Dealing with Pests, and Overview of Perennial Crops
Urban gardening is about growing food and ornamentals in small spaces. Whether you have a huge yard without the time or desire to tend it all, or an apartment with no outdoor space at all, this talk will give you tips and techniques to start and maintain a garden you can call your own.
Instructor: Gretel Anspach is a Lifetime Master Gardener with the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association, a Trustee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and a recently-retired systems engineer for Raytheon. Gretel helped to establish and maintain two food production gardens that have provided fresh produce to the Marlboro Food Pantry for the last eight years.
$156 Mass Hort Members
$195 General Admission
In this one-day Massachusetts Horticultural Society class with Carol Ann Morley, we will look at how to approach simple and complex forms to draw. We begin with distinguishing the underlying structure of form and how to define it from the surface details of pattern and texture. There will be graphite drawing exercises to achieve the basic forms of a sphere and the concave and convex shapes of curved surfaces and tonal application of graphite for smooth, patterned, and textured surfaces of specimens. Carol Ann Morley is a professional illustrator and dedicated teacher of botanical illustration. She is a former coordinator of the Botanical Art Illustration Certificate Program at The New York Botanical Garden. Her work has been widely exhibited and published in Science magazine, Animal magazine, and many Brooklyn Botanic Garden and NYBG publications. $125 for MHS members, $165 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.masshort.org/
Date: Friday, January 5, 2023 (Snow Date: Thursday, Jan. 11th)
Time Frame: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. EST
Come learn how to set up and be inspired to continue your own ongoing Seasonal Nature Journal. Record in simple drawing and writing the weather, habitat, plants, and animals of here and where you live. As our climate is changing, your own Nature Journal can be a useful way to track the changes you see. Veteran Journal keeper, artist, and author Clare Walker Leslie will lead you both outdoors and indoors in ways to excite you to keep your own Journal going. The class is suitable for beginners. No previous drawing or writing skills are needed. The class will take place Friday, October 27 at 10 at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, and is $50 – $70. Register at www.masshort.org
