Boston Flora

Tag: Massachusetts Horticultural Society

  • Thursday, September 21, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Art & Spirit in the Garden: Incorporating Sculpture into your Outdoor Landscape

    Gather inspirations from Karin Stanley’s love of poetry art and sculpture and from her travels and musings in Ancient Ireland, Scotland and other countries in creating meditative spaces, areas for serenity, healing, reflection, dynamic impact, drama, humor and allegory. Karin Stanley is an artist/sculptor and garden designer and a graduate of the Radcliffe landscape design and history program. On Thursday, September 21 from 7 – 8:30 she shares some of her process and practical ideas and advice on how to use sculpture and artistic enhancements that will help inspire a deeper vision and impact for your own garden, community or public project. The class is sponsored by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and is $12 for Mass Hort members, $20 for nonmembers. You may register online at www.masshort.org.  Image copyright KMStanley.

  • Tuesday, September 19, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Tour of The Arnold Arboretum

    Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for a guided walk through the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University on Tuesday, September 19. Explore the history and horticulture of this beautiful and important institution. Meet at the Arboretum Visitor’s Center, 125 Arborway, at 10 am. Pre-registration is required at www.masshort.org. $12 for Mass Hort members, $20 for nonmembers.

  • Thursday, September 14, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Cold Frame Gardening

    Cold frames and hoop houses are great season extenders, allowing vegetables to be planted 2-4 weeks earlier than unprotected plants. They also play a key role in the transition of seedlings of all kinds from the sheltered windowsill/greenhouse environment to the outdoors. Gretel Anspach will show you how, where and when to use these interesting tools in your own garden, in this Massachusetts Horticultural Society class at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, on Thursday, September 14 at 7 pm.

    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. Gretel considers her gardening interests to be eclectic, which is to say she know a little about a lot of different areas, but not too much about any one thing in particular. Mass Hort Members: $12; General Admission: $20. Register online at www.masshort.org.

  • Sunday, September 10, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm – Baby, It’s Cold Outside

    In this Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop on Sunday, September 10 from 10:30 – noon, we will discuss both end of season garden tasks as well as planning for overwintering crops. Participants will learn about what type of debris to remove or leave behind and cover cropping and mulching options to improve your soil over the winter. Soil testing and other fall soil amendments will be considered. Finally, a demonstration will be given on how to construct a simple winter row cover to protect crops and extend your harvest season. Crop variety selection will be discussed. Meet at the Seed to Table Garden at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley.

    Hannah Traggis manages Mass Hort’s edible gardens throughout The Gardens at Elm Bank. She oversees the Seed to Table vegetable garden which produces more than 4,000 pounds of produce each year to support our educational mission and local food pantries.

    Mass Hort Members: $20; General Admission: $30. Register online at www.masshort.org.

  • Saturday, August 26, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Hops, Ales and Brewing, Oh My!

    Saturday, August 26, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Hops, Ales and Brewing, Oh My!

    The Gardens at Elm Bank, and Barleycorn’s in Natick, present a full day on hops and their use in brewing on Saturday, August 26 from 10 – 4. Dr. Heather Darby, Agronomist and Soils Specialist with the University of Vermont will cover the basics for growing hops in the Northeast, including information on site selection, variety selection, fertility management, irrigation systems, and pest management. Protocols to determine harvest times, harvest equipment, drying requirements, and storage will also be covered. Come and learn from UVM’s vast experience in growing hops in our region.

    After, we will harvest hops from our Seed to Table Garden at Elm Bank and rejoin at Barleycorns in Natick, where we will use those hops to brew our own 3 Goddess Pale Ale. $60 Mass Hort members; $85 general admission. *Add $50 to bring home a case of the brew. Sign up at www.masshort.org.

  • Sunday, August 20, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – Back to School Gardens

    Join Hannah Traggis, Mass Hort’s Seed to Table Educator, on Sunday, August 20 at 10:30 am at The Gardens at Elm Bank in Wellesley and get a jump start on your school garden! Topics for this hands-on workshop include: direct sowing and transplanting seedlings, selecting crops to plant in the fall, mulching, weeding, maintaining and using those crops, and season extension. You will get to practice all of these in the garden and learn to construct a simple and inexpensive season extending bed cover that will allow you and your students to enjoy your garden well into the late fall. A few curriculum ideas will also be discussed. Take home several seedlings including lettuce, kale, spinach and more, that are ready to plant on the first day of school.

    Hannah Traggis manages Mass Hort’s edible gardens throughout The Gardens at Elm Bank. She oversees the Seed to Table vegetable garden which produces more than 4,000 pounds of produce each year to support our educational mission and local food pantries. Mass Hort Members: $20; General Admission: $30. Register online at www.masshort.org.

  • Thursday, August 10, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Organically Treating for Garden Pests: Integrated Pest Management

    This Massachusetts Horticultural Society August 10 outdoor workshop (from 7 – 8:30 at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley) will review the common practices used for identifying insect and disease problems on common garden plants with suggested IPM and organic controls. Instructor Bruce Wenning will focus will be on insect pests. We will search for pests and pest damage in the garden.

    Bruce Wenning is the horticulturist at The Country Club, Brookline, and has been have been serving on the Board of Directors for the Ecological Landscaping Alliance since 2003. He specializes in plant pest diagnostics, insect taxonomy and iecological landscaping consultation.

    MHS Members: $12; General Admission: $20. Register at www.masshort.org.

  • Thursday, October 5 – Saturday, October 7 – America in Bloom National Symposium

    The 2017 America in Bloom National Symposium is coming to New England for the first time this October.  The Town of Holliston will host the event October 5 – 7, and attendees from out of state will lodge at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Center.

    The conference kicks off with an East Coast Garden Tour on Thursday, October 5 from 10 – 4, advance registration required. If you want to experience horticultural heritage in the Boston area at its best, this tour is for you! We’ll start by visiting one of the oldest and finest garden centers in the Boston area, Weston Nurseries. Known for offering exceptional plants and garden ideas, this nursery in Hopkinton, MA also has an amazing railroad garden. After touring the garden center we’ll enjoy lunch hosted by Peter Mezitt, fourth generation nursery owner. Then we will head to The Gardens at Elm Bank in Wellesley, MA, headquarters of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Here we will enjoy special tours of 12 display gardens, including an historic Olmsted Italianate Garden as well as the Bressingham Garden designed by English nurseryman Adrian Bloom. The last stop on the tour is to Wellesley College, rated one of the most beautiful small college campuses in the country. We will have a special tour of their botanic garden which now focuses on the fundamental role of plants in nature and culture. The cost is $50 and includes lunch. Tour is limited to 50 people so register early.

    If you prefer, take a tour of the Urban Farming Institute from 1 – 4. If you believe in sourcing local, fresh food, don’t miss this tour! The Urban Farming Institute is a brand-new concept in the historically-diverse Roxbury/Dorchester/Mattapan neighborhoods of Boston. The Institute’s mission is to develop and promote urban farming as a commercial sector within the city and to create green collar jobs for residents. It is also committed to engaging its urban community in building a healthier and more locally-based food system. The Fowler-Clark-Epstein Farm, currently under reconstruction, is becoming the center for celebrating the agricultural heritage of the Boston area as well as the cultural and historic heritage of this unique community. On this tour, you will see first-hand the work the Institute is doing to enable urban farming through farm creation, farmer training, public education, and policy change, and how the Institute brings people in urban neighborhoods closer to food production. Your tour leader is Barbara Knecht, partner in “Strategies for Cities.” Barbara has brought 30 years of developing urban land for public good and a love of all things edible to her work developing urban farm sites. The cost is $35. Tour is limited to 11 people so register early.

    Prior to that evening’s silent auction and cocktail reception there will be a Mayor and Elected Leaders Reception, and later, a Celebration Dinner.

    The Symposium begins in earnest on Friday, with a Keynote Presentation by Ken Kruckemeyer, board member of LivableStreets Alliance and partner in “Strategies for Cities.” Ken specializes in the design of civil infrastructure focusing in pedestrian and bicycle corridors as well as roadway and bridge design. Historic preservation has become a fundamental tool for strengthening communities. When understood as a combination of physical and human attributes, it can provide a framework for communities to build on their assets and improve health, affordability, prosperity, and well-being. Historic preservation can make it possible to achieve a wide range of public goals, including small business incubation, affordable housing, sustainable development, neighborhood renewal, heritage tourism, and economic development. By examples primarily drawn from his Boston experience, Ken will address the importance of historic preservation and the role that walkable corridors play in an effective immersion in the historic character of a community.

    Friday brings a host of panel presentations such as Creating a Sense of Place Downtown, and a How-To Guide to Improving Your Town Through Horticulture. Afternoon and evening tours of the Freedom Trail and the Rose Kennedy Greenway, plus Mount Auburn Cemetery, are on offer.

    On Saturday the Showcase of Innovation continues, and America in Bloom President Katy Moss Warner will take a brief look at collective successes in her morning Keynote Speech. A lunch and Holliston Walking Tour round out the afternoon, and that evening, the America in Bloom Awards Banquet will take place.

    Full registration is $345, and by registering online at http://www.americainbloom.org/Symposium/Registration.aspx before September 8 you will receive a discount. You may also call 614-453-0744, or email aib@AmericainBloom.org.

  • Sunday, July 30, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – What’s Buggin’ Me?

    Join Massachusetts Horticultural Society on Sunday, July 30 at 10:30 am for a stroll through the vegetable gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, with Sue Scheufele from the UMass Extension Vegetable Program. We will learn to identify common insect and disease pests, and the damage they can cause to vegetable and herb plants. We will discuss organic management strategies that are available to home gardeners including use of mulches, row covers, bio-based pesticides and more.

    Hannah Traggis manages Mass Hort’s edible gardens throughout The Gardens at Elm Bank. She oversees the Seed to Table vegetable garden which produces more than 4,000 pounds of produce each year to support our educational mission and local food pantries. Mass Hort Members: $20 General Admission: $30. Register online at www.masshort.org.

  • Thursday, July 27, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Arts on the Green

    The Third Annual Arts on the Green – An Evening at Elm Bank – will take place Thursday, July 27 from 5:30 – 8. Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for its summer music and arts series, sponsored by Wellesley Bank Charitable Foundation. This evening will feature an Art Walk of artists showcasing their work throughout the gardens. It is a chance for the community to buy original art from the artists who make it and enjoy the gardens in their summer splendor.

    Stroll the gardens and enjoy live music by LiveWire Boston (jazz, blues, and bossa) . Bring a picnic, and chair or blanket. We will also have family activities and garden tours. Beer and wine will be sold. The event is free to all. For more information visit www.masshort.org.