Boston Flora

Tag: Michael Dirr

  • Wednesday, June 16, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm – From Nursery to Nurse Log: 30 Years of Growing and Caring for Trees in the Northeast, Online

    Chris Roddick, certified arborist and Foreman of Grounds at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, became a lifelong learner of everything arboreal after a Scott Arboretum workshop given by a “weird old plant guy,” renowned plantsman Michael Dirr. Pulling from his 30 plus years of experience in arboriculture — shopping at nurseries, planting, pruning, and caring for veteran trees — Chris will share what he has learned by looking in-depth at a dozen tree species and discussing his successes and failures, while telling a few stories along the way. This Zoom presentation will take place June 16 at 5:30, and is sponsored by The Polly Hill Arboretum, Bartlett Tree Experts and the Dukes Conservation District. $10; FREE for PHA members. Proceeds benefit Polly Hill Arboretum and help make it possible for us to hold future affordable and free educational programs for our community. Thank you for your support! Register here: bit.ly/Chris-Roddick-Webinar

  • Saturday, January 13, 2:00 pm – The New Shade Garden: Creating a Lush Oasis in the Age of Climate Change

    Berkshire Botanical Garden’s 2018 Annual Winter Lecture will take place Saturday, January 13 at 2 pm at Lenox Memorial High School in Lenox.

    Ken Druse plumbs the depths of shade once again – 20 years after the publication of his best seller, The Natural Shade Garden. This time, it’s to tackle the challenges that have arisen due to our changing climate. The low-stress environment of shade (lower temperatures, fewer water demands, carbon sequestration) is extremely beneficial for our plants, our planet, and us. Ken details new ways of looking at all aspects of the gardening process, in topics such as designing your garden, choosing and planting trees, preparing soil, solving the deer problem, and the vast array of flowers and foliage – all within the challenges of a changing climate, shrinking resources, and new weather patterns. Ken knows that the best defense is to create a cool, verdant retreat – he says, “The garden of the future will be in the shade.”

    Ken Druse is a celebrated lecturer, an award-winning photographer, and an author, who has been called “the guru of natural gardening” by the New York Times. He is best known for his twenty gar­den books published over the last twenty-five years. The American Horticultural Society listed his first large-format work, The Natural Garden (Clarkson Potter, 1988), among the best books of all time. His book, Making More Plants (Stewart Tabori & Chang, 2012) won the award of the year from the prestigious Garden Writers Association. That group gave Ken the 2013 gold medal for photography and the silver for writing. Also in 2013, the Smithsonian Institute announced the acquisition of the Ken Druse Collection of Garden Photography comprising 100,000 images of American gardens and plants.

    The Garden Club of America presented Ken with the Sarah Chapman Francis medal for lifetime achievement in garden communication.

    KenDruse.com is a blog with ten years of archived podcast interviews. He also appears monthly on Margaret Roach’s radio show, A Way to Garden.

    The Winter Lecture Series was begun by the Berkshire Botanical Garden in 1997 and was established to bring inspiring speakers to the region to talk about horticulture, landscape design and history, plants and plant exploration, and home gardening.

    Over the years, the Garden has invited such luminaries as Marco Polo Stufano, Anna Pavord, Joe Eck, Tovah Martin, Dan Hinkley, W. Gary Smith, Penelope Hobhouse, Ken Druse, Gordon Hayward, Lauren Springer and Scott Ogden, Bill Cullina, Fergus Garrett, Debs Goodenough, Margaret Roach, Michael Dirr, Glyn Jones, Louis Benech, Alan Power and Thomas Woltz to share their knowledge of plants, gardening, design and history with an interested audience of gardeners and horticulturists from the region. The series has proven to be a popular event in the region and is held annually in mid-winter. Proceeds from ticket sales are used to further the Garden’s education and horticulture efforts.

    Advance registration is highly recommended, but walk-ins are always welcome, space permitting.  Many thanks to the Winter Lecture sponsor: The Red Lion Inn. Register online at https://berkshirebotanical.org/see-and-do/winter-lecture-series/

  • Tuesday, July 25, 12:00 noon – 5:00 pm – Bressingham Garden Symposium 2017

    Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on July 25 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of this beautiful garden at Elm Bank! They have arranged a day led by the experts, presenting on how you can create a unique four-season landscape that is truly inspirational. Garden designer and creator, Adrian Bloom, plantsman of the Bressingham and Foggy Bottom Gardens in England, will talk about the garden’s design intent and year-long appeal. The symposium will also feature Michael Dirr, America’s top expert on woody plants; Kerry Ann Mendez, garden design, speaker and author; and Mal Condon, hydrangea expert.

    And, you’ll want to stay for the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Bressingham Garden at Elm Bank- wine and hors d’ oeuvres in the garden.

    Plant Sale: 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Suzanne Thatcher, Russell’s Garden Center, offers you an opportunity to take home the plants that inspire you. A portion of the day’s proceeds will go to support Mass Hort and future projects in the Bressingham Garden.

    Day Symposium: 12 – 5 p.m. $99 per person (includes box lunch)

    Add Reception: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. $20 per person ($25 per person if not attending symposium)

    Full Symposium and Reception: $119

    Additional information, please call: 617-933-4973

    Proceeds raised from this event will support the Bressingham Garden and future projects. To register online visit www.masshort.org.

  • Friday, April 21, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm, and Saturday, April 22, 8:00 am – 11:45 am – UMass Earth Day & Arbor Day Celebration with Dr. Michael Dirr

    Join UMass Amherst Extension Landscape, Nursery & Urban Forestry Program for an Earth Day and Arbor Day Celebration with Dr. Michael Dirr. For most people who work with trees, Dr. Michael Dirr needs no introduction. He is the author of numerous books on woody plants that have become staples on our desks. He also has some New England roots, as he earned his PhD from UMass. His fingers are always on the pulse of the nursery industry, scouting for new introductions, and having himself introduced 15 trees into commerce.

    Michael Dirr is the author of seven books, including Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture and Propagation and Uses, a widely used and best-selling reference text, Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs, Hydrangeas for the American Gardener, and Viburnums: Flowering Shrubs for Every Season. A Mercer scholar, Dirr is considered one of the green industry’s most celebrated plant experts. An Emeritus Professor of Horticulture at the University of Georgia, his teaching, lectures, seminars, garden study tours and plant introduction programs have contributed greatly to industry awareness.

    He has established several arboreta, consults on tree selection, and has penned tree guides for many campuses. The green industry has tremendously benefited from his keen interest in evaluating trees and his enthusiasm to share it with us.

    Sponsored by: UMass Extension, the UMass Waugh Arboretum, and Eversource. Friday, April 21, 2017 – 2:00pm to 3:30pm, Saturday, April 22, 2017 – 8:00am to 11:45pm at UMass Amherst, 551 North Pleasant Street in Amherst. To register ($50), and for complete itinerary of events, visit http://ag.umass.edu/landscape/events/umass-earth-day-arbor-day-celebration-with-dr-michael-dirr

  • Wednesday, September 16, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Hydrangeas

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay opens its 2015-2016 year on Wednesday, September 16, with an emphasis on Collectors and Collections, at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue, at 10:00 am, with speaker Gail Anderson on the topic of Hydrangeas.

    Endless Summer, Snow Queen, Pinky Winky, Incrediball – There has been an explosion of trademarked hydrangea cultivars with cute and quirky names. Gail Anderson will help demystify this immensely popular genus and will include tips for choosing the right hydrangea for your garden. You’ll enjoy an instructional look at the genus brought to popular attention by such disparate personalities as Martha Stewart and renowned plantsman Michael Dirr. Topics covered will include a primer of hydrangea species, cultivars commonly available for sale, flower shape and color, including soil pH, and how to plant and prune.

    Gail Anderson is a former teacher and magazine journalist. She earned a Certificate in Landscape Design and Maintenance from North Shore Community College and was certified as a Massachusetts Master Gardener. Gail worked for six years as a staff horticulturist for The Trustees of Reservations at Long Hill, an estate garden in Beverly, Massachusetts known for its woody plant collection. She has also served as a photography judge and jury member at the Boston Flower & Garden Show and has lectured at the Portland, Maine Flower Show. Gail is a member of the Ipswich Garden Club.

    GCBB members will receive written notification of the meeting.  If you are not a member but wish to attend, please email info@bostonflora.com.  Image of Pinky Winky from naturalmedicinefacts.info.

  • Tuesday, July 14 – Thursday, July 16 – Hydrangeas 2015 International Conference

    HYDRANGEAS, HYDRANGEAS, HYDRANGEAS! The species, cultivars, newest introductions, breeding innovations, cultural issues, and tours of significant private Cape Cod gardens will be part of an International Conference to take place July 14 – 16 at Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich. Plus, there will be on-site displays by major hydrangea suppliers, and plant sales stalls by local nurseries featuring hundreds of hydrangeas- all presented and available over three days in the cradle of the genus – Cape Cod.

    Heritage is widely known for rhododendrons, but it also features a growing collection of hydrangeas. In concert with the Cape Cod Hydrangea Society, Heritage is the repository of the Society’s Hydrangea Collection and has continued to expand hydrangea plantings throughout the property.

    Lectures will be held each morning with garden tours in the afternoon. Tuesday and Wednesday tours will feature significant private gardens on the Cape. Keynote Speaker for the conference is Dr. Michael Dirr, who will give a talk on The History of Hydrangeas – Earliest Introductions to Current Developments on Tuesday morning. A host of prominent speakers will present on Tuesday and Wednesday – full details may be found on the website noted below. Thursday will be a full Heritage Day dedicated to tours of all garden areas including the Hydrangea Collection. Thursday evening will feature the Conference banquet followed by an Ice Cream Social and a Question & Answer Forum to conclude the event.

    Cape Cod is a historical treasure trove, a place of incomparable natural beauty, with a maritime climate befitting Hydrangea macrophylla – the crown jewel of the genus – at their blooming peak in July.

    Full registration now through March 31 is $550.  One day registration for July 14 or July 15 only is $250.  Register online, and complete information, may be found at http://www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/hydrangeas2015/.

  • Thursday, July 24, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm – MNLA Summer Conference and Trade Show

    The Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA) will hold its annual Summer Conference and Trade Show on Thursday, July 24, from 8 – 5 at Savage Farms in Deerfield, Massachusetts.  The keynote presentation will be The Future in Plant Materials by Michael Dirr, author of seven books including Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture and Propagation and Uses, a widely used and best-selling reference text. Register on line at  http://www.mnla.com/mnlamfga-summer-conference-and-trade-show/ before July 17.  $55 for sponsor members, $65 for non-members. Walk in registration will be $85 for members, $95 for nonmembers. For more information visit the website or call 413-369-4731. Image of Michael Dirr from Scott Arboretum.

  • Saturday, February 18, 2:00 pm – The World According to Dirr: Trees and Shrubs for the 21st Century

    Plan now for an important horticultural lecture in February. Noted author, educator and researcher Michael Dirr, Ph.D. will present The World According to Dirr: Trees and Shrubs for the 21st Century at the Berkshire Botanical Garden’s 2012 Annual Winter Lecture on Saturday, February 18, beginning at 2 pm.

    Dirr’s illustrated lecture will weave a tapestry rich in topics befitting an American icon of horticulture, complete with his signature humor and style. The endearing noble trees, trends in woody plants and the back story of the landscape industry, including plant breeding and development, are among the topics he will present.

    Dr. Dirr’s influence in horticulture is far reaching. A prolific author and exceptional hybridizer, he has dedicated his life to educating the public about the importance and use of woody plants in the landscape. In addition to his many well-known books, his newly published Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs continues to set the gold standard for horticultural reference. Known alternately as the modern father of woody plants and the hydrangea guru, his contributions to the world of horticulture are remarkable.

    Following the lecture, all are invited to a reception and book signing of Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs and the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Call the Garden today to reserve your advance copies!

    Lecture generously sponsored by Hunter Boot.  (Snow date: Sunday, February 19)  The event will take place at Monument Mountain Regional High School, Route 7 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.  BBG member price $35, nonmembers $42, group rates available.  Call 413-298-3926 for more information, or email rparow@berkshirebotanical.org.