Boston Flora

Tag: Michelle Obama

  • W. Atlee Burpee & Company Saves White House Kitchen Garden

    A $2.5 million gift has been announced to ensure the operation and maintenance of the White House Kitchen Garden initiated by First Lady Michelle Obama. The donation will be made by the home gardening company, W. Atlee Burpee, and The Burpee Foundation. The gift will ensure maintenance of the garden over a 17-year period.

    According to George Ball, chairman and CEO of the 140 year old Pennsylvania based Burpee, establishment of a formal vegetable garden at The White House resurrects a tradition that goes back to John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. “As America’s leading home gardening company we recognize the importance of continuing The White House Kitchen Garden and developing its educational activities in support of The White House initiative.” The gift will be made to the National Park Foundation (NPF) to cover direct costs to expand and maintain the Garden. The donation is a long-term commitment to the preservation of the White House Kitchen Garden.

    “Everyone at Burpee is proud of the First Lady’s ‘Can-Do!’ attitude,” Mr. Ball says, “and we hope that a well-conceived longlasting version of The White House Kitchen Garden will be fully supported by ensuing Administrations for so long as The White House serves as the residence for The President of the United States.”

    Burpee has been working with the NPF for more than two years to help reverse the dramatic loss of bees and other pollinators. The company donated more than one million seed packets to help home gardeners plant gardens that attract bees and butterflies. The packets were distributed free of charge to visitors to national parks throughout the 2015/2016 season.

    Funding for the donation will come from W. Atlee Burpee Company, a privately owned home gardening company in Bucks County, PA, and The Burpee Foundation, which was established in 2003. The Burpee company breeds, produces and distributes seeds and plants of vegetables and flowers both nationally and internationally.

    The First Lady of the United States commended Burpee and The Foundation for its generous gift in support of the future preservation of The White House Kitchen Garden and its impact on her “Let’s Move!” initiative, at a ceremony, Wednesday, October 5th, on the South Lawn next to the Garden which she planted in 2009.

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay thanks the Burpee organizations for their foresight and generosity.

  • Sunday, December 11, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – All the Presidents’ Gardens

    Visit Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge on Sunday, December 11 from 2 – 3:30 to hear a timely lecture by Marta McDowell on Presidential Gardens. Learn the untold history of the White House grounds, starting with the seed-collecting, plant-obsessed George Washington and ending with Michelle Obama’s kitchen garden.

    The talk is filled with fascinating details about Lincoln’s goats, Ike’s putting green, Jackie’s iconic roses, Amy Carter’s tree house, and information on the plants whose favor has come and gone over the years and the gardeners who have been responsible for it all. BBG members $10, nonmembers $15. Register by calling 413-298-3926, or email info@berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Thursday, November 7, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – A Rich Spot of Earth: Garden Design Luncheon and Lecture

    Join Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum for an illustrated talk by Peter J. Hatch on Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello, Virginia. The luncheon and presentation will be held at the Rhode Island Country Club, 150 Nayatt Road in Barrington, Rhode Island on Thursday, November 7, from 10 – 2. Members of Blithewold pay $75, non-members $85. Reserve by calling 401-253-2707, or email kwilson@blithewold.org.

    Peter is the former Director of Gardens & Grounds at Monticello, an award-winning author, and advisor to First Lady Michelle Obama on the White House kitchen garden.

    The talk will be followed by a delectable luncheon as well as a book signing.

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  • Wednesday, June 26, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Going Local Without Going Crazy: 25 Tips to Increase Your Local Footprint

    Julie Shanks will help us understand how to bring healthy, local foods into your kitchen and stay on budget too, in this Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop on Wednesday, June 26, beginning at 6 at Elm Bank in Wellesley.  Julia has a passion for and an expertise in locavorism, and is eager to share easy ways we can all make change that connect us to the food and farmers in our own communities. The world is changing as more people are supporting local, small businesses and returning to homemade food to avoid the unsavory health and social consequences associated with processed foods. Join Julia for a discussion, Q & A, complete with recipes, ideas, and a healthy dose of delicious fun. Julia is the co-author of The Farmers Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Enjoying your CSA and Farmers’ Markets Foods. Their book has been reviewed in the Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, Taste of the Seacoast, and Growing for Market, and was cited as a reference in Michelle Obama’s American Grown.

    Cost – $20.00 for members, $25.00 for non-members.  Sign up at www.masshort.org.

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