Boston Flora

Tag: Moss

  • Monday, December 8, 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Webinar: The Magical Appeal of Moss Landscape Designs

    Moss landscapes offer a magical appeal with verdant expanses that seem to encapsulate our spirits with a sense of serenity. Yet, the environmental advantages of eco-friendly mosses add another element of magic through the creation of outdoor living spaces that complement natural ecosystems. As Planet Earth’s oldest living land plants (450 million years old), bryophytes – mosses and their cousins, liverworts and hornworts – are native to all parts of the world. Mosses not only survive but actually thrive in climates and conditions considered inhospitable to most other plants. The year-round green of mosses makes them excellent horticultural choices in gardens for all seasons, including the winter. Even when covered in snow, mosses will continue reproductive processes. When the snow melts, young colorful sporophytes (equivalent of flowers) can be present and the vivid greens of new growth will delight you. On Monday, December 8, at 7:30 pm, join Ecological Landscaping Alliance webinar host Annie Martin to learn more about the benefits of designing with mosses from the aesthetic to the practical, such as erosion control considerations. Annie will also discuss moss cultivation, harvesting regulations, and more.

    Annie Martin, known as Mossin’ Annie, is the owner of Mountain Moss. Her mossery is located in the mountains of western North Carolina. To learn more about mosses, please visit: www.mountainmoss.com. Live mosses for your projects (container trays, pre-vegetated moss mats, and lightweight panels for living moss walls or moss green roofs) are available through the online Moss Shop. As experts in moss-scapes, Mountain Moss offers consultation/design/installation services as well as educational lectures/workshops so that others can experience their own moss magic. Martin will be sharing her passion for moss gardening in her upcoming book (Timber Press, spring 2015).
    – See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-the-magical-appeal-of-moss-landscape-designs/#sthash.NJ2SOeRv.dpuf. Image from www.appvoices.org.

  • Saturday, November 20, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm – Woodland Terrarium Workshop

    Create a mini-woodland garden gem to enjoy during the long winter months at this Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop on Saturday, November 20, from 11 – 1, with Elisabeth Cary. Participants will design and construct woodland terrariums using native woodland plants including moss, maiden hair spleenwort ferns (Asplenium trichomanes), downy rattlesnake orchid (Goodyera pubescens) and evergreen ground cover (Gaulteria procumbens or Mitchella repens). You will come away with an understanding of these native plants, their natural histories, life cycles and cultivation requirements. Although all these plants can be found in the woods, students will be using plant material that has been grown by a reliable nursery source. $50 for BBG members, $55 for non-members. Bring garden glove and hand pruners. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org or call 413-298-3926.

    Elisabeth Cary is Director of Education at the Berkshire Botanical Garden and has been making terrarium for many years. She is a home gardener and specializes in woody plants, mixed border and vegetable gardening. She is a great lover of nature and when she isn’t in her garden she can be found in the surrounding woods.

  • Thursday, November 12, 10:00 am – Garden Design Luncheon at Blithewold Mansion

    Join Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum for their annual Garden Design Luncheon at the Rhode Island Country Club with Guest speaker William Cullina, Plant and Garden Curator for the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.  A well known author (Native Ferns, Moss & Grasses,  Understanding Orchids) and recognized authority on North American native plants, Cullina lectures to gardens and professional groups.  The lecture price of $75 for Blithewold members, $80  for non-members includes a delicious lunch, and be sure to enter the raffle for exciting prizes, including a Boston get-away.  The date is Thursday, November 12, beginning at 10 am, at the Rhode Island Country Club, 150 Nayatt Road, Barrington, Rhode Island.  For more information, or to register, log on to www.blithewold.org, or email jmurphyedu@blithewold.org.

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  • Tuesdays, March 2 – April 6, 6:30 – 8:30 pm – The Plant Kingdom: An Overview

    Join K.N. Gandhi, Botanist at the Harvard University Herbaria, for this six session introductory course in botany, beginning March 2 at 6:30 pm.  Through lectures and work in the laboratory, Dr. Gandhi will provide a deeper understanding of the plant kingdom, from the simple plants to those that are highly evolved. He will outline the structure and reproduction of bacteria, cyano-bacteria, algae (fresh water and marine), fungi, moss, ferns, pines, and flowering plants. You will learn about the fundamental differences in the plant structure of these groups and also their capabilities in reproducing both sexually and asexually. The role of xylem, phloem, fruits, and seeds in the success of flowering plants will be discussed.
    Fee $165 Arnold Arboretum member, $200 nonmember.  For additional information, and to register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

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