Come to Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge on Thursday, July 20 at 5:30 pm and join Meg L. Winslow, Curator of Historical Collections, for a special walking tour of funerary art in the resplendent light of a late summer afternoon. This tour is recommended if you would like to learn about the iconography and design of Mount Auburn’s monuments. Free for Friends of Mt. Auburn, $7 for nonmembers. Register online at http://mountauburn.org/2017/twilight-art-stroll-2/
Long days of hot, intense summer heat can stress many garden selections. Join Mount Auburn Cemetery Visitor Services Assistant Jim Gorman on Saturday, July 18 at 10 am for this walk to look at low-maintenance, tough perennials. Take home some garden planting ideas. $7 for Friends of Mt. Auburn, $12 for nonmembers. Register at http://mountauburn.org/2015/tough-plants-for-tough-times/ Funding for programs has been provided in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Photo of the Willow Pond at Mount Auburn from www.kbgardendesign.com.
Enjoy an early evening walk with Mount Auburn Cemetery President & CEO Dave Barnett to observe the ornamental trees and shrubs that show off their flowers in late July. Learn about the many plants available that provide summer beauty and interest. The culture and use of these plants in your home garden will be discussed. Meet at the Entrance Gate at 580 Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge. $7 Friends of Mt. Auburn, $12 general public. Call 617-547-7105 for more information, or visit www.mountauburn.org.
Low growing plants that cover the ground without resorting to continued weeding and mowing are important to Mount Auburn’s ecologically sustainable horticultural practices. Join Frances Doyle and Jim Gorman for a walk on Monday, July 18, beginning at 5:30 pm, featuring this sometimes overlooked group of plants. Fee: $5 members; $10 non-members. To register, or for more information, call 617-607-1952, or log on to www.mountauburn.org.
Perennials play an important role in accenting many areas of Mount Auburn Cemetery: borders, beds and woodland. Join Frances Doyle and Jim Gorman for a look at some of the perennial stars and understudies to be found there, on Sunday, June 26 beginning at 1 pm. This is a limited walking program. You will car-pool between several area stops. Fee: $5 members; $10 non-members. To register, call 617-607-1952, or email Michelle Pizzillo at MPizzillo@mountauburn.org.
Native shrubs add seasonal interest when used as specimen plantings, in mixed borders, as hedges or as hardscape accents for landscapes. Join Jim Gorman at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge on Saturday, June 18 at 1 pm for a walk focused on their impressive collection and take home a few planting ideas. Fee: $5 members; $10 non-members. For more information, telephone 617-607-1952. Photo below by Curtis Adams.
The botanical family tree has been dramatically rewritten in recent years, as DNA analysis has brought a refined understanding of how plants evolved from primitive forms. Robin Hazard Ray and Jim Gorman will lead a botanical tour through Mount Auburn Cemetery on Tuesday, June 14, beginning at 5:30 pm, to demonstrate the cemetery’s diverse plant collection, victors of the struggle for survival over geologic time. $5 for Friends of Mount Auburn, $10 for non-members. To register, call 617-607-1952, or email Michelle Pizzillo at mpizzillo@mountauburn.org. Photo by Alida Thorpe.
The Friends of Mount Auburn would like to welcome you to visit Mount Auburn Cemetery on Sunday, April 17, beginning at 1 pm, for a walking tour entitled Plants from the Bible. Jim Gorman will identify plants known with either certainty or probability to be growing in Biblical times. Additionally, he may visit closely allied species – relatives of plants mentioned in the Scriptures. Consider this tour a walking recollection of the Holy Land. The fee is $5 for Friends of Mount Auburn, $10 for non-members. For more information, call 617-607-1952. Below is spikenard, from Song of Songs.
Everyone is invited to Mount Auburn Cemetery on Wednesday, January 19 beginning at 7 pm to participate in this annual birthday of the trees during which we will explore the significance of trees and our relationships with them—in the world, in Jewish tradition, and in the history of Mount Auburn Cemetery. Natasha Nataniela Shabat, a Biblical Hebrew Teacher, will lead this interactive celebration in Bigelow Chapel. Please bring a poem or writing that reflects your own appreciation of trees; readings will also be provided. This celebration will also include traditional Tu B’Shvat nuts, fruits, and juice. Limited enrollment; preregistration required.
Fee: $5 members; $10 non-members. Log on to www.mountauburn.org to register, or for more information.
Start the New Year with a walking tour of Mount Auburn Cemetery on Sunday, January 2 at 1 pm. Images of celestial beings are found throughout the Cemetery, proudly posing on pedestals or tucked into the decorations of many monuments. Can you find them? Join Mount Auburn Docent Rosemarie Smurzynski for an exploration of the grounds, seeking cherubs and angels in marble and granite. Fee: $5 members; $10 non-members. Register online at www.mountauburn.org. Photo copyright 1998 by Kimberly Nyce.
