Boston Flora

Tag: Natick Community Organic Farm

  • Monday, February 10, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Life’s So Sweet With a Sugar Maple in Your Yard

    Sugar maples provide New Englanders with shade, beautiful autumn color, and delicious maple syrup. Join Trish Wesley Umbrell, Natick Community Organic Farm’s Assistant Director, for a celebration of the versatility of sugar maples. She will share tips on tree identification and uses in the home landscape, explore the rich history and traditions of New England maple sugaring, and give a virtual tour of her local favorite sugar shack, as well as tips for making your own maple syrup on your stovetop. The program takes place Monday, February 10 at 1 pm at the Wellesley College Club in Wellesley. Free for Friends of the Wellesley College Botanic Garden, $10 for non-members. RSVP at 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu

  • Thursday, September 13, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Planting an Autumn Container Garden

    Trish Wesley-Umbrell of Natick Community Organic Farm will speak at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, on Thursday, September 13 beginning at 7 pm. The classes are priced at $12 for members and $15 for non-members unless otherwise indicated. There is no need to pre-register and you may pay at the class.  Trish will demonstrate the way to extend the season for your potted containers well into Thanksgiving.

  • Through Saturday, March 31 – Grounding: Small New England Farms

    Photographer John Benford is exhibiting his series, Grounding: Small New England Farms, at the Farm Art Gallery. The gallery is located at Natick Community Organic Farm, 117 Eliot Street, Natick, Massachusetts. It is open daily during day-light hours; admission is free.  The exhibit will run throughout March, 2012, and includes portraits of farmers and scenes from farm life, taken primarily on small farms in the Seacoast area.

    Founded in 1974, Natick Community Organic Farm is a nonprofit, certified-organic farm providing productive open space, farm products, and hands-on education for all ages, year-round. The farm’s art gallery focuses on farm- and nature-related art from established and up-and-coming artists. The farm will hold its annual Maple Magic Day on Saturday, March 10, and offers maple sugaring tours throughout March. For more information, call 508-655-2204 or visit www.natickfarm.org.

    John Benford Photography is based out of Portsmouth, NH, and offers architectural, portraiture and fine- art photography services in the Seacoast, greater Boston, and beyond. Mr. Benford is a graduate of New England School of Photography in Boston, where he received the Tyler Munroe Award for Creative Excellence and Spirit. To find out more, visit www.johnbenfordphoto.com or email info@johnbenfordphoto.com.

  • Tuesdays, September 6 & 13, and Thursdays, September 8 & 15, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – Harvest Time at the Farm

    In this four day seminar, September 6, 8, 13 and 15, taught on location at the Natick Community Organic Farm, 117 Eliot Street, Natick, and in the studio in nearby South Natick, learn to paint economic plants grown locally.  Take your observations from the farm’s fields back to the studio to portray the plants in drybrush watercolor.  Sarah Roche’s expert instruction will fine tune your drawings to be botanically accurate and expand your watercolor skills to capture textures and tones and the vibrant colors of fruits, vegetables, and foliage. Your paintings will look good enough to eat.   Watercolor and drawing experience required. Foundations or equivalent course required. Work at your own skill level in this class for advanced beginners to experienced watercolor artists, sponsored by the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture.  WCFH members $250, non-members $300 – to register, log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094.

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  • Wednesday, March 16 – Sunday, March 20 – The Boston Flower & Garden Show

    Leave behind the gray days of winter and rejoice in the 2011 show, entitled A Burst of Color: Celebrating the Container Garden. Boston’s biggest horticultural happening provides the tools and inspiration to kick off the season in style.  Hours are 9 am – 8 pm Wednesday, March 16 through Saturday, March 19 and 9 am – 6 pm on Sunday, March 20.   A complete schedule of lectures and demonstrations will be posted at www.thebostonflowershow.com, but some highlights include a talk by Tovah Martin on The New Terrarium, a lecture by Ellen Ecker Ogden  on The Complete Kitchen Garden, and a charmingly entitled “Growing Your Groceries in Containers” by Teresa O’Connor and Jayme Jenkins.   The show plays host to amateur competitions as well, coordinated by The Massachusetts Horticultural Society along with The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts.

  • Saturday, April 10, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Massachusetts Organic Gardening Spring Workshop Day

    This Spring, just as it comes time to plant the garden, NOFA/Mass presents its third annual Statewide Spring Organic Gardening Day. On April 10, there will be organic gardening workshops in every region of the state. The closest workshop to the Back Bay will be held at City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive in Mattapan from 9 – 12, led by Jean-Claude Bourrut, who manages production at Natick Community Organic Farm.  Jean-Claude will cover soil basics, practical organic techniques, and he will share a hands-on seed starting activity to increase your confidence in starting your own seedlings.  Growing our own food is an excellent way to save money, lessen our carbon footprint, improve our health, and connect with neighbors and nature. Isn’t now a good time to learn skills that will help you plant a garden and make it productive throughout the year?

    These workshops are all led by experienced gardening educators, and they are intended to meet the tremendous resurgence of energy and action for backyard and community gardening. In addition to explaining and demonstrating some key steps that can empower to you start your own garden, these workshops provide a great opportunity for you to ask questions. Whether you are a complete newcomer to gardening or you just feel that you could use some brushing up on growing skills and concepts, these workshops are for you.

    Registration cost is $30, and if you are a member of NOFA you will receive a $5 membership discount.  Early registration is recommended ($5 discount before March 27).  Contact Ben Grosscup at 413-658-5374, or email him at ben.grosscup@nofamass.org – Put April 10 in the subject line.  For a complete list of all ten locations and specific topics  throughout the State, log on to www.nofamass.org/programs/extensionevents/workshopday.php.

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  • Thursday, February 25, 7:30 – 9:00 pm – Seedy Night

    Bring your seed catalogues to the Natick Community Organic Farm on Thursday, February 25, from 7:30 – 9:00 pm, for an informative evening around the wood stove with Natick Community Organic Farm Assistant Director Jean-Claude Bourrut.  You will talk about variety choices suited for your garden, and will learn to read between the lines of glossy descriptions.  Does “foolproof” mean invasive?  Does “full sun” mean you’d better plant it in Florida?  Does “mildew resistant” mean it will be covered in white powder if you don’t thin 90% of the planting?  The cost for all this information will be $27, and you may sign up at www.bcae.org.

  • Saturday, February 6, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Sweet Fun: Making Your Own Maple Syrup

    Take a short course on the principles and practice of making maple syrup, from identifying the maple tree to bottling the syrup.  Practical advice on simple procedures and equipment for each step will prepare you for an enjoyable late winter outdoor experience and a sweet reward.  You will go home with a bucket, lid, spile (you’ll find out), and hook – ready to jump into the upcoming season.  This one session event takes place Saturday, February 6, from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Natick Community Organic Farm, and is sponsored by the Boston Center for Adult Education.  The cost is $40, and you may register on line at www.bcae.org.

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