Boston Flora

Tag: New York Botanical Garden

  • Through September 7 – Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and the Women Who Designed Them

    Those of us who enjoyed the speakers during The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s program theme a few years ago, Women in the Garden, should travel to the New York Botanical Garden now through September 7.  It is hosting Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and the Women Who Designed Them, an exhibition that focuses on the accomplishments of prominent women whose work influenced landscape architecture and garden design, garden photography, and garden writing in the first three decades of the 20th century.

    Included in the exhibit is Mrs. Rockefeller’s Garden, a reconstruction of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine.  The garden, designed by Beatrix Farrand in 1926, was at the summer home of philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and his wife Abby.  Also featured is Gardens for a Beautiful America: The Women Who Photographed Them,  a display in the Garden’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library of vintage photographs and illustrated books highlighting the work of female photographers.  An outdoor poetry walk will feature the work of Edna St. Vincent Millay.

    During the exhibition, visitors can also enjoy live musical performances featuring pieces by American composers of the time period, hands-on programs for children, public lectures, and a downloadable app that offers additional information about the exhibition.  Visit www.nybg.org or call 718-817-8700 for further details.

  • Friday, April 4, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, and Saturday, April 5, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium

    The 11th Annual Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium, April 4 & 5, 2014 at The Equinox Resort in Manchester, Vermont , will be sponsored by: The American Horticultural Society, Corona Tools, Equinox Valley Nursery, Espoma, Gardener’s Supply Company, Liquid Fence, Neptune’s Harvest and Proven Winners.

    This premier symposium takes place April 4 & 5, 2014 and will be held at the world-class Equinox Resort (www.equinoxresort.com) in Manchester, VT. The symposium features six dynamic lectures, a Gardener’s Marketplace, great food, door prizes, and gifts. Over 200 gardeners from around the Northeast annually attend this popular event. NEW for 2014 is a special Garden Design Workshop on Friday from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. This workshop is in addition to the symposium. Featured speakers, horticultural experts and notable authors are: David L. Culp: owner of award-winning gardens that have been featured on HGTV and in Martha Stewart Living, VP of Sunny Border Nurseries, instructor at Longwood Gardens (PA), former contributing editor to Horticulture magazine, and author of the top selling book The Layered Garden; Thomas Christopher: a highly respected expert on sustainable gardening practices with articles in The New York Times and Martha Stewart Living; owner of a sustainable lawn consulting business, Greener Grasses/Sustainable Lawns, graduate of the New York Botanical Garden’s school of professional horticulture and editor of a best seller – The New American Landscape: Leading Voices on the Future of Sustainable Gardening, which contains his own chapter on water-wise gardening; Deborah Trickett: a highly applauded container designer who works with clients throughout New England, owner of The Captured Garden, instructor at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, and her work has been featured in The Boston Globe, Garden Gate and New England Home magazines as well as on the TV show New England Dream Home; Adam R. Wheeler: a plant fanatic who is the propagation and new plant development manager for Broken Arrow Nursery – a destination garden center in CT, and adjunct instructor on plant propagation and woody plant identification at Naugatuck Valley Community College; and Kerry Ann Mendez: owner of Perennially Yours, garden designer and consultant, guest on HGTV, former TV garden series host, her gardens have been featured in Garden Gate, Fine Gardening, Horticulture, and Better Homes and Gardens SIP, and author of The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Top Ten Lists and Top Ten Lists for Beautiful Shade Gardens.

    How-to, informative lectures include: 50 Perennials I Could Not Live Without; The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year Round Beauty; A Back Yard Revolution – alternative grasses and compatible perennials that provide all the benefits of a conventional lawn; Celebrity Pots, an entertaining presentation on creating flashy containers that portray celebrities like Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and Grace Kelly; Fun with Color: Variegated Foliage in the Garden; and Flashy New or Underused Perennials for 2014. Overnight packages and day only rates are available. Symposium Day Only rates: $98 per person by March 1, $108 after March 1; special rates for groups and Master Gardeners. Overnight packages including symposium programming, accommodations, meals and all taxes & gratuities start at $300.29 for a single or $430.09 for a double ($215.05 per person). For more information and registration details, visit www.pyours.com/symposium.

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  • Tuesday, May 14, 7:00 pm – Backyard Foraging: 65 Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat

    Porter Square Books, located in the Porter Square Shopping Center, 25 White Street in Cambridge, will host author Ellen Zachos, who will speak about her new book Backyard Foraging: 65 Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat, on Tuesday, May 14, beginning at 7 pm.  Following her talk she will sign copies of her book as well. Ideal for first-time foragers, this book features 70 (not 65 – who knew?) edible weeds, flowers, mushrooms, and ornamental plants typically found in urban or suburban neighborhoods. You’ll be amazed by how many of the plants you see each day are actually nutritious edibles.  Full-color photographs make identification easy, and tips on where certain plants are likely to be found, how to avoid pollution and pesticides, and how to recognize the plants you should never harvest make foraging as safe and simple as stepping into your own backyard.

    Zachos leads foraging walks and currently teaches at the New York Botanical Garden, where she received her certification in Commercial Horticulture and Ethnobotany. She writes two blogs, which can be found at “downanddirtygardening.com” and “gardenbytes.com” and has written numerous gardening books and contributed to publications including Horticulture and Better Homes & Gardens.

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  • Wednesday – Friday, March 20 – 22, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Botanical Illustration with Graphite Pencil: Fruits and Seeds

    Draw the beauty of seeds, including pods, nuts, fruits and cones, and investigate the amazing variety of nature’s bounty. Discover the features and texture of these objects while building your drawing skills. This is a great Berkshire Botanical Garden class for beginners or more advanced students who get ‘stuck’ drawing. Learn to solve this problem and develop your drawing step by step, from sketch to finished nature drawing. There will be exercises in: training the eye through quick sketching; drawing plants in proportion; the essentials of perspective; and applying tonal values for visual depth. Whether your love is quick field sketching or rendering plant portraits, this inspiring class will give you confidence to draw and train you to look at nature more closely.

    Carol Ann Morley is an illustrator and dedicated teacher of botanical illustration working in Dover, NH. She founded the Botanical Art Illustration Certificate Program at the New York Botanical Garden and teaches illustration there and for other botanical gardens. The classes take place Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, March 20, 21, and 22, from 10 – 4, and cost $260 for BBG members, $290 for nonmembers.  Sign up at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Wednesday, March 6, 10:00 am – New York Garden Spaces

    Maureen Bovet presents the green side of the Big Apple to The Garden Club of the Back Bay on Wednesday, March 6, beginning at 10 am at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. This photo show explores the wonderful public parks of New York City. Maureen was born and raised in NYC and her passion for gardening began there. She offers a unique view of the green spaces available to be enjoyed by natives and visitors alike. The history and the horticulture of these parks are illustrated by beautiful slides from her collection. Included are Wave Hill, the garden at The Cloisters, Olmsted-designed Central Park, with its 70-year-old Conservatory Garden, the new High Line Park modeled on a Paris railroad bed reuse, The New York Botanical Garden, and Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan looking out at the Statue of Liberty. She will discuss garden design and plant cultivation along with the fascinating history of these parks. Maureen is a Museum Associate at the MFA on the Flower Team, a graduate of Wellesley College, and a former student at the Arnold Arboretum Landscape Institute and the UMass Green School.  An optional lunch ($20) will follow the presentation.  Free to GCBB and College Club members, $5 contribution requested from nonmembers.  If you wish to attend, please email info@bostonflora.com to put your name on the list.

  • Thursday, September 13, 8:00 am – 6:00 pm – New York Botanical Garden: Monet’s Garden

    On Thursday, September 13, join staff from the Berkshire Botanical Garden for a trip to the New York Botanical Garden at the height of the late summer bloom and to view the acclaimed show Monet’s Garden. Garden staff from BBG will lead a tour of the gardens, including the Ladies Border, the Herb Garden, the Jane Watson Irwin Perennial Garden and the spectacular Seasonal Walk, designed by superstar designers Piet Oudolf and Jaqueline Van de Kloet. For those interested in trees we will explore the Benson Ornamental Conifer Garden and the many small ornamental specimen trees on the grounds. Garden staff will answer questions and share horticultural insights throughout the day. Included in the cost of the trip is a ticket to view the special event Monet’s Garden in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, which has been transformed into a floral masterpiece of Monet’s idyllic garden in Giverny, France. Monet’s most famous subjects, water lilies, including many of them the varieties he grew, are featured in the Conservatory Courtyard Pools. This is a fantastic opportunity to view the exhibition at it’s peak. Two paintings by Monet—one which has never been publicly exhibited in the United States—will be on display. There will be unstructured time to visit areas of specific interest in the afternoon.

    Participants will travel by coach. Snacks and afternoon beverage will be provided. Bring sturdy walking shoes, warm waterproof outerwear and an umbrella. The bus will depart from Berkshire Botanical Garden promptly at 8am and return promptly at 6pm.  $99 for BBG members, $120 for non members.  Register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or email info@berkshirebotanical.org for more information.

  • Thursday, November 10, 2:00 pm – The Gardens of Kyoto

    The November meeting of The Garden Club of the Back Bay will take place Thursday, November 10, at 2 pm, at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Rita Bond will speak on The Gardens of Kyoto. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, and New Jersey, Rita W. Bond is a longtime resident of Simsbury, Connecticut. She holds a Master’s Degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in the teaching of English. Rita studied landscape design at the New York Botanical Garden, and has had her own business as a residential landscape designer. Rita resumed her studies in art, and particularly color, in order to refine her skill as a landscape designer. As she has progressed in her art studies, she has found a new love and a new voice for expressing her creativity and love of the New England landscape. Rita’s illustrated lecture will provide a short history of, and an examination of, the cultural and religious significance of the gardens of Japan, in particular those of Kyoto. She will discuss design principles and plants that can be used here as well. The program will be followed by tea. Members will receive written notice of this meeting in the mail. Non members who may wish to attend ($20 fee) may email info@bostonflora.com.

  • Thursday, September 8, 7:00 pm – Massachusetts Horticultural Society 2011 Honorary Medals Dinner

    On September 8, Mass Hort will continue its almost century-long tradition of honoring superior achievements in horticulture when Elm Bank hosts the 2011 Honorary Medals Gala with Lynden B. Miller receiving the George Robert White Medal of Honor for her work as a designer of urban parks.

    Lynden B. Miller is a public garden designer in New York City and director of The Conservatory Garden in Central Park, which she rescued and restored beginning in 1982. Her work includes gardens for The Central Park Zoo, Bryant Park, The New York Botanical Garden, Madison Square Park, and Wagner Park in Battery Park City as well as many smaller projects in all five boroughs and beyond, including waterfront gardens in Red Hook, Brooklyn, improvements to Union Square Park and the 97th Street Park Avenue Mall, renovation of the “Gateway to Harlem” Broadway Mall at 135th Street, Loeb Plaza for Hunter College, and the 67th Street Armory.

    Other winners include Wesley R. Autio, professor of pomology at UMass Amherst, Richard Jaynes of Broken Hill Nursery, volunteer Joyce Bakshi, Theodore Landsmark of Boston Architectural College, Organic Gardening Magazine, author Ellen Ecker Ogden, Carrie Waterman, Russ Billings of Mount Holyoke College, and the Lyman Plant House of the Botanic Gardens at Smith College.

    Tickets are $150 per person to this event. There are also opportunities to either co-host or host a table.  To co-host or host a table, please call our reservation line at 617-933-4995. All proceeds from the dinner will be used to support maintenance and improvement of Mass Hort gardens.

  • Tuesday, August 16 – Thursday, August 18, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Botanical Illustration with Colored Pencil

    This Berkshire Botanical Garden three day intensive workshop, from 10 – 4 on  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, August 16, 17 and 18 will focus on colored pencil techniques for botanical illustration. Learn ways to create textured backgrounds with the brilliant hues of colored pencils. This versatile color medium can create colors smooth as glass and rough as sandpaper and by changing technique mimic an oil painting, pastel or watercolor. Discover which colors glow together and others that harmonize in a composition. Explore a full range of techniques for creating both bold and subtle effects that will bring a botanical drawing alive. Participants should bring a pear and other fruits or flowers to include in their illustrations.  Bring a bag lunch and enjoy your meal in and around the garden.

    Carol Ann Morley is an illustrator and dedicated teacher of botanical illustration working in Dover, NH. She founded the Botanical Art Illustration Certificate Program at the New York Botanical Garden and teaches illustration there and for other botanical gardens. This is Ms. Morley’s only workshop at the Berkshire Botanical Garden for 2011.  To register on line ($195 for BBG members, $225 for nonmembers) log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org, or call 413-298-3926.

     

  • Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1 – The 19th Annual Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale

    More than thirty of the country’s leading dealers offer their finest pieces at America’s most celebrated venue for authentic garden antiques, the New York Botanical Garden’s 19th Annual Garden Furniture Show and Sale, on Friday, April 29 – Sunday, May 1.  Blithewold Home will be making its debut at the show. During the three-day event, fountains, statues, benches, urns, sundials, birdbaths, and botanical prints beckon novice collectors and garden designers alike. Throughout the weekend, antiques experts offer informative tours and talks.  For complete show details, log on to www.nybg.org.