Boston Flora

Tag: October 24

  • Saturday, October 23, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Stone Walls for the Garden and Stone Steps, Pathways and Flatwork

    Two interesting hands on workshops will be held at Berkshire Botanical Garden in  Stockbridge on Saturday, October 23.  Each session may be taken separately, or both may be taken – there is a 10% discount if a student takes both classes.

    The first, Stone Walls for the Garden, begins at 9 am.  This hands-on program will cover the basics of wall building, including: planning and layout, learning to look at stone and demonstrations on cutting and fitting. Various applications for the garden will be considered, with special attention to building a freestanding wall. All questions will be answered. Participants should bring: work gloves and safety glasses; dress for outdoor work.

    Mark Mendel (below) is the master mason of Monterey Masonry. He apprenticed with Maine stonemasons in the 1960’s and taught at the Haystack School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. He has built scores of walls, arches, terraces and walks in addition to many fireplaces in both brick and stone. Locally, his work includes the kitchen at Hancock Shaker Village, and Guido’s Marketplace. BBG members $50, non-members $55.

    The second, Stone Steps, Pathways and Flatwork, will begin at 2 pm. Flatwork will be the focus of this workshop: paving with stone and brick for terraces, walkways, paths and garden edging. Watch a demonstration and participate in construction of a stone walkway using a variety of materials including stone and brick. Learn how to evaluate a project and choose the best material. All questions will be answered in this popular workshop. BBG members $50, non-members $55.

    To register, or for more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org. Rain date for both sessions is Sunday, October 24.

  • Saturday, October 24, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Greater Boston Food Bank Open House Celebration

    Do you know the  Food Bank feeds 83,000 people each week? Come to the open house on Saturday, October 24, from 10 – 2, and learn, get involved, and get inspired.  The event will take place at the Yawkey Distribution Center of the Greater Boston Food Bank, 70 South Bay Avenue in Boston.

    To achieve its mission, The Food Bank feeds more than 320,000 people annually in nine counties in eastern Massachusetts. They’re poor to middle-class people who can’t make ends meet. They’re our friends, neighbors, and colleagues. The Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England and one of the largest food banks in the country. It distributes more than 30 million pounds of food and grocery products annually to a network of nearly 600 member hunger-relief agencies. It is a trusted and efficient resource for these local food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless and residential shelters, youth programs, senior centers, and day-care centers, providing the food they need to feed the hungry.

    Bring a non-perishable item to participate in their food drive.  There will be limited complimentary parking on site.  For directions, and to let the good folks who work there know you’re coming, log on to www.gbfb.org/openhouse/.

    http://www.socialmediabreakfast.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/gb-foodbank.gif

  • Saturday, October 24, 9 am – 1 pm and 2 pm – 5 pm – Stone Walls for the Garden and Stone Steps, Pathways and Flatwork

    Two interesting hands on workshops will be held at Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge on Saturday, October 24.  Each session may be taken separately, or both may be taken – there is a 10% discount if a student takes both classes.

    The first, Stone Walls for the Garden, begins at 9 am.  This hands-on program will cover the basics of wall building, including: planning and layout, learning to look at stone and demonstrations on cutting and fitting. Various applications for the garden will be considered, with special attention to building a freestanding wall. All questions will be answered. Participants should bring: work gloves and safety glasses; dress for outdoor work. Mark Mendel is the master mason of Monterey Masonry. He apprenticed with Maine stonemasons in the 1960’s and taught at the Haystack School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. He has built scores of walls, arches, terraces and walks in addition to many fireplaces in both brick and stone. Locally, his work includes the kitchen at Hancock Shaker Village, and Guido’s Marketplace. BBG members $45, non-members $50.

    The second, Stone Steps, Pathways and Flatwork, will begin at 2 pm. Flatwork will be the focus of this workshop: paving with stone and brick for terraces, walkways, paths and garden edging. Watch a demonstration and participate in construction of a stone walkway using a variety of materials including stone and brick. Learn how to evaluate a project and choose the best material. All questions will be answered in this popular workshop. BBG members $45, non-members $50.

    To register, or for more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org. Rain date for both sessions is Sunday, October 25.

    http://cdn-write.demandstudios.com/upload//7000/900/70/1/17971.jpg

  • Saturday, October 24, 5:30 pm – Eighth Annual Pumpkin Float

    Watch spooky pumpkins float down Davenport Creek.  Participants are invited to bring a 6 – 8 inch pumpkin carved at home to float.  The event will take place at Pope John Paul II Park, Gallivan Boulevard Entrance, 751 Gallivan Boulevard, Dorchester, and registration is required by calling 617-542-7696, or emailing info@bostonnatural.org.  Only those bringing pumpkins and those with children are required to register to make sure there are enough floats and treats for all.

    http://cdn-write.demandstudios.com/upload//3000/400/30/1/63431.jpg

  • Saturday, October 24, 1 – 4 pm – Fall Family Fun

    Historic New England’s nearby Pierce House in Dorchester, Massachusetts will be the site of Fall Family Fun on Saturday, October 24, from 1 – 4 pm.  Enjoy craft activities and other hands-on opportunities connected to harvest time and the history of the Pierce House as a working farm. Families can make a leaf rubbing, design a pressed leaf card, practice spinning and weaving, and grind corn. Take a step back in time with Colonial clothing, toys, and games. Tours of the house are on the hour. For directions and additional information, call 617-288-6041, or log on to www.historicnewengland.org.  Free to Historic New England members, $2 non-members.

    http://www.spnea.org/educators/PierceHouse/Pierce_Main_image.gif

  • Saturday, October 24, 1 – 3 pm – Botanica: Scanography by Marty Klein

    The Arnold Arboretum invites you to attend a reception with Artist Marty Klein on Saturday, October 24, from 1 – 3 pm in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall of the Arnold Arboretum.

    Marty Klein is fueled by an insatiable and wide-ranging curiosity to see familiar natural forms in new and refreshing ways. Using a flatbed scanner as a camera, Marty Klein captures images of plants and other natural objects with incredible depth and contrast. The images are very different from traditional photographs, yet remain close in spirit, imbued with an arresting vitality. Several new works in this show use specimens gathered by special permission from the Arboretum’s living collections.  The exhibition continues through December 15, 2009.

    Marty Klein holds a BA and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts, and over the years has worked as an artist, photographer, blacksmith, and land protection activist.  For more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    Roadside foliage

  • Saturday, October 24, 9:30 am – 12 noon – Assessing Tree Health and Structure

    Dave Ropes, Consulting Arborist, Tree Specialists, Inc., will give a class at Garden in the Woods in Framingham in collaboration with the New England Wild Flower Society and the Arnold Arboretum on Saturday, October 24, from 9:30 am – 12 noon.  Proper tree care requires assessment of the entire tree system from roots to shoots. Learn how to properly assess a tree’s health and structure with techniques used by professional arborists. Learn which types of structural defects compromise the integrity of the tree and require attention, and which are merely aesthetic concerns. Study and evaluate tree foliage, twig growth, and the presence of pathogens and diseases. A classroom session will cover tree physiology and site conditions that relate to tree health, followed by a field session to look at a variety of trees at Garden in the Woods. Appropriate for landscape professionals as well as property owners who want to know how to decide what can be done and when to call a professional arborist.
    Fee: $30 for Arnold Arboretum or NEWFS members, $36 nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    oldetreep.jpg (114090 bytes)

  • Saturday, October 24 – Boston CROP Hunger Walk

    The Union United Methodist Church is hosting the first ever CROP Walk (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) on October 24. It’s a six-mile walk through the South End, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain to raise funds for local hunger relief and anti-poverty programs, including The Food Project! For more information, or to donate online, visit http://www.churchworldservice.org/bostonma.

    CROP Hunger Walks help children and families worldwide — and right here in the U.S. — to have food for today, while building for a better tomorrow. Each year some two million CROP Walkers, volunteers, and sponsors put their hearts and soles in motion, raising over $16 million per year to help end hunger and poverty around the world — and in their own communities.

  • Saturday, October 17, 9:30 – 12:30 – Essential Elements of Botanical Drawing: Getting It Right

    Are you a beginner or even an advanced artist in need of a basic approach to drawing? Jump-start your drawing skills in this five session class with Jeanne Kunze, illustrator and Instructor in Art History and Studio Art. The techniques she teaches are designed to develop accurate observation and definition of shape–both essential to artistic renderings, botanical or not. Learn to represent plants through specialized observation and sketching exercises and techniques for making proportional measurements, depicting foreshortened petals, flowers, and leaves and representing perspective and compositional balance. Jeanne will help you develop your illustration skills through class demonstrations, exercises, and individual teaching moments. Class meets at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Visitor Center, and is co sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum and the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture.  The first class is October 17, and remaining classes will take place Saturdays October 24, October 31, November 7, and November 14, all 9:30 – 12:30.   To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu, or www.wellesleycollege.edu/WCFH.

    http://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/uploads/2007/09/sassafras_drawing.jpg