Boston Flora

Tag: organic gardening

  • Garden How-To Free On Line Workshops

    Horticulture Magazine’s free online Smart Gardening Workshops give you access to great garden speakers from the comfort of your own home. They have no new workshops scheduled at this time, but you can access recordings of past workshops at http://www.hortmag.com/smart-gardening-workshops. Here is a sampling:

    Dr. A’s Greatest Perennials & Annuals

    Dr. Allan Armitage talks about new and great performers for your garden. Annuals aren’t just petunias anymore—they are extraordinary, diverse and colorful. Perennials continue to excite all gardeners, and Dr. A. highlights some of the most exciting, from hellebores to heucheras, American natives and more.

    Grow Organic: Making The Transition

    Growing a beautiful and productive garden without chemicals isn’t difficult, but it does require a shift in attitude and a dose of patience. In this workshop, Jessica Walliser (pictured below) shares a new understanding of the ease and convenience of organic practices. From soil management and cultural practices to pest control and dealing with “the junkie issue” (plants that have developed a fertilizer dependency), this talk is meant to present attendees with a deeper understanding of organic practices and offer plenty of tips for ensuring a successful garden.

  • Thursday, August 20, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Art of Growing Food

    The Art of Growing Food presentation at Elm Bank on Thursday, August 20 from 7 – 8:30 will inspire you to elevate an ordinary vegetable garden to an extraordinary European inspired potager. Discover new techniques to grow food in elegant and artful ways. With gorgeous color photographs from her book, The Complete Kitchen Garden, Ellen will share six steps to easily creating a beautiful kitchen garden.

    This lecture is ideal for new and experienced gardeners or anyone interested in innovative ideas and classic design. The ultimate goal is to learn new ways to design and plant a kitchen garden for productivity, low maintenance and pure pleasure, turning work into play!

    Ellen Ecker Ogden is the author of five books, including her most recent, The Complete Kitchen Garden, and co-founder of The Cook’s Garden seed catalog. She writes many articles regularly featured in Garden Design, Eating Well, Organic Gardening, Country Gardens, The Boston Globe, The New York Times and Martha Stewart Living to name a few. She is also maintains an active website and blog. For more information about Ellen and her work, visit her website here: http://www.ellenogden.com.

    Sign up here today to reserve your space! http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ebal4dcu014e540b&llr=kzaorjcab  Mass Hort Members $15, Non-Members $20.

  • Tuesday, April 28, 6:45 pm – Eve Did Not Apply Roundup: Organic Practices for Home Gardeners

    Trish Wesley Umbrell, former Director of Education and Outreach at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, will speak at a Norwood Evening Garden Club meeting on Tuesday, April 28, beginning at 6:45 at the First Baptist Church Parish House, 71 Bond Street in Norwood.  Her talk is entitled Eve Did Not Apply Roundup: Organic Practices for Home Gardeners.  $5 donation requested, public is welcome.  For more information visit www.norwoodeveninggardenclub.org.  Image from www.strangehistory.net.

  • Tuesday, June 3, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – The Rose Kennedy Greenway: Organic Practices, Beautiful Results

    The Rose Kennedy Greenway is the mile-long ribbon of green that replaced Boston’s elevated Central Artery when Route 93 was moved underground as part of the Big Dig.  The Rose Kennedy Greenway is Boston’s only organically maintained Public Park and one of a handful of organically maintained urban parks in the United States.  Because of the Conservancy ground-up approach that encompasses all living things including soil, plants and trees, children and pets can play freely and safely on the lawns without the worry of chemicals or pesticides.  The plants are healthier, more resilient, and better able to withstand the wear of public use.  The Conservancy’s practice of not using herbicides and toxins also ensures that run-off from the parks will not pollute Boston Harbor or harm the delicate marine life.  This tour (Tuesday, June 3, 1 – 3, with a rain date of June 4) will include in depth discussion of the Conservancy’s organic horticultural practices.

    Join tour guides Conservancy Superintendent of Horticulture Stuart Shillaber, and Horticulture Foreman Anthony Ruggiero for a behind the scenes tour of the Greenway. Spanish translation will be provided for this tour.  $20.00 for ELA members, $25 for non-members.  For more information email ela.info@comcast.net.  Register at https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1010978.

  • Saturday, April 5 – Monday, April 7 – Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium

    More and more people are appreciating the health-giving benefits of active gardening and of raising their own home-grown organic produce —from sweet scented herbs to succulent fruit and vegetables. The treasures we American gardeners produce when we grow organic food and work with our hands have value beyond our personal needs, and help to support the growth of resilient communities that can better resist the pressures of modern life. Guest speakers and Colonial Williamsburg staff will share their expertise on the concept, design, maintenance, and pleasures of organic gardening and living lightly — from the ground up. Topics include brewing beer, fragrance, garden-to-table meals, herbs, heritage breeds, natural dyes, and more!  The conference is scheduled to take place April 5 – 7 in Williamsburg, Virginia.

    Co-sponsored by the American Horticultural Society and Organic Gardening. Airport Transportation information and registration information may be found at www.colonialwilliamsburg.com.

    https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/preview/~/media/Images/cw/museum/forums/garden-symposium.ashx

  • Saturday, February 16, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – The Minimal Vegetable Garden

    Join radical vegetable gardener and Garden Rant blogger Michele Owens at the Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Street, Stockbridge, on Saturday, February 16 from 1 – 3 for a lecture on the joys of vegetable gardening in the minimalist style. Since World War II, most Americans have seen supermarkets and processed foods as the height of convenience. The truth is that nothing is more convenient than ending a workday by wandering into the backyard and picking something delicious for dinner. In fact, tending a vegetable garden can take much less time every week than getting into a car, driving to a supermarket and pushing a cart around its miles of aisles. And it is certainly a more life-affirming experience! Learn why the most beautiful and ecologically sound gardens nearly take care of themselves and prove that you don’t have to quit the day job in order to have a steady source of gorgeous food outside the back door.

    Michele Owens is a joyful vegetable gardener of two decades. Her book, Grow the Good Life: Why a Vegetable Garden Will Make You Happy, Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, was published by Rodale in 2011. The New York Times called it “the best” of a “bumper crop of books about vegetable gardening,” “breezy, cantankerous and funny.” Michele is a founding partner of Garden Rant, one of the most popular and influential gardening blogs, and writes about gardening for publications that include O, The Oprah Magazine, Garden Design and Organic Gardening. She lives with her family in Saratoga Springs, NY.  $25 for BBG members, $35 for non members.  Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

  • Saturday, October 7 – Thursday, October 11 – Autumn Tour of Sonoma & Napa Valley

    Join Organic Gardening magazine editor in chief Ethne Clarke for an exclusive tour to enjoy the tastes and beauty of Sonoma and Napa Valley, California, from Sunday, October 7 – Thursday, October 11, 2012.  Experience farm-to-table dining, organic wines, artisanal pairings and gorgeous gardens at DeLoach (below) and other select boutique vineyards.  Sample prize-winning California olive oils and cheeses as well, and share in nature’s bounty on a fungi forage led by mycologist Dr. Christopher Hobbs.  Visit www.organicgardening.com/getaways for complete itinerary and reservation information.

  • Sunday, March 11, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Organic Berry Growing in the Home Garden

    Want to learn how to grow the fruits your family loves? Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are delicious and nutritious, and beloved by kids of all ages. This Tower Hill Botanic Garden course on Sunday, March 11 from 1 – 4 will cover: variety selection, planting site recommendations, soil and nutrient needs planting, spacing, mulching, pest control strategies, structural considerations (containers, netting, frames, etc.) and pruning/thinning.

    Patti Powers has been growing small fruits organically since 1978, first at her farm in Western Massachusetts, and for 26 years at Cheshire Garden in Winchester, NH. She studied Plant and Soil Science and Botany at UMass, and worked for 10 years as a researcher in the UMass Entomology Department studying insect behavior. THBG member price is $30, nonmembers $35. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Thursday, November 17, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – The Roses at the End of the Road

    With an illustrated lecture on Thursday, November 17, at 10:00 a. m., Pat Leuchtman will take us on a virtual stroll to see her country garden. The talk is part of the Mass Hort Library’s Author Series, and it is free and open to the public. The author of the new book, The Roses at the End of the Road, began planting her Rose Walk 30 years ago and will tell us about romantic old fashioned roses as well as hardy and disease resistant roses. For 30 years, she has written a column for The Recorder in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and other newspapers, which include The New York Times, the Boston Globe, and the Burlington Free Press. She has also written for magazines, including Horticulture and Organic Gardening. Her book is made up of lively essays about life among the roses and with the commonweeder.com blog. Books will be available for purchase.  Pre-registration is desirable but not required. To tell us that you are coming, please call Librarian Maureen Horn at 617-933-4912 or email her at mhorn@masshort.org.

  • Saturday, October 15 – Saturday, October 22 – A Tuscan Harvest

    Join Ethne Clarke, Editor in Chief of Organic Gardening magazine, on Organic Gardening’s premiere reader tour – a trip through the beautiful Tuscan countryside of central Italy. You’ll be stopping (and sampling) at artisanal, organic wineries, olive groves and fattoria, beguiling gardens and more; dining at local organic restaurants, and sharing cooking lessons in true Tuscan kitchens to experience the authentic foods and recipes of Tuscany.

    Ethne says “I hope you’ll come with me to learn about and savor the joy of a Tuscan harvest as celebrated in the Italian heartland. Our guide and gardening expert, Alessandro Tombelli, will share his knowledge of secret Tuscany, so it’s going to be a memorable journey – a once in a lifetime experience. Andiamo!” Touring will be by bus, with options to walk several hours on two days (walk rating: easy.) $4,995 per person, double occupancy, with a single supplement of $830, airfare not included, for the eight day, seven night trip. The tour begins in Florence and ends in Siena. Full travel services are available to meet this tour in Florence through Wayfarers’ Travel. For a complete itinerary, log on to www.thewayfarers.com/atuscanharvest.