Boston Flora

Tag: Perennials

  • Saturday, July 18, 10:00 am – Tough Plants for Tough Times

    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.

  • Wednesday, February 4, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon – Chic Plants for Modern Gardens: A Commentary on New Plants

    Plantsman Kelly Norris will share his views on the current state of ornamental horticulture and will provide an overview of new varieties in some of today’s hottest perennial categories…all while encouraging his audience’s feedback and sass—that’s right, some new plants just aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Jump into a rousing discussion on what makes a great garden plant and why we all need to demand more from the people who make them.

    Kelly Norris is a 20-something, award winning author and plantsman from Iowa and the horticulture manager at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. He’s well known for his book, A Guide to Bearded Irises: Cultivating the Rainbow for Beginners and Enthusiasts, which won the 2013 American Horticultural Society Book Award. Kelly’s unique 10 years of industry experience began at age 15 when he talked his parents into buying a nursery (Rainbow Iris Farm), and in that time he has become one of the few gurus on marketing horticulture to emerging demographics. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Horticulture from Iowa State University. He was the youngest person to receive the Iowa State Horticultural Society’s Presidential Citation, Award of Merit and Honor Award. In 2011 he received the Perennial Plant Association’s Young Professional Award, and in 2013 he won the Iowa Author Award for Special Interest Writing. The lecture, part of New England Grows!, will take place Wednesday, February 4 from 11 – 12 in Ballroom West, Level 3. For information and fees, visit www.newenglandgrows.org.

  • Friday, April 12 – Sunday, April 14 – The 10th Annual Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium

    The 10th Annual Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium will take place April 12 – 14 at the world-class Equinox Resort in Manchester, Vermont.  Day only rates are available, as well as overnight symposium packages.  On Friday, April 12, at 7 pm, Presenter Kerry Ann Mendez, garden designer, author and consultant, will welcome guests and speak on The Art of Shade Gardening: Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark.  On Saturday, from 9 – 4, the Gardener’s Marketplace will be open, and past Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker Rich Pomerantz will speak on Design Strategies for Great Gardens.  Jessica Walliser, horticulturist, author, teacher and radio show host, will speak on The Benefits of Beneficials  and Heather Poire of Bailey Nurseries will give a session on Sensational Flowering Shrubs for the Landscape.  After lunch, Ruth Rogers Clausen, former editor of Country Living Gardener, will speak on Successful Gardening in Deer Country.  Saturday winds up with another talk by Kerry Ann Mendez on The Dazzling New Perennial Line-Up for 2013. 

    Sunday will start with an Ask the Experts Panel at 9 am, followed by Jessica Walliser on Forgotten Garden Combinations and the Fabulous Beekman Boys, owners of the Beekman 1802 organic product line, speaking on The Heirloom Life.  Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell have a passion for organic gardening and ‘the simpler life’. They will talk about how the notion of history and permanence influences every aspect of Beekman 1802 from what they do in the garden to the products they produce. Dr. Brent is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and was Vice President of Healthy Living at Martha Stewart Living Omni Media. He writes for The Huffington Post, and is now CEO of Beekman 1802. Josh is the New York Times bestselling author of “The Bucolic Plague”, “I Am Not Myself These Days”, and “Candy Everybody Wants”. Kilmer-Purcell is a monthly columnist for OUT magazine and a contributor to NPR.

    For complete registration information visit www.pyours.com/symposium.  To book online, go to www.equinoxresort.com.

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  • Saturday, October 22, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon – Putting Your Landscape to Bed

    Mahoney’s Garden Center in Concord will conduct a free seminar entitled Putting Your Landscape to Bed on Saturday, October 22, from 11 – noon.  Do you know how to prepare your roses, dahlias, delphiniums or azaleas for the cold weather?  Mahoney’s in-house expert will show you how to prepare your beds and containers for the long wintr months.  Topics covered include annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs, and the best way to winterize pottery, statuary, and fountains.  Sign up at www.mahoneysgarden.com.  In keeping with our “Japan Year” garden club program theme, below is a picture of cycads wrapped for winter in Kyoto, Japan, from Tokyo Moe, a blog about Nakano, Tokyo and public space, found at www.jaredinnakano.wordpress.com.

     

  • Friday, September 24, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm, and Saturday, September 25, 8:00 am – noon – MCD Fall Bulb and Perennial Sale

    Come to the 4H Fairgrounds, 51 South Chelmsford Road, Westford, September 24 and 25, for the Middlesex Conservation District Fall Bulb and Perennial Sale – tulips, daffodils, alliums (below), unusual bulbs, iris, perennials and garden supplies (compost bins, bulb fertilizer, kitchen scrap buckets, etc). All items may be ordered in advance through September 4 to ensure best selection. To place an order, visit the MCD website at www.middlesexconservation.org and download an order form, or call 978 692 9395 and obtain a brochure by mail. All proceeds will benefit the District�s’ conservation programs.  You may also email frances.gillespie@ma.usda.gov for brochures and directions.  Friday hours 3 – 6, Saturday 8 – noon.


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  • Friday – Saturday, July 9 and 10, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Coastal Gardens Tour

    The Rockport Garden Club presents its Coastal Gardens Tour, a tour of sixteen  private Rockport seaside gardens (ten stops), on Friday and Saturday, July 9 and 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Ten stops provide access, and each garden offers unique plantings and styles.  Most of the gardens are on the waterfront along Rockport’s spectacular coastline, while others feature ocean views.  Perennials, refreshments, and original art will be offered for sale at designated tour sites.  All proceeds will be used to maintain Rockport’s town gardens and to fund civic projects and scholarships.  This is a rain or shine event.  Admission is $25 in advance (call 978-546-5949).  Tickets may be purchased after June 1 at Toad Hall Bookstore, 51 Main Street, Rockport, at Pier & Main Gifts, 1 Main Street in Rockport, and on the week of the tour at the Visitor Information Booth, Main Street (Rte. 127).  For further information,  you may email Gretchen Anderson at ganderson8945@comcast.net, or log on to www.rockportgardenclub.org.  The picture below was taken by Francine Crawford at last summer’s tour, which she and Jolinda Taylor attended.

  • Mondays, February 8, 22, and March 1, 6:30 – 8:30 pm – Landscaping with Native Plants

    Join Michael Lance, owner and designer with Wild Regeneration, at the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum on three Mondays, February 8, February 22, and March 1, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm, for this native plant design class.  Gardeners, smitten by a display of natives at a garden center, erroneously infer all sorts of attributes from the word “native,”such as “hardy,”“resilient,”“tough,”or even “better.”All of these traits may indeed apply to any native plant; however, this is dependent on the conditions in which the plant is grown. For example, a tough native wetland plant won’t be resilient when planted along the hot, dry edge of a driveway. In this class with designer Michael Lance you will learn about native plants that would be most suitable to your garden site. Michael will present some of the plants that he incorporates when designing gardens for clients, with class sessions about native trees, shrubs, and perennials. He’ll emphasize edible and medicinal plants, trees and shrubs that exhibit ornamental characteristics, and perennials that can withstand and thrive in urban and suburban New England conditions. Throughout the class Michael will incorporate organic techniques and his philosophy for developing healthy and beneficial garden habitats.
    Fee $70 Arnold Arboretum member, $85 nonmember. To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

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  • Friday and Saturday, October 23 and 24 – Garden Gate Magazine Program at The Sagamore

    This program generated a lot of interest when it was initially scheduled for March 2009. But due to the massive renovations the resort was undertaking, the program was rescheduled for October 23 & 24, 2009. The Sagamore’s multi-million dollar facelift will provide the perfect setting for an unforgettable gardening event. Overnight package and day only rates are available.

    Garden Gate magazine (http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/), the program sponsor, is an outstanding publication that is pure pleasure to read. Features include top plant picks; detailed garden plans; maintenance tricks and techniques; featured gardens used to illustrate design tips; what’s new in garden products and plants; how-to-do or build fun projects; and much more. And there are no advertisements! All program participants will receive a complimentary, one-year subscription to Garden Gate, a $24 value.

    The program kicks off 7:00 p.m. Friday night (October 23rd) with a lively PowerPoint presentation by Lindsay Irish, a history buff and specialist on The Sagamore’s fascinating history. A gourmet dinner in the newly renovated Trillium Restaurant follows. Saturday the fun continues with five lively gardening talks:

    *The Art and Science of the Perennial Landscape. Designing a successful landscape with
    perennials involves both art and science. Horticulturist and avid gardeners, Dr. Leonard Perry will discuss and illustrate through photos of various garden settings the aesthetic considerations and habitat considerations (the “science”) when choosing and placing flowers. Best plant growth with the least maintenance, and fewest problems, is in large part a result of picking the right plant for the right environmental habitat. The common garden habitats, with some representative and choice perennials for each, will be featured.
    *The Art of Shade Gardening – Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark. Kerry Mendez will introduce
    you to some perennials, flowering shrubs, and annuals that steal the show in less than sunny
    areas. Discussion includes design tips and as well how to care for low-maintenance gardens.
    *Some of the Newest and Best Annual Flowers. Dr. Perry has managed the All-America
    Selections Flower display garden in Burlington, Vermont for 25 years. He’ll illustrate some of
    the best of the flowers, as well as some of the best new introductions (including perennials
    disguised as annuals), for outstanding performance in colder climates. Learn some tips on
    combining the many choices available through viewing some eye-catching examples.
    *Garden Thugs in Disguise. As an undercover agent on the lookout for garden thugs being
    promoted as valued perennials, Kerry Mendez will blow the whistle on plants that become
    maintenance nightmares despite what the plant tags tell you. Some of these impersonators
    may surprise you. She’ll also share how to corral the ones already in your gardens and
    give some helpful trade secrets on jump-starting gardens in the spring.
    *Floral Design with Flare! Join Tanya Sawn as she shows you how to make incredible
    floral arrangements for your home as well as unique gifts. Tanya does all of the floral displays
    for The Sagamore’s grandiose hotel and special events. The talk includes a tour of the resort’s
    new floral workshop.

    Dr. Perry

    is the Greenhouse and Nursery Extension Specialist for the University of Vermont. He is a frequent guest on the television show Across the Fence as well as on the radio. Professor Perry, along with graduate students, has an active research program on all aspects of perennial production and overwintering. Communities across the U.S. have met him through his past role as a judge for the America in Bloom program. Dr. Perry is becoming known across North America for his internet web site– Perry’s Perennial Pages (www.perrysperennials.com) which features information, links, news articles, research and more on herbaceous perennials.

    If you’ve never stayed at The Sagamore before, you’re in for a treat. Even if you have, you’re still in for a surprise when you see the completed multi-million dollar renovations. It seems no expense is being spared to create a spectacular resort featuring fine dining, accommodations, health spa, and other amenities.

    The Friday night package includes a presentation on The Sagamore’s history,
    gourmet dinner, room accommodations, Saturday’s breakfast, five gardening talks,
    handouts, garden catalogs, door prizes, and a garden gift. The single rate is $336; a
    double room is $507 ($253.50 per person). Weekend packages include all of the
    above plus Saturday’s dinner and accommodations as well as Sunday’s breakfast. The
    single weekend package is $597; $864 for a double room ($432 per person).     Taxes
    and gratuity are additional for all packages    .     These are incredible package prices
    given the usual one night room rate is $410!     For reservations, please call The
    Sagamore at (866) 385-6221 and ask for the fall gardening package.

    The Saturday day only rate is $89 per person. This includes five garden talks on
    Saturday, morning coffee, handouts, catalogs, door prizes and a garden gift. Registration for
    day only guests is through Perennially Yours. Please visit
    www.pyours.com/gardenclasses.htmlor call me at (518) 885-3471.

  • Saturday, September 25, 3 – 6 pm, and Sunday, September 26, 8 am – noon – MCD Fall Bulb and Perennial Sale

    Come to the 4H Fairgrounds, 51 South Chelmsford Road, Westford, for the Middlesex Conservation District Fall Bulb and Perennial Sale – tulips, daffodils, unusual bulbs, iris, perennials and garden supplies (compost bins, bulb fertilizer, kitchen scrap buckets, etc). All items may be ordered in advance through September 4 to ensure best selection. To place an order, visit the MCD website at www.middlesexconservation.org and download an order form, or call 978 692 9395 and obtain a brochure by mail. All proceeds will benefit the District�s’ conservation programs.  You may also email frances.gillespie@ma.usda.gov for brochures and directions.

  • Saturday, September 12, 2 – 4 pm – Tea and Garden Tour

    Join the folks from Russell’s Garden Center at the Damon-Kominz Garden in Weston for tea, a tour, and a talk! This charming and whimsical garden has been created by an avid gardener and her husband with a wonderfully eclectic collection of perennials, trees, and shrubs. Fred Dabney, from Quansett Nurseries, will discuss Fall Perennial Gardening at 2:30 p.m. while tea and scones are served. Fred will also be available for questions and suggestions regarding your garden. Please pre-register as this event is limited to 50 participants. $7.00 fee due at registration. Please call 508-358-2283. For more information, log on to www.russellsgardencenter.com .