Boston Flora

Tag: plant identification

  • Saturday, April 12, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Herbaceous Plant Identification

    As small, herbaceous plants begin to pop out of the soil and carpet the landscape, early spring is a great time to learn what some of these plants are and how to identify them. Join Arnold Arboretum Manager of Adult Programming and Events Sarah Nechamen for a plant ID walk in the landscape and learn how to identify plants like chickweed, creeping charlie, stinging nettle, and more.

    Accessibility: This program will traverse flat, gravel paths. Meet on April 12 at 10 am in front of the Hunnewell Building. Participants will be notified via email at least one day in advance if a program needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather, and will be notified by phone if a program must be cancelled with less one day’s notice. Click here to view our full inclement weather policy. If you have questions about the status of a program, please email publicprograms@arnarb.harvard.edu (inbox monitored on weekdays) or call the Visitor Center desk between 10:00am and 4:00pm at (617) 384-5209. You can register for the wait list at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/events/herbaceous-plant-identification/?occurrence=2025-04-12

  • Friday, April 5, 7:00 pm Eastern – Unlocking the Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes: Fresh Approaches to Identifying These Challenging Plants, Live and Online

    Join the New England Botanical Society on Friday, April 5 for its monthly meeting. Ted Elliman, MA botany/ecology instructor, retired, Native Plant Trust, and Lauren Brown, Connecticut author, VP Connecticut Botanical Society, will speak on Unlocking the Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes: Fresh Approaches to Identifying These Challenging Plants. Non-members may register for the meeting access link here.

  • Saturday, May 15, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – What is That Plant?

    Join Tower Hill Botanic Garden and Leslie Duthie on May 15 at 9:30 outside at the garden for a lesson in plant identification. instead of “Hey, what has yellow petals and is growing over there?” you will learn what to look at and how to determine leaf arrangement, pick out flower parts, and look at growth habits. Then, we will use our new skills in the inner park and a field guide to actually identify what that plant is! We will provide a field guide to use for each person. Bring a hand lens and your enthusiasm!

    Leslie is the horticulturist/plant propagator at Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary in Wales, MA where she gardens for wildlife and habitat types. She has 40 years of experience in native plant gardens.

  • Monday, December 7, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Winter Weeds

    With winter approaching, most flowers and leaves are long gone, but that doesn’t mean we can no longer identify the plants that produced them. This Wright-Locke Farm class on December 7 with naturalist and past Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker “Boot” Boutwell will focus on the identification of winter weeds which remain standing well into or through the winter. Our walk will focus on plant identification as well as fun and interesting natural history about the plants we see. Children 10+ are welcome to register if accompanied by a registered adult. Masks are required. $30 per person. Register at https://www.wlfarm.org/adult-education-programs/

  • Saturday, September 19, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Identify Your Landscape Plants

    This Massachusetts Horticultural Society live seminar will be a fast paced review focusing on the identification and placement of ornamental landscape plants & natives, to encourage sustainable landscape design practices. This offering will introduce species of the common native and non-native ornamental plants used in landscape architecture, horticulture, and urban forestry in New England. This seminar will approach plant identification from a horticultural perspective, covering basic plant morphology and botany to aid in the understanding of plant identification, also touching on the horticultural, cultural, and environmental requirements of each plant in relation to practical application. Instructor Nicole Forsyth will lead the class in the Cheney Classroom of the Education Building, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, on September 19 from 10 – noon. $60 for Mass Hort members, $80 for the general public. Register at www.masshort.org or contact Allison Dash at 617-933-4973.

  • Saturday, May 16, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Identify Your Landscape Plants – Cancelled

    On May 15 at 10 am, join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society at the Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, for a botany and plant morphology review, and walk the grounds to learn how to identify common plants in your landscape.

    This seminar will be a fast paced review focusing on the identification and placement of ornamental landscape plants & natives, to encourage sustainable landscape design practices. This offering will introduce species of the common native and non-native ornamental plants used in landscape architecture, horticulture, and urban forestry in New England. This seminar will approach plant identification from a horticultural perspective, covering basic plant morphology and botany to aid in the understanding of plant identification, also touching on the horticultural, cultural, and environmental requirements of each plant in relation to practical application.

    Instructed by Nicole Forsyth, Norfolk County Agricultural High School Plant Science Instructor & Alumni. Workshop fee is $60 for Mass Hort members, $80 General Admission. Register online at www.masshort.org. In view of the continuing Covid-19 situation, please check the Mass Hort website for updated cancellation information before going.

  • Sunday, October 21, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – New England Plant Diversity, Session 1

    This New England Wild Flower Society class with Arthur Haines on October 21 from 1 – 4 at Garden in the Woods addresses the vocabulary needed to understand plant identification and classification based on vegetative and reproductive structures. An introduction to plant nomenclature, phylogeny, and scientific names is also provided. Co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissioners. $46 for NEWFS members, $54 for nonmembers. Register online at www.newenglandwild.org.

    Image result for New England Plant Diversity Arthur Haines

  • Saturday, October 5, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Plant Identification: What is That Beautiful Plant and How Can I Grow It?

    The Ecological Landscaping Association will sponsor a free Eco-Tour on Saturday, October 5, from 10 – 12 at Cold Spring Park, 1200 Beacon Street in Newton, Massachusetts.  The tour will provide access to dozens of plants that Bruce Wenning, an ELA Board member since 2003 and a regular contributor to the ELA Newsletter and the Newton TAB, will identify and discuss.  Learn plant identification skills, learn the names and growing characteristics of some plants that you recognize, discover the name and characteristics of plants new to you, and learn growing tips on plants that you might want to consider for your own landscape.  This will be a slow paced walk, with more time spent discussing plants than walking.  The event is free but please book your place as numbers are limited.  Call 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net.

    http://www.newtonconservators.org/art/harries/Newton%202_1.jpg

  • Saturday, June 12, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – The Essentials of Garden Maintenance

    The Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road, West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, will hold a lecture and field study afternoon on Saturday, June 12, from 1 – 3 with Elisabeth Cary. After the first bloom of spring, as summer advances, the perennial border can often lose its lovely appearance. Learn how to keep the perennial border looking its best all season long by shaping perennials to produce more flowers, encouraging new growth, staggering bloom times, discouraging pests and encouraging vigorous plant health. Simple techniques for pruning, shaping, pinching, thinning, deadheading and staking perennials will be discussed and demonstrated. Weed control and mulching will be covered.

    Elisabeth Cary is the Director of Education at the Berkshire Botanical Garden and has been gardening for over twenty years. She specializes in perennial, vegetable and mixed border gardens. She teaches woody plant identification for the horticulture certificate program and perennial and vegetable gardening for beginners.  The class is $18  for BBG members and $24 for non members.  You may register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or by calling 413-298-3926.  Image below from www.thegardenerseden.com.

    http://www.thegardenerseden.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/perennial-borders.jpg