Boston Flora

Tag: Polly Hill Arboretum

  • Sunday, March 22 – Thursday, March 26 – Gardens Thriving in the Desert

    The Polly Hill Arboretum Board of Directors is sponsoring a trip to Phoenix, Arizona March 22 – 26, 2015, and has a few spots available for interested garden tourists. Outside of New England, one of their favorite places is Arizona, especially in the spring. The Sonoran desert vegetation is surprisingly lush and the sunsets can be fantastic. Join them for this special tour featuring four different public gardens. They will be based in Old Town Scottsdale at the Hyatt Place Hotel, a perfect location for walking to nearby restaurants, shops, and boutiques. Gardens include: The Desert Botanic Garden, Tohono Chul Park, The Sonoran Desert Museum, and the Boyce Thompson Arboretum (pictured, courtesy of www.mustseephoenix.com.)  For more information visit http://www.pollyhillarboretum.org//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Gardens-Thriving-in-the-Desert2.pdf.

  • Thursday, August 21, 5:30 pm – A Beautiful Vision

    Please join Michael Van Valkenburgh and his associate Jason Siebenmorgen for a presentation on the design process and vision for the Polly Hill Arboretum’s future West Woodland Garden and Forest Ecology Trail, on Thursday, August 21 beginning at 5:30 pm. A wine and cheese reception begins the presentation. A free Member only event. (for membership information call 508-693-9426).

  • Thursday, July 24, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Herbal Tea Blending

    Come to the Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury on Thursday, July 24 at 1 pm learn the art of tea blending with Holly Bellebuono of Vineyard Herbs, sample her delicious signature teas, and enjoy an afternoon tea-time of healing camaraderie. Ever wonder which herbs work well in blends together? How to combine cultivated and wild herbs to make a healing tea for colds and flu? For mineral content? For soothing the stomach? Learn which herbs taste best and how to make them the most effective. Sure to be fun and very relaxing. $45/$40 for PHA members. Register by calling 508-693-9426.

    http://www.vineyardherbs.com/i/IMG_5196.jpg

  • Wednesday, April 2, 7:00 pm – American Oaks: A Genus to Love

    American Oaks are diverse, display complex ecological relationships, and play an important role in ecosystem stability.  Join Grow Native Massachusetts on Wednesday, April 2, at 7 pm at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge, to examine this wonderful genus, with an emphasis on the oaks of eastern North America.

    Tim Boland, Director of the Polly Hill Arboretum in Martha’s Vineyard, will discuss their evolutionary history, importance to flora and fauna, and challenges in a rapidly changing climate. They also have a deep connection to humanity, and are revered for their resilience, age, and multiple uses. Admission is free.  Image from www.forestertreeservice.com. For more information visit www.grownativemass.org. 

    http://forestertreeservice.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/OAK-1.jpg

  • Wednesday, September 24 – Friday, September 26 – Rhode Island Garden Tour

    Join The Polly Hill Arboretum for a visit to southeastern Rhode Island September 24 – 26. This historic area is rich with diversity, natural beauty and culture. We will be based in the Narragansett Bay town of Bristol for two nights. Thursday we travel to Little Compton to visit three spectacular private gardens, with lunch included. Friday we have a special tour at nearby Blithewold Gardens concluding with a boxed lunch at the mansion. Plan your trip to include extra time to explore many other area attractions on your own, including Green Animals Topiary Gardens, Herreshoff Marine Museum/ America’s Cup Hall of Fame, self-guided town tree tour, and more!

    Tour includes:

    Two nights at the Bristol Harbor Inn; continental breakfast included

    Transportation to Little Compton gardens

    Evening wine and cheese reception

    Boxed lunch both days

    Garden admissions: (Sakonnet Garden, pictured below, and Blithewold special tour fee)

    $150 tax deductible donation to the Polly Hill Arboretum

    Tour Price:  $500 Per person, based on double occupancy  $650 Single

    Tour size limited, sign up early!  Call 508-693-9426, or visit www.pollyhillarboretum.org.  You may also email karin@pollyhillarboretum.org.

    http://www.sakonnetgarden.com/Sakonnet_Garden/Home_files/DSC04390.jpg

  • Wednesday, September 18, 7:30 pm – Brooklyn Bridge Park: Promoting Diversity in the Concrete Jungle

    Join Rebecca McMackin, Director of Horticulture for Brooklyn Bridge Park, at the Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury on Wednesday, September 18 at 7:30 to learn about a park purposely created with ecology in mind. This 85-acre post-industrial waterfront site stretches 1.3 miles along Brooklyn’s East River edge, built in-part on old commercial piers. The park’s award winning piers include top notch recreation, from opera to outdoor films, expansive organic lawns, and fantastic food, all of it beautifully designed. But the piers also contain native woodlands, freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, and numerous meadows. These areas closely mimic native ecosystems and are managed with an emphasis on wildlife habitat.

    McMackin will discuss the many ecological strategies employed by the park’s designers, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, as well as the management techniques currently in use to cultivate biodiverse parkland. Pragmatic strategies for encouraging ecologically beneficial landscapes will be enumerated.  $10/$5 for PHA members.

    http://www.mvvainc.com/media/files/d95e43369a17ff4397983f2c294a9d70.jpg

  • Thursday, August 15, 7:30 pm – Birthright: People and Nature in the Modern World

    Join Stephen R. Kellert, of Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies to learn more about biophilia, the theory that humans have an inherent need to affiliate with nature, at the Polly Hill Arboretum on Martha’s Vineyard Thursday, August 15, beginning at 7:30 pm. In this talk he discusses nature’s powerful influence on the quality of our lives and how we must learn to only sustain those things which contribute to our own well-being. Sponsored by SBS. Book signing to follow. $10/$5 for PHA members.

    http://media.npr.org/assets/bakertaylor/covers/manually-added/birthright_custom-fd3b793d1ae24b50a6427e70119d1e3b47584ffa-s6-c30.jpg

  • Thursday, April 18, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Discover the Sprouting Grass Moon

    The Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury welcomes back volunteer and amateur astronomer Barbara Caseau for another evening of astronomy. Come learn about the object in the sky that most of us take for granted – the moon. Discover April’s “Sprouting Grass Moon” through the telescope and hear Barbara’s moon stories and legends. If you have your own binoculars or telescopes you are invited to bring them along to class. A flashlight is also suggested. Thursday April 18, 7:30-9:00pm. No Fee, “Cloud date”, April 19.  Image from www.ancientcloth.files.wordpress.com.

    http://ancientcloth.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/sdc11859.jpg

  • Saturday, April 13, 10:00 am – Camellias on Parade

    Every year the camellias at the Polly Hill Arboretum on Martha’s Vineyard put on an incredible floral display in April.  Join the Arboretum staff on Saturday, April 13, beginning at 10 am, to learn more about these wonderful plants and how Polly’s persistence in obtaining hardy specimens resulted in the display we enjoy today.  Don’t miss this walk, a sight for winter weary eyes.  $5 public fee, free for PHA members.  For directions, visit www.pollyhillarboretum.org.

    https://d2q0qd5iz04n9u.cloudfront.net/_ssl/proxy.php/http/gallery.mailchimp.com/71dfb55823414a0435c258145d7036/images/Camellia_japonica_double_5_5_2007_011_300x225.jpg

  • Saturday, March 9, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Apple Pruning

    A good fruit tree should not make a good shade tree. The primary purpose of pruning is to increase sunlight penetration, remove less productive wood, and shape the crown into an efficient, stable form. A neglected but otherwise healthy tree will usually show a marked improvement in fruit quality as a result of pruning. Join apple expert John Bunker of Fedco Trees in Waterville, Maine, for an apple tree pruning workshop at the Polly Hill Arboretum in Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, March 9, from 10 – 2. Find out how to give an old tree new life and what kind of yearly pruning maintenance will keep your fruit trees producing year after year. This workshop begins with a talk on fruit tree pruning then heads outside to a near-by orchard for hands-on pruning. Bring your pruners, lopers and/or pruning saw if you have them. Also bring a brown bag lunch.  $55/$45 for PHA members. Register at www.pollyhillarboretum.org.