Boston Flora

Tag: Smithsonian

  • Monday, October 5, 12:00 noon – 1:15 pm Eastern – Antiques in the Garden: Materials, Meanings, and the Making of Place, Online

    Gardens are at their most compelling when they hold more than plants—when they carry history, material presence, and the quiet authority of objects shaped by hand and weather. Design historian and passionate gardener Elizabeth Lay Little explores how a single obelisk can shift the mood of a border, why a cast iron urn reads differently than a concrete one, and how time-worn surfaces create depth a new object cannot imitate. Whether your garden leans cottage or formal, the right object can anchor a space, lend narrative, or simply offer a moment of stillness amid the green.

    Little examines materials—wrought iron and cast iron, concrete and cast stone, rattan and wicker— to discuss what each brings in terms of durability, patina, and presence. She demystifies auction terminology and explains what phrases like “attributed to,” “in the school of,” and “after” reveal about authorship, value, and risk. She also details where to source objects, how to assess quality, and what gives a piece lasting character.

    Drawing on her background in decorative arts scholarship, museum work, and design, Little shows how time-worn objects make gardens feel layered, personal, and lived in. October is the ideal time to begin: the right antique takes time to find, research, and place before the garden awakens again in spring.

    This Smithsonian Associates lecture takes place October 5 at noon. $25 members, $35 nonmembers. Register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/programs/antiques-in-garden

  • Wednesday, September 30, 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm Eastern – Apples of Uncommon Character, Online

    The apple may be the most diverse food plant in the world. A century ago, 16,000 varieties existed in the United States alone. Today, thanks to industrial agriculture, only a handful appear in most grocery stores, but hundreds of the most interesting varieties still exist, and a new apple renaissance has many making a comeback. Some have played key roles in American history. Some have languished in obscurity for decades, then swept to national dominance, only to be knocked off by the new apple on the block. Some deliver flavors no Red Delicious ever dreamed of. And some are coming soon to a market near you with brand-new taste surprises.

    From the explosively crisp Pixie Crunch to the dark and moody Kingston Black, the lychee-scented King of the Pippins, and America’s oldest apple, the Roxbury Russet, Rowan Jacobsen, author of Apples of Uncommon Character, explores some of the most exotic, colorful, delicious, mysterious, and downright strange apples you’ll ever meet. Profiling some of the best and brightest, the oddballs and old veterans, Jacobsen tells the tale of the apple in America and reveals a world every bit as magical as it was over a century ago.

    This Smithsonian Associates talk takes place September 30 at 6:30 pm. $20 members, $30 nonmembers. Register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/programs/apples-of-uncommon-character

  • Wednesday, September 23, 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm Eastern – Invasive Species, Humans, and Where We All Belong, Online

    In the early 20th century, U.S. government scientists and their European colleagues went to great lengths to seek out and bring home from abroad new seeds and cultivars for farms, gardens, and orchards. But in many cases these “plant explorers,” though much vaunted in their day, wound up triggering what we now consider ecological disasters: Some of their discoveries are among the 21st century’s most detested invasive species, joining others that arrived via the pet trade or through the simple carelessness of an earlier era. How did Western attitudes toward imported plants and animals change so completely within a century? The answer is a story of evolving scientific understanding, shifting political winds, and changes in how humans think about nature and our place within it.

    Through case studies, historical surveys, exploration of media coverage over the years, and conversations with both experts and the community members who serve as foot soldiers in the war on invasive species, journalist Amy Crawford explores how confronting anxieties about nature and the role of humans in a changing world can place unwanted plants and animals in a new light—and teach us all to be better stewards.

    Crawford’s new book, Undesirable: Invasive Species, Humans, and Where We All Belong (Oxford University Press), is available separately for purchase on the registration page. Lecture: $20 Smithsonian Members, $30 nonmembers. https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/programs/invasive-species

  • Wednesday, September 2, 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm Eastern – The History & Beauty of Mount Desert Island, Online

    Thoughts of Mount Desert Island off the coast of Downeast Maine often conjure up rugged granite cliffs rising above the Atlantic, fishing boats in rocky harbors, and the sweeping landscapes of Acadia National Park. But beyond these familiar images, it is a place where dramatic scenery and human history are deeply intertwined.

    Historian Ralph Nurnberger traces the island’s story from its Native inhabitants and early exploration by Samuel de Champlain through centuries of settlement and change. In the 19th century, artists of the Hudson River School were drawn to its majestic coastline and unspoiled scenery, helping establish its reputation as one of the most beautiful places in America. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it became a summer retreat for some of the country’s most prominent Gilded Age families.

    A defining chapter in the island’s preservation came through the efforts of John D. Rockefeller Jr., Harvard President Charles Wilson Eliot, conservationist George Dorr, and others whose work helped create Acadia National Park—the first established through private donations and the first national park east of the Mississippi River. The park was enhanced through the work of the Civilian Conservation Corp and then survived the devastating Great Fire of 1947.

    Together, these and other stories reveal the history and beauty of Mount Desert Island. They invite a closer look at the landscape, people, and forces that continue to shape it today and why it remains one of America’s most remarkable coastal landscapes.

    This Smithsonian Associates webinar takes place September 2 on Zoom, beginning at 6:45 pm Eastern. $20 for Smithsonian Associates members, $30 for nonmembers. Register at www.smithsonianassociates.org

  • Thursday, August 27, 6:45 pm – 8:00 pm Eastern – Whale Migration & Ocean Conservation: Protecting the Paths of Giants, Online

    Whales make some of the longest migrations on Earth, traveling thousands of miles round-trip annually. They follow routes that connect critical feeding and breeding habitats across the globe, linking distant ecosystems into a single living ocean.

    Amanda Hunter, marine biologist and polar expedition guide, considers whale migration and ocean conservation and examines the growing threats whales face—from climate-driven shifts in food availability to ship traffic and ocean pollution. Hunter also highlights conservation solutions that are making a difference. Uncover the surprising ways whales help regulate ocean health and climate, acting as powerful drivers of nutrient cycling, carbon storage, and marine productivity and reminding us why protecting these giants is essential for the future of our planet.

    This August 27 Smithsonian online program begins at 6:45 pm Eastern on Zoom. $20 Smithsonian members, $30 nonmembers. Register at www.smithsonianassociates.org

  • Tuesday, August 18, 7:00 pm – 8:15 pm Eastern – The Beasts of the East: The Fall & Rise of America’s Eastern Wilderness, Online

    Before skyscrapers and smokestacks transformed the eastern United States, the region was home to an abundance of wildlife. Elk roamed Illinois, bison grazed the prairies of Indiana, and wolves and cougars moved through forests and wetlands stretching from the Northeast to the Deep South. Environmental writer Andrew Moore, author of The Beasts of the East, revisits this largely forgotten landscape and shows how, in just a few generations, industrialization and unregulated hunting pushed many of these animals to the brink of extinction.

    Moore follows conservationists, biologists, hunters, and local communities working to return these animals to their native habitats—from bison grazing on restored Illinois prairies to elk thriving in the hills of Kentucky and red wolves roaming coastal North Carolina. As wildlife begins a remarkable comeback, Moore holds that these efforts raise questions about conservation, coexistence, and the meaning of wilderness in a modern landscape shaped by cities, suburbs, and highways.

    This Smithsonian online presentation on August 18 at 7 pm is $25 for Smithsonian Associates, $35 for nonmembers. Register at www.smithsonianassociates.org

  • Wednesday, July 22, 12:00 noon – 1:15 pm Eastern – The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center: Using the Past to Look Forward, Online

    From the country’s earliest days, Americans’ survival, economy, and cultural development have been deeply tied to the natural environment. With people’s continued reliance on nature for food, timber, medicine, and raw materials, the land has been transformed. In an era of rapid environmental change, it has become vital to better understand the world around us and protect it for future generations.

    Along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is located on a 2,650-acre campus in Edgewater, Maryland. Founded in 1965, SERC is a world leader in large-scale and long-term science that connects people and ecosystems. William “Monty” Graham, the new director of SERC, discusses the center’s work, beginning with a look at how Americans used the land and its resources 250 years ago. He provides an in-depth exploration of how SERC studies the environment through futuristic experiments in forests and wetlands. With a combination of knowledge from the past and innovative technology, Graham says, Smithsonian scientists can peer into the future for a glimpse at what the next decades and centuries hold for the United States’ environment.

    We share deep concern that the objectives of the Smithsonian have been tarnished by the current administration’s war on science and its climate change denial. This Smithsonian Associates webinar on July 22 at noon Eastern on Zoom may shed some light on what comes next. $20 for Smithsonian members, $30 for the general public. Register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/programs/serc-using-past-to-look-forward

  • Friday, May 8, 9:00 am Eastern – Mid-Atlantic Plant Research Conference, Live & Online

    Plants in the mid-Atlantic region, as well as the Northeast, are facing new challenges to their survival, growth, and reproduction due to a variety of threats, including land use change, habitat loss, climate change, and more. Invited speakers will address new research in plant science that can help us understand the challenges at hand in our wetland and coastal regions, including mechanisms of plant resistance and adaptation, and possible solutions.

    Speakers will include:

    Morgan Gostel, Director of Plant Science, Morris Arboretum & Gardens
    LeeAnn Haaf, Director of Estuary Science, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
    Dr. Jay Kelly, Co-Director, Center for Environmental Studies, Raritan Valley Community College
    Erin Lacour, Biologist, John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
    Patrick Megonigal, Associate Director for Research, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
    Catherine Seavitt, Chair, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Pennsylvania

    The program will be held in person at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens; live virtual attendance is also available. Please indicate ‘In-Person’ or ‘Virtual’ attendance at registration. Lunch is provided to all attendees. Visit https://www.morrisarboretum.org/see-do/events/mid-atlantic-plant-research-conference

  • Thursday, March 5, 6:45 pm – 8:15 pm Eastern- Wild Wood: True Tales of Trees, Online

    Soundless but sentient, trees were absent for all but the last 10% of Earth’s history yet are essential to all air-breathing life on the planet today. They are the longest-living organisms on Earth, can communicate to one another through intricate underground soil networks, and even thermoregulate, all while rarely ever dying from old age.

    Join Liana Vitali, naturalist and educator at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Maryland (and self-proclaimed tree-hugger), for an immersive audio-visual journey into the fascinatingly complicated and connected life of trees—from their first tiny emergence through the topsoil as seedlings, to their lasting value to forest life as fallen logs.

    Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, just 12 miles outside Washington, D.C., is the jewel of the Patuxent River. Its 1,700 acres of open water, tidal freshwater marshes, forested wetlands, upland and riparian forest, creeks, meadows, pine and sand barrens, and fields along the eastern shore of the Patuxent contain multitudes of welcoming habitats for a true diversity of wildlife.

    The March 5 webinar, beginning at 6:45, is $20 for Smithsonian members, $25 for nonmembers. Register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/programs/wild-wood

  • Sundays, February 8, 15, & 22, 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Eastern – Botanical Gardens of the World, Online

    Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural expert Keith Tomlinson leads a series of virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens in settings as varied as Singapore, the Arizona desert, and the American Midwest. In vibrant visuals he explores how each garden has taken a unique approach to design and interpretation as they all celebrate plant collections, conservation, education, and the distinctive environments and landscapes in which they bloom.

    Tomlinson has worked as a naturalist and public garden administrator for 25 years, visiting wilderness areas and botanical gardens around the world. He is the author of numerous articles on plant conservation, botanical garden travel, and environmental education.

    Session One on February 8 from 4 – 5:30 Eastern covers Gardens by the Bay in Singapore (pictured below). Among the most significant garden projects of the 21st century, Gardens by the Bay is a dazzling blend of horticulture, technology, and futuristic design. The Supertree Grove soars above the skyline, capturing solar power and channeling rainwater. Tomlinson explores how Singapore transformed its vision of a “City in a Garden” into a world-class horticultural wonder that unites sustainability, spectacle, and science.

    Session Two focuses on Boyce Thompson Arboretum and the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona. Nestled in the Sonoran Desert near Phoenix, Boyce Thompson Arboretum is Arizona’s oldest and largest botanical institution. Nearby, the renowned Desert Botanical Garden showcases iconic desert landscapes and research-driven conservation efforts. Together, these sites form a living library of adaptation, resilience, and biodiversity. Stroll virtually among towering saguaros, rare arid flora, and global drought-tolerant plantings while learning how these gardens serve as scientific resources and conservation refuges in a changing climate.

    The Final session starts the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Established in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden is the oldest continuously operating botanical garden in the United States and a cultural landmark of St. Louis, founded during its era as the “Gateway to the West.” Its landscapes span time and style—from the Victorian-era Linnean House to the futuristic Climatron geodesic dome—while its global research and conservation programs continue to shape botanical science today

    Each session is $25 for Smithsonian members, $35 for nonmembers, but there is a discount for registering for all three. Visit smithsonian.org