Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society at The Gardens at Elm Bank on Thursday, August 16 from 5:30 – 8 for our summer music and arts series. Come to the gardens for a fun evening of music, tastings, and tours. Feel free to bring a picnic, blankets, or chairs to enjoy a beautiful evening in the gardens. Wine and other beverages will be for sale. Free admission. The Gardens are located at 900 Washington Street in Wellesley. For more information visit http://masshort.org.
The Northeast Region Perennial Plant Association Symposium is presented by Massachusetts Horticultural Society & the Perennial Plant Association. This year’s symposium includes four presentations led by some of the perennial industry’s best: CL Fornari, Nancy Lawson, Bobbie Schwartz, and Deb Trickett. Pre-registration required. Early Bird: $99; After August 12: $125. The event will take place Tuesday, August 21 from 9 – 3 at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley. Register by calling 617-933-4973, or visit www.masshort.org.
C.L. Fornari is a creative gardening expert (aka plant geek) who transitioned from artist to garden communicator in 1995. She is the author seven books including her latest, The Cocktail Hour Garden, published by St. Lynn’s Press. C.L. is the host GardenLine, heard on WXTK, and co-host of Plantrama, a podcast produced by Zachos and Fornari. She speaks to audiences at horticultural trade shows, garden clubs, botanical gardens, master gardener symposiums, alumni/women’s groups and neighborhood associations. In addition to speaking, radio, and writing, C.L. blogs and runs a consultation service for Hyannis Country Garden, an independent garden center on Cape Cod. In 2017 her book The Cocktail Hour Garden won awards from ASJA and GWA. She also won a GWA award in 2017 for writing on her website. In 2012 C.L. was awarded the Garden Communicator Of The Year from the Perennial Plant Association and in 2013 won three awards from the Garden Writers Association. In 2015 C.L. launched the first annual Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival, a ten-day regional celebration of open gardens. In its third year, 2017, the Hydrangea Festival raised over $43,000.00 for local non-profits.
Nancy Lawson is the author of The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife. In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces.
Bobbie Schwartz is the author of Garden Renovation: Transform Your Yard into the Garden of Your Dreams. Gardens, just like houses, sometimes need makeovers. The changes can be as minor as replacing a shrub or as major as pulling everything up and starting from scratch. No matter the size of your space or the scope of the project, the sage advice in Garden Renovation will help you turn a problem-filled yard into a paradise. Bobbie Schwartz draws on her years of experience as a garden designer to teach gardeners how to evaluate the plants and features present in their yards, determine what to keep and what to remove, choose the right plants and design plans for successful remodels, and how to know when to hire help. A gallery of before-and-after photos provides ideas and inspiration for turning a tired garden into an enlivening retreat.
Deborah Trickett, owner of The Captured Garden, is an award-winning container garden designer whose work has been featured in The Boston Globe, Garden Gate magazine, New England Home magazine and on the TV show New England Dream Home. She is a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist and a frequent lecturer on container gardening at the Boston Flower and Garden Show, as well as the Philadelphia International Flower Show. She also teaches classes and workshops at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.
In this Ikebana Workshop at The Gardens at Elm Bank, Parker House, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley on Saturday, August 4 from 9 – 12, you will create 2 Ikebana arrangements, Moribana and Heika, with Instructor and OSIMA President Hiroko Matsuyama.
Attendees should bring an Ohara Moribana container, a rectangle kenzan, a 1 x 1/4 pie kenzan, an Ohara Heika container, skewers, floral wire, floral tape, cloth and ikebana scissors. If you need to borrow any of the required items, please make arrangements with the instructor. Admission is $60. OSIMA Members receive a $30 discount code. To get your code, email russ@oharaschoolma.com. Member discounts are only available for OSIMA members. To sign up for OSIMA Membership, go to http://oharaschoolma.com/osima-membership.html Yearly membership is $25.
Register for the workshop at http://www.japansocietyboston.org/event-2997753
Extend your growing season with this hands-on Massachusetts Horticultural Society workshop on Saturday, August 4 from 10:30 – noon. Senior Horticulturist Hannah Traggis will cover succession planting and send you home with some cold-hardy seedlings. Image below from www.shtfpreparedness.com.
Hannah Traggis manages Mass Hort’s edible gardens throughout The Gardens at Elm Bank. She oversees the Seed to Table vegetable garden which produces more than 4,000 pounds of produce each year to support our educational mission and local food pantries. $25 for Mass Hort members, $35 for nonmembers. Register at http://masshort.org or call 617-933-4973.
A number of vendors will be on site at The Gardens at Elm Bank on Saturday, May 12 from 9 – 3, offering everything you need to plan, dig, plant, and enjoy your home garden space. The Gardeners’ Fair is an opportunity to find rare and unusual perennials, trees and shrubs; ready-to-plant herbs and vegetables; and tomato varieties by the dozens.
It’s also a chance to hear talks by experts, find unique garden tools, garden ornaments and accessories, as well as other gardening necessities. The fair will feature tomatoes by Allandale Farm and the Herb Society Plant Sale. The event is free for Mass Hort members, and $5 per car for the general public.
The New England Unit of the Herb Society garden will have their annual plant sale, and other plant societies will be there with exciting plants for sale. The Mass Master Gardener Association will host their Ask a Master Gardener booth and offer pH soil testing.
Mass Hort will also be hosting a Tool Sale (please consider donating your tools and contact education@masshort.org) and the Library will be selling duplicate titles from their collection. Image below from http://theswellesleyreport.com.
On Wednesday, November 9 at 7 pm in the Parkman Room at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, the Massachusetts Horticulture Society will host David Epstein. Looking ahead to winter, what can people, plants, and pets expect over the next several months? After a dry summer will the weather turn cold and snowy or are we in for another easy winter? David Epstein from WBUR and Boston.com will look ahead and let us know what we might be in for, and share how you can best help your plants recover from the drought.
David Epstein has spent 30 years as a meteorologist. He was born in Portland, Maine, and studied meteorology at Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vermont. He now teaches at Framingham State University and Colby College. He serves on Mass Hort’s Board of Trustees, is a horticulturalist and founder of GrowingWisdom. Mass Hort Member Cost: $20 Non Member Cost $30. Register online at www.masshort.org.
