Boston Flora

Tag: Tower Hil Botanic Garden

  • “Buy a Tree, Give a Tree” Heirloom Apple Orchard Fundraiser

    “Buy a Tree, Give a Tree” Heirloom Apple Orchard Fundraiser

    Would you like to own a piece of Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s history while contributing to its future? The “Buy A Tree, Give a Tree” fundraising campaign is underway. For $200 you can select an apple tree sapling grown from trees in our historic heirloom apple orchard. For this price, you’ll receive a tree of your own to be picked up in the spring and you’ll make a tax deductible contribution to the garden’s horticulture operations as we complete the renovation of our historic heirloom apple orchard.

    You’ll be able to choose your tree from one of 119 heirloom varieties that are part of the Davenport Collection at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. Your tree was propagated by grafting scionwood collected from a tree in the Davenport Collection by Fedco Trees in Maine. Tower Hill began restoring this historic and important collection in 2019, when the existing trees in the collection were nearly thirty years old and showing varying signs of disease and stress that come with age. Your tree will be a two-year-old bare root branched sapling, 5 to 7 feet tall. Planting instructions will be provided at time of pick up in late winter/early spring 2021 and notification of pickup date will be emailed several weeks in advance. Bare root trees must be planted immediately following pickup.

    The apple varieties you know and love don’t “come true” when grown from seed, so they are asexually or clonally propagated through the process of grafting. Grafting allows apple growers to grow desirable named varieties that have specific properties like taste, color, disease resistance, or hardiness. For example, every Macoun apple eaten today is genetically identical to the first Macoun tree named by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in 1923. Scionwood collected from that first tree where carefully spliced onto other apple trees and apple rootstocks to create more Macoun trees. If you planted a seed from your Macoun apple, the fruit from that tree might taste similar to a Macoun, but thanks to bees transporting pollen from one variety to another, the fruit you grew from seed to tree would include notes of other apple varieties.

    To purchase, or to make a donation, visit https://www.towerhillbg.org/orchard/

  • Sunday, October 1, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Autumn Leaves in Colored Pencil

    On Sunday, October 1 from 10 – 4 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, celebrate fall by drawing a single autumn leaf in all its glory. Instruction will cover a technique of drawing in layers using colored pencils and watercolor pencils to achieve rich color, correct values, and fine detail. Helen Byers’ demo and personalized instruction will include tips for all levels. To see examples of Helen’s work and slideshows from her courses, visit helenbyers.com.

    Helen Byers is an artist, writer, editor, and educator with a background in literary and educational publishing. Her drawings and paintings have been exhibited in solo and group shows in the West and East and are held in various private collections. Her illustration credits include six children’s books and six literary book covers. Her teaching of art has included courses and workshops in botanical drawing and painting, watercolor painting, figure sketching, still-life drawing, and field sketching. $70 for Tower Hill members, $80 for nonmembers. Register online at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—botanical-art-autumn-leaves-in-colored-pencil

  • Sunday, September 11, 10:00 am – 11:00 am – The Gardens of Arne Maynard

    The Gardens of Arne Maynard is the first book on the work of one of the world’s most celebrated and sought-after garden designers working today. Based in Great Britain, Maynard is known for his award-winning gardens at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show and for his many private commissions across the world. Central to his work as a designer is his ability to identify and draw out the essence of a place, something that gives his gardens a particular quality of harmony and belonging. His work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Gardens Illustrated, The New York Times, Garden Design, The World of Interiors, House & Garden, Country Life, The English Garden, Vogue, and many more. Mr. Maynard will speak at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Sunday, September 11 at 10 am, followed by book signing. Tower Hill members $15, nonmembers $25. Register online at http://www.towerhillbg.org.

  • Saturday, January 21, 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Digital Workflow for Beginner Photographers

    If you own a digital camera and a computer, but are challenged by the basic activities of transferring, storing, and manipulating images, this Tower Hill Botanic Garden  workshop run by Steve McGrath is for you. Bring your camera and your laptop if you have one, for hands-on help on Saturday, January 21, from 12:30 – 3:30 at Tower Hill, 11 French Drive in Boylston.  Fee is $35 for THBG members, $40 for non-members.  To sign up, visit www.towerhillbg.org, or email thbg@towerhillbg.org.  Image from www.flytrapcare.com.

  • Saturday, December 10, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm – Boxwood, Fragrant Greens and Berry Centerpiece

    Create a beautiful, long lasting fresh centerpiece for the holiday season with Betsy Williams of The Proper Season on Saturday, December 10, from 10 – 12:30 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston.  Fill an attractive container with an arrangement of fresh boxwood, fragrant evergreens, California bay and rosemary, accented with sprays of berries, rose hips and pine cones.  Finish your container with a seasonal ribbon.  THBG members $60, non-members $65.  Email thbg@towerhillbg.org to sign up, or visit www.towerhillbg.org.