Boston Flora

Tag: Tower Hill Botanic Garden

  • Saturday, February 1 – Tuesday, March 31 – The Orchid Show

    You won’t want to miss Tower Hill’s first-ever Orchid Show. Inspired by street art, this inaugural show is spectacular and immersive. In the Limonaia, visitors are greeted with incredible and lush displays of orchids and tropical plants, integrated seamlessly with custom-made graffiti art by local Worcester artist Croc. Colorful art displays continue throughout the Milton Gallery. Visitors will enjoy an exciting lineup of event weekends and adult and youth programming. This never-before-seen combination of street art and orchids is beautiful, dramatic, and inspiring!

    Opening weekend, Saturday and Sunday, February 1 and 2, includes paper orchid making, an artist talk with graffiti artist Croc, orchid pin making, and tours. Complete information may be found at https://www.towerhillbg.org/orchid-show/

  • Saturday, December 7, 12:00 noon – 3:00 pm – Seed Swap

    Got seeds? Need seeds? Looking for that one specific kind of heritage tomato? Drop by the Tower Hill Library on December 7 at noon – 3 and swap with other gardeners to your heart’s content! Free with admission. For information visit http://towerhillbg.org

  • Sunday, December 8, 12:00 noon – 2:30 pm – Boxwood Table Tree

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden will host a Boxwood Table Tree workshop with Betsy Williams on December 8 from noon – 2:30 at the Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston. The stories, legends, fragrances and textures of our ancient and traditional Christmas greens come to life in this lovely 20″ table tree. Made with fresh boxwood, pine, juniper, rosemary, holly, ivy and bay, the finished tree “grows” out of an attractive pot. Decorate your tree with pine cones and berries. This is a beautiful tree! It will make the perfect centerpiece for your Christmas table. You will learn the Christmas stories of each of the greens as you work. Please bring hand clippers and an apron. Fee ($80 for Tower Hill members, $90 for nonmembers) includes materials. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Betsy Williams teaches, lectures and writes about living with herbs and flowers. A gardener and herb grower since 1972, Betsy trained as a florist in Boston and England. She combines her floral and gardening skills with an extensive knowledge of history, plant lore and seasonal celebrations. Betsy is the author of several books on the uses and stories of herbs and flowers. She has appeared on the Discovery Channel and greater Boston cable stations as well as local and national radio talk shows. Betsy lectures and teaches locally and nationally.

  • Friday, December 6, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – What’s In Your Toolkit?

    Working in your yard or garden is a joyful activity made better when you are well equipped for the work. On December 6 from 11 – 12:30 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Derek Lirange will showcase a variety of common tools and their uses. He will also demonstrate the essentials of good tool care, such as cleaning, disinfecting, removing rust, and sharpening. The opportunity to see and handle these tools will give attendees a sense of how to invest in their toolbox when equipping themselves for a variety of tasks and how to keep their tools in great condition for years to come.

    Derek Lirange is the Community Forester for the Worcester Tree Initiative (WTI) program at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. He has worked for WTI since 2013 helping to coordinate programs ranging from tree planting and pruning events with volunteers to classes for children and adults on the value of the landscape in cities and towns. Derek has a Bachelors of Science in Community Forestry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist.

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden members $15, nonmembers $20. Register online at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—whats-in-your-toolkit

  • Sunday, November 24, 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm – Thanksgiving Candle Ring

    Betsy Williams will conduct a Thanksgiving Candle Ring workshop on November 24 from 12:30 – 3 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston. Decorate your Thanksgiving table with a lush wreath of boxwood, flowers and berries accented with seasonal fruits, vegetables, nuts and preserved leaves . Working in a base of wet floral foam attached to a plastic tray, we will combine flowers and leaves in rich autumn colors with vegetables, fruits, nuts and berries to create a striking harvest centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table. Properly cared for, your candle ring will last through December. When Thanksgiving is over, replace the harvest accents with winter holiday decorations. The finished ring measures about 15″ across. The center can comfortably hold candles or a compote. Be sure to bring floral scissors and an apron. Fee ($80 for Tower Hill members, $94 for nonmembers) includes all materials.

    Betsy Williams teaches, lectures and writes about living with herbs and flowers. A gardener and herb grower since 1972, Betsy trained as a florist in Boston and England. She combines her floral and gardening skills with an extensive knowledge of history, plant lore and seasonal celebrations. Betsy is the author of several books on the uses and stories of herbs and flowers. She has appeared on the Discovery Channel and greater Boston cable stations as well as local and national radio talk shows. Betsy lectures and teaches locally and nationally.

  • Sunday, November 10, 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm – Bitters and Tinctures for Health and Wellness

    Join Folk Herbalist and bartender Amber Kennedy in this instructional herbalism Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop ideal for the curious and the novice alike. The taste of bitter is an important aspect of digestive health. Regularly incorporating bitter greens, foods and herbs into meals can support healthy digestion and metabolism. In this hands on workshop you will learn how bitter herbs are vital for digestive health and overall well being and all about their more well known use in craft cocktails and mocktails. Discover the historical uses of bitters from the apothecary to the bar. Discuss the virtues and health benefits of the roots, barks, herbs and flowers we will be using in class and see and experience some of these plants and herbs close up. Learn of some ways to begin incorporating bitter herbs into your life and the various preparations they can be turned into. Sip on herbal teas and sample bitters formulas and an herbal mocktail during class. Make your own bottle of herbal bitters to bring home along with recipes and formulas for creating your own. Fee includes all materials. The class will be held Sunday, November 10 from 12:30 – 3, and is $45 for Tower Hill members, $59 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org. Image from www.surlatable.com

    Amber is a Folk Herbalist based in North Brookfield. She teaches beginners herbalism classes and Medicinal Weed Walks throughout Central MA. She also stewards a teaching garden, offers herbal wellness consultations and a yearly Herbal CSA and creates and sells a botanical product line, teas and folk remedies.

  • Saturday, November 9, 10:15 am – 4:15 pm – Horticultural Therapy

    In this Tower Hill Botanic Garden workshop on November 9 from 10:15 – 4:15, designed for educators, healthcare professionals and caregivers, learn the benefits and fundamentals of horticultural therapy. Hands-on projects and role playing will be included, as well as many more ideas for indoor and outdoor horticultural therapy projects. Fee ($85 for Tower Hill members, $95 for nonmembers) includes materials. Register at www.towerhillbg.org

    Lorraine A. Lee is a Horticultural Therapist, Certified Activity Consultant through NCCAP, Certified Dementia Practitioner and Master Gardener . She earned a Masters degree in Counseling and has 25 years experience as an educator, artist and Alzheimer’ disease clinical professional.. She is past Chairman of the Horticultural Therapy Committee for The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc.

  • Sunday, November 3, 12:45 pm – 3:45 pm – Bark: Get to Know Your Trees

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden will host a lecture on November 3 from 12:45 – 3:45 with Michael Wojtech. Tower Hill members $42, nonmembers $56. Register at www.towerhillbg.org

    The traits typically used to describe trees-leaves, twigs, and buds-are often hard to see or seasonally absent. Join Michael for this indoor presentation and outdoor exploration of bark, which is always visible, in any season. As you hone your perceptive abilities you will learn about a system for identifying tree species by their bark, and discover why such a variety of bark characteristics exist. Why do some species have smooth bark, while on others it is thick and broken? Why does bark peel?

    Michael Wojtech is the author of Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. As a naturalist and educator, Michael strives to share the science and wonder of trees in an accessible and compelling fashion. He writes, photographs, illustrates, and presents programs about the structure, growth processes, and ecology of trees-including their bark, buds, leaves, roots, and wood-for audiences at all levels of experience. He is especially interested in the process of discovery and engagement, and draws his greatest inspiration from sharing the sense of wonder, awe, and the recognition of beauty that result from these investigations.

     

  • Sunday, November 3, 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Grow Microgreens

    Learn to grow Microgreens with Tim Smith and Lisa Evans, co-founders of We Grow Microgreens, LLC. Microgreens are tender, edible seedlings of vegetables and herbs grown to the cotyledons (seed leaves) or first true leaf stages. In comparison to their mature plant counterparts, microgreens provide approximately five times more vitamins and carotenoids. Unlike sprouts, microgreens are grown in soil and only the stem and the leaves are eaten not the root as is done with sprouts. Similar to sprouts, they are valued for their high nutritional value. Microgreens can provide strong flavors, bright colors and interesting textures as garnishes for salads or entrees. Students will grow samples of Radish, Broccoli, Pea, Sunflower and Amaranth microgreens and wheat grass. The growth cycle of each microgreen will be observed and discussed. You learn about the nutrient properties and health benefits of microgreens and each microgreen will be tasted. Students will take home one tray with eight small live containers of microgreen growing samples. The Tower Hill Botanic Garden class will take place November 3 from 12:30 – 3:30 and is $55 for Tower Hill members, $69 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    We Grow Microgreens, LLC, founded by urban growers Lisa Evans and Tim Smith, specializes in growing highly nutritious microgreens using sustainable growing practices. Their greenhouse is in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. After four years of working with the City of Boston, they are expanding their farm to Hyde Park. Evans experienced the benefits of eating primarily a microgreen diet at the Hippocrates Health Institute and became fascinated with the curative properties of the tender greens. Smith is an urban gardener who has won local awards for various produce. They use potting soil as a growing medium, natural sunlight and try to find organically sourced seeds. After harvest, the soil is composted thereby creating minimal waste. We Grow Microgreens has been featured on WBZ TV, The Boston Globe, Edible Boston, and Ask This Old House.

  • Saturday, November 2, 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm – Seed Collecting

    Learn techniques for collecting, storing and stratifying seed to increase your plant collection. Not all plants produce seed that will come true, but our native plants are easy ones to collect, store and grow. The Tower HIll Botanic Garden class will spend some time in the garden collecting seed and discussing how to handle that seed, we will clean some seed and each student will have the opportunity to take home some seed. Finally we will discuss the best ways to germinate most seed. Class takes place November 2 from 1:30 – 4:30 (rain date November 3), and is $39 for Tower Hill members, $53 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Leslie Duthie 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.