Boston Flora

Tag: Tower Hill Botanic Garden

  • Saturday, October 26, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Hydrangea Success

    Hydrangeas continue to be a very popular woody ornamental genus. Widely grown along the New England coastline – and increasingly in more interior locations – they create something special in so many gardens. Mal Condon’s October 26 discussion at 2 pm at Tower Hill Botanic Garden will cover a broad range of best practices for growing hydrangea successfully in your gardens – from the technical perspective to the all-important ‘dirt under the fingernails’ Issues.

    Sponsored by the New England Hosta Society. Free with admission to the Garden.

    A lifelong gardener, Mal Condon has been collecting, propagating, and growing hydrangeas for more than 40 years. He and his wife Mary Kay operated Hydrangea Farm Nursery on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts for many years. It was a well-known specialty nursery featuring a touring garden containing one of the largest hydrangea collections in the Northeast. In February 2014 they moved to Yarmouth Port on Cape Cod, where they are continuing their passion establishing a significant new garden. Mal is Curator of Hydrangeas at Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, MA, a former President of The Cape Cod Hydrangea Society, and the ‘hydrangea whisperer’ for several major residential landscapes on the Cape.

  • Wednesday, October 23, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm – Sunflowers and Magic

    Betsy Williams and Tower Hill Botanic Garden present a flower arranging class on October 23 from 10:30 – 12:30 at Tower Hill, 11 French Drive in Boylston. Decorate your home with the beauty of fall flowers and the storied protective powers of the Herbs of Halloween. We’ll combine the vibrant hues of autumn flowers with accents of ancient Halloween magic to create a truly magical centerpiece. Make a long lasting, richly colored arrangement of glowing sunflowers, chrysanthemums, grains, garlic and a selection of Halloween’s most magical herbs and flowers. You’ll learn the stories and ancient magical uses of the flowers and herbs as you work. Please bring an apron and floral scissors to class. Fee ($75 for Tower Hill members, $89 for nonmembers) includes all 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.

  • Sunday, October 13, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Fairy House and Garden in a Basket

    Are there fairies at the bottom of your garden? (Even if there aren’t it’s great fun to pretend!) Build a house and little garden that just might entice the wee people to come and play. Begin by planting lacy ferns and trailing ivy to ensure the little people a bit of privacy. Then, using bark, leaves, twigs and other natural materials, create a charming little home that any fairy would be pleased to live in. The construction site is an attractive basket that is easily carried home. Once the house is built, begin landscaping – lay out paths, design a garden, build a twig fence or install a small pond. When finished your Fairy House and Garden can be enjoyed in a secluded, shady spot in your garden or in your home. The October 13 Tower Hill Botanic Garden class includes all materials, plants and decorative accents. Please bring a pair garden/floral scissors with you. This class is geared to adults but teens are welcome. Time is 1:30 – 4, and the cost is $65 for Tower Hill members $79 for nonmembers. 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.

  • Saturday, October 12, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Cultivating Grapes for Eating, Wine, and Juice

    Come to Tower Hill Botanic Garden on October 12 at 1:30 pm and learn about selecting and cultivating grape varieties which thrive in Massachusetts and the rest of New England, for fresh grapes, juice, or wine. The talk will cover how to select the perfect site for your vineyard, whether on a farm, suburban home, or village/city lot, as well as how to plant, prune, and manage your new vineyard, and how to harvest your grapes. The grape varieties covered will include disease resistant and cold hardy varieties, including 19th century heirloom varieties that were developed in New England, such as Agawam, Salem, and Massasoit and in the Hudson Valley, such as Jefferson, Empire State, and Bacchus, and varieties developed in France and other parts of the United States. Wines will be poured to during the class to highlight the kinds of wines that you will be able to make from these grapes.

    Must be 21 years or older. Tower Hill member price $30, nonmembers $44. Register at www.towerhillbg.org

    J. Stephen Casscles is an accomplished author, grape grower, winemaker, horticultural historian, and lawyer. Stephen has been a winemaker at the Hudson-Chatham Winery, in the Hudson Valley for the past 10 years, but has been making wines from grapes, apples, and other fruits for the past 40 years. In addition, he has a 12 acre fruit farm, Cedar Cliff, in Athens, NY. At Cedar Cliff, he grows over 75 different grape varieties which he evaluates for their prowess in the field and potential to make quality wines. For the past 15 years, Mr. Casscles has been concentrating on growing and evaluating 19th century Heirloom grape varieties that were developed in the Hudson Valley and on Cape Ann and Boston’s North Shore. As an author, Stephen wrote Grapes of the Hudson Valley, which includes chapters on how to make and bottle wines. Further, he writes wine and grape growing articles for regional and national horticultural and wine industry journals. His research and interest has recently expanded to include the study of grape culture and winemaking activities in Korea.

  • Thursday, October 10, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Worcester Victory Gardens

    During WWII, people across the country started gardens anywhere from their own yards to schools and rooftops to supplement rationed food. Do you remember working on a Victory Garden? Would you like to tell us about it? If not, maybe your parents or grandparents had a Victory Garden, or there was one in your neighborhood. But a lot of people might not know where they were in the area, or that they were an organized effort, including classes on preserving produce through the winter. On Thursday, October 10 at 6 pm, join Tower Hill’s Community Garden History Project, organized through the Tower Hill Botanic Garden Library, for a free presentation on the details and locations of Victory Gardens right in Worcester. Registration requested at www.towerhillbg.org

  • Thursday, October 3, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Shade Gardens

    We are fortunate in New England to have a rich canopy of trees in our landscape. Who doesn’t love the majesty of a mature specimen or escaping the summer heat in a woodland. Yet, creating lush and vibrant gardens in the shade tends to frustrate even the best gardeners. How do we infuse more color, adventure and intrigue into the shade? The mood, the plants, and the conditions act as our guide. This program blends site-specific assessment, design strategies and plant options to help enliven our imagination for those shady spots. Come to Tower Hill Botanic Garden on October 3 at 6 pm to explore lightening up the dark side. Please bring a photo of your shady area. $39 for Tower Hill members, $47 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Instructor Cheryl Salatino is the principal designer and owner of Dancing Shadows Garden Design, a residential landscape design and services firm. She has been designing gardens across Massachusetts since 2002. Cheryl is a Certified Landscape Designer and a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist (MCH). She received her certificate in landscape design from the Radcliffe Seminars Landscape Design Program of Harvard University. She was awarded the status of Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist by the Massachusetts Nursery & Landscape Association (MNLA) as evidence of achieving the industry’s highest standards in nursery and landscape professionalism. Cheryl has also earned an Advanced Certificate in Horticulture and Design as part of the New England Wildflower Society’s Native Plant Studies Program.

  • Thursdays, September 26, October 24, and December 12 – Sogetsu Ikebana

    Sogetsu Ikebana is an internationally recognized school of Japanese flower arranging that places emphasis on linear perfection, color harmony, space, and form.  Some materials included.  For new students only (first Sogetsu Ikebana class) – the instructor will be in contact with the student prior to the start of the class with instructions and a list of materials to bring to class.  Flowers will be provided; however, some additional materials will be required and may be purchased from the instructor.  The instructor requests cash or check only.  Three classes will be offered – Thursday, September 26, 9:30 – 12, Thursday, October 24, 9:30 – 12, and Thursday, December 12, 11 – 1:30. Each session is $35 for Tower Hill members, $49 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Kaye Vosburgh is a Master Judge and Design Instructor for the National Garden Club as well as a Sogetsu Ikebana teacher of the highest rank, Riji.  She has won numerous medals and awards in the New England Spring Flower Show.  She teaches in New York where she used to live and in Massachusetts where she now resides.  She is a member of The Garden Club of the Back Bay. She has demonstrated in New England, Central Atlantic Region, Florida and Ecuador.  She has traveled to Japan on several occasions for conferences and lessons at the Sogetsu School.  Her favorite activity is sharing creative moments with other designers and students.

  • Wednesday, September 25, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm – Garlic and the Flowering Alliums

    Learn how to grow and use garlic, queen of the kitchen, and her strikingly beautiful cousins, the flowering alliums. Fall is garlic planting time for New Englanders, as well as time to plant the bulbs of decorative alliums. Critter resistant and easy to grow, perennial alliums boast lovely, long lasting flowers that add interest and color to the garden from May to September and, in some cases, can be dried for winter use. Learn how to grow and harvest garlic and which alliums to choose for your garden Each student will receive bulb catalogs featuring a wide selection of alliums and garlic and take home cold hardy garlic and allium bulbs to plant. This Tower Hill Botanic Garden class will take place Wednesday, September 25 from 10:30 – 12:30, and is $50 for Tower Hill members, $64 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org. Image below from www.midwestliving.com.

    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.

  • Saturday, September 14, 10:30 am – 2:30 pm – Panoramic Photography

    On September 14 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, from 1030 – 2:30, learn how to create beautiful panoramic images by taking multiple images and then combining them in Photoshop. You will learn the techniques in taking properly exposed and composed images and then combining them to create beautiful panoramic photographs using a Photoshop program. This class will be extremely hands-on and will require you to bring a camera capable of manual settings, and a tripod if you have one. If you do not have a tripod, several will be available for student use. If you have a laptop with any version of Photoshop, including Elements, bring that also. $56 for Tower Hill members, $69 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Steve McGrath is a professional freelance photographer and photography teacher who has been creating images for 20 years. Steve first began by shooting sports photography for local high schools, then weddings, and stock agencies. Then his love of the outdoors led him to focusing more on his true passion, “nature photography”. Steve was an active member of the Gateway Camera Club for many years, and has won many ribbons and awards at fairs and competitions through the group and on his own. Several of his images have been published in school textbooks. His favorite places to shoot are Acadia National Park in Maine, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and the Cape Cod National Seashore.

  • Thursday & Friday, September 12 & 13, 10:30 am – 4:30 pm – Botanical Mixed Media: Fibonacci Patterns

    As summer fades into fall, savor the warm colors of golden sunflowers and zinnias of magenta and orange. Learn about the Fibonacci sequence of numbers that forms the seed pattern of a sunflower or petals of a Zinnia. After understanding the structure, creating their complicated patterns with watercolors or colored pencils (or both) will become easier. A materials list will be sent upon registration. This Tower Hill Botanic Garden class takes place September 12 & 13 from 10:30 – 4:30, and is $156 for Tower Hill members, $170 for general public. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Carol Schwartz is an award winning artist, educator, scientific illustrator and nature themed picture book artist, with over 60 books illustrated by her. She has been an Artist in Residence at the Shoal’s Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island, ME for the past two years and teaches illustration at Eastern Connecticut State University.

    Photo of aloe vera from http://www.fibonacci.com