Join Bigelow Nurseries President Pat Bigelow on a behind-the-scenes walking tour through the garden center, wholesale yards and nursery production area, on Sunday, September 13 from 1 – 3. Bigelow Nurseries, family owned and operated since 1913, is located on West Main Street in Northborough, Massachusetts, and this exclusive opportunity is presented by Tower Hill Botanic Garden. $20 for THBG members, $25 for nonmembers. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.
The Rebuild, an art exhibit at Tower Hill Botanic Garden running from September 1 – October 4, presented by Danielle LaPointe, a Dedham resident, explores the development of internal and physical structures and will have an opening reception and gallery walk on Wednesday, September 2, at 6 p.m.
The nonprofit Tower Hill Botanic Garden is located at 11 French Drive in Boylston, Mass. For more information, visit towerhillbg.org or call 508-869-6111.
Experience a behind the scenes tour of historic Allandale Farm, the Boston area’s last working farm, on Saturday, August 22 from 10 – noon with General Manager John Lee. Visit the greenhouses and fields and learn about the history of the farm as well as its current sustainable agricultural practices. Also included will be a visit to the Brandegee Estate gardens (pictured). Meet at the farmstand. The trip is sponsored by Tower Hill Botanic Garden, and is $20 for THBG members, $25 for nonmembers. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.
Learn to make a sumptuous bento box lunch for a summer picnic at a Sunday, August 16 class (11 – 1:30) at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston. In this hands-on workshop you will create the colorful rice salad called chirashizushi: a mélange of vegetables, and shrimp atop seasoned rice, Accompanying the rice will be a variety of tasty side dishes like seaweed salad, miso salmon and, for dessert, an icy treat called kakigori. We will use some of the garden’s Japanese herbs in the bento box. Debra Samuels, author of My Japanese Table, will include a short presentation on Japanese cuisine and culture. $55 for THBG members, nonmembers $65. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.
Natalya Zahn’s Birds and Bees and Tulip Trees illustrates the relationships between North American plants and their pollinators. The Tower Hill opening reception and gallery walk for this Boston area artist will be Saturday, August 8, at 1 p.m. The nonprofit Tower Hill Botanic Garden is located at 11 French Drive in Boylston, Mass. For more information, visit towerhillbg.org or call 508-869-6111.
Travel to Little Compton, RI, for an owner-led tour of the unique Sakonnet Garden. Lunch will be at Carolyn’s Sakonnet Vineyard, followed by a winery tour and tastings of their award-winning wines.
Sakonnet is a secret garden embedded within a native coastal fields landscape. At the diminutive scale of a cottage garden, it is conceived as an intimate place to explore, with multiple paths leading one onward to unexpected experiences. Each outdoor room reflects the owner’s ongoing experiments with lighting, space, color mixing, collecting and growing wonderful plants.
Sakonnet Vineyard’s microclimate and soil conditions resemble the maritime climate of northern France, allowing for production of some of New England’s most popular and distinctive wines. The trip is sponsored by Tower Hill Botanic Garden, and you may register online at www.towerhillbg.org. THBG Member $125, Non-member $140, includes bus transportation, guided tour of garden, lunch, and winery tour and tastings.
Watch Michael Levin create a finished specimen bonsai from raw nursery stock while sharing his tips on sculpting, pruning, wiring, repotting and more. This Saturday, August 1 class will take place at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. Learn about bonsai care and maintenance from A to Z, with plenty of time for Q & A. Michael Levin is a principal of Bonsai West, and the fee is $15 for THBG members, $25 for nonmembers. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.
Tower Hill Botanic Garden will host Professor Daniel Chamovitz of Tel Aviv University on Wednesday, July 22 from 7 – 8 pm for a lecture and book signing. Highlighting the latest in plant science, renowned biologist Professor Daniel Chamovitz takes us into the lives of different types of plants and draws parallels with human senses to reveal that we have more in common with sunflowers and oak trees than we realize. What a Plant Knows was listed as one of the Top 10 Science Books on Amazon and has been featured on the BBC, NPR, and CBS. Tower Hill members $15, nonmembers $25. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.
The Daylily Show returns to Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Saturday, July 25, and is open to the public from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Come see hundreds of the finest daylilies grown in New England. Divisions based on size and form will be judged by experts. The exhibition, presented by the New England Daylily Society, is a rare opportunity to view the incredible diversity of daylilies, the most popular and easiest to grow perennial, and to participate in raffle drawings as well as a workshop on how to divide a daylily clump. While on site, visitors can also explore Tower Hill’s 175 cultivars and three distinct species of daylilies interspersed throughout the formal gardens.
Admission to Tower Hill not only includes the flower shows, but access to the impeccably-maintained formal garden areas, as well as the gift shop, art gallery, and restaurant. For children there are easy trails, blooming flowers, butterflies, frogs, the vegetable garden, scavenger hunts, and more to explore. The nonprofit is located at 11 French Drive in Boylston. For more information, visit towerhillbg.org or call 508-869-6111. Picture of ‘Alpine Snow’ daylily from www.daylilies.net.
Learn how to reduce the pain and strain of gardening by using proper tools and body mechanics. The Wednesday, July 22 Tower Hill Botanic Garden lecture will be followed by hands-on demonstration of proper tool use. The class will be held from 10 – 11:30, and will be repeated Saturday, August 15 at the same times. $15 for THBG members, $25 for nonmembers. Mary Panda has been working as a physical therapist and certified hand therapist for over thirty years. She is an avid gardener and was involved in establishing a community garden in Ashland MA. She has given this lecture and demo to many garden clubs and shares information to enhance everyone’s ability to garden through the use of proper tools and body mechanics. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.
