Boston Flora

Tag: Vermont

  • Saturday, June 15, 6:45 pm – Vermont’s Contribution to New England’s Rare Flora

    The New England Botanical Club is sponsoring an Away Weekend in Vermont June 14 – 16, and on Saturday, June 15, welcomes Bob Popp of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, a botanist from Barre, Vermont, speaking on Vermont’s Contribution to New England’s Rare Flora. Bob’s talk will focus on the rare plants in the Champlain Valley. The lecture will be held at the Vermont Grange Center, 308 West Street in Brookfield, Vermont. Several workshops and field trips are planned for the weekend. The registration fee will cover accommodations at the Center, plus meals and activities. Reduced student rates and scholarships are available. For more information contact Matthew Charpentier at mpcharpentier93@gmail.com.

    Registration deadline is June 7. The complete weekend program schedule is available at http://www.rhodora.org/meetings/notices/June2019-Away-Vermont-Schedule.pdf

  • Saturday, April 19, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Northern Gardening Symposium

    Three dynamic speakers will explore natural gardening practices, landscaping with native plants, and the use of native plants to promote healthy living for generations to come, at the Northern Gardening Symposium to be held Saturday, April 19, from 9 – 3 at Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center, Vermont.

    You will hear Miriam Goldberger, founder and co-owner of Wildflower Farm, speak on Taming Wildflowers: From Seed to Vase, A Celebration, Guide, and Users’ Manual. The book Taming Wildflowers: Bringing the Beauty and Splendor of Nature’s Blooms into Your Own Backyard is a seductive celebration of wildflowers featuring lush photos from the author’s one-hundred-acre flower farm. Both practical and inspirational, this lively workshop teaches attendees how to grow hardy perennial wildflowers from seed, identify wildflower seedlings, incorporate wildflowers into gardens, garden to support pollinators, and harvest flowers.

    Dan Jaffe, Propagator and Stock Bed Grower for New England Wild Flower Society, will present Design-less Gardening: A Naturalistic Approach. Disregard traditional design rules and adopt a new approach to garden design. Look to nature for your inspiration. What clues can you take from your landscape to help you provide the right plant for the right place? Learn to evaluate sunlight, moisture, soil, and other factors to create a successful garden that does not require many inputs in the way of watering, fertilizing, or extra coddling on your part. Learn to create a low-maintenance garden that actively supports the environment and provides beauty for both people and pollinators.

    Finally, Uli Lorimer, Curator of the Native Flora Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, explains how the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Expands its Native Plant Collection. Uli Lorimer explains how Brooklyn Botanic Garden has expanded its century-old native plant collection to serve important conservation and educational goals. The expansion sets a new benchmark for native plant displays. As the tree canopy has matured over the last one hundred years, sun-loving communities such as grasslands, serpentine and pine barren plants have suffered. The expansion reintroduces these plant communities with strict parameters. 150 new species have been added to the collection with nearly 30 species of conservation concern.

    The event fee is $47 for New England Wild Flower Society members, $53 for nonmembers. Cosponsors: The Fells, Hardy Plant Club, Friends of the Hort Farm, Vermont Master Gardeners. To register, call 508-877-7630 x 3303 or email lreed@newenglandwild.org.

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  • Friday, April 12 – Sunday, April 14 – The 10th Annual Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium

    The 10th Annual Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium will take place April 12 – 14 at the world-class Equinox Resort in Manchester, Vermont.  Day only rates are available, as well as overnight symposium packages.  On Friday, April 12, at 7 pm, Presenter Kerry Ann Mendez, garden designer, author and consultant, will welcome guests and speak on The Art of Shade Gardening: Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark.  On Saturday, from 9 – 4, the Gardener’s Marketplace will be open, and past Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker Rich Pomerantz will speak on Design Strategies for Great Gardens.  Jessica Walliser, horticulturist, author, teacher and radio show host, will speak on The Benefits of Beneficials  and Heather Poire of Bailey Nurseries will give a session on Sensational Flowering Shrubs for the Landscape.  After lunch, Ruth Rogers Clausen, former editor of Country Living Gardener, will speak on Successful Gardening in Deer Country.  Saturday winds up with another talk by Kerry Ann Mendez on The Dazzling New Perennial Line-Up for 2013. 

    Sunday will start with an Ask the Experts Panel at 9 am, followed by Jessica Walliser on Forgotten Garden Combinations and the Fabulous Beekman Boys, owners of the Beekman 1802 organic product line, speaking on The Heirloom Life.  Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell have a passion for organic gardening and ‘the simpler life’. They will talk about how the notion of history and permanence influences every aspect of Beekman 1802 from what they do in the garden to the products they produce. Dr. Brent is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and was Vice President of Healthy Living at Martha Stewart Living Omni Media. He writes for The Huffington Post, and is now CEO of Beekman 1802. Josh is the New York Times bestselling author of “The Bucolic Plague”, “I Am Not Myself These Days”, and “Candy Everybody Wants”. Kilmer-Purcell is a monthly columnist for OUT magazine and a contributor to NPR.

    For complete registration information visit www.pyours.com/symposium.  To book online, go to www.equinoxresort.com.

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  • Saturday, September 17, 12:15 pm – 4:00 pm – Anatomy of a Vermont Barn

    Tour six barns this Saturday dating from 1790 to 2009 in Weathersfield, Vermont, with local experts Steven Melanson and Willis Wood. Learn about barn history, timber framing, and other construction techniques. Melanson is an architectural historian, preservation consultant, and preservation carpenter. Wood is a longtime member and past president of the Weathersfield Historical Society. During lunch, join Historic New England’s Preservation Stewardship Manager and Vermont native Caitlin Corkins for a discussion about the state Barn Census and the unique grant program that works with private owners to preserve area barns. Co-sponsored by the Weathersfield Historical Society.

    Tour begins at 12:15 p.m.  The fee to attend is $10 for Historic New England and Weathersfield Historical Society members, $15 for non-members. For an additional $10 per person, an optional box lunch is available at 11:15 a.m. Lunch will be held across from parking lot on Center Church Road. Bring chair or blanket for seating. Transportation between barns is by bus. Light refreshments follow the tour.

    Despite the damage caused in parts of Vermont by Hurricane Irene, our local partner has confirmed that this program can still take place. Registration is required. Please call 978-744-0440 for more information. Purchase tickets now on line at https://shop.historicnewengland.org/p-7321-anatomy-of-a-vermont-barn.aspx.  Photo by Nanci Nutile-McMenemy.

  • Wednesday, August 18, 1:00 pm – Ceremonial Tree Planting

    The Town of Waitsfield will receive a fruit orchard consisting of a variety of fruit trees including: apples, pears, and cherries! This new orchard will benefit Waitsfield’s tradition of conserving land to yield long-term health, sustainable food production and community engagement. All are invited  for the groundbreaking and planting celebration on  Wednesday, August 18 at 808 Old County Road in Waitsfield, Vermont, beginning at 1:00 pm.  The schedule is as follows:
    1:00 pm: Project overview and introductions (Town of Waitsfield; Fruit Tree Planting Foundation; Edy’s Fruit Bars)
    1:15 pm – 1:30 pm: Ceremonial Tree Planting
    1:30 pm – 4:30 pm: Tree planting; Edy’s Fruit Bars sampling; strawberry plant give-away

    The orchard is being planted through a grant from Edy’s Fruit Bars, in partnership with the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, to provide an ongoing source of fresh fruit to the Town of Waitsfield.  Members of the Town of Waitsfield, the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation and Edy’s will be on hand to plant the trees, with Edy’s providing refreshing Edy’s Fruit Bars to members of the community.

    RSVP to Melanie Fitzgerald, Zenzi Communications at 858-523-9020; or email Melanie.fitzgerald@zenzi.com or call Kim Goeller-Johnson, Edy’s,  510-601-4211; or email kim.goeller-johnson@edys.com.

  • Wednesday, May 5, 10:00 am – Backyard Biodiversity: Conservation Biology for the Landowner

    We are all responsible for the species that share the space we own or maintain, and our management decisions can have severe consequences for these species, and hence for the health of our communities. Richard Enser will speak on Backyard Biodiversity: Conservation Biology for the Landowner at the May meeting of The Garden Club of the Back Bay beginning at 10 am at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Rick will suggest things we can do and things we should stop doing to better manage our land for the promotion of native biodiversity. Richard Enser developed this talk based on his 30 year experience with the Rhode Island Natural Heritage Program. He retired from that position and moved to Vermont in 2006, and now offers his services as a consultant on biodiversity issues, especially to landowners on how to manage their properties in ways that are most beneficial to preserving biodiversity. An optional lunch ($19) with our speaker will follow the meeting, but pre-registration is essential.  Garden Club members will receive a written notice of the meeting, but the public may attend by contacting info@bostonflora.com. The Club will respond with registration instructions. Photo below by Richard Enser.

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  • Friday and Saturday, October 23 and 24 – Garden Gate Magazine Program at The Sagamore

    This program generated a lot of interest when it was initially scheduled for March 2009. But due to the massive renovations the resort was undertaking, the program was rescheduled for October 23 & 24, 2009. The Sagamore’s multi-million dollar facelift will provide the perfect setting for an unforgettable gardening event. Overnight package and day only rates are available.

    Garden Gate magazine (http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/), the program sponsor, is an outstanding publication that is pure pleasure to read. Features include top plant picks; detailed garden plans; maintenance tricks and techniques; featured gardens used to illustrate design tips; what’s new in garden products and plants; how-to-do or build fun projects; and much more. And there are no advertisements! All program participants will receive a complimentary, one-year subscription to Garden Gate, a $24 value.

    The program kicks off 7:00 p.m. Friday night (October 23rd) with a lively PowerPoint presentation by Lindsay Irish, a history buff and specialist on The Sagamore’s fascinating history. A gourmet dinner in the newly renovated Trillium Restaurant follows. Saturday the fun continues with five lively gardening talks:

    *The Art and Science of the Perennial Landscape. Designing a successful landscape with
    perennials involves both art and science. Horticulturist and avid gardeners, Dr. Leonard Perry will discuss and illustrate through photos of various garden settings the aesthetic considerations and habitat considerations (the “science”) when choosing and placing flowers. Best plant growth with the least maintenance, and fewest problems, is in large part a result of picking the right plant for the right environmental habitat. The common garden habitats, with some representative and choice perennials for each, will be featured.
    *The Art of Shade Gardening – Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark. Kerry Mendez will introduce
    you to some perennials, flowering shrubs, and annuals that steal the show in less than sunny
    areas. Discussion includes design tips and as well how to care for low-maintenance gardens.
    *Some of the Newest and Best Annual Flowers. Dr. Perry has managed the All-America
    Selections Flower display garden in Burlington, Vermont for 25 years. He’ll illustrate some of
    the best of the flowers, as well as some of the best new introductions (including perennials
    disguised as annuals), for outstanding performance in colder climates. Learn some tips on
    combining the many choices available through viewing some eye-catching examples.
    *Garden Thugs in Disguise. As an undercover agent on the lookout for garden thugs being
    promoted as valued perennials, Kerry Mendez will blow the whistle on plants that become
    maintenance nightmares despite what the plant tags tell you. Some of these impersonators
    may surprise you. She’ll also share how to corral the ones already in your gardens and
    give some helpful trade secrets on jump-starting gardens in the spring.
    *Floral Design with Flare! Join Tanya Sawn as she shows you how to make incredible
    floral arrangements for your home as well as unique gifts. Tanya does all of the floral displays
    for The Sagamore’s grandiose hotel and special events. The talk includes a tour of the resort’s
    new floral workshop.

    Dr. Perry

    is the Greenhouse and Nursery Extension Specialist for the University of Vermont. He is a frequent guest on the television show Across the Fence as well as on the radio. Professor Perry, along with graduate students, has an active research program on all aspects of perennial production and overwintering. Communities across the U.S. have met him through his past role as a judge for the America in Bloom program. Dr. Perry is becoming known across North America for his internet web site– Perry’s Perennial Pages (www.perrysperennials.com) which features information, links, news articles, research and more on herbaceous perennials.

    If you’ve never stayed at The Sagamore before, you’re in for a treat. Even if you have, you’re still in for a surprise when you see the completed multi-million dollar renovations. It seems no expense is being spared to create a spectacular resort featuring fine dining, accommodations, health spa, and other amenities.

    The Friday night package includes a presentation on The Sagamore’s history,
    gourmet dinner, room accommodations, Saturday’s breakfast, five gardening talks,
    handouts, garden catalogs, door prizes, and a garden gift. The single rate is $336; a
    double room is $507 ($253.50 per person). Weekend packages include all of the
    above plus Saturday’s dinner and accommodations as well as Sunday’s breakfast. The
    single weekend package is $597; $864 for a double room ($432 per person).     Taxes
    and gratuity are additional for all packages    .     These are incredible package prices
    given the usual one night room rate is $410!     For reservations, please call The
    Sagamore at (866) 385-6221 and ask for the fall gardening package.

    The Saturday day only rate is $89 per person. This includes five garden talks on
    Saturday, morning coffee, handouts, catalogs, door prizes and a garden gift. Registration for
    day only guests is through Perennially Yours. Please visit
    www.pyours.com/gardenclasses.htmlor call me at (518) 885-3471.