Boston Flora

Tag: Wellesley College Botanic Garden

  • Thursday, October 18, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – A Rich Spot of Earth: Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello

    Were Thomas Jefferson to walk the grounds of Monticello today, he would no doubt feel fully at home in the 1,000 foot terraced vegetable garden where the very vegetables and herbs he favored are thriving,  Extensively and painstakingly restored under Peter J. Hatch’s brilliant direction, Jefferson’s unique vegetable garden now boasts the same medley of plants he enthusiastically cultivated in the early nineteenth century.  Peter reveals the Monticello garden’s bounty and legacy and its continuing impact on the culinary, garden, and landscape history of the United States.  A Rich Spot of Earth will be available for purchase and signing at this lecture, taking place Thursday, October 18 at the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston.  Free parking.  Co-sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, The Garden Conservancy, and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.  Fee to attend for a member of any of the participating sponsors is $20, non-members $25.  To register, call Wellesley at 781-283-3094, or you may visit www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

  • Monday, August 13, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Greenhouse Tour

    There will be a special tour of the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses on Monday, August 13, from 2:30 – 4 pm.  The tour is part of the Massachusetts Botanic Gardens Reciprocal Membership Week, with the participating organizations: the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Botanic Garden at Smith College, Garden in the Woods, Tower Hill Botanic Garden, and Wellesley College Botanic Gardens.  For directions, visit www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

  • Saturday, April 28, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Rustic Trellis Building Workshop

    Craftsman Frank Hamm believes that anyone can build beautiful and functional furniture using just green tree limbs and saplings. On Saturday, April 28 (rain date Sunday, April 29) at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden, under his expert guidance, learn how to construct a terrific garden gate, trellis or side table in this half-day, hands-on workshop. You will learn how to use straight, curved and forked branches for design and structural integrity. Create harmonious, sculptural forms by carefully coordinating the complex shapes of individual wood cuttings. Take home a terrific addition to your garden, home or yard. (Log on to www.frankhamm.com for ideas.) Bring a hand drill and small bits, measuring tape, hammer and saw if you have them. Dress for the weather. Wood/building materials supplied. WCFH members $75, non-members $95. To register, visit www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

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  • Friday, March 23, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm – It’s a Small World – Macro-Digital Photography

    Discover how to create stunning close-ups of flowers and other plant features in this one-day workshop with photographer David Kahn, at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden in Wellesley, Massachusetts.  Begin with a discussion of equipment, preparation, composition, lighting, tips and tricks, as well as see examples of what can be achieved.  Then practice macro techniques using a variety of settings in the Ferguson Greenhouses and Visitor Center.  This hands-on workshop is ideal for photographers who want to explore their own creative vision in the realm of macro photography as well as artists who want to record small details as a reference for future artwork.  Requirements: a digital camera and a good working knowledge of your camera, including being able to focus on a subject 6″ or less from the lens, set your camera’s exposure mode, and turn your flash on or off.  A more complete list of requirements will be available online at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.  Please contact the office if you are not sure if your equipment or experience is sufficient.  Please bring your lunch as David plans a special presentation over lunch hour.  The class, which runs from 10 – 4, will take place Friday, March 23 (snow date Friday, March 30), beginning at 9:30 am.  Friends of the Wellesley College Botanic Garden: $75, non-members $95.

  • Tuesday, February 21, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Fabulous Ferns!

    The Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture will sponsor a great day of sketching on Tuesday, February 21, from 10 – 4, at the greenhouses at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden. Go on a fern foray with Elizabeth Farnsworth, illustrator and co-author of the Peterson Field Guide to the Ferns of Northeastern North America. Using the diverse fern collections of the Ferguson Greenhouses, explore fern anatomy, architecture, life cycle, ecology, and microscopic characteristics. See the features to look for when identifying ferns in the wild. There will be plenty of time for sketching ferns and their diagnostic characters, plus question-and-answer time about these amazing plants.  Bring your lunch along with sketchbook and pencils or pens (whichever is your preferred medium for sketching), and colored pencils for recording various anatomical structures.  Snow date will be Wednesday, February 22.  WCFH members $75, non-members $95.  Register on line at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

  • Monday, January 23, 2:00 pm – Soil: Where Geoscience Meets Botany

    Soil has been called “the bridge between life and the inanimate world.” Join Janet McDonough, Senior Instructor of Biological Science Laboratory at Wellesley College, to gain a new appreciation for this backbone of our landscape. From its origins in the glacial era, explore the characteristics of soils in New England and how that character is represented by the plants in our landscape. How is soil made? What are the components of a good soil, and what easy methods can gardeners use to tell what amendments are needed? From geology to biology, Janet will give us all the dirt on soil. This Monday, January 23 presentation is offered by the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the Boston Junior League Garden Club, and the New England Wild Flower Society. Register on line at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094. Members $10, non-members $15.

  • Saturdays, January 14 – February 11, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Nature Arts for Families

    Explore the creative pleasures of artistic self expression together! These sessions with art instructor and educator Nan Rumpf are designed for parents and children in grade 5 and up. This Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture class will experiment with drawing, nature printing, watercolor painting, scratchboard work, and collage. Sessions at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden will encourage experimentation and exploration. No previous experience is necessary. All materials will be provided. Fee for the five session series (Saturdays, January 14 – February 11 from 1 – 3) is $150 for WCFH members, $185 for non-members. Fee covers registration for one child and one adult partner. Additional family members may attend for $70 per person. To register, visit www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.  Painting below by Nan Rumpf.

  • Monday, November 14, 4:30 pm – Wine: A Matter of Life and Death

    On Monday, November 14, beginning at 4:30 pm at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden, John Varriano will examine two aspects of the cultural history of wine – its central role in theories of medicine from ancient Greece to the present and its changing meaning over the ages in art and meditations on the afterlife. Recently retired from the faculty of Mount Holyoke College where he taught courses in European art and architecture since 1970, John Varriano’s special interest is the art and architecture of seventeenth century Rome. He is also the author of over three dozen specialized studies in his field including several books, the most recent being Wine: A Cultural History.  This is a free program, and you may call 781-283-3094 for more details.

  • Friday, August 26 – Sunday, August 28, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Leaves as They Grow

    Another fine drawing class will take place Friday, August 26 through Sunday, August 28, from 9:30 – 3:30, at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden.  With Carol Ann Morley, learn to capture the layers and angles of leaves you observe in nature onto your paper.  Start with the fundamentals of colored pencil, then work to give your drawing shape and movement by mixing color hues to create shadows, to make colors recede and advance, and to create harmony and contrast.  The pigments in colored pencils can be applied to create many different effects including multiple delicate washes – making this skill-building class useful for watercolorists as well as pencil artists.  $250.00 for WCFH members, $300 for non-members.  Register by calling 781-283-3094, or log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.  Illustration by Carol Ann Morley.

  • Thursday, August 25, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Perspective Review

    In this one day skill-building class at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden with Carol Ann Morley, on Thursday, August 25 from 9:30 – 3:30, you will develop your foreshortening skills while heightening your artist’s eye.  Through a series of graphite exercises, work to achieve more believable drawings.  Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture members, $75, and non-members, $95.  To register, call 781-283-3094, or log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.