Boston Flora

Tag: Wellesley College Botanic Garden

  • Saturdays, October 30, November 13 & 20, and December 4, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Ink Brush Painting

    Explore ink brush painting with Nan Rumpf in this Wellesley College botanical art workshop designed for adults who would like to learn to interpret plant forms with brush and ink.  Try to capture the essence of different plants and flowers using expressive gesture strokes based on Asian ink brush painting traditions.  Work with black ink and color, and also explore rice paper washes using gouache tea and color.  No previous experience is required.  Join to learn new skills or brush up (no pun intended) on your old skills.  This class can be helpful to watercolor artists as it can expand your repertoire of brushstrokes.  The class will meet at Wellesley College on October 30, November 13 and 20, and December 4, from 1 – 4, and will cost $125 for WCFH members and $160 for nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH to print a registration form.

  • Sunday, September 19, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – All About Forest Communities

    On Sunday, September 19, from 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm, Wellesley College Visiting Scholar Katie Griffith will lead a hike part way around Lake Waban to look at different species of trees and shrubs co-existing.  Meet for this free program at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden.  Pre-registration is required (781-283-3094, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu), and please dress appropriately for going outdoors.

    http://homepage.mac.com/kmderrick/.Pictures/WebsitePhotos/LakeWaban.jpg

  • Sunday, August 15, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – All About Pollination

    In this continuation of Wellesley College’s free series of family explorations, come to the Butterfly Garden at Wellesley on Sunday, August 15, beginning at 1:30 pm, for a session with Wellesley College Visiting Scholar Katie Griffith.  Learn, observe and record pollinators seeking nectar rewards.  Photo below by Alice Russell.  Pre-registration is required.  Call 781-283-3094, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu.

    http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/butterflies/icons/butterfly.jpg

  • Sunday, June 13, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – All About Trees

    On Sunday, June 13, from 1:30 – 4 pm, explore our biggest plants, trees, their bark, twigs, leaves, and survival strategies, with Wellesley College Visiting Scholar Katie Griffith, a naturalist and environmental scientist with a strong interest in family education.  Meet at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden.  The program is free, but pre-registration is required.  Call 781-283-3094, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu.  Suitable for all ages, this is an interactive, informal way to become familiar with botanical concepts through many learning pathways.

    http://www.wellesley.edu/WCBG/Students/spring_trees%5B1%5D.jpg

  • Sunday, May 16, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – All About Flower Shapes and Colors

    On Sunday, May 16, beginning at 1:30 pm,  enjoy a free lecture at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden led by environmentalist and naturalist Katie Griffith.  Explore how a flower’s shape and color attracts the right pollinator for the plant.  Dress appropriately for going outdoors, and children are encouraged to attend, accompanied by an adult.  Pre-registration is required by calling 781-283-3094, or by emailing horticulture@wellesley.edu.

    http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/willow/flower-info0.gif

  • Friday, May 7, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Tour

    The Ecological Landscaping Association is sponsoring a tour of the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, 106 Central Street in Wellesley, on Friday, May 7, from 10 – noon.  The charge will be $10 for ELA Members and $15 for non-members.

    Set in the picturesque campus of Wellesley College, the Botanic Gardens are an unforgettrable place of beauty.  Naturalized plantings as well as specimen trees and shrubs from around the world await discovery just a short distance from Boston.  A tiny brook winds through the gardens from a waterfall to Paramecium Pond (below).  Several different habitats comprise the arboretum, including a maple swamp, meadow, and fragments of different forest types, with many native species.  Other specialized gardens include a green roof planted with native species, a dwarf conifer garden, a butterfly garden, and an edible forest garden designed by David Jacke.  Tricia Diggins, Senior Gardens Horticulturalist at Wellesley College, will guide you through the various gardens and explain the ecological methods that are being used to care for the plant communities.  Registrations are limited.  Call 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net.

    http://farm1.static.flickr.com/26/39376237_d115f60c16.jpg?v=0

  • Sunday, April 11, 1:30 – 4:00 pm – All About Seed Dispersal

    This free family exploration of seeds of all sorts and how they move away from the mother plant will take place Sunday afternoon, from 1:30 – 4 pm, on April 11, at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden in Wellesley, and will be taught by Katie Griffith, Wellesley College Visiting Scholar, a naturalist and environmental scientist with a strong interest in family education.  Dress appropriately for going outdoors.  Pre-registration is required, and space is limited.  Please call 781-283-3094, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu.

    http://www.yallaroo.com.au/images/Seed_dispersal.JPG

  • Saturday, April 3, 9 am – noon – Pruning Basics

    Learn the why’s and how’s of pruning – why to prune, if you even need to prune, when to prune, and what cuts to make.  Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Senior Horticulturist Tricia Diggins teaches you to make cutting edge decisions about nearly every pruning job from house plants to large tres.  She explores with you how these general principles relate to specific plants like flowering shrubs, evergreens, older trees, young plants and fruit trees.  Approximately half the class time will be indoors and the remaiinder will be outside in the Hunnewell Arboretum and Alexandra Botanic Gardens, looking at the pruning needs of a variety of trees and shrubs.  The Wellesley College Hunnewell Arboretum can be damp under foot in early spring.  Please dress appropriately for the weather.  Class number HOR 10 080, WCFH members $20, non members $25.  To register, or for directions, log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu.

    Pruning Tools

  • Saturday, April 10, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – Wow! Botany is Exciting

    Carol Govan is back at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden on Saturday, April 10, with a class beginning at 9:30 a.m.  Do you love plants and want to understand them better? Enjoy early arrival of spring in the WCBG Greenhouses as Carol Govan introduces botany using basic terminology, direct observations and journaling to explore basic plant morphology (seeds, roots, shoots, flowers and fruit). No previous experience is necessary. Class meets at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Visitor Center.  Fee $50 Arnold Arboretum or WCBG member, $65 nonmember.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    http://www.botany.com/img/plants/dictionary-plants-flowers.jpg

  • Friday, March 12, 10 am – 4 pm – It’s a Small World: Macro-Digital Photography

    Take photos within inches of your subject.  Discover how to create stunning close-ups of flowers and other plant features in this one-day workshop with photographer David Kahn.  Begin the day 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 of the Wellesley College Botanic Garden.  This hands-on workshop is ideal for photographers who want to explore their own creative vision 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 how to use it.  A more complete list of requirements and options will be available online, at www.wellesley.edu/SCFH.  You may email horticulture@wellesley.edu if your are unsure if your equipment or experience are sufficient.  Course Number DIG 10 101.  Cost: WCFH members $75, non-members $95.  Snow date Friday, March 19.