Boston Flora

Tag: wellesley college

  • Fridays, October 17 – November 14, 12:15 pm – 2:00 pm – Plant Stories and Poetry Reading Group

    Bring your lunch and join the Friends of the Wellesley College Botanic Garden for a weekly discussion of short stories and poetry featuring plants, October 17 – November 14, from 12:15 – 2, with experienced group leader Joan Parrish.  Joan is a WCBG docent with a master’s degree in adult education.  Each week read one assigned short story and one poem for discussion.  A variety of gardens provide inspiration for works by authors including Eudora Welty, Garrison Keeler, and Jane Smiley.  The story and poem for the first session can be picked up at the WCBG Friends office, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. WCBG members free, non-members $25.

  • Saturday, November 1, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Project Handprint Symposium

    Join Wellesley College faculty, alumnae, students, and Wellesley College Botanic Garden Friends for the second annual Project Handprint Symposium, exploring foor and water through lenses of environmental sustainability and justice, on Saturday, November 1, from 10 – 4 in the Tishman Commons, LuLu Chow Wang Campus Center.  Keynote talks with Q & A, small group facilitated discussions, posters on current projects, tours of the Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden, and a panel discussion round out the day.  $20 registration includes lunch.  Additional donations enable students to attend free of charge.  Please call 781-283-3094 or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu by October 20 to register.

  • Wednesday, October 1, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – A Walking Tour of the Hunnewell Estate

    On Wednesday, October 1 (rain date Wednesday, October 8), beginning at 10 am, David Dusenbury, Superintendent of the Walter Hunnewell Estate property will lead a walking tour of the horticultural and botanical features of this historical property, including the Pinetum, started in 1866 by Horatio Hollis Hunnewell, founder and creator of the estate.  There are more than 350 specimen conifers in the Pinetum, including spectacular mature specimens of Sargent’s weeping hemlock, cedar of Lebanon, and dawn redwood.  Other highlights include the lakeside topiary of the Italian Garden, the massive weeping beech in front of the residence, and the Hunnewell rhododendrons, said to be the oldest cultivated specimens in the United States.  Meet at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden Visitor Center to walk over to the Hunnewell Estate.  The rain date will be used in case of thunderstorms or torrential downpours only.  Please dress appropriately for the weather, including suitable footwear.  Note that there will be a moderate amount of walking over uneven paths.  Courtesy of the generosity of Wellesley alumna Luisa Hunnewell, DS ’94, Wellesley is able to share her wonderful landscape with the Friends.  $20 for WCGB Friends, $30 for nonmembers.  Call 781-283-3094 to register.

     

  • Tuesday, September 23, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm – Tour of Research Gardens and Global Flora

    Explore the exciting opportunities for engaging in plant science at Wellesley College.  Botanic Gardens Director Kristina Jones leads a tour of new gardens with a science education and research focus: the Creighton Educational Garden, Climate Change Monitoring Garden, Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden, and Farm in a Box, on Tuesday, September 23 from 3 – 4:30.  After the garden tour, Kristina presents plans for Global Flora: transforming the five major houses of the Ferguson Greenhouse complex into an innovative display of plants from around the world, incorporating aesthetics, sustainable design, and new areas for plant study.  Co-sponsored by Wellesley College Alumnae of Boston and the Wellesley College Botanic Garden Friends.  Free for WCAB and WCBG members, non-members $15.  Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

  • Monday, August 18, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – The Edible Landscape at Wellesley College

    The Ecological Landscaping Association will sponsor The Edible Landscape at Wellesley College with tour guide Tricia Diggins on Monday, August 18, from 5 – 7 on campus in Wellesley.  $20 for ELA and Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Garden members, $25 for nonmembers, free for Wellesley College students.

    Join Tricia to explore three main components of the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens edible landscape.  As part of its collection policy, the WCBG is collecting and interpreting plants as food for humans and other organisms.  The tour will start in the kitchen garden courtyard that includes an herb garden, a vegetable garden, and other small fruit and nut plants.  The design for the vegetable garden changes each year and this year will be modeled after a Russian dacha garden.

    You will then move on to the Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden and check on the progress of the garden started in 2010 and a new outdoor classroom.  The garden was designed by forest and permaculture specialists Dave Jacke and Keith Zaltzberg.  The garden features fruit and nut trees planted in association with herbaceous polycultures to maximize ecological functions using a wide diversity of pants.

    Lastly, you will walk to the nut tree collection in the Alexandra Botanic Garden and see a variety of native nut trees (and a few non-native as well), along with a 9 year old grove of paw paws (see picture of cluster below.)  Register on line at https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1010983.

  • Tuesday, July 8 – Thursday, July 10, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Botanicals by Brush and Pencil

    Learn to combine three very different media – black India ink, watercolor, and colored pencil – to create rich, luminous paintings on paper.  With Kathie Miranda as your guide, explore the qualities of each medium and discover creative ways of layering ink washes, watercolor and colored pencil together to exploit the inherent benefits of each.  Create a simple botanical composition with your choice of flowering plant.  Add your favorite natural objects such as shells and insects for interesting accents.  This Wellesley Botanical Gardens class will be held Tuesday, July 8 – Thursday, July 10, from 9:30 – 3:30.  Friends of Wellesley Botanic Gardens fee $300, non-members $375.  To register call 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

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  • Tuesdays, May 20 & 27, and Thursdays, May 22 & 29, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Growing Green: A Studio Focus

    Explore painting the many shades of green in spring vegetables at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, in this art class entitled Growing Green: A Studio Focus, to be held on four mornings, May 20, 22, 27 and 29, from 9:30 – 12:30.  Sarah Roche helps you investigate the potential of your palette to capture complex greens and create a veggie study to showcase your new skills.  Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens – $150, non-members $200.  Register by calling 781-283-3094 or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Image from www.burpee.com.

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  • Wednesday, April 16, 1:00 pm – Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: An Armchair Visit

    Experience a photo tour of this fabulous plant paradise in Boothbay, Maine, with garden designer and Wellesley College Botanic Garden Friends docent Maureen Bovet on Wednesday, April 16, at 1 pm.  Maureen returns to this garden by the sea as often as possible.  Opened in 2007 after 16 years of planning, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens offers visitors stunning beauty and intimate experiences as it enhances the botanical heritage and natural landscapes of its 250 acres in coastal Maine.  CMGB Director Bill Cullina describes it best with the subtitle of his book about the garden: “A People’s Garden.”  Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens – free; nonmembers $10. Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu. Image below from the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s favorite photographer Rich Pomerantz.

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  • Thursday, January 16, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm (Snow Date January 17) – Managing Large-Scale Landscapes Sustainably

    Join the Ecological Landscaping Association (ELA ) and Wellesley College on Thursday, January 16, from 8:30 – 4:30 at the Wellesley College Science Center for a symposium on the development and maintenance of large-scale landscapes that utilize fewer inputs, are designed and maintained with the environment in mind, and become more sustainable over time. Experts who work daily in successful, sustainable large-scale landscapes will lead four panel discussions. If you are interested in sustainable landscapes for colleges, parks departments, public agencies, cemeteries, golf courses, forests, land trusts, public gardens, or other large landscapes, this event is for you.

    Maintaining Large-Scale Landscapes
    Landscapes Over Time, Soil Compaction, Invasive Plants, Recycling Organic Matter, and Sourcing Quality Compost

    Panelists: Dennis Collins, Mount Auburn Cemetery, John Forti, Strawbery Banke Museum, and Stuart Shillaber, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy.  Please note that both Dennis Collins and John Forti are past Garden Club of the Back Bay presenters.

    Large Lawns: Ecological Approaches
    Mowing Frequency, Inputs, Pests, Disease, and Alternative Energy Mowers

    Panelists: Richard Luff, Sagamore Golf, Fred Newcombe, PJC Ecological, and Anthony Ruggiero, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy

    Runoff as Resource: Large Scale Stormwater Solutions
    Erosion to Irrigation, Collection Options, Dealing with Large Rain Events, Water Quality, Minimizing Demands of Potable Water

    Panelists: Tom Benjamin, LA/Sustainable Designer, Brad Buscher, Groundwork Lawrence, Eden Dutcher, GroundView, and Kate Venturini, University of Rhode Island

    Managing Semi-Wild Landscapes

    Designating “Semi-Wild” areas, Identifying Invasive Plant Threats, Setting Management Priorities, Tackling What is Feasible (and Leaving the Rest)

    Panelists: Tobias Wolf, Wolf Lighthall, Heidi Kost-Gross, G/S Associates, and Sandy Vorce, Mass Audubon

    Registrations are limited – Use This Link to Register Online Now

    For more information: ela.info@comcast.net

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  • Saturday, November 9, 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Project Handprint Symposium

    The Wellesley Center for the Environment’s Project Handprint is creating a powerful new learning community focused on environmental issues.  This inaugural symposium for Project Handprint brings together alumnae, faculty, staff, students, and Friends who are interested in and working on improving food systems, from production through consumption.  Be inspired to expand your handprint.  Hear from faculty about current research in the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens and beyond.  Connect with farmers, foodies, scientists, policy-makers, and activists about their current roles and the paths they took to get there.  The symposium will take place Saturday, November 9, from 2 – 6 in the Wellesley College Science Center Focus.  Free, but space is limited.  Please pre-register by Friday, November 1 by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

     

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