Boston Flora

Tag: wellesley college

  • Wednesday, November 28, 1:00 pm – Coffee Life in Japan

    Boston University Professor Dr. Merry White (below) traces Japan’s vibrant cafe society over one hundred and thirty years, from Japan’s coffee craze at the turn of the twentieth century, when Japan helped to launch the Brazilian coffee industry, to the present day.  Her talk takes up themes as diverse as gender, privacy, perfectionism and urbanism.  Merry’s book, Coffee Life in Japan, will be available for purchase from and signing by the author.  Coffee will be served, naturally.  Co-sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and Friends of Wellesley Botanic Gardens.  Members $10, non-members $15.  Register by calling 781-283-3094, or visit www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends.

  • Tuesday, January 15 – Thursday, January 17, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – On Location: The Kampong

    Join Sarah Roche at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Coconut Grove, Florida January 15 – 17 and enjoy three days of botanical art.  Once on location, start to draw with easy field sketches on the grounds of the stunning Kampong historic home and garden, where the climate of the southeast shore of Florida affords a natural open-air environment in which tropical species flourish.  Explore rudiments of form from live specimens as you work in graphite studies.  Some plants will be flowering, others will be fruiting and some may have all stages of development visible.  Then, add color with watercolors.  Take home a journal filled with field sketches useful for future art works and fond memories of a unique experience.  All abilities are welcome.  Fee  (Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens $325, non-members $400) includes three days of class instruction only.  Travel, accommodations, food, and other expenses not included.  Dormitory accommodations at Kampong may be arranged on a first-come basis.  For those arriving on Monday, January 14, a get-acquainted gathering will be arranged.  Contact the Friends office for more details at 781-283-3094.  Offered in collaboration with The Kampong National Tropical Botanical Garden.

  • Sunday, November 18, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Thankful Plants

    Once a month, the Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens host a free program for families to discover, through art, culture and science, just how fantastic plants can be. Drop in any time between 1 – 4.  On Sunday, November 18, learn about Thankful Plants.  All of us are thankful for family, friends, pets, gifts … but plants?  Find out what plants we’re especially thankful for, and why.  Bring your own list and see how it compares.  You’ll be tasting some staff favorite plants.   For more information visit www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends.

  • Friday, November 2, 6:00 pm – A Passion for Plants: How to Get Students Excited About Botany

    Dr. Kristina Jones, Director of the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens and Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Wellesley College will address the New England Botanical Club on Friday, November 2, beginning at 6 pm at the University Museum’s Haller Lecture Hall, Room 102, at 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge.  The public is invited.  Dr. Jones’  topic is A Passion for Plants: How to Get Students Excited About Botany.  For more information, visit www.rhodora.org.

  • Sunday, October 21, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Spooky Plants

    Once a month, the Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens host a free program for families to discover, through art, culture and science, just how fantastic plants can be.  Drop in any time between 1 – 4.  On Sunday, October 21, explore Spooky Plants.  We all know animals eat plants – but some spooky plants eat animals!  Meet the carnivorous plants, learn spooky tales of other strange plants, and plant a spider plant to take home.  For more information, call 781-283-3094, or visit www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends.

  • Wednesday, October 3, 7:30 am – 7:30 pm – The High Line: An Extraordinary Urban Space

    Join gardener extraordinaire Robin Wilkerson for a day trip to the remarkable High Line in New York City on Wednesday, October 3.  The garden is built on a formerly abandoned mile and a half of elevated railroad line.  Both the hardscape and the plant material are informed by the structure’s history as a rail bed.  Native oaks, sassafras, sumacs, and an array of ornamental grasses are just a few of the plants rarely encountered in public gardens, but among many of the outstanding plant choices.  A High Line docent will lead this Friends of Wellesley Botanic Garden, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and New England Wild Flower Society tour.  There will be time for lunch and exploration on your own.  Don’t miss this chance to see and experience what has quickly become one of the world’s great urban wonders.  Fee ($120 for members of the sponsoring organizations, $145 for non-members) includes private coach with restroom, snacks, box lunch and guided tour.  Bus departs Garden in the Woods, Framingham, at 7:30 a.  To register, visit www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends.

  • Monday, May 21, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Defining Gardens: A Global View

    From meadows and forests to desert or barren glacial till, how do cultures in different environments satisfy their need for gardens? Is the focus on planned order or wild nature, on plants or man made structures? Are there favorite plants or flowers? How do the residents interact with their gardens? Wellesley College Professor Emerita Mary Coyne’s extensive travels to many lands always include garden visits. With her as our guide, we’ll armchair-wander to the Arctic, Europe, Asia, South and North America, and Africa to take a peek at gardens old and new. After many years teaching in Wellesley College’s Department of Biological Sciences, Mary Coyne embarked on a retirement career as a landscape designer. She received her Certificate from the Landscape Institute in 2010. The Harriet B. Creighton Educational Garden (below) across the driveway from the Visitor Center is designed and maintained by her. The May 21 lecture will be preceded by tea at 2 pm. Co-sponsored by the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture and by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the cost to attend is $10 for members of either sponsoring organization, or $15 for non-members. Register at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

  • 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.

  • Thursday, January 19, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Sustainable Practices for Ecosystem Restoration

    Groundscapes Express has worked on many ecosystem restoration projects throughout the region. Groundscapes’ approach treats the whole site as an ecosystem or a sub-watershed for greatest success. Projects implement best practices for improved water quality, soil compaction, invasive species, and erosion control. At this Roundtable presentation on Thursday, January 19, from 1 – 3:30 pm at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens’ Visitors Center, 106 Central Street in Wellesley,, John Engwer will describe ecosystem restoration projects at sites including Wellesley College, Kent Hospital, the Rose Kennedy Greenway, Mount Auburn Cemetery, and Fresh Pond Reservation.  Though the sites differ widely, the issues of soil compaction, stormwater management, and invasive species control are common to all.  Registrations are limited – call 617-436-5838, or email ela.info@comcast.net.  $20 ELA or Wellesley Friends of Horticulture member price, $25 for nonmembers.