Boston Flora

Tag: Wellesley

  • 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.

  • Wednesdays, July 18 – August 15, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Whole Foods Cooking Demonstrations

    Whole Foods Market in Wellesley has teamed up with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Garden-to-Table program to bring you cooking classes tied to the garden’s themed produce beds. Discover a new cuisine with each bed in the garden! Healthy Eating Specialist Lisa Caldwell, director of the Our Health Starts Here Program at Whole Foods Market in Wellesley, will help you make healthy choices in cooking, eating, and menu planning.

    Classes will be held at Whole Foods Market in Wellesley. The classes will be built around produce grown in the following themed beds:

    July 18th – Asian Garden Beds (Chinese, Japanese, Thai)
    July 25th – Mediterranean (French, Continental, Italian)
    August 1st – Parent and Child Pizza Class (Italian Garden Bed)
    August 8th – South American, Caribbean, and Latin American Beds
    August 15th – Too Pretty to Eat Garden Bed

    Cost – $10.00 for Mass Hort members, $12.00 for non-members. Reservations may be made by calling 617-933-4943 or ordering online here. You may also pay at the class. Photo from www.veganplanet.blogspot.com.

  • Saturday, May 19, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Walk Through the Hunnewell Pinetum

    Enjoy the glories of spring on Saturday, May 19 as the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture lead a walk to the shores of Lake Waban where the College property borders the Walter Hunnewell Estate. There David Dusenbury, Superintendent of the property, will lead us on an approximately 90 minute walking tour of the historic Pinetum. The Pinetum, or collection of pine trees, was started in 1866 by Horatio Hollis Hunnewell, founder and creator of the estate, originally called Wellesley after his wife, Isabella Welles Hunnewell. The cultivation and care of this world-class tree collection has continued through four generations of the Hunnewell family to the present day. Wellesley’s pines have a history and pedigree worthy of any family tree. The 10-acre area includes more than 350 specimen conifers representing approximately 150 varieties ranging in age from a few years to 140-plus. Features include spectacular mature specimens of Sargent’s weeping hemlock, cedar of Lebanon and dawn redwood, among others.  Meet at the WCBG Visitor Center at 1:30 pm to walk over to the Pinetum. Tour takes place rain or shine. Please dress appropriately for the weather, including suitable footwear. Thanks to Wellesley alumna Luisa Hunnewell for so generously sharing her wonderful landscape with the Friends of Horticulture. WCFH members $20, non-members $25. Visit http://www.wellesley.edu/WCFH to register.

  • 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.

    http://www.frankhamm.com/Tennis%201%206x9.jpg

  • Monday, March 19, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Bonsai: History, Facts and Myths

    The March meeting of the Garden Club of the Back Bay will take place at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden on Monday, March 19 beginning with tea at 2 pm, followed by another of our “Japan Year” programs, Bonsai: History, Facts and Myths. Learn how bonsai are created and tips for keeping them alive as long as possible. Pauline F. Muth will present a program on the history, art and horticulture of bonsai. She will illustrate her talk with both a photographic and live collection of various types of bonsai. Pauline has been involved with bonsai for almost 40 years. She maintains a teaching studio in West Charlton, NY exclusively dedicated to the art of bonsai. Her gardens are open to the public by appointment. She sits on the executive boards of Mohawk Hudson Bonsai Society, The Mid-Atlantic Bonsai Societies, The American Bonsai Society and Bonsai Clubs International. Her studioʼs web site is www.pfmbonsai.com. The program is co-sponsored by The Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive written notice of this meeting, along with car pool information.  Others may register on line (Arnold Arboretum and Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture members $10, non-members $15) at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

  • 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.

  • Through January 15, 2012 – Global Flora: Botanical Imagery and Exploration

    Global Flora: Botanical Imagery and Exploration, an exhibition linking the history of botanical imagery with the adventure of exploration and effects of globalization on our our contemporary world opened on October 19. On view through January 15, 2012 in the Morelle Lasky Levine ’56 Works on Paper Gallery at Wellesley College, the exhibition is free and open to the public. To complement the exhibition, the Davis will present an Interdisciplinary Gallery Walk (November 9). According to Elaine Mehalakes, Kemper Curator of Academic Programs and curator of Global Flora, the 28 works in this exhibit — from engravings that date back to the 1500’s to contemporary still lifes — are not only exquisitely detailed depictions of flora and fauna, but also tell a story about the complex relationships that have evolved alongside botanical art. Drawn from the Davis collections and Wellesley College Library’s Special Collections, the prints and illustrated books on view also demonstrate the changes from the 16th century to the present in techniques used to depict botanical imagery—from woodcuts, engravings, and mezzotints to lithographs, cyanotypes, and inkjet prints; from the hand-colored to the color printed; and from the compact to the lavishly outsized. They display variations in format and purpose, though with equal attention given to accuracy, from floral still lifes imbued with symbolic meaning to precise depictions of individual plants with their component parts labeled for scientific classification.  For hours and more information, visit https://www.davismuseum.wellesley.edu/news/4123.  Below is Isabella Kirkland’s “Trade.”

  • Monday, October 24, 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm – Wild Food: Foraging for Edible Plants and Mushrooms

    Join professional environmentalist and wild foods enthusiast Russ Cohen, author of Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten, to learn about foraging for wild plants, followed by a walk outside at Wellesley College to see what might be available at this season. Keys to the identification of each species are provided, as well as information about its edible portion(s), season(s) of availability, flavor, and nutritive value, and some tips on preparation. Learn guidelines for safe and environmentally responsible foraging. Tea will be served at 2 pm, followed by the lecture and walk from 2:30 – 4:30. This afternoon is co-sponsored with Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the New England Wild Flower Society, and the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture. $10 for members of the sponsoring organizations, $15 for non-members. Sign up at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094.