Boston Flora

Tag: Wellesley

  • Saturdays, September 17, October 1, October 22, and November 5, 9:30 am – 12:00 noon – Plant FBI (For Budding Investigators)

    Parents and children in grade 3 and up will develop their scientific sleuthing and plant propagating abilities in this hands-on course at the Wellesley College Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses with naturalist and environmental scientist Katie Griffith. Join us on 4 Saturday mornings for two great activities. First we will study plants using microscopes and do experiments in the botany lab. Parents and kids will dissect plants to see the neat things inside them, and we’ll figure out how the different parts help a plant to grow and make more plants. In the second half of the class, we will plant seeds and cuttings in the potting room and then place them in the greenhouses to grow and be cared for until the next class session. By the end of the course, the plants will have had 7 weeks to grow, and families will be able to take home their greenhouse-cultivated specimens. Families should bring a snack to each class. Dress appropriately for digging and planting. For families with children in grade 3 and up, accompanied by at least one adult. Class limit: 12 people. The four class series (September 17, October 1 and 22, and November 5, from 9:30 – 12) costs $125 for WCFH members, $150 for non members. Fee covers registration for one child and one adult partner. Additional family members may accompany participants for an additional fee of $60 per person. To register, visit www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

  • Tuesdays, September 6 & 13, and Thursdays, September 8 & 15, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – Harvest Time at the Farm

    In this four day seminar, September 6, 8, 13 and 15, taught on location at the Natick Community Organic Farm, 117 Eliot Street, Natick, and in the studio in nearby South Natick, learn to paint economic plants grown locally.  Take your observations from the farm’s fields back to the studio to portray the plants in drybrush watercolor.  Sarah Roche’s expert instruction will fine tune your drawings to be botanically accurate and expand your watercolor skills to capture textures and tones and the vibrant colors of fruits, vegetables, and foliage. Your paintings will look good enough to eat.   Watercolor and drawing experience required. Foundations or equivalent course required. Work at your own skill level in this class for advanced beginners to experienced watercolor artists, sponsored by the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture.  WCFH members $250, non-members $300 – to register, log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094.

    sarah

  • 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.

  • Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 19, 21, 26 and 28, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – From Flowers to Fruits: Botanical Textures in Gouache

    Join award-winning designer/illustrator and botanical artist Kelly Leahy Radding to explore the properties of this historic, versatile medium while painting a variety of botanical subjects and textures.  Pronounced “gwash,” gouache comes from the Italian word guazzo for mud, and is often referred to as body-color.  It can be painted from light to dark with consecutive washes or glazes, or it can be scumbled – adding white to the pigments to paint light over dark.  Include this water-based medium in your artist toolbox and find new ways to enhance your work.  For intermediate to advanced artists.  Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture members, $300, non-members $375.  Classes will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 19, 21, 26 and 28  at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden, and you may register by calling 781-283-3094, or by logging on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

  • Saturday, June 11, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, and Sunday, June 12, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Antiques at Elm Bank

    The Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Elm Bank Reservation again hosts the annual Antiques at Elm Bank on Saturday, June 11, 9 – 5, and Sunday, June 12, 10 – 4, at 900 Washington Street in Wellesley.  More than 100 dealers will be on the spacious grounds, and 25 more inside two air-conditioned buildings,  along with free parking, a food court, and live music by Lou Yelle.  For more information, log on to www.masshort.org or www.neantiqueshows.com.

  • Wednesday, June 1, 7:00 pm – Gardening in Raised Beds with Sally Muspratt

    Sally Muspratt will be the featured speaker at Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Wednesday Evenings at Elm Bank in Wellesley, Massachusetts on Wednesday, June 1, beginning at 7 pm, in the Education Building.  One of Mass Hort’s most popular lecturers, Sally is a landscape designer with an eye for both the novel and the practical.  In this talk entitled Gardening in Raised Beds, she’ll show that raised beds – a standard practice for vegetable gardening – is also a great idea for annuals, perennials, and even shrubs.  Her programs are always lushly illustrated and you’ll leave with dozens of great ideas.  The cost to Mass Hort members is $10 per talk, or $50 for the series of ten.  The charge to non-members is $15 per talk.  Refreshments and beverages are served at all talks, and reservations are not required.

     

     

     

  • Thursdays, June 2, 9 and 16, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – History of Botanical Art Seminar

    Past Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker Carol Govan introduces you to illustrations from a variety of eras and artists who tried to preserve the ephemeral qualities of plants for different reasons, in this three session class at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden on Thursdays, June 2, 9 and 16, from 9:30 – 12:30.  Learn why plant illustrations changed from fanciful copied images to accurate representations from direct observation.  Learn the difference between an herbal, a floral, a florilegia, a botanical monograph, and many other collections of images based on who would use the finished book.  See the many techniques involved in creating original images as well as reproducing them for a larger audience.  A private viewing in Margaret Clapp Library Special Collections highlights the College’s extraordinary world-class collection of rare manuscripts.  Bring a hand lens for looking at samples.  Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture members $100, non-members $125.  To register, log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094, ext. 4.   Florilegium illustration shown below: And thou, divine LINNAEUS! … from The temple of Flora: or, Garden of nature, being picturesque botanical plates of the New illustration of the sexual system of Linnaeus, by Robert John Thornton, London : Printed for the publisher [i.e., the author], 1799

  • Mondays and Wednesdays, June 13, 15, 20, and 22, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – Roses: An Exercise in Form and Dimension

    Take inspiration for your rose paintings from Redoute and Rory McEwen.  Sarah Roche guides your interpretation of the form and dimension of this most elegant of flowers through a series of basic exercises in drawing and painting.  Learn to decode the complex shape and structure of flowers.  Apply your skills in a watercolor study, portraying the way the petals overlap and curl, the sharp edges of the thorns, and the smooth textures of leaves.  Techniques covered in this class will reinforce your painting skills so that you can add a painting of the rose and other similar complex flower forms to your portfolio.  The four day class will take place Mondays and Wednesdays, June 13, 15, 20 and 22 from 9:30 am – 2:30 pm at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden in Wellesley, and costs $225 for Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture members, and $275 for non-members.  Sign up at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094, ext. 4.  The image below, by Maria Cecilia Freeman, is part of an  art exhibition entitled “Rose Studies” on view through April 30, 2011 at the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum.

  • Tuesday, May 10, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Secret Lives of Honey Bees

    Most people are familiar with the sight of a honey bee forager as she visits flowers in a garden or park, but few people know the rich story of the life of a colony within the darkness of a hive.  Heather Mattila studies the social organization of honey bees at Wellesley College, where her hives lend a lively presence to the arboretum.  Heather will unravel the secret life of honey bees, including the different kinds of bees that are found in hives and the jobs that they do, as well as the means by which honey bees communicate to ensure a healthy and productive colony, in this lecture on Tuesday, May 10, from 7 – 8:30 at the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain.  The program is co-sponsored by the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture.  Members of either sponsoring organization will pay $10, non-members $15.  Register at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094.  Image from www.treehugger.com.

  • Wednesdays, May 4 – May 25, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Plant Painting for the Petrified

    In a relaxed atmosphere at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden, Sarah Roche will guide you through the elementary stages of illustrating plants.  Your observational skills grow as you experiment with your first line drawings.  Explore composition and color choices as you enjoy the process of creating botanical art.  Please bring sketch paper, HB, B, 2B pencils and a white plastic eraser to the first class.  WCFH members $125, Non-Members $150.  To register for the four Wednesday classes (May 4 – 25, 9L30 – 12:30), log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094, ext. 4.  Beautiful line drawing below by Linda Reeves.