Boston Flora

Tag: Zoom

  • Monday, May 16, 1:00 pm – The Rose: My Time at David Austin Roses, Online

    As the roses in our gardens start to come into bloom the Gardens Trust is delighted to announce an online lecture on May 16 in partnership with the Historic Roses Group. This ticket for this individual session costs £5, and you may register via Eventbrite by clicking HERE. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.

    Michael Marriott says: I was very fortunate to work at David Austin Roses for 35 years starting not long after the introduction of the rose Graham Thomas. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the small Shropshire nursery grow to the very well-known institution it is today and along the way I met many people in the rose and wider horticultural world. I saw how roses are bred, trialed and then introduced at the Chelsea flower show. As the main representative of DAR I was invited or sent to various rose gardens and conferences around the world. One of my roles at the nursery was to design rose gardens – everything from small borders to major gardens and everywhere from the UK to Bhutan! I also helped with photography which meant visiting some wonderful private gardens. Altogether a wonderful experience.

    Michael Marriott has been a very keen gardener from a very early age going on to study Agricultural Botany at university. After 5 years working in the South Pacific he joined David Austin Roses in 1985 first as nursery manager and then as head rosarian spending most of his time advising gardeners from around the world on every aspect of rose growing as well as designing rose gardens. He also lectured and wrote about roses and visited rose gardens helping the owners and head gardeners with rose related issues. He has now retired from David Austin’s but continues to advise, lecture and write and has completed a book called RHS Roses published in May 2022.

  • Thursday, March 3, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Composting in the City Virtual Event

    Join Mothers Out Front for Composting in the City, a virtual event on March 3 at 7pm featuring a conversation with Aaron Chism, lead farmer and soil expert from Bootstrap Compost. Learn why composting is important to our city, our health, and Mayor Wu’s Green New Deal. Learn how easy it is to be part of the solution. Learn more and register here. The program will be held on Zoom.

    Courtesy Fine Gardening Magazine

  • Thursday, February 17, 10:00 am – Garden Club of the Back Bay February Meeting – A Growth of Trees: A Journey Through Time, Online


    No single view of a tree is a fixed snapshot in time that tells the complete story. Join Michael Wojtech and discover how trees grow, reproduce, and interact with their environment across days, weeks, seasons, and years and over varying scales—from the intricate details of buds, flowers, leaves, and bark that we use for species identification to the collaborative roles of trees in ecosystems. Learn more about the function and experience the beauty of characteristics such as peeling bark, overwintering buds, lobed or toothed leaves, flowers by the thousands, and seeds that fly on the wind. This Garden Club of the Back Bay meeting will take place February 17 at 10:00 am.

    Michael Wojtech earned his Masters degree in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England, where his coursework brought a welcomed, intense immersion into the natural history and ecology of the plants, critters, and other organisms in the landscape. As a naturalist and educator, he strives to share the science and wonder of trees in an accessible and compelling fashion. He writes, photographs, illustrates, and presents programs about the structure, growth processes, and ecology of trees—including their bark, buds, leaves, roots, and wood—for audiences at all levels of experience.  

    Michael previously presented to the Garden Club of the Back Bay in 2013, when he spoke to us about his book, Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast.  We are delighted to bring Michael back to speak to us  again!  To learn more about Michael Wojtech, visit his website at http://knowyourtrees.com. Please rsvp by February 11th by clicking HERE.  A ZOOM link will be sent a few days before the program.  The program will not be recorded.

  • Wednesday, February 9, 7:00 pm – Freshwater Mussels, Online

    Ayla Skorupa will speak on the topic of Freshwater Mussels on Zoom on February 9 at 7 pm. The talk is sponsored by the Athol Bird & Nature Club. Why is brook floater rare? Synthesizing potential threats to a freshwater mussel’s persistance. Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vVEzmvJIS2qR1KUOBeVQ2A  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

    Ayla’s undergraduate education was in Marine Biology at Roger Williams University. After graduating with a B.Sc. she focused on research with plankton which led to an appointment as a Masters assistant at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks with Dr. Russell Hopcroft. She started studying under Dr. Allison Roy at the Department of Environmental Conservation at UMass, Amherst in Spring 2017.

    Her research interests focus on fresh water mussel, Unionidae, conservation. This includes the artificial propagation of rare or endangered species and determining what makes their ideal habitat.

  • Wednesday, January 26, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Balmoral Cottage, Benenden, Online

    A visit to the extraordinary and charming garden around Balmoral Cottage in Benenden, Kent has become a ‘must‘ for all lovers of topiary. This Gardens Trust lecture , co-sponsored with the Kent Gardens Trust, on January 26 at 1 pm Eastern time will attempt to recreate the magic on our screens. £5. Register HERE.

    Just over 30 years ago, Donald and Charlotte Molesworth were, by good fortune, able to purchase the almost derelict small house that stood in the abandoned old kitchen garden of Collingwood (Cherry) Ingram’s house, The Grange. They moved in with one light bulb, a bed, a small table , 2 dogs, a donkey , 7 hens, and boxes of Narcissus pseudo-narcissus from Donald’s father’s garden, yew seedlings as part of a wedding present, and numerous plants in every conceivable kind of container. A new garden started to form in their minds the next day.

    Thousands of boxwood and other cuttings were taken, the old kitchen garden dug over and weeded to form a temporary nursery, and a pond was dug by a friend as a wedding present! A detailed plan emerged, and in time became a reality. Donald had gained inspiration from a wonderful garden made by his father; Charlotte had become inspired by the topiary loved by her mother. The fusion of interests at Balmoral Cottage has resulted in a marvelous blend of weird and wonderful topiary interspersed with quiet niches filled with plant treasures of all kinds.

    Charlotte Molesworth is a professional garden designer and artist and has built up a reputation for her topiary designs. Donald has been a horticulturist for as long as he remembers!

  • Saturday, December 18 – Christmas Bird Count, Live and Online

    Join the Christmas Bird Count on December 18, the longest continuously running bird data event in the area. Contact Dave Small for additional information and to participate in this nationwide annual event: 978-413-1772 or Dave@atholbirdclub.org  Covid-19 rules are in effect National Audubon has issued guidelines which ABNC will use.  Then, enjoy the Christmas Bird Count Wrap-up and Party, online. Join us as we find out the preliminary results of the Annual Christmas Bird Count. An informal group discussion and meeting. Find out what unusual birds were seen during the days’ count. 

    You are invited to a Zoom meeting. When: Dec 18, 2021 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
    Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkd-iorj8sE9wnkJnlGODdr5O6n1tsjP-D  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

    up party

  • Thursday, December 16, 5:15 pm – 6:30 pm – Local Food Before Locavores: Growing Vegetables in the Boston Market Garden District, 1870 – 1930, Live and Online

    The Boston market garden district was a national leader in vegetable production from 1870 to 1930.  Suburban market gardeners’ practices both countered and anticipated broader trends in the US food system.  For example, intercropping  (though long-known) stood well outside the US agro-ecological mainstream. Boston growers also developed the modern forcing house, an engineered greenhouse environment dependent on fossil fuels, irrigation, and commodified insect pollinators.  Year-round lettuce from these houses helped prepare the way for consumers to embrace a de-seasonalized, nationalized vegetable supply.  This agro-environmental episode shows how the history of local food complicates our narratives about US food system modernization.

    The Massachusetts Historical Society will sponsor this December 16 lecture by Sally McMurry, Pennsylvania State University, with comments by Andrew Robichaud of Boston University. The free event begins at 5:15 pm.

    The Environmental History Seminar invites you to join the conversation. Seminars bring together a diverse group of scholars and interested members of the public to workshop a pre-circulated paper. Learn more.

    Please note, this is a hybrid event which may be attended either in person (register HERE) at the MHS or virtually on the video conference platform, Zoom (register HERE) Registrants will receive a confirmation message with attendance information.

  • Friday, December 3, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Tenth Annual Repeal Day Celebration, Online

    Join Etiquetteer Robert B. Dimmick for the Tenth Annual Celebration of the Repeal of Prohibition to benefit the Gibson House Museum. The coronavirus is not keeping us from celebrating! This year’s virtual Repeal Day will include some special aspects:


    For the past ten years, Etiquetteer Robert B. Dimmick has led a celebration each December celebrating one of the more obscure aspects of the Gibson family’s residence at 137 Beacon Street: museum founder Charlie Gibson’s use of the third-floor bathroom for the production of Prohibition-era gin.

    While the pandemic prevents us from hosting an in-person party, the party is still going on! Just as in 2020, please join us via Zoom, on Friday, December 3, for Prohibition-era merriment, including a cocktail-mixing demonstration, Prohibition trivia, and an exclusive video tour of the Gibson House Red Study—a space too small to visit during a typical Repeal celebration. The evening will include an informal panel discussion hosted by Etiquetteer on the evolution of cocktail culture in the twenty-first century with some beloved friends of Repeal: our own Kirsten “Miss Kitty” Amann, co-author of Drinking Like Ladies and Jeremy Cooper, co-author with Andrew Klausner of their three-volume series, Cocktail Hour Meets….

    All proceeds from this event will benefit the preservation of the Gibson House Museum, the only historic house museum in Boston’s Back Bay. $60. Register by November 25 for the Zoom program HERE

  • Wednesday, December 1, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Eco-Answers: End of Season Maintenance, Online

    At the end of a long landscape season, it’s tempting to drop the tools, ignore those remaining weeds, and head inside for a hot tea and a good book. But spending a little time to complete some important chores before winter will yield big benefits for your spring gardening.

    For guidance on these late-season tasks, join ecological landscape designer, installer, and maintenance specialist, Kerry O’Kelly to ask your questions about wrapping up the gardening year like a professional. During this 90-minute live Zoom Q&A, Kerry will provide a quick overview of season’s-end gardening and then she will jump right into your questions for the bulk of the Q&A session.
    Some topics that Kerry can address are:

    What autumn soil management will yield beneficial results? Should new plantings have a protective winter mulch? What strategies should be considered for cages, trellises, and containers? Weeds, do the last few matter? How should hoses be stored? Can the “Leave the Leaves” strategy be too much of a good thing? What should be done with garden tools at the end of the season? What successes and failures can teach you for the next gardening year?

    Please send your questions in advance to help guide Kerry’s remarks. Also send photos of any problems or  question to provide some reference and to add interest to the discussion. Email photos along with your questions to: penny@ecolandscaping.org.
    If you don’t submit questions in advance, no problem, we will also be taking questions throughout the event.

    Once you are registered for Eco-Answers with the ELA Eco-Pros, you will receive an email with the Zoom Webinar link. Kerry O’Kelly is a landscape designer and owner of Garden Dance Landscape Design where she uses design techniques and sound ecological practices to design compelling landscapes that are organic, low maintenance, water wise, resilient, and support local ecosystems and wildlife . Kerry also works closely with other ecological landscape firms in both the design and maintenance capacities. Kerry became a Certified Master Gardener in 2009 and graduated with a Masters Certificate in Landscape Design from the Landscape Institute and the Boston Architectural College in 2013. She was certified as a NOFA Organic Land Care Professional in 2017. As part of her commitment to ecological practices, she has been involved for over 10 years with the Ecological Landscape Alliance and served on the ELA Board of Directors since 2012.

    This is an Ecological Landscape Alliance member event, and is free. To join (memberships start at $50, $25 for students), and to register, click HERE.

  • Saturday, November 6, 7:00 pm – Transitioning Ecosystems: Foundation Species Loss Due to Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Invasion Affects Ecosystem Function, Online

    The New England Botanical Club will present an online meeting on Zoom on Saturday, November 6 at 7 pm with Dr. Danielle Ignace, Assistant Professor, Indigenous Natural Sciences Department of Forest and conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

    Eastern US forests are losing a foundation tree species, the eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadenis), due to the exotic insect pests hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) and elongate hemlock scale (Fiorinia externa). The widespread destruction of this important evergreen conifer has large ramifications for ecosystem processes and other species that depend on it for survival. The implications of this invasion for ecosystem processes are far-reaching because coniferous eastern hemlock is most often replaced by deciduous tree species, such as Betula lenta (black birch), which have differing effects on forest floor microenvironments. Using an “accidental experiment” initiated by patch-level timber harvesting, 30 years ago in western Massachusetts, Dr. Ignace presents the impacts on soil organic layer mass, C:N content, soil respiration, leaf litter characteristics, and the microbial community. Taken together, these impacts affect source/sink carbon dynamics, which may be exacerbated by a warming climate. Non-members may register for the meeting access link here.