By Carol Stocker
(on line live to answer gardening questions 1-2 p.m. Nov. 9)

Founded in 1829, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society is dedicated to encouraging the science and practice of horticulture and developing the public's enjoyment, appreciation, and understanding of plants and the environment. Here are November classes and holiday events at their HQ at 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts:

Fairy Garden Workshop for Kids
Growing and Showing! A Fairy Garden Workshop for Kids
Saturday, November 10th
10 am-12 pm
There are still spaces available for this workshop where kids ages 8-12 can plant their own Fairy Garden, with help on how to exhibit that garden at the 2013 Boston Flower and Garden Show.

Thursday Night at the Hort: Forcing Hardy Bulbs
Featuring Kathi Gariepy - Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
Presentations will begin at 7pm and go until all questions are answered.The classes are priced at $12 for members and $15 for non-members unless otherwise indicated. There is no need to pre-register and you may pay at the class.
Location: The Parkman Room, Education Building, Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley

Upcoming "Thursday at the Hort" presentations include:

November 15: Creating a Container of Succulents.

November 6th 6-8pm - Reconstructing Thanksgiving
Whole Foods Market, Wellesley MA

Bored with the same old "traditional" Thanksgiving side dishes? Wondering if there is a way to make them both healthy and delicious? Come in and learn how to make a few simple and effortless adjustments to your Thanksgiving dinner.
Cost - $10.00 for members, $12.00 for non-members.
Reservations may be made by calling 617-933-4943

Upcoming classes

December 6th - Gifts from the Kitchen
January 8th - Eating to Begin a Healthy Lifestyle
February 5th - For the Love of Chocolate

Festival of Trees
November 23 through December 8The Overseers of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society will present its Fourth Annual
Festival of Trees at Elm Bank from Friday, November 23 through Saturday, December 8,
2012.

PREVIEW PARTY will be held on Saturday, November 17th
7-9:00 p.m.
Appetizers and wine will be served amongst the beautiful trees.
$25.00 per person.
For more information, email Joyce@masshortfestivaloftrees.org

GIFTS FROM THE GARDEN

Thursday, November 29th
local craft, artisan food and fine art vendors in a convivial community setting
next to the popular Festival of Trees event. Some of the vendors you will find are:

AUTHOR FEST

Also on Thursday, in conjunction with the vendor portion of Gifts from the Garden, Mass Hort will be highlighting a group of authors with horticulture-based books in our AurthorFest event. Selected authors will be discussing their books with an opportunity for purchase. Book lovers may choose to listen to just one author, or stay for them all. Light refreshments will be served during the proceedings. The schedule of speakers is listed below:

4:00 James L. Jones. Fall and Winter Bloom in the Solar Greenhouse - Detailed
information on operating a greenhouse that is heated by the sun alone and on choosing a satisfying array of off-season bloomers that do well under its conditions.

4:45 Ellen Sousa. The Green Garden - Guide to natural-style, earth-friendly gardening
in New England. Learn how to work with nature to create gardens brimming with health
and sheltering birds, pollinators and other declining wildlife.

5:30 Deborah A. Locke. Mr. Bull and the Amazing Grape - The beautifully illustrated
picture book is written for children ages 4 through 8 and tells the story of Ephraim Wales
Bull, a hard-working farmer who resided in Concord during the 19th century. He
was "The Father of the Concord Grape", a hardy and delicious blue-black grape that won
a gold medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1853.

6:15 Suzie Hearl Canale. "The Beantown Tales" - A collection of children's books
which educate readers about important issues concerning the three main elements of the earth; the environment, humanitarian kindness and endangered animal preservation. The award winning series is geared towards children from 3 to 9.

FESTIVAL OF TREES WREATH WORKSHOP

Create beautiful wreaths and swags to take home for the holiday season! The
Festival of Trees Wreath Workshop will be held on Saturday, December 1st at 10:30 a.m.
in the Putnam building at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA.
Price: $45.00 for Mass Hort members, $55 for non-members.
Space is limited to 20 participants and pre-registration is required. Participants are
encouraged to bring clippers and/or strong scissors. All other supplies will be provided.

Please register online at http://www.masshort.org/Festival-of-Trees. You can also
register or find out more information by calling 617-933-4934 or email Joyce Bakshi at joyce@masshortfestivaloftrees.org.

Saturday November 17th
Succulent Container Workshop with Carrie Waterman
10 am-12 pm in the Putnam Classroom at Elm Bank

Make your very own succulent container. Learn from an expert how to plant an attractive container of these wonderful plants. All materials will be provided including a nice selection of succulent plants suitable for a mixed container, pots, special soil mix, plant labels and top dressing. Aftercare instructions will be included along with information about how to propagate succulents and how to exhibit your container at the 2013 Boston Flower & Garden Show.

To register click here. Deadline for registration is Monday, November 12th.
Fee: Members $60 per container; Non-members $75.00 per container.

By Carol Stocker
Landscape architects and historians from around the country converged on the Boston Athenaeum Saturday night to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Library of American Landscape History, the foremost publisher in the genre, which is headquartered in Amherst. The non-profit has published a cannon of 26 books on the history of landscape design in this country, working with the University of Massachusetts Press. They include the award winning "A Genius for Place: American Landscapes of the Country Place Era," by Robin Karson, LALH's founder and executive director, who briefly addressed the gathering.

Also in attendance were Iris Gestram, executive director of the National Association for Olmsted Parks in Washington, director Mark Zelonis of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Bob Cook, former director of the Arnold Arboretum, Meg Winslow, archivist for the Mount Auburn Cemetery, and Lee Farrow Cook of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic National Park Service site, named Fairsted.

Nancy Turner, the LALH's founding president, was honored. "I met Robin when she came to write about my Fletcher Steele garden," recalled Turner in an interview. The famous Boston landscape designer had had an office on Louisburg Square, but had retired to Pittsford, N.Y., near her estate, and created his last garden there for her. Karson documented it in her great book, "Fletcher Steele, Landscape Architect." Written shortly after Steele's death in 1971, the book documented many of his gardens before they were lost. Steele gardens were generally high maintenance and seldom survived their owners, "but Mabel Choate preserved her Naumkeag," said Turner. She referred to the The Trustees of Reservations' Steele garden in Stockbridge, famed for its series of white Art Deco staircases and waterfalls framed by birch trees..

Turner now lives in Connecticut. Does her own Pittsford garden still exist? "I don't know. I never went back to look. There has been a tremendous increase in the cost of maintenance." She smiled. "Gardens are like sand castles. It survives in Robin's book," she said as she flipped though the book's pages, which featured photos of her well planted granite staircase, orchard, and a series of terraces that led to a round reflecting pool. "It's very quiet, a placid place that reflected the final year of Fletcher Steele's life."

It was after completing this survey of Steele's rapidly vanishing gardens that Karson decided there needed to be an organization that published books on American historical landscapes. She was able to start one with Turner's support, and has kept it going for 20 years, during which she has assembled the most important authors of books on landscape architecture in this country.

New books include "Community by Design; The Olmsted Firm and the Planning of Brookline," by Elisabeth Hope Cushing, Roger G. Reed and Boston University professor Keith N. Morgan, who was at the party. After designing Central Park, Olmsted deserted New York for Brookline, which had proudly anointed itself "the richest town in the world." Little has been previously published on the importance of Brookline as a laboratory and model for the Olmsted firm's work. This book will detail how his son and namesake saw the town as a grounds for experimenting in the new profession of city planning.

It will be followed next year by a study of another important locally based designer. "Arthur A. Shurcliff and the Making of the Colonial Williamsburg Landscape," by Elizabeth Hope Cushing, will spotlight this under-appreciated force in the Colonial Revival house and garden movement. His projects included aspects of the Charles River Esplanade, the Franklin Park Zoo, and, at the end of his life, the iconic gardens at Colonial Williamsburg.

Next year will also see the LAHL's publication of "The Best Planned City in the World: Olmsted, Vaux, and the Buffalo Park System," by Francis R. Kowsky, cq writing about Buffalo, N.Y. "We try to focus the study on individual places," explained Karson. It will be the first in a series edited by Ethan Carr called "Designing the American Park." Another new series will deal with environmental design.

Interest in the history of American landscape architecture has blossomed in the last three decades, said Carr at the gathering. He linked it to the resurgence of interest in New York's Central Park and it's history. That park, which sunk to an all-time low in the 1970's, is now in the best shape of its history, thanks in part to LALH board member Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, the founder of the powerful Central Park Conservancy.

Boston's Emerald Necklace, another Olmsted masterpiece, has also enjoyed rejuvenation and scholarly attention. The Frederick Law Olmsted Papers Project will soon publish Volume Eight of Olmsted Sr's letters, dealing with the 1880's when the Emerald Necklace was created, said Carr, who is the editor.

The U. Mass professor is also the editor of one of LALH's prizewinning books, "Mission 66: Modernism and the National Park Dilemma." And what is the dilemma? "Too little money, too many visitors," said Carr succinctly. "And too many cars."

Posted by Carol Stocker
Thinking about joining the Friends of the Arboretum or renewing your membership? The Members' Plant Giveaway is on on Saturday, September 15. Free plant quantities are determined by membership level, and attendees may also participate in special drawings for remarkable plants. Experts will be on hand to help you with selections and to answer your woody plant questions.

You can apply as a School Programs volunteer guide and train to lead small groups of schoolchildren through an active learning program about plants and the natural world. Prospective guides must be able to volunteer for a minimum of two seasons, and prior experience with teaching, counseling, or volunteering with children is preferred. Training sessions begin this month, focused on introducing new guides to the basics of botany, the curriculum of the Arboretum's diverse field studies, and the Arboretum landscape as an outdoor classroom. Call Nancy Sableski, Manager of Children's Education, at 617.384.5239 for more information.

Arboretum members enjoy reciprocal benefits at gardens and arboreta affiliated with the American Horticultural Society, though some restrictions may apply for institutions within a 90-mile radius of the Arboretum. During Massachusetts Botanic Gardens Reciprocal Membership Week, August 11-19, members of any of nine participating institutions in the Commonwealth can enjoy free admission and other benefits when visiting these sites.

Curatorial Assistant Susan Hardy Brown has prepared specimens for the Arboretum's herbaria for a quarter century, utilizing aesthetic sensibilities cultivated in her vocation as a visual artist. Continuing this month in the Hunnewell Building, Ex Herbario is an exhibition of more than 50 pieces that evocatively incorporate some of the materials and ephemera associated with her daily work with plants collected from all over the world. Her paintings and constructions renew these found materials and offer viewers a unique perspective into the realm of preserving plants for identification and long-term study.
See current and upcoming exhibitions...

Celebrating its tenth anniversary this summer, the M. Victor and Frances Leventritt Garden holds a unique plant collection that includes a diverse selection of vines suitable for New England landscapes. The Arboretum grows more than 100 accessions of vines, which climb on modular steel trellises, grow along the fieldstone walls, and cling to the supports of the garden's open-air pavilion. A member of the buttercup family, clematis is a vine that climbs with twining petioles and bears flowers highly prized for their showy sepals and stamens. Its pollinated pistils expand and curl to form a round, feathery seed head that extends its ornamental interest into the fall.
Enjoy plants in our Featured Collection...

Three 30-foot-tall, 23-year-old ginkgos growing near the Arboretum's Bussey Street Gate are being studied from top to bottom as part of the first-ever effort to define the entire community of microbes found on the above-ground surfaces of a large tree. Senior Research Scientist Peter Del Tredici and Arboretum Director Ned Friedman are collaborating with Noah Fierer, Jon Leff, and Samantha Weintraub from the University of Colorado to sample and analyze the trees' microbiome--the complete record of their microbial associates. While the microbiome of humans has been well studied, those of plants are largely unknown. This project hopes to fill this gap by identifying what species of microbes live on these trees and how they vary according to their location from top to bottom as well as from north to south.

Questions or Comments?
email: membership@arnarb.harvard.edu
phone: 617.384.5209
web: http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu

By Carol Stocker

The annual Iris Society of Massachusetts auction July 29 will be hosted by Stephanie Markham and Larry Wilson at 22 Lawrence Street, Norfolk, from noon to 4:00 PM for members and their guests. This is an opportunity to obtain newer irises at prices below those listed in the catalogs. There is also a sale table with older irises. Bring a chair.

Directions to 22 Lawrence Street, Norfolk, MA

FROM Boston/Points northeast via southeast Expressway: Take the Southeast Expressway(south) to Rt128N/95S; take Rt 95 South, then take Rt 495 North. Follow directions from Rt 495.

FROM North/Northeast/Southeast via Rt 495: Take Rt 495 South or North. Take Exit 16 (Franklin, King Street). Go LEFT off the exit if coming from the north, or go RIGHT off the exit if coming from the south. Go through 1 set of lights almost immediately. Go through another set of lights at the intersection with Rt 140 after about 1 mile. About 1 mile further, take a RIGHT on MILL ST. Travel about 1 mile to #22 Lawrence Street (Mill Street becomes Lawrence Street after about 1/2 mile when you enter Norfolk from Franklin). #22 Lawrence Street is on the RIGHT -- a white and gray house with white and gray awnings, and an uphill driveway.

FROM Points North: Take Rt 128 (95S) south. Take Exit 16B (Rt 109 W towards Westwood). Follow Rt 109 through several towns (9+ miles) until you reach Millis and the intersection with Rt 115. Take a LEFT on Rt 115. Travel into the center of Norfolk (about 4 miles) and take a RIGHT at the rotary in the center of town onto MAIN ST. Travel about 1.7 miles to a blinking light and take a LEFT onto PARK ST. Take your 3rd RIGHT onto LAWRENCE ST. #22 Lawrence Street is the 4th house on your LEFT -- a white and gray house with white and gray awnings, and an uphill driveway.

FROM Points West (Framingham/Natick): Take Rt 27 south to Rt 115 south (take a RIGHT onto Rt 115). Follow Rt 115 into the center of Norfolk (a little over 7 miles). Take a RIGHT at the rotary in the center of town onto MAIN ST. Travel about 1.7 miles to a blinking yellow light and take a LEFT onto PARK STREET. Take your 3rd RIGHT onto LAWRENCE ST. #22 Lawrence Street is the 4th house on your LEFT -- a white and gray house with white and gray awnings, and an uphill driveway.

The Virginia Thurston Healing Garden (HG) and Russell's Garden Center have
teamed up to offer a weekend garden tour (Saturday, July 21 and Sunday,
July 22) highlighting water features and, especially, the creative work of
Jay Bearfield, Liquid Landscape Design (Westford, MA ---
http://www.liquidlandscapedesigns.com/content/view/23/36/) -- to benefit
the HG. They have selected ten gardens divided between two routes, five
per route (each route will require a $25 ticket to view).

By Carol Stocker
The Rose Garden Party is a fundraiser and kick-off event for ParkARTS, Mayor Menino's initiative to present free yearlong arts, cultural, and enrichment programs and events in the Boston park system. Now in its 16th year, the annual Rose Garden Party has become one of Boston's signature events.

The 16th Annual Rose Garden Party will be Thursday, June 28, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Kelleher Rose Garden at Park Drive and Agassiz Road in the Back Bay Fens (opposite the MFA).

First Lady Angela Menino serves as event chair of the Rose Garden Committee, which is comprised of arts and business leaders and supporters of children’s enrichment programming. Proceeds from the ticketed event directly funds the ParkARTS programming in neighborhood parks throughout the city. Tickets and sponsorships are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

The Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens has 3,000 rose bushes are at peak bloom. Event highlights will inclue passed hors d’oeuvres and cocktails; live entertainment and a spirited creative hat contest in a garden-party setting. Tickets start at $125.

By Carol Stocker.
NEWPORT, RI – June 24 is the final day of the 17th annual Newport Flower Show. The theme is Salsa – A Celebration of Latin Cultures which has brought vibrant colors and elaborate designs to the historic grounds of Rosecliff.

The front lawn of Rosecliff is filled with beautiful garden displays, offering inspiration for those looking to add color and old world charm to their own gardens. Guests can browse the Gardeners’ Marketplace for specialty plants, flowers and garden accessories. The shopping experience continues on the back lawn, in the Oceanside Boutiques featuring additional garden and lifestyle-related products and services.

The Newport Flower Show is open today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets sold at the door are $23.

For more information visit www.NewportFlowerShow.org, or call (401) 847-1000.

The Presenting Sponsor of the Newport Flower Show is Bartlett Tree Experts. The show is also sponsored by National Trust Insurance Services, Brooks Brothers Country Club, Porsche of Warwick, Northern Trust, Alex & Ani, BankNewport, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Southern New England, Atria Senior Living, Trellis Structures and Wines from Spain.

All proceeds from the Newport Flower Show benefit the ongoing landscape restoration efforts of The Preservation Society of Newport County, a private non-profit organization accredited by the American Association of Museums and dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area's historic architecture, landscapes and decorative arts. Its 11 historic properties—seven of them National Historic Landmarks—span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development.

By Carol Stocker
This year's Roslindale Garden Tour has dwarf fruit trees, potatoes and tomatoes grown in containers, raspberries, herbs, and even artichokes. Many of the gardeners use rain barrels to collect rainwater and to irrigate during the heat of the summer to grow food in small city yards or in community garden plots.

The tour is Saturday, June 23, 11 am to 4 pm, rain or shine.

Tickets are $20 and are available on line through PayPal at roslindalegreenandclean.org or at Joanne Rossman, 6 Birch Street, Roslindale, or at the Roslindale Farmers Market on tour day staring at 9 am.

By Carol Stocker
Here's a calendar of some of the many garden tours and special events offered in coming weeks:
June 21 from 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. The Community Garden Club of Duxbury Garden Tour will include six Duxbury gardens. Visit www.communitygardenclubofduxbury.org for more information. The rain date is June 22 and the contact is Sue McMahon at 781-934-6732.

June 28th at 11 a.m. at the Green Briar Nature Center in Sandwich, as part of one of Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classrooms Summer Workshops on the Farm, Debi Hogan will offer a presentation on Gardening Practices that Support Biodiversity and Gardening for Butterflies. This one hour presentation is open to the public.Read More About Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom's Summer Workshops on the FarmRegister with the Green Briar Nature Center: 508-888-6870r info@thorntonburgess.org

July 14 Tranquil Lake Summer Garden Festival. This is a great educational destination as well as a beautiful garden to visit in late June and July. The owners will be hosting a national tour from the Perennial Plant Association the first week of July and will then celebrate their 21st Summer Garden Festival the weekend of July 14 and 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.
Saturday, July 14 Highlights:

* Ikebana Flower Design Installation - On-Going All Day

* Garden Talk on Plants that Bring the Sizzle to the Summer Garden

* Building the Herb Wall

* Herbs for the Herb Wall

* Garden Talk on The Daylilies Introduced by Tranquil Lake Nursery

Sunday, July 15 Highlights:

* Techniques for Sharpening & Maintaining Gardeinig Tools

(On-Going All Day)

* Garden Talk on Late Season Gems to Sustain the Garden

* Hypertufa How-To Workshop

* Planting the Hypertufa Container

* Garden Talk on Favorite Late Season Daylilies

June 21, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nantucket. Seven gardens will be open to benefit The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program and Sustainable Nantucket. Visitors may begin at 11 Mill Street, where volunteers will be available to assist you and answer questions. The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program has been opening the gates to America’s best private gardens since 1995 and this year features more than 300 gardens in 19 states. A $5 admission fee at each garden supports the expansion of the Open Days Program around the country and helps build awareness of the Garden Conservancy’s work of preserving exceptional American gardens such as The Fells in Newbury, NH , as well as fifteen other preservation projects.For More Information: See www.opendaysprogram.org or call The Garden Conservancy toll-free weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, 1-888-842-2442.

June 22-24, 17th Annual Newport Flower Show at Rosecliff. Opening night party: June 22, 6-9 p.m. Theme: Salsa - A Celebration of Latin Cultures. The front lawn of Rosecliff will again be filled with beautiful garden displays, offering inspiration for those looking to add color and old world charm to their own gardens. Guests will be able to browse the Gardeners’ Marketplace for specialty plants, flowers and garden accessories. The Newport Flower Show will be open to the public from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, June 22, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, June 23 & 24. Advance sale and Preservation Society member admission tickets are $18 per person. Tickets sold at the door will be $25 on Friday, $23 on Saturday or Sunday. For more information and to purchase tickets for the Newport Flower Show, visit www.NewportFlowerShow.org, or call (401) 847-1000.

June 23, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.. Roslindale Garden Tour of eight private gardens plus the Southwest Boston Community Garden. Presented by Roslindale Green & Clean. Tour begins at Adams Park, Farmer's Market (Washington St. at Cummins Highway, Roslindale Village) Tickets $20 the week of sale, or $15 at www.roslindalegreenandclean.org.

June 28-July 1, 10 am -5 p.m.each day, Secret Garden Tours of Newport walking tour of Newport's Historic Point neighborhood with more than a dozen private gardens. Ticket are $20-$25, and can be purchased at www.secregardentour.org (via PayPal) or 401-439-7253. Email info@secretgardentours.org for more information. This event benefits art education and cultural programs in local schools.

June 29- 30, 10 am 3 pm Wareham Garden Club presents “Gardens Ashore - A Coastal Garden Tour of Wareham and Onset”
Tickets and maps available on days of tour for $20 at Buzzards Bay Productions, 3065 Cranberry Highway, E. Wareham. Contact: Sandy Slavin at (508) 291-1643 or asslavin@aim.com for advance ticket sales and additional information.Six private gardens.

July 21-28, "Adventures in Space” A Standard Flower Show, Southeastern District, Fair admission Entry days Saturday, July 21 and Wednesday, July 25, 7-9 AM.
Barnstable County Fair, Route 151, East Falmouth MA. Design, horticulture and special exhibit division. Contact: Kathleen Coyle, (508) 295-2857 or kmcoyle2@verizon.net.

July 21-22, 10z.m.-4 p.m. Ripples: A self-guided Pond Tour for Healing, two distinctive tours featuring waterscapes throughout central and southern middlesex county, $25 per tour book, books available beginning July 1 at The Virginia Thurston Healing Garden, 145 Bolton Road, Harvard and Russells Garden Center, 397 Boston Post Road, Wayland. For information visit www.HealingGarden.net.

By Carol Stocker
Thursday, June 21, 2012, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
You can improve your soil while getting rid of nearly half of your household garbage by composting. Compost is the basis for healthy soil. Healthy soil grows healthy lawns and gardens without the need for pesticides or chemical fertilizers. You can have a beautiful yard without using chemicals that can harm children, pets and the environment. Learn how to turn coffee grounds, tea bags, fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, yard waste and even paper towels into black gold that will transform your soil into rich, fertile earth. This workshop covers easy composting methods, different types of bins, indoor worm composting for apartment-dwellers, and how compost can eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides in your yard and garden.

Ann McGovern is the Consumer Waste Reduction Coordinator and composting outreach specialist for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. She coordinates Massachusetts' home composting education program and compost bin grant program, through which over 110,000 compost bins have been distributed to the public. She has taught the composting session for the Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA) Organic Landcare Certification Course since 2003, and for the Mass. Horticultural Society's Master Gardener Training program since 1994. In March 2005, the PBS show "Ask This Old House" featured Ann as guest expert in a home composting segment. Ann is an avid gardener and finds most enjoyment when nature thrives in her small suburban lot. Ann is a graduate of the University of Vermont in Environmental Studies and has done postgraduate work in Soil Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has worked for DEP since 1989.

"Thursday at the Hort" presentations begin at 7 pm and go until all questions are answered. The classes are priced at $12 for members and $15 for non-members unless otherwise indicated. There is no need to pre-register and you may pay at the class.

Upcoming "Thursday at the Hort" presentations include:
June 28: "Design and Installation of an Edible Native Plant Garden," featuring Kristin DeSouza, Senior Horticulturist and Plant Record Coordinator at Garden in the Woods.
July 5: No event; holiday weekend.
July 12: Clematis: The Queen of the Climbers featuring Cheryl Monroe - The Garden in the Burrow

by Carol Stocker
Visitors to Franklin Park Zoo will soon have a rare opportunity to see a titan arum in bloom in what could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see this giant of the plant world on full display.

Called the Amorphophallus titanum — better known as a titan arum or corpse flower (due to its production of a very pungent aroma like that of a rotting carcass), these are among the most gigantic of flowers – blooms are potentially 9 feet in height and 6 feet across. The plant at the zoo is expected to bloom within the next week or two although this can not be predicted with absolute certainty.

A greenhouse with humidity and temperature controls has been constructed to accommodate this enormous plant. Once the plant is in bloom, visitors will be able to walk through this space located near Serengeti Crossing.

Titan arums are very sensitive plants and conditions must be just right for them to bloom. These plants are noted for rapid growth particularly as they near bloom, which can be 4 to 5 inches a day.

“We are incredibly excited about these most unusual examples of nature and we hope that people will take advantage of this rare opportunity to see this jaw-dropping plant on display. The blooms are truly spectacular, as is the aroma” said John Linehan, Zoo New England President and CEO.

Originating from Sumatra, the corpse flower has demanding environmental requirements. This rarely observed blooming phenomenon often goes many years between blooms which last for only 24-48 hours. In the wild, these plants are scattered and the pungent smell can attract pollinators from quite a distance away.

At this stage, it is difficult to predict exactly when the plant will bloom. But if you are interested, you can follow the plant’s development through the Zoos’ twitter account (@zoonewengland) in order to stay abreast of this dynamic process and not miss the short bloom period.

Due to the fact that prime blooming in these plants takes place at night, there will be special off-hours viewing periods established. Early morning viewings from 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. and evening viewings from 6:00-8:00 p.m. will be free to the public. The animals will not be on exhibit at this time and visitors can only enter via the Zebra entrance.

The plant will also be on public display throughout regular Zoo hours and regular Zoo admission must be paid during normal business hours. You can regularly check the Website at franklinparkzoo.org, Facebook at www.facebook.com/franklinparkzoo and follow it on Twitter (@zoonewengland) for details on growth and anticipated viewing times.

The titan arum was generously donated to the zoo by Dr. Louis Ricciardiello, an oral surgeon in Laconia, New Hampshire, who has been growing and cultivating these plants for many years.

By Carol Stocker
I will be live on-line 1-2 p.m. Friday June 8 to answer your gardening questions here at boston.com. It's the month for garden tours and flower shows! Here are some offered by local garden clubs to benefit civic projects:
June 9, 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. The Bridgewater Garden Club Garden Tour will feature five gardens of garden club members including two spectacular hosta gardens. for ticket information, contact Ann Wood at 508-697-7617

June 13 and 14. The Nauset Garden Club flower show will be Wednesday 1-5 PM and Thursday 10 AM to 4 PM “Inspirations of Spring” is the title of the Standard Flower Show at the Crosby Mansion, Crosby Lane, Brewster. Donation are $10 with all proceeds donated to the Crosby Mansion and the Nauset Garden Club Scholarship Fund. Take Route 6 to Exit 11, and Route 137 towards Brewster. Take Millstone Rd. Follow that to Route 6A. Go right for ½ mile. Crosby Lane is on your left.

June 16 and 17 are the dates for the Chelmsford Garden Club, Madhatter Garden Tour with Complimentary tea at the Garrison House. Contact Kathy Lewis at kathy_llc@yahoo.com for more information. Tickets are $20 advanced $25 at door

June 21 from 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. The Community Garden Club of Duxbury Garden Tour will include six Duxbury gardens. Visit www.communitygardenclubofduxbury.org for more information. The rain date is June 22 and the contact is Sue McMahon at 781-934-6732.

By Carol Stocker
Globe Correspondent\
Garden Club Plant Sales continue through early June, raising money for worth local causes and providing bargains for shoppers with sharp eyes. Don't buy the spreaders!

May 24, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. The Stoneham GC "Annual Plant Sale & Lobster Roll Luncheon" at All Saints Episcopal Church 79 Central St. Stoneham. For information contact geotren@rcn.com

May 26, Dracut Garden Club 3rd Annual Plant Sale, 9:00 AM – NOON. Rain Date – May 27th– Featuring Garden Favorites, Vegetable Plants, Colorful Planters, Potted Flowers, Seedlings on the Dracut Historical Society Lawn, Lakeview Avenue

May 26, 9 am - noon, Osterville Garden Club Plant & Bake Sale, Osterville Garden Club Plant & Bake Sale, Special Features: Heuchera-Heucherella (Coral Bells), Herbs, Garden Items, Home Baked Goods, “Plant Doctor” Table at Osterville Library Green, Wianno Avenue, Osterville

May 29, 6:45 pm The Norwood Evening Garden Club's Donna Lane presents her "Container Garden" Program at the Carriage House of the First Baptist Church, 71 Bond St., Norwood, MA. $5 donation requested.

June 1 and 2, 9:00 A.M. (on both days) -5:00 P.M., Belmont Garden Club, "Signs of Spring" Flower Show at the Belmont Public Library's Assembly Room, 336 Concord Ave., Belmont.

June 2, 9 am - noon, Fairbanks Garden Club, Plant Sale, rain or shine, The Fairbanks House Museum 511 East Street, Dedham

June 2, 9 am - 3 pm Needham Garden Club Annual plant sale, corner of Highland Avenue and Great Plain Avenue, Needham

June 2, 9:00 A.M. -1:00 P.M. Scituate Garden Club "Annual Plant Sale " on the grounds of the historic Mann House, Greenfield Lane, Scituate with tours of the club's adjacent award winning wild flower garden.

June 2, 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon, Fairbanks Gareden Club of Dedham, "Plant Sale" on the grounds of The Fairbanks House Museum. The sale will take place rain or shine at 511 East Street, Dedham.

You can find some real bargains at plant sales - they are kind of like yard sales, only with plants, most of which were dug up from local backyards. The plants tend to be larger and less expensive than what you will find in nurseries and to be climate tested to thrive in our area. And these events raise a lot of money for local civic projects. So it's a win-win. But here's the catch: Ask a lot of questions and don't buy anything unless you get good answers. Some plants have been dug up for sale because they spread more than the owners like and they want to get rid of them! So beware of garden thugs.

I'm having a plant sale myself with neighbors at 375 Hillside Street, Milton, this Saturday 8 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sunday noon-3 p.m. featuring about a thousand perennials we've dug and divided from our own backyards, including some unusual ones. Most are only $5 and well behaved.

Here's a long list of others being held this week. You can probably find at least one near you.

The Marblehead Garden Club Plant Sale, The Star of the Sea Community Center, 80 Atlantic Ave. Marblehead, Saturday 9 am - 12:30 pm. Cottage Gardeners of Marblehead and Swampscott will be holding its annual plant sale on Saturday, May 19, 9-12:30, St. Stephens Church in Marblehead. Besides beautiful perennials from members gardens, and herbs, and vegetable seedlings priced very reasonably they will sell gently used garden tools and garden accessories.

Saturday 9 am - noon. The Medfield Garden Club Spring Perennial at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, 26 North Street Medfield

Saturday 8:30a.m -11:00a.m. Brockton Garden Club Plant Sale featuring perennials from members gardens at the Brockton Parks Dept – 45 Meadow Lane, Brockton

Saturday, 9 am - 11:30 am, The Friendly Garden Club of Beverly at a new indoor location – the Beverly Senior Center at 90 Colon Street (down the road from the Briscoe Middle School). Proceeds will support civic beautification projects.

Saturday 9 am -2 pm, the Tewksbury Garden Club Will host their annual Plant Sale
at the Tewksbury Public Library, 300 Chandler Street, Tewksbury

Saturday at 8 am The Haverhill Garden Club Plant Sale will continue until it sells out of plants at Bradford Common, near 14 Church Street, Haverhill.

Saturday, 9 am - noon The Wareham Garden Club Spring Plant Sale will be held at the Olde Methodist Meeting House, 495 Main Street, Wareham

Saturday 9 am - noon. The Plymouth Garden Club Plant, Bake & Attic Treasures Sale
will be held at the Chiltonville Church, 6 River Street, Plymouth. Rain or Shine

Saturday, 9 am - 1 pm Garden Club of Hyannis Annual Plant & Bake Sale
“From Our Garden to Yours” Annuals, Perennials, Flowers, Herbs, Vegetables, Shrubs Home-baked Goodies Rain or shine. Proceeds to benefit the Scholarship Fund.
Location: Centerville Recreation Building, 524 Main St., Centerville MA

Saturday, 9:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. Acton Garden Club, "Plant Sale" on the Acton Center Common

Saturday, 9:00 A.M. - 12 noon Walnut Hill Garden Club of Hanover, "Biennial Plant Sale." First Congregational Church Riley Hall, Silver St. Hanover

Saturday, 9:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. Marblehead Garden Club 81st Annual Plant Sale.
Plants from the Jeremiah Lee Mansion’s gardens, as well as those from members’ gardens, will be available. Selections include wildflowers, perennials, annuals, herbs, rock garden plants and ground cover plants. Garden Club members are on hand to answer questions and provide gardening tips. Location: Star of the Sea Community Center, 80 Atlantic Ave., Marblehead

Saturday, 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon, Holliston Garden Club's annual Plant Sale features perennials dug from members' gardens, high quality annuals, herbs and vegetables.
Location: Church Green, Rte. 16, Holliston

Saturday, 9:00 a.m. -12 noon Community Garden Club of Duxbury, "Plant Swap & Sale"
Location: Town Green, Washington St. Duxbury

Sunday, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. The Andover Garden Club presents "Jeduthan Abbot House & Garden Tour" at 31 Lowell St. Andover
Tickets: $20 and can be purchased prior to the event (Tickets will NOT be sold at the door) Contact: Dana at 978-475-4451

Sunday 9 am - noon, The Country Lane Garden Club Annual Plant Sale, at the First Parish Chelmsford Unitarian Church 2 Westford Street, Chelmsford

Sunday, 10 am - 2 pm, the North Andover Garden Club Annual Plant Sale, Stevens Memorial Library, Main St., North Andover

Sunday, 7 pm, Beth Shalom Garden Club. “Containers, Containers, Containers” program by Carol Bello and Karen Gorton. Temple Beth Shalom, 670 Highland Avenue, Needham. $5 donation requested. The floral designs will be raffled off!

Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. Stoneham Garden Club "Annual Plant Sale & Lobster Roll Luncheon" at All Saints Episcopal Church 79 Central St. Stoneham

Dracut Garden Club 3rd Annual Plant Sale, May 26, 2012 9:00 AM – NOON
Rain Date – May 27th– Featuring Garden Favorites, Vegetable Plants, Colorful Planters, Potted Flowers, Seedlings.. Location: Dracut Historical Society Lawn, Lakeview Avenue

May 26, 9 am -noon Osterville Garden Club Plant & Bake Sale
Osterville Garden Club Plant & Bake Sale, Special Features: Heuchera-Heucherella (Coral Bells), Herbs, Garden Items, Home Baked Goods. “Plant Doctor” Table
Location: Osterville Library Green, Wianno Avenue, Osterville

By Carol Stocker
If you love irises, visit the Iris Society of Massachusetts' spring iris show on Monday, May 28, 2012 (Memorial Day) at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center, 1276 Main St., Concord, MA (see it on Google Maps at this link: http://g.co/maps/bjr2v)

The theme of this year's show is "Hats Off to Irises" with hats decorating the show tables and hat-themed arrangements. The show will be open to the public (for free) from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. There will be arrangements, an exhibit of companion plants, an information table, a popularity poll for visitors to vote for their favorite iris flowers, and potted iris plants and bare-root rhizomes for sale. You might find something unusual.

The competition will include the Horticultural Division (individual stalks of named irises, judged by accredited AIS judges), the Youth Horticulture Division (for exhibitors under 19), the Seedling Division (unintroduced irises of any type), an Educational Exhibit, the Design Division (arrangements featuring irises on hat-related themes in several classes, to be judged by accredited Garden Club Federation judges) or the Companion Plants Division (cut flowers, cut foliage or entire plants, to be judged by popular vote of the visitors). To download the full show schedule (PDF), visit http://www.massirises.org/pdfs/ISMShowSchedule2012.pdf

Entries will be accepted between 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM. Judging is from 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM, at which point the show opens to the public.

This Saturday is the biggest day of the year for garden club plants sales which raise tens of thousands of dollars for local civic projects. Since many of the plants are dug from members' yards you never know what you might find, or what the prices may be. These sales are kind of like plant yard sales. You can find some choice rarities or bargains if you are lucky - and if you come early. Here's some of the day's sales:

8-10 a.m., the Milton Garden Club Perennial and Cow Manure Sale will be held outside the Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave., Milton.

8:30 A.M. - early afternoon,The Garden Club of Amherst "Annual Plant Sale" will be held on the Amherst town common (rts. 9 & 116).

9 am -1 pm, the Open Gate Garden Club of Chelmsford 50th Anniversary Plant Sale will feature Herbs, Annuals, Perennials, Hangers, Planters, Mother’s Day Gifts, Refreshments, a Design Demonstration and a Master Gardener available for questions at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2 Westford Street, Chelmsford Common at the corner of Rte. 110 & Rte. 4.

9:00 a.m. -12 noon the Bridgewater Garden Club "Annual Plant Sale" featuring perennials from members gardens will be held at the Bridgewater Cole-Yeaton Senior Center, 10 Walley Krueger Way, Bridgewater.

9 am - 2 pm Boggestow Garden Club of Sherborn will hold their Geranium Sale at 19 Washington Street, on the lawn of the Library. Rain or Shine.

9 am - 1 pm the Norwood Evening Garden Club will hold their Annual Plant Sale at Hawes Pool Park, Washington St., Norwood, MA

9 am -1 pm the Billerica Garden Club Plant Sale will be at the Billerica Senior Center, 25 Concord Road, Billerica

9 am -1 pm The Country Gardeners Georgetown Plant Sale will be at 30 E. Main Street, Georgetown.

9 am -2 pm The Boxford Village Garden Club Plant Sale will be at 2 Elm Street, Boxford MA. (Elm Street is the main street in Boxford Village, where the East Boxford Church is located.)

9 am -12 noon the Framingham Garden Club Plant Sale will offer a variety of different plants from members’ gardens and other gardening information. Members will be available for questions at the Cushing Maintenance Building at the Winter St.(near Keefe) entrance.

9:00 A.M. -1:00 P.M. the Billerica Garden Club Plant Sale will be held at the Billerica Council on Aging 25, Concord Road, Billerica.

By Carol Stocker
The Spring Festival and Perennial Divide will be held at Boston on May 12th at Boston Natural Areas Network’s City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive, Mattapan from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The festival is free for everyone and is held rain or shine.The Festival’s highlight is the Perennial Divide where anyone who shares an interest in community or backyard gardening can come together to swap plants and gardening tips. Participants are requested to pre-divide their perennial plants into smaller pieces and to bring their own containers for plants to take home. You do not need to bring plants if you are a beginning gardener; there are plenty of free plant divisions to share. BNAN staff members along with skilled BNAN Master Urban Gardeners will be standing by to assist with any questions, concerns or comments you might have.

The Spring Festival also includes a Gardener’s Market of native plants and vegetable seedlings propagated at City Natives along with compost, organic fertilizer and soil amendments to help gardeners build their soil. Proceeds from all sales will benefit BNAN’s City Natives. There is also a free workshop on beekeeping presented by Mike Graney from 12:00- 1:00 p.m. This event also offers the opportunity to take a self-guided tour of the Learning Garden and network with other gardeners.

For more information about the Spring Festival and Perennial Divide, contact BNAN at 617-542-7696 or www.bostonnatural.org. City Natives is accessible by public transportation to Mattapan Square. Remember only service dogs are allowed onto the property.

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LOCAL LAWYERS joined volunteers to plant 16 trees on Saturday, April 28 at the Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School in Roxbury. The event was made possible with the help of LATTE (Lawyers Accountable To The Earth), which is joining forces with Grow Boston Greener (GBG), and Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN).

LATTE is a local initiative of RainforestMaker, a non-profit program founded by Boston attorney Jeffrey S. Glassman, and is dedicated to providing for tree planting and maintenance at Boston area sites in need of trees. "Since lawyers go through ten times more paper than the average office worker, it is only fitting that they replant the trees they use.” Says Attorney Glassman, “Planting trees at schools sets a positive example for teachers, parents, and kids and raises awareness that resources used in one's life can be mindfully restored."

Jesse Solomon, Executive Director, Boston Plan for Excellence was also at the school to help out. Mr. Solomon stated, "The Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School aims to provide a world class education for all its students, preparing them for long-term academic success and responsible civic engagement. As part of that mission, we want to help our students learn about and become stewards of their environment and community. We are intent on making the physical space be the welcoming and vibrant space our children deserve, and having several trees recently added to the property goes a long way toward this goal."

The Grow Boston Greener program was launched by Mayor Menino on Arbor Day, April 30, 2007 when an inventory of the City’s trees showed that Boston had an overall tree canopy cover of 29%. The GBG vision is to plant an additional 100,000 trees by 2020 to increase the urban tree canopy to 35% and make Boston a cooler, greener, healthier city. The goals of GBG are to increase tree canopy, mitigate heat island effect, reduce energy consumption, improve air quality and improve storm water management. GBG focuses not only on planting trees, but also on the community-based stewardship activities necessary to ensure the trees' survival.

Boston Natural Areas Network assists the City of Boston by managing the GBG program. Funding for the GBG program is provided by the support of corporate and philanthropic donors through the Fund for Parks and Recreation in Boston.

Boston Natural Areas Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together local residents, partner organizations, public officials and foundations to preserve, expand and enhance urban open space, including community gardens, greenways and urban wilds. For further information about the organization, becoming a member or the calendar of events, visit www.bostonnatural.org, or call 617-542-7696.

This Saturday, May 12, will be the big plant sale day of the year for many garden clubs.
From 9 am - 2 pm Boggestow Garden Club of Sherborn will hold their Geranium Sale at, 19 Washington Street, on the lawn of the Library. Rain or Shine.

From 9 am - 1 pm the Norwood Evening Garden Club will hold their Annual Plant Sale at Hawes Pool Park, Washington St., Norwood, MA

9 am - noon the Bridgewater Garden Club Plant Sale will be held at the Bridgewater Senior Center, 10 Wally Krueger Way, Bridgewater

9 am -1 pm the Billerica Garden Club Plant Sale will be at the Billerica Senior Center, 25 Concord Road, Billerica

9 am -1 pm The Country Gardeners Georgetown Plant Sale will be at 30 E. Main Street, Georgetown.

9 am -2 pm The Boxford Village Garden Club Plant Sale will be at 2 Elm Street, Boxford MA. (Elm Street is the main street in Boxford Village, where the East Boxford Church is located.)

9 am -1 pm the Open Gate Garden Club of Chelmsford 50th Anniversary Plant Sale will feature Herbs*Annuals*Perennials*Hangers*Planters*Mother’s Day Gifts*Curiosity Shop*Refreshments, a Design Demonstration and a Master Gardener available for questions at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2 Westford Street, Chelmsford Common at the corner of Rte. 110 & Rte. 4.

9 am -12 noon the Framingham GC Plant Sale will offer a variety of different plants from members’ gardens and other gardening information. Members will be available for questions at the Cushing Maintenance Building at the Winter St.(near Keefe) entrance.

8:30 A.M. - early afternoon The GC of Amherst "Annual Plant Sale" will be held on the Amherst town common (rts. 9 & 116).

9:00 A.M. -1:00 P.M. the Billerica GC Plant Sale will be held at the Billerica Council on Aging 25, Concord Road, Billerica.

9:00 a.m. -12 noon the Bridgewater GC "Annual Plant Sale" featuring perennials from members gardens will be held at the Bridgewater Cole-Yeaton Senior Center, 10 Walley Krueger Way, Bridgewater.

8-9:30 the Milton Garden Club Perennial and Manure Sale will be held outside the Milton Public Library.

One of the best soil amendments for garden and lawn is aged cow manure because cows have four stomachs so weed seeds are fully digested and will not sprout again, unlike those in horse manure. But local organic aged cow manure is hard to find in the Boston area. One source is the Milton Garden Club's annual plant sale, which orders in a truckload of 40 pound bags at $7 each from an organic Massachusetts farm. The catch is that you have to place your reserve it in advance, because anything extra sells out fast.

Orders should be submitted by Thursday, May 3, and accompanied by checks payable to the Milton Garden Club and mailed to Barbara Phinney, 104 Canton Ave., Milton, MA 02186 (please include your email address for confirmation). Or you can email her for an electronic order form at cooper448@me.com. Call 617-696-8009 with questions. Every effort will be made to accommodate late orders.

Bags that have been reserved should be picked up in the parking lot of the Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave., 8 a.m. to noon. There will also be many unusual perennials from Milton Garden Club members' gardens for sale at the library from 8-9:30 a.m. so go early if you want to shop.

The club provides a detailed set of instructions on how to use the compost. To help calculate the number of bags to purchase, here are some guidelines:
Approx. 1 bag per 20 sq. ft. of bed area - 1” compost worked into soil
Approx. 2 bags per 1000 st. ft. top dress lawns, apply spring & fall

A Few of the Verified Benefits of Compost Use Include:
• Improves soil and its porosity, creating a better plant root environment.
• Increases moisture infiltration and permeability, reducing bulk density of heavy soils, and reducing soil erosion and runoff.
• Improves the moisture-holding capacity of light soils, reducing water loss and nutrient leaching while improving moisture retention.
• Improves the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soils.
• Supplies organic matter.
• Aids in the proliferation of soil microbes.
• Supplies beneficial microorganisms to soils and growing media.
• Encourages vigorous root growth.
• Allows plants to more effectively utilize nutrients, while reducing nutrient loss from leaching, enabling soils to retain nutrients longer.
• Contains humus, assisting in soil aggregation and making nutrients more available for plant uptake.
• Buffers soil pH.

To quote author and organic gardener Ann Lovejoy, “Dairy manure may be the single most useful soil builder around. Composted dairy manure from healthy cows is just about perfect for garden use; it can be used as a topdressing and for soil improvement, and it is safe to use in unlimited numbers.”

That's why gardeners call it "black gold."

By Carol Stocker
This is my favorite annual weekend at the Museum of Fine Arts, whose galleries are transformed through Monday by almost 70 extraordinary arrangements inspired by specific works of art in the museum collection. Volunteer arrangers in many local garden clubs have been assigned wildly differing works of art works to interpret, ranging from mid-century jewelry to early American furniture and ancient Egyptian tombs. The fun of Art in Bloom is to judge for yourself how cleverly or deftly each flower arrangement echoes the art it is paired with. The floral festival is free with regular Museum admission - which itself is free on Monday night from 5-9 p.m. at the end of the show.

One of the best arrangements ever devised for Art in Bloom must be the Boston Junior League Garden Club's large two dimensional installation by Jane Carr and Lucinda Larson, which interprets an entire special exhibit room of fashion illustrations. Their mammoth piece is comprised of five assorted flower arrangements linked together by the classic fashion motif of sinuous curving palm fronds. The witty result is a floral art special exhibit in its own right that mirrors the spacial relationships of the larger display around it.

There is a lot of mirroring. For instance the very effective arrangement that is Dana Roberts' and Jean Ridge's interpretation of a nautical American painting, for the Hull Garden Club, seems to float in its boat-like ceramic vessel. Having the right container can make (or break) a floral arrangement, of course. Stephanie Hartwell and Joan Gallery of the Amateur Gardeners of Milton reflect a cache of Joan Crawford's aquamarine and diamond jewelry with camera ready flowers in a glittering mirror vase gaudy as the trophy ball on TV's "Dancing With The Stars."

The second floor of the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art is a jewel box itself, and is the must-see gallery of this 36th edition of Art in Bloom. Begin with Jessica Pohl and Barbie Cobb's interpretation of "Sinuous," a writhing white sculpture which they deftly recreate with fiddle heads and calla lilies for the Weston Garden Club. The free-wheeling fun continues throughout this wing as flower arranging goes modern.
Maureen Marshall and Catherine Healy do a vibrant interpretation of red toile wallpaper for the Holliston Garden Club.

The Art of Europe Wing is another fun spot. The warm golden heart of Ann Millington's and Cat Malone's outwardly pale roses captures the changing light in the architectural landscape they have interpreted for the Milton Garden Club.

Many of the Professional Designers' arrangements are also worthy of accolades, including Sue Kaplan Flower melting red and black installation and Jolie Lapham Design's playful red and green dragon. New Leaf flores also prompts second looks.

Members' Night is Sunday, April 29, 6–9 pm with members-only viewings with tours, shopping, and dining. Tours continue until 8 pm; galleries are open until 9 pm. The New American Cafe's last seating is at 8 pm; Taste opens until 8:30 pm. The Paula Pryke Book Signing is Monday, April 30, 12:30–1:30 pm

By Carol Stocker
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), will open its doors to spring with its 36th annual festival of flowers, Art in Bloom, this weekend. Local garden clubs and professional floral designers will adorn galleries throughout the Museum with displays inspired by works of art in the MFA’s collection.

This year, designers will pay specific attention to the Museum’s newly opened Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art by creating vibrant floral arrangements with modern twists. British floral designer and Rose Bowl Parade head judge Paula Pryke will make an appearance, and a family day full of activities for children will begin the celebration on Saturday, April 28.

The MFA’s galleries are transformed by almost 70 extraordinary arrangements inspired by specific works of art. Art in Bloom is free with Museum admission; no reservations are required to see the floral arrangements and participate in most of the programs listed below. Plan your visit for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Special Events

Family Day
Saturday, April 28, 11 am–3 pm
Art-making activities, storytelling, and more.

Members' Night
Sunday, April 29, 6–9 pm
A members-only viewing with tours, shopping, and dining. Tours until 8 pm; galleries open until 9 pm. The New American Cafe's last seating at 8 pm; Taste open until 8:30 pm.

Paula Pryke Book Signing
Monday, April 30, 12:30–1:30 pm

Open House
Monday, April 30, 5–9 pm
Museum admission is free.

Daily Events

Art in Bloom Tours
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 10 am–3 pm

Art in Bloom at Home
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 11 am–3 pm

Ikebana Floral Demonstration
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 3–3:45 pm

Flower Cart
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 1–4 pm
Flowers and plants for purchase

The 83rd Annual Tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill will be held Thursday, May 17, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (rain or shine). Tickets are $30 in advance - $40 the day of the tour.

By Mail: Send check for $30 payable to the Beacon Hill Garden Club by May 8, 2012, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Beacon Hill Garden Club 2012 Tour, Box 302, Charles Street Station, Boston, MA 02114.

Purchase tour day tickets at:
Corner of Charles and Chestnut Streets
Corner of Charles and Mt. Vernon Streets
Church of the Advent, garden entrance, off Mt. Vernon Sq.
Cash or checks only. Credit cards cannot be accepted on Tour Day.

Questions? Leave a voice mail: 617-227-4392.

The famed Concord spokesman for individualism and self-reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once wrote: “When I go into a good garden, I think, if it were mine, I should never go out of it.” This year the Concord Museum is celebrating 23 years of “going into good gardens” on the 23rd annual Garden Tour. The Museum’s Guild of Volunteers has organized this to support the Museum’s Education Programs which annually serve 7,000 students from all over Massachusetts and the nation.

The Garden Tour will take place on two days, Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2, rain or shine. Each of the eight private gardens reflects the individual interests and passions of the owners and their families and will inspire both new gardeners designing their first perennial bed and accomplished landscapers with acres of garden rooms.

The tour of Concord-area gardens is self-guided and self-paced, beginning each day at 9:00 a.m. and continuing until 4:00 p.m. Garden-goers should arrive at the Museum to pick up their maps prior to starting out. Tickets are good for either or both days, but each garden may only be visited once.

Advance Tickets may be purchased at the Museum or by phone (through May 25): $26 Members, $32 Nonmembers; After May 25th or day of: $32 Museum Members, $38 Nonmembers. No refunds; no photography.

The Concord Museum is located in historic Concord, Massachusetts on Cambridge Turnpike at the intersection of Lexington Road. For more information about membership or to make reservations for the Garden Tour, contact the Concord Museum, (978) 369-9763, or visit on the web: www.concordmuseum.org.

Boston Natural Areas Network and the Boston Urban Forest Council will be busy this April planting trees throughout Boston. Here are four opportunities to help expand Boston’s urban forest.

MA DCR Park Service Day—Saturday, April 21

Partner: Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Pope John Paul II Park, Hallet Street Entrance, Dorchester, MA
BNAN Website: www.bostonnatural.org/index.htm

MA DCR Website: www.mass.gov/dcr/parkserve/

Service projects to improve MA Department of Conservation and Recreation Parks across the Commonwealth will be happening on Park Serve Day. Join BNAN volunteers to plant crabapples at Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester on the Neponset River. Gloves, tools, snacks and water provided.

Allandale Urban Wilds Earth Day Planting—Saturday, April 21

Partner: Boston Department of Parks and Recreation
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: 7VFW Parkway, West Roxbury
Website: www.bostonnatural.org/index.htm

Bring water and wear sturdy shoes.

Nightingale Community Garden, Arbor Day Tree Planting—Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28

Partner: Nightingale Community Gardeners
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: 512 Park Street, Dorchester
BNAN Website: www.bostonnatural.org/index.htm

Join the Arbor Day Celebration to intall orchard and buffer plantings to improve the perimeter of the garden. Sixteen trees will be planted. Gloves, tools and guidance will be provided

Emerson School, Arbor Day Tree Planting—Saturday, April 28

Partner: Neighborhood Tree Advocates
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Dudley Street at Shirley Street, Roxbury
BNAN Website: www.bostonnatural.org/index.htm

Help plant new flowering and shade trees along the perimeter of the schoolyard, focusing on Dudley and Langdon Street edges. Gloves, tools and guidance will be provided to ensure a great experience.

For more information or to sign up for one or more of these wonderful opportunities to help green Boston, please call BNAN at 617-542-7696 or email at info@bostonnatural.org.

Boston Natural Areas Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together local residents, partner organizations, public officials and foundations to preserve, expand and enhance urban open space, including community gardens, greenways and urban wilds. For further information about the organization, becoming a member or the calendar of events, visit www.bostonnatural.org, or call 617-542-7696.

Several well known local garden communicators will be presenting at the Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium at the Equinox Resort in Manchester, Vt. April 13 an 14. They include William Cullina, director of Horticulture for the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, C.I. Fornari, a garden consultant and author from Cape Cod, author-lecturer Kerry Ann Mendez if Balston Spa, NY, and Lisa Napolitano of the call-in radio show "Garden Talk with Len and Lisa" on WTIC 1080 AM in Harford, Visit www.pyours.com/symposium for more information.

Show Director Carolyn Weston confirmed that the Boston Flower & Garden Show will return to the Seaport World Trade Center in 2013. Meanwhile, here's a few of the organizations and companies that helped make this year's show, First Impressions, which closed Sunday, a success: the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (www.masshort.org) Mahoney's Garden Centers (www.mahoneysgarden.com), the 2012 Newport Flower Show Exhibit (www.newportflowershow.org), Peter R. Sadeck, Inc., www.petersadeck.com), Magma Design Group Inc (www.magmadesigngroup.com), Massachusetts Master Gardeners (www.massmastergardeners.org), Ahronian Landscaping & Design (www.ahronian.com), the Bonsai Study Group (bonsaistudygroup@comcast.net), Cass School of Floral Design (

People always ask me, "Is The Flower Show worth going to this year?" And I always say, "Yes!" I love the Boston Flower & Garden Show. It's one of the classiest and best in the nation (and I've been to a lot of flower shows in other places).

This grand old Boston tradition runs through Sunday at the Seaport World Trade Center. It's a great place to find some spring gardens in full bloom after the teasing unseasonably warm March weather we have enjoyed.

The 137-year old non-profit show met its demise in 2009 for financial reasons but was resurrected the following year by the Paragon Group, event marketers and producers, under the guidance of Carolyn Weston, who directed the old show. The operation has been a success. Thank you, Paragon Group.

The many display gardens by landscape professions showing their wares are designed on the theme: "First Impressions: Adding Wow Factor to Outdoors Spaces." Mahoney's has an entrance exhibit illustrating front yard garden panache and orange tuplips flanked by Jameson Landscape and an outstanding garden by Heimlich Nurseries, which has supported the show for generations with it annual large flowering landscapes. Newer participants include Markus Specimen Tree, Crystal Brinson, Ahronian Landscaping & Medway Garden Center, the Garden Design School, Quintessential Gardens, and Liquid Landscape Designs, which features some unusual rock and glass mashups. Peter Sadeck won the Allen C. Haskell award for his spectacular green archway featuring live parrots. The Newport Flower Show exhibit also had great showmanship.

The clever miniature gardens viewed through a peephole like display window are also enchanting. Gloria Freitas Steidinger of the Easton Garden Club won in this catagory for her miniature creation of "Shangrila." As usual, this feature was organized by Debby Hogan and her husband, noted landscape designer and nurseryman Warren Leach, who will be speaking at 11 a.m. Thursday.

There are dozens of other continuous lectures. I am particularly looking forward to Saturday's 1 p.m. lecture by Mike & Angie Chute on gardening with the new low maintenance roses.

Flower arranging also has a strong presence. Professional florists in one invitational have made living hats from flowers and foliage fashioned after those bizarre forward tilting caps called "fascinators" you saw at Kate and WIll's Royal Wedding last year.

The flower show's Ikabana display is completely serene and inspiring. There are also several competitive amateur flower shows, including two by members of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, and a garden photography competition, all run by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, under the title: Blooms! This also includes a children's education section that will include a scavenger hunt and horticultural activities near the Mass. Hort. desk, trustee Betsy Madsen pointed out.

Mass. Hort. provides many volunteers, and showcases hobby gardeners' plants in its amateur section, including a wonderful cotton plant with bolls of ripe cotton grown by Elaine and Sidney Koretsky of Brookline.

The New England Flower Show, which has employed thousands of local volunteers over its many decades, has deep roots in the community. Two charismatic volunteer leaders who died in the last year were honored among the Mass. Hort. exhibits. Chestnut Hill's wonderful Corliss Knapp Engle, who died in November after a lifetime of horticultural contributions, had a garden photography award named after her, which was won by Debbie Ross of Winnetka, Il., for her photograph of lodge pole pine.

There was also a write-up about the many contributions of long-time Weston resident Susan Beth Emery Dumaine, who died in February in Kentucky where she had retired. She was whip smart, energetic and funny. Among her many local horticultural contributions, Dumaine for many years ran (and policed) nomenclature at the flower show so all plants were correctly labeled. It was painstaking work.

Fittingly, Mass. Hort. Executive director Kathy Macdonald was on hand at the show where she praised a new high tech form of plant labels being used here and at the Elm Bank headquarters. "You scan the plant labels (called hortycodes) with your smart phone and and it tells you about the plant and there's even an audio link with the correct pronunciation." I think Susan Dumaine would have loved it.

For more information about the Flower Show visit http://www.bostonflowershow.com.

The 2012 Boston Flower & Garden Show at the Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Boulevard, will kick off Tuesday evening, March 13, with the annual VIP Preview Party from 5:30-8 p.m. to benefit the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. The show opens to the public (tickets $10-$20) Wednesday, March 14, at 9 a.m. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. except for Sunday, March 20, the last day when the show closes at 6 p.m.The theme is "First Impressions: Adding WOW Factor to Outdoor Spaces." For more information visit http://www.bostonflowershow.com.

In the clutch of winter, two Central Massachusetts
cultural institutions collaborate on an exhibition of fresh floral arrangements
and artistic masterworks that conjure the sights and scents of a warmer climate.
Flora in Winter, on view Thursday through Sunday, January 26-29, features fresh
floral arrangements interpreting works of art at the Worcester Art Museum.

"A Floral Feast" at Tower Hill Botanic Garden (11 French Drive, Boylston) features works by garden club members and floral designers from throughout
Central New England who have volunteered to create the arrangements.

Visitors can enjoy gorgeous arrangements in the Worcester Art Museum's galleries and in the Education & Visitors Center at Tower Hill, as well as floral displays sponsored by area florists to adorn public spaces. Guided tours at each location will be offered several times daily.

Special Events
celebrating Flora in Winter will be held at each institution throughout the period.
At Tower Hill Botanic Garden, celebrate "A Floral Feast" as the inspiration for
arrangements displayed in Tower Hill's Education & Visitors Center, including the
Limonaia opened in the fall of 2010, adjacent to the lush subtropical blooms and
greenery in the Orangerie, with the backdrop of the Winter Garden.

On Friday, January 27 at 7:30 pm, Tower Hill enhances the mood and atmosphere of
Flora in Winter with a Candlelight Concert presented by jazz pianist Dr.
Elliot Steger and friends. Tickets are $30 nonmembers and $25 for members of either
Tower Hill or the Worcester Art Museum. Twigs Café will provide complimentary hors
d'oeuvre. Call Tower Hill at 508.869.6111 ext. 135 for reservations.
Opening Hours for Flora in Winter at Tower Hill Botanic Garden:
9am-5pm daily, reopening at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, January 27 for the Candlelight
Concert.

Tower Hill admission is $12 adults, $9 seniors ages 65 and older, $7 for youth ages
6-18. Admission is free for Tower Hill Members, and children under 6.

Public tours will be held at Tower Hill at 1 and 3 p.m. each day. Tours are included
with the price of admission.
For private tours for groups of 10 or more, please call for more information: 508.869.6111
ext. 125.

The public is invited to the Boston Urban Forest Council meeting at the office of Boston Natural Areas Network, 62 Summer Street, Boston, on Tuesday evening, January 24 at 6:30 p.m. One goal is developing a resident based stewardship & advocacy group whose goals are to promote, plant and care for trees in Boston.

The Boston Urban Forest Council supports the Grow Boston Greener initiative which aims to plant 100,000 trees by 2020 and increase the urban tree canopy from 29% to 35% and make Boston a cooler, cleaner, healthier city. The goals of Grow Boston Greener are to increase tree canopy, mitigate heat island effect, reduce energy consumption, improve air quality and improve storm water management. The Boston Urban Forest Council will promote the program, advocate for more trees and assist neighborhoods interested in planting trees and organizing stewardship activities to ensure the trees' survival.

This effort is a collaboration between the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston Natural Areas Network, the U.S. Forest Service and Boston's Urban Forest Council.

If you are interested in joining the effort, or just want to learn more about trees in Boston, call 617-542-7696 ext 20 or email mathew@bostonnatural.org

Boston Natural Areas Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together local residents, partner organizations, public officials and foundations to preserve, expand, and enhance urban open space, including community gardens, green ways, and urban wilds

Dec 3-4 at The Berkshire Botanic Garden’s annual Holiday Marketplace, Gallery of Wreaths, holiday plant sale and artisans from throughout the Berkshires and beyond. Hours are Saturday, December 3, 10 am – 5 pm and Sunday, December 4, 10 am – 3 pm. www.berkshirebotanical.org / 413-298-3926.

Dec. 3: The Milton Garden Club will host its annual Green Sale Sat., Dec. 3, 9 - 11 a.m. at Cunningham Hall, 75 Edge Hill Road, Milton. The sale of fresh evergreen wreaths, arrangements and table top trees, each individually decorated item will benefit town beautification projects.

Dec. 7 Come to the Arboretum in December to learn about fascinating plants from the experts who study them. On December 7 at 7:00pm in the Hunnewell Building, Greg Anderson from the University of Connecticut will discuss the nightshades (Solanaceae) which includes both saints (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants) and sinners (tobacco, mandrake, henbane, and belladonna). On

December 13 at 7:00pm at Weld Hill, at the Arnold Arboretum, Senior Research Scientist Peter Del Tredici offers an in-depth look at Ginkgo biloba, one of the oldest and most fascinating trees on the planet. Both lectures are free, but you must register in advance to reserve space.

Weekends through Dec. 18 Heritage Gardens Aglow Annual Celebration of Lights
Heritage Museums & Gardens will present its Gardens Aglow Annual Celebration of Lights on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 5:00pm to 9:00pm through December 18. The museum’s buildings and grounds will sparkle with festive lights and decorations and Old St. Nick will hold court in the museum’s Ford Model T (as his sleigh is in the shop).
Visitors will catch the holiday spirit by strolling the Heritage grounds, walking the Labyrinth, and finding their way through the Hart Family Maze Garden. There will be a gingerbread house display and kids’ holiday crafts area. Visitors will also be able to toast marshmallows at the Magnolia Café, ride the vintage carousel, and enjoy the automobile and folk art collections.This event will be held December 2-4, 9-11, and 16-18. Tickets are $7/member adults, $4/member children ages 3 to 17, $10/ non-member adults, $5 member children ages 3 to 17, and free for children age 2 and under. Heritage is located off Route 6 at 67 Grove Street in Sandwich, Mass. For more information, call 508.888.3300 or visit www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org.

Through Jan. 2, Newport. Spectacular decorations will soon deck the halls of The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House, as The Preservation Society of Newport County prepares to welcome visitors for Christmas at the Newport Mansions, through January 2, 2012. Holiday music, tours, shopping events, a holiday dinner dance and visits from Santa Claus will bring the season to life at three of America's grandest historic houses. Decorations at the mansions include decorated Christmas trees of various sizes, dozens of wreaths, hundreds of yards of garland and thousands of flowers, including poinsettia plants, lilies, roses, carnations and potted palms. Period-style ornaments are used to decorate many of the trees, and white candles illuminate the windows. There will be several new features to the decorations this season, including an elaborate, custom-made Nativity scene to be displayed in the Gold Room of Marble House, with figures dressed in gold, green and ivory fabric to coordinate with the window coverings and upholstery in the room. The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House will be fully decorated and open daily for tours, except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, through January 2, 2012. A Winter Passport ticket providing daytime admission to all three houses can be purchased for $28 for adults, $9 for children 6-17. Children under the age of 6 are admitted free. Tickets can be purchased online at www.NewportMansions.org, or at each property. Children can visit with Santa Claus in a spectacular setting at each of the three mansions on Sundays in December. Santa will make public appearances from noon to 3 p.m. at The Breakers on December 4, Marble House on December 11, and The Elms on December 18. The visit with Santa is included in the regular admission price.Holiday Evenings at the Newport Mansions provide a unique opportunity to see these historic houses lit up for a night-time celebration. Guests can take a leisurely self-guided tour through the mansion, enjoying live holiday music and a stop for cookies and pastries, eggnog and cider. Holiday Evenings at The Breakers are scheduled for December 3, 10 and 31, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. On December 17, guests can enjoy a Holiday Evening Duet: The Elms and Marble House, and see both houses for the price of one, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission to Holiday Evenings is $28 in advance, $35 at the door. Children 6-17 are admitted for $10. Children under the age of 6 are admitted free. Preservation Society members enjoy reduced admission, $25 in advance, $30 at the door. On December 17, a single ticket provides admission to both The Elms and Marble House. Advance tickets are available online at www.NewportMansions.org, or call (401) 847-1000.

Floral designer Lisa Ahern of Cedar Grove Gardens in Dorchester will demonstrate holiday decorating with flowers in the farmhouse at the Wakefield Estate in Milton Wednesday, 7-8:30 p.m. Suggested donation $20. Call the Wakefield Estate for reservations.

Tower Hill's annual "HOLLY DAYS", a horticultural celebration of the winter
holidays, will highlight the world of fashion, Nov. 25-Jan. 2. Ornaments
reflecting fashionable shoes, hats, pocketbooks, and other items, will be transformed int objects of art with all natural materials. On display will decorated trees, wreaths, and swags adorned with hand-crafted ornaments made of dried flowers, leaves, seeds, seed-heads, cones, branches, and fruits. Llights illuminate the lush foliage of flowering plants and bulbs in the interior glass houses, with the show continues outdoors in the new Winter Garden.

This year's weekend & Wednesday evening entertainment includes live music, youth activities, holiday workshops, and garden tours. Visitors may browse the Gift Shopand lunch at Tower Hill's Twigs Café, (open daily 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M). Twigs Café will serve small plate dinners at "Food & Fire" in the Great Hall with its grand fireplace, on Wednesday evenings from 4:30pm-7:30 pm.

A HOLLY DAYS GALA & FASHION SHOW takes place on Friday, December 2, from 6-9 pm, and will include a light dinner, followed by a fashion show presented by James Hogan, and caroling in the Limonaia. Tickets are $125 per person and may be purchased online, or by calling 508-869-6111.

The HOLLY DAYS exhibit and entertainment is included with garden admission; $10
Adults, $7 Seniors (65+) and $5 Youth (6-18), children under 6 and Members admitted
FREE. Discounted group rates are available.

Hours: Daily from Nov. 25-Jan. 2, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., Wednesdays until 8 P.M., CLOSED
December 24, 25, 31, and January 1. Tower Hill is located at 11 French Drive in
Boylston, Mass., three miles north of exit 24 off Route 290. For more information,
contact Tower Hill Botanic Garden at 508-869-6111, or visit the website at www.towerhillbg.org

BOYLSTON, Mass.- Tower Hill Botanic Garden hosts "A New England Rain
Forest," the Massachusetts Orchid Society's Annual Orchid Show, Friday, Nov. 4; 1-5pm and Saturday & Sunday, November 5-6; 9am-5pm. Thousands of orchids will be on display throughout the Visitors Center and around the Orangerie and Limonaia, at Tower Hill. Orchid societies participating in the show include: A&P Orchids, New Earth Orchids, Frosty Hollow Orchids, and more.

Orchid vendors from across the country will offer a wide variety of plants, supplies
and even jewelry for sale. Art and educational exhibits will be held each day of
the show and experts will answer orchid growing questions from visitors. Also,
members of the Massachusetts Orchid Society will offer demonstrations on orchid
care, instructional videos, and guided tours of the show. Although the judging sessions
themselves are not open to the public, the results of the judging will be on display
at the show. The show will represent a huge range of Orchids, the largest of all
the plant families.

The show and its associated programs are included with Garden admission ($10 adults,
$7 seniors, $5 youth aged 6-18, children under 6 free). Tower Hill Botanic Garden
is located at 11 French Drive, Boylston, Mass., exit 24 off Route 290. For further
information, call 508-869-6111 or log on to www.towerhillbg.org.

WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Davis Museum at Wellesley College presents 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 contemporary world, is on view now through January 15, 2012 in the Morelle Lasky Levine '56 Works on Paper Gallery, the exhibition is free and open to the public. To complement the exhibition, the Davis will present two public programs: an evening opening celebration (Oct. 19), and an Interdisciplinary Gallery Walk (Nov. 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 intricate relationships that have evolved alongside botanical art. “Botanical imagery has long been admired for its beauty and appreciated for its scientific significance, but its history is a more complex one, tied to the political, imperial, and cultural aspirations of an increasingly interrelated world,” said Mehalakes.

“From the Age of Discovery through the Age of Enlightenment, botany was at the forefront of scientific knowledge. Botanists and artists sailed with explorers, facing identical dangers. Suffering heat, cold, ticks and leeches, lack of food, and even sabotage, these botanist travelers ventured into uncharted territories, often made more dangerous by political situations,” she said. “Some expeditions, supported by colonial governments keen on gaining further knowledge of the lands they possessed, faced animosity from local peoples. The publications on view in this exhibition hint at the links between botany, climate, geography, culture, economy, and history.”

Botanical imagery reveals several centuries of change in the world, reflecting a journey through exploration to knowledge, and from isolation to globalization. The natural world has changed considerably due to the acquisitive nature of human beings with an attraction to the exotic. In the process of collecting and recording specimens from distant parts of the globe, botanists contributed to the international dispersal of flora. Transferring or propagating plants in botanical gardens back home naturally led to the spreadof species, while publishing books on a region’s plants provided a means of organizing, simplifying, and containing the life of that place. Naming was another means of claiming, with native plants being labeled for foreign naturalists. Colonial gardens and colonial floras, or botanical books, were powerful symbols of imperialism and control.

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.

Featured works in the exhibition include:

Two engravings from Belgian artist Jacob Hoefnagel’s Archetypa Studiaque (1592), a series of fifty-two prints intended as a source book for artists, which includes a number of plants that were depicted for the first time.

The dramatic Rafflesia patma, from Carl Ludwig Blume’s Florae Javae (1835-48), is a yard-wide flower with a smell like rotten meat, and a plant that well met the nineteenth century, or any age’s, hunger for the strange and unusual.

Robert John Thornton's rare Temple of Flora (1807) is a conglomeration of botanical science, classicizing manner, poetry, homage and national pride. Employing mezzotint and aquatint techniques, the plates depict specimens in settings suggestive of their native contexts. A live specimen of the plant shown in The Night-Blooming Cereus print is on view in the Wellesley College Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses. Also known at the “Queen of the Night,” the Cereus is a unique short-lived bloom visible only at night.

American artist Bertha Jacques’ interest in creating botanical prints came out of a desire for preservation. Many of the plants she depicted were endangered. Nasturtiums, as seen in her hand-colored drypoint from 1937, were originally found in Mexico and Peru. They were among the first New World plants brought to Europe and quickly traveled to the North American colonies as well, and are growing in the Wellesley Greenhouses.

Isabella Kirkland’s Taxa series (2006) examines the effects of humankind on nature, including introduction and invasion, decline and extinction. Each plant and animal in these still lifes is depicted with painstaking accuracy and at life size, after thorough research and observation from life or of preserved specimens. Kirkland’s compositions allude to Dutch seventeenth-century still life and botanical paintings, combining these traditions while giving the subject matter significance for the twenty-first century. Visitors are welcome to view actual plant specimens depicted in these works at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens. www.isabellakirkland.com/paintings/taxa.html

The botanical prints, maps, and landscapes in this exhibition describe places such as Egypt, Greece, southern Africa, Indonesia, and the Himalayas, and culminate with contemporary prints evidencing an interconnected world, through the depiction of plant and animal life that has spread across the planet. These compositions include invasive species and rarities that make their way into personal collections. Revealing several centuries of change in our natural world, Global Flora reflects a journey through exploration to knowledge and from isolation to globalization.

Global Flora is generously supported by Wellesley College Friends of Art, and the Claire Freedman Lober ’44 Davis Museum Endowment Fund.

EXHIBITION EVENTS

Global Flora: An Interdisciplinary Gallery Walk
Wednesday, November 9 | 6 p.m.
Morelle Lasky Levine ’56 Works on Paper Gallery
Free
Exhibition curator Elaine Mehalakes is joined by Kristina Jones, Director of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, and Ruth Rogers, Curator of Special Collections, to discuss botanical imagery on view, from historical, artistic, and scientific perspectives.

Art in Science
A companion exhibit to Global Flora on view October 19 – January 15 | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Visitor Center
Free
From early books on medicinal herbs and documentary paintings by plant explorers to the teaching tools used and studies done by Wellesley College and Friends of Horticulture students, botanical illustration has been vital in furthering knowledge. This companion exhibit highlights the use of botanical imagery in the study and communication of scientific concepts. Visitors are encouraged to visit actual and related specimens of featured plants in both the Global Flora and Art in Science exhibits in the Ferguson Greenhouses and outdoor gardens, which include: pitcher plants, orchids, several Arum species, tropical Rhododendron, and an entire house devoted to ferns. www.wellesley.edu/WCBG/Welcome/welcome.html

DAVIS MUSEUM GENERAL INFORMATION

Location: Wellesley College, 106 Central St., in Wellesley, Mass.
Museum Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 11 am-5 pm, Wednesday until 8pm, and Sunday, noon-4 pm. Closed Mondays, holidays, and Wellesley College recesses.
Admission is free and open to the public.
Telephone: 781-283-2051
Website: www.davismuseum.wellesley.edu
Parking: Free and available in the lot behind the museum. Additional parking is available in the Davis Parking Facility.
Tours: Led by student tour guides and curators. Free. Call 781-283-3382
Accessible: The Davis, Collins Café and Collins Cinema are wheelchair accessible and wheelchairs are available for use in the Museum without charge. Special needs may be accommodated by contacting Director of Disability Services Jim Wice at 781-283-2434.

ABOUT THE DAVIS MUSEUM

One of the oldest and most acclaimed academic fine arts museums in the United States, the Davis Museum is a vital force in the intellectual, pedagogical and social life of Wellesley College. It seeks to create an environment that encourages visual literacy, inspires new ideas, and fosters involvement with the arts both within the College and the larger community.

ABOUT WELLESLEY COLLEGE & THE ARTS

The Wellesley College arts curriculum and the highly acclaimed Davis Museum and Cultural Center are integral components of the College’s liberal arts education. Departments and programs from across the campus enliven the community with world-class programming – classical and popular music, visual arts, theatre, dance, author readings, symposia and lectures by some of today’s leading artists and creative thinkers – most of which are free and open to the public.

Located just 12 miles from Boston and accessible by public transit, Wellesley College’s idyllic surroundings provide a nearby retreat for the senses and inspiration that lasts well after a visit.

Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,400 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 75 countries.

Just in time for Halloween, "Wicked Bugs: The Louse that Conquered Napoleon’s Army and Other Insect Monstrosities" will be the topic of Amy Stewart, Writer and Gardener, this Saturday, Oct 22, 2:00-3:15 pm at the Arnold Arboretum's Weld Hill Research Building

In a follow up to her very successful New York Times bestseller "Wicked Plants," Amy Stewart tackles the insects, worms, and spiders that have tormented humankind for centuries. In this darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the natural world, Stewart has tracked down over 100 of our worst entomological foes—creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. With wit, style, and exacting research, Stewart has uncovered the most terrifying and titillating stories of bugs gone wild. She will share some of her discoveries in her inimically comedic way. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Admission Fee is $5 members, $15 nonmembers. To register go online to the Arnold Arboretum’s Continuing Education at www.arboretum.harvard.edu

Globe gardening guru Carol Stocker will be online live to answer your gardening questions on Friday from 1-2 p.m.

The Boston Natural Areas Network are having their 6th Annual Harvest Festival and Perennial Divide this Saturday at City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive, in Mattapan. It is free and open to the public, rain or shine and they will have a lot of plant material. Call 617-542-7696 or check online at www.bostonatural.org for more information( click on BNAN Events and/or City Natives). Yes, you can find them on Facebook. BNAN is a great organization.

City Natives is easy to get to and walking distance from Mattapan Square. There is ample parking there.This event includes a gardener’s market of native plants, fresh produce, honey and family arts and crafts. Gardeners are invited to exchange, donate or simply take home perennial divisions and other plants. Please pre-divide plants into smaller pieces and bring containers to take your plants home. Master Urban Gardeners (MUG) will be available to give advice on plant care.

Select native plants propagated at City Native Nursery will be available for purchase. You can take a self-guide tour of the Learning Garden or stop by the BNAN table and ask for a MUG volunteer to give you a guided tour. Also, participate in a beekeeping demonstration. There will also be live music.

On Thursday, September 8, ten people will be recognized, led by Lynden B. Miller, by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society at its Honorary Medals Dinner. Lynden B. Miller will receive the George Robert White Medal of Honor for her work as a designer of urban parks and will deliver the keynote speech as part of the evening’s events. She is a public garden designer in New York City and director of The Conservatory Garden in Central Park, which she helped rescue and restore beginning in 1982. Her work includes gardens for The Central Park Zoo, Bryant Park, The New York Botanical Garden, Madison Square Park, and Wagner Park in Battery Park City as well as many smaller projects in all five boroughs and beyond, including waterfront gardens in Red Hook, Brooklyn, improvements to Union Square Park and the 97th Street Park Avenue Mall, renovation of the “Gateway to Harlem” Broadway Mall at 135th Street, Hunter College, and the 67th Street Armory.

Also being honored is Wesley R. Autio, professor of pomology in the Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He will receive the Jackson Dawson Award for his body of work in the horticultural sciences. The recipient of the Thomas Roland Medal will be Richard Jaynes, who will be honored for his work in expanding the use of rare and unusual plants for the home garden. A graduate from Wesleyan University (BA) and Yale (Ph.D.), he worked at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station for 25 years as a plant breeder and horticulturist with specialties in chestnut and mountain laurel resigning in 1984 to start Broken Arrow Nursery in Hamden, Connecticut. Today, Broken Arrow is recognized as one of the premier growers of uncommon plants.

Two Mass Hort volunteers will be recognized for their outstanding contributions. Gold Medals will be given to Carrie Waterman for her work over several decades on behalf of amateur horticulture both at the New England Spring Flower Show and elsewhere; as will volunteer Joyce Bakshi, who for the past two years has organized the Festival of Trees at Elm Bank. Also receiving gold medals will be Theodore Landsmark of Boston Architectural College for his work on behalf of the Landscape Institute; Organic Gardening Magazine for its promotion of ecologically sound practices in gardening and farming; and writer Ellen Ecker Ogden for her articles, essays and talks on organic gardening.

Proceeds from the dinner are used to maintain Elm Bank’s gardens. Tickets are available through the Mass Hort website, www.MassHort.org, or by calling 617-933-4961. For additional information contact: Neal Sanders at 508-359-9453

The Ronald Lee Fleming's magnificent and ever evolving classical garden at Bellevue House and at least eight other noteworthy Newport properties will be open to the public as part of Newport's Secret Garden Tour called "On and Off The Avenue & The Drive”," Sept. 9-11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is one of the region's top garden tours featuring professionally restored and enhanced estate gardens.

Tickets are $20 in advance from www.secretgardentours.org or by calling 401-439-7253. Tickets are $25 the days of the tours at the Newport Visitor's Center, 23 America's Cup Ave. or Kingscote Mansion, 253 Bellevue Ave., Newport, RI. Proceeds support arts and cultural programs for Aquidneck Island public schools.

BOYLSTON, Mass.- Tower Hill Botanic Garden will present the eighth annual Gardeners
Emporium, a Fall Plant and Garden Accessory Sale, on Saturday, Sept. 10, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., featuring more than a dozen non-profit, regional plant societies, specialty nurseries, and purveyors of garden ornaments.

Some of the plant societies present at the event will include the Conifer, Cactus & Succulent, Epimedium, Miniature Plant, Hosta, and Daylily societies.

Each of these groups will offer expertise on their plant specialties. Niche nurseries and garden accessory companies include: Grey Stone Gardens from Fitchburg, Cut It Out from Stockbridge, and Stonegate Farm & Flowers from Greenfield, New Hampshire.
The Shop at Tower Hill. Twigs Café will offer light fare for lunch.

Admission to the Gardeners' Emporium is free and there is no charge for parking.
Tower Hill Botanic Garden is located at 11 French Drive in Boylston, exit 24 off
route I-290.

It is the home of the Worcester County Horticultural Society, incorporated in 1842
for the purpose of "advancing the science, and encouraging and improving the practice
of horticulture." Located on 132 acres, the Garden hosts educational programs, exhibits, shows, and special events throughout the year.

"The Country Gardens of Amherst NH" is a tour scheduled for Saturday, July 16, 10a.m.-4 p.m., that will feature seven gardens throughout this town of rolling hills and forested lanes that fan out from a picturesque town common. A light lunch and Garden Boutique will also be featured.

The 7 gardens are:
*Serendipity on the Hill
*One Man’s Vision
* Peaceful Corner
* Historic Farm re-defined
* Enchanting Country Gardens
* Backyard Wildlife Habitat
* Sanctuary in Shade

Tickets for the event sell out so to purchase them in advance contact Tibby Coffee at 603 673-3747. Tickets are $20.00; with lunch $34.00.

On July 13 British plantsman Adrian Bloom will visit Elm Bank for two public events. A lifelong gardener and past owner of ‘Blooms Nurseries Ltd.’ and ‘Blooms of Bressingham’, he now manages the‘Foggy Bottom’ garden in Norfolk, England.

The public is invited to a 9 a.m. continental breakfast in the James Crockett Memorial Garden with Bloom Wednesday immediately followed by a visit to the Bressingham Garden for a hands-on look at the garden, led by its designer.

Beginning in 2002, Adrian Bloom began planting demonstration gardens in America, both to illustrate his design principles and promote his plants. In August 2007, he accepted an invitation to install a garden at Elm Bank. This very intriguing perennial garden is 4000 square feet.

At 7 p.m. Bloom will talk about his original vision for the garden and how he adjusted that vision to meet American – and New England – sensibilities and realities.

To register for the tour and lecture, please visit:
http://www.masshort.org/Two-Mass-Hort-Events-with-Adrian-Bloom-on-July-13th

BOYLSTON, Mass.--The 52nd Annual Lily Show is being presented by the New England Lily Society at Tower Hill Botanic Garden today, July 9. Some of the many varieties of lilies represented in the show include Asiatic, Canadense, Longiflorum, Trumpet Lily, and hybrid American species, and the giant "Orientpets." Educational displays will be staffed at a membership table with helpful hints, book sales, and other related
information.

Tower Hill Botanic Garden, located at 11 French Drive in Boylston, is open Tuesday
through Sunday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Members are admitted free, otherwise
admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for youth 6-18, children under
6 admitted free. On Wednesday evenings through September, the garden is open extended hours until 8:00 p.m. Call ahead for directions, group rates and special tours.
The main information line is 508-869-6111, or visit the website at www.towerhillbg.org

Tranquil Lake Nursery's 20th Annual Open House and Summer Garden Festival in Rehoboth is scheduled for Saturday, July 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Open House is free and open to the public. This year the event will feature chefs, flower arrangers, herbs, container gardening and a gathering of talented garden speakers and garden demonstrations. The day will be filled with workshops on daylilies, perennials, herbs, cooking with daylilies and 10 acres of daylilies will be at peak bloom.

Workshop and Demonstration Schedule

10:00 Beyond Blooms: Plants that Extend the Season
with Exceptional Foliage and More
Warren Leach

10:30 Plant Combinations & Solutions for the Shade
Suzanne Mahler

11:00 Exceptional & Connoisseur Plants for Mixed Border
Gary Koller

11:30 Creative Arrangements from the Summer Garden
Karen Perkins

12:00 Tried & True Favorite Shrubs, Trees and Perennials
Deborah Swanson

12:30 Daylilies - The Summer Garden Sensation
Philip Boucher

1:00 Plant Combinations for a Long Season of Interest in
the Mixed Border
Warren Leach

1:30 Favorite Culinary & Ornamental Herbs and Lore
Gilbert Moore

2:00 Tough, Long-Lasting Perennials for Sun and Shade
David Burdick

2:30 Strategies for Getting to the Root of Planting
Success
Dr. Susan Gordon

3:00 Dividing Daylilies and Other Summer Perennials
Andrew Balon

3:30 Garden Design Tour of Tranquil Lake Nursery
Warren Leach

Guest Speaker on Sunday, July 17 from 1 to 3 p.m. is Roger Swain who will address "Making Connections Between Growing Plants and Building Communities." He will lace his presentation with stories of his gardening experiences and his philosophy of ecologically sound gardening practices. Roger will also be available after his talk to answer questions and offer gardening advice.

June 15-19: WAFA The 10th World Flower Show of the World Association of Flower Arrangers is at the Seaport World Trade Center, Boston. This show is a must see for Boston fans of art and design as well as flower arranging. Top floral designers from 30 countries have interpreted dance, weather, fireworks, and birds on a grand scale with 600 giant competing arrangements. Manikins feature clothing made from flowers and leaves. Tickets at the door are $30.This is the first time this giant show has been held in the U.S The next one will be held three years from now in Dublin. For more information, see my article from last Saturday on the HOUSE AND HOME PAGE or visit www.wafausa.org.

June 17-19 NEWPORT SECRET GARDEN TOURS HELP PRESERVE ARTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS A walking tour of the fifteen private gardens of Newport’s colonial Point neighborhood usually closed to the public will be held to benefit local students in the form of grants for arts and music education. Attendees will get a rare glimpse inside the walls and fences of these unique Newport properties on a planned self-guided walking tour.Organized by Myra Duvally, the Secret Garden Tours have raised more than $1.25 million since 1984 for local students who would have otherwise been unable to pursue their artistic or musical dreams. The tours are self-guided to accommodate attendees’ schedules and create a unique experience for each attendee. The event will be June 17th, 18th and 19th, 2011 10AM to 5PM rain or shine.Tickets purchased in advance for the event can be used at anytime throughout the weekend and are available for $20.00 when ordered in advance or $25.00 at the event. The tours start at 10am each day at 33 Washington Street, Newport. For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, visit http://www.secretgardentours.org or call 401-847-0514

June 18: Boston's SOUTH END Garden Tour Features en plein eire artists who will sell pieces at the day's end reception. The self-guide tour includes 20 private and community gardens Saturday, 10-4 p.m. Tour goers start at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St. Tickets are $25 the day of the event. Proceeds benefit the South Ent/Lower Roxbury Open Space and Land Trust, which protects 16 community and pocket parks. Visit southendgardentour.org or call 617-347-0999 for more details.

June 25: QUINCY"S 6th annual Wildflower Festival on Nut Island in Houghs Neck, Quincy, includes a light breakfast, slideshow and guided wildflower garden walking tour of eight neighborhood gardens. For tickets, call Joanne Bythrow, 617-479-9039, of the Houghs Neck Garden Club

June 25 WEST ROXBURY Evening Garden Club presents "We're Flowering in West Roxbury 2011" It will be held on Sat. June 25 from 10am-3pm. The tour is self-guided and is held rain or shine. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 the day of. They may be purchased by calling 617-469-3368 or 617=327-4019 or at Roche Bros. on Centre St. West Roxbury

June 26: TOWER HILL'S 17th Annual City Spaces/Country Places Garden Tour
10 AM - 4 PM
Advance Sales: Tower Hill Members $20, Non-members $25
Patron $75, Sponsor $125
Day of Tour: Tower Hill Members $25, Nonmembers $30
Visit 7 private gardens of distinction on this exclusive self-guided tour. This year's tour features elegant gardens in Worcester and nearby Holden. Ticket also includes admission to Tower Hill, which is hosting a Rose Show on the day of the tour. Become a sponsor or patron to help show your support. All ticket proceeds from the 2011 City Spaces/Country Places Garden tour will support education programs at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. Order tickets online at www.towerhillbg.org, or call 508-869-6111. Tickets on the day of the tour may be purchased at Tower Hill, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Mass.

June 30: HYANNIS PORT - Heritage Museums & Gardens presents Enchanted Gardens Tour in Hyannis Port...—Heritage Museums & Gardens will host the seventh annual Enchanted Gardens Tour on Thursday, June 30 from 9:30am to 3:30pm. This walking tour provides a rare opportunity to explore ten exquisite private cottage gardens, which are normally not open to the public, in historic Hyannis Port on Cape Cod. The tour includes an optional luncheon at the Hyannis Port Club. Participants will have an opportunity to shop at A Garden Boutique, featuring floral jewelry and exclusive gifts for the garden and home inspired by the horticultural collections of Heritage Museums & Gardens, located at the club during the luncheon.The Enchanted Garden Tour will start at the Melody Tent parking lot on Scudder Avenue, off Main Street across from the Conference Center Hotel, in Hyannis. Shuttle buses to the gardens will run at 10-minute intervals from 9:30am to 2:00pm. Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. Proceeds from the Enchanted Garden Tour benefit Heritage Museums & Gardens education programs. Tickets are $50/member, $55/non-member for the tour only and $75/member, $80/non-member for the tour and lunch. To register, contact Arlene Hoxie at ahoxie@heritagemuseums.org or 508.888.3300 ext. 111. On the day of the event, tour registration will be at the Melody Tent parking lot.

The Evening Garden Club of West Roxbury will present "We're Flowering in West Roxbury 2011" on Sat. June 25 from 10am-3pm. The tour is self-guided and is held rain or shine. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 the day of. They may be purchased by calling 617-469-3368 or 617-327-4019 or at Roche Bros. on Centre St. West Roxbury For more June garden tour postings, check previous blog entries.

The Newport Flower Show will celebrate its 16th year as America’s premier summer flower show on the historic grounds of Rosecliff in Newport, Rhode Island from Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26.

The Show kicks off the Newport social season with the much-anticipated Opening Night Cocktail Party on Friday, June 24 at 6:00 p.m., featuring a cocktail buffet, live music and other exciting surprises, and continues through the weekend with themed floral designs, horticultural exhibits, garden displays, unique shopping and free lectures.

The show will also feature special appearances and lectures by legendary cake artist Sylvia Weinstock and international floral consultant Kevin Ylvisaker.

The Horticulture Division at the 2011 Newport Flower Show will also be offering the general public the chance to bring their favorite plant or prettiest flower to be judged and displayed during the weekend’s festivities. To enter, gardeners are invited to bring their best-cut specimens and finely-planted perennials and annuals to Rosecliff on Thursday, June 23. Experienced horticulturists will be on hand to qualify entries and provide expert advice and gardening tips. For entry guidelines and submission timeframe, please visit www.NewportFlowerShow.org or call 401.847.1000.

All proceeds from the Newport Flower Show benefit the ongoing landscape restoration efforts of The Preservation Society of Newport County, a private non-profit organization accredited by the American Association of Museums and dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area's historic architecture, landscapes and decorative arts.

Hours:

Friday, June 24, 2011 - 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 25, 2011 - 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 26, 2011 - 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Opening Night Party:

Friday, June 24, 2011

6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

For ticket prices and special packages to the 2011 Newport Flower Show, please visit www.NewportFlowerShow.com.

Scroll back to previous postings for more information about June horticultural events.

I went to the South District Meeting at the South Shore Country Club in Hingham last month and met the new Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts president, Heidi Kost-Gross, who is serving for the 2011-13 term. She said she will focus on community beautification, flower arranging, and the environment.
Here are some upcoming garden tours offered by GCFM clubs...
June 10/11, Carlisle GC, eight private gardens. contact janecwilliams@aol.com
June 12, 11:30-4p.m., Dover Library House and Garden Tour, visit www.friendsofdoverlibrary.com
June 25, Dennis GC, Discovering the Gardens of Dennis, $15, contact jnjstewart@verizon.net
July 2, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m., Danvers GC House and Garden Tour, $20, contact 978-774-5352
July 14, Osterville CG "Party by the Sea", 7 gardens, refreshments, $35 (I have been to this and it is a good one.) www.ostervillegardenclub.org

I highly recommend the Berkshire Botanical Garden as well worth a summer visit. It is composed of 23 display areas including perennial borders, mixed borders featuring thousands of annuals, a rock garden, rose garden, pond garden, children’s garden, native plant gardens, an arboretum and woodland preserve open daily, 9-5 Admission - Adults: $12; Seniors/Students: $10; Members/Children under 12: Free. Guided public tours Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10am – free with Garden admission. Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, MA 01262
413 29 8-3926 www.berkshirebotanical.org

Upcoming specials events include Bird Necessities: Outdoor Installations by Artists and Designers opens June 11 for the season. The New Rose Garden Opening will be held July 16 with a workshop and reception with guest gardener Michael Marriott of David Austin Roses. Cocktails in Great Gardens will be held three Friday evenings: June 17, July 15, and August 19.

Bird Necessities: Outdoor Installations Created by Artists, is an exhibition that explores ways to provide birds with food, shelter, habitat and artful assistance in attaining them, opens at Berkshire Botanical Garden Saturday, June 11, 5:30-7pm with a reception at the Garden.

Curated by Great Barrington and Manhattan-based artist Anne G Fredericks, the exhibition grew out of Garden’s 2011 theme, Out on a Limb, and highlights artists who are active members of the Berkshire community with a special feeling for the terroir: Naomi Blumenthal, estate garden designer, potter and jewelry maker who draws inspiration from the local landscape; Dale Culleton, an artist/potter who restores both landscapes and buildings, and Jon Piasecki, an award-winning landscape designer and stone worker. All have worked to preserve aspects of our local environment: tree species, view-scapes, gardens, historic sites and indigenous woodland environments. As artists, they have each developed a personal oeuvre that is deeply rooted in nature.

Through Labor Day, visitors can view Bird Necessities: Outdoor Installations Created by Artists throughout the Garden’s various environments: Anne Fredericks’ work is a hanging pavilion filled with bedding and nesting materials where birds of all kinds can “shop” for substance to create their nests; Naomi Blumenthal exhibits a collection of natural and functional sculptural bird feeders and houses fashioned after strange and natural tree fruit; Dale Culleton’s bird habitat is an eight foot tall structure of local black locust and white marble with references back to the Shaker use of those two materials, and Jon Piasecki’s intricate habitat is inspired by a male bower bird - an accomplished avian builder whose elaborate structures are said to represent the origin of architecture.

The exhibit is free with the cost of admission, and is open daily, 9am-5pm. Tickets to the opening reception are $25 and are available by calling Berkshire Botanical Garden at

Also through Labor Day is Out on a Limb: Architects Take a Bough
An exhibition of six tree houses built on storied fantasy, inspired by birds, reflecting history, reminiscent of childhood, it is curated by Matt Larkin and Elizabeth Hamilton. Free with admission to the Garden
Open daily, 9-5.

Friday, July 8, 11 am is Birds of Prey, a lecture free with Garden admission.Wildlife rehabilitator Tom Ricardi will visit with magnificent birds of prey, demonstrate some of their unique behaviors and inspire children of all ages to appreciate, respect and conserve these important members of our wild kingdom. Free with admission to the garden.

Tuesday July 12, 10am-1pm is The Garden in Watercolor, a Hands on workshop for Members $145/Nonmembers $175. Individual classes $45.

View the summer garden with an eye for color, mood, texture and painting. Learn the basics of composition and color through the medium of watercolor. Take all four sessions or individual classes. Instructor: Ann Kremers.

Wednesday July 13, 2-4 pm
Preserving the Harvest – Putting Food By

You Can Do It!

Lecture/demonstration in a professional kitchen off site (directions available upon registration)

Members $22/Nonmembers $25

First of a series of four classes on preserving the harvest with tried and true methods. This class features canning - learn how to put up your own salsa, chutneys and condiments. Explore the many ways a canner can be put to use creating wonderful and unique gifts as well as enhancing your own food pantry. The class will also cover pressure canning and demystify this useful method for insuring food safety. Instructor: Kathy Harrison.

Thursday, July 14, 4 pm.

The Crystal Palace: The History of Greenhouses in America

Illustrated Lecture

Members $20/Nonmembers $25

Learn how the functional greenhouses of the 18th and 19th centuries for growing tropical plants were expanded into glasshouses, orangeries, and conservatories to become increasingly ornamental and an indicator of great wealth in American society. Slides of these crystal palaces and their associated historical head houses and potting sheds will be shown. Instructor: Arete Warren, art historian.
Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, MA 01262
413 29 8-3926 www.berkshirebotanical.org

Friday, July 15, 10 – 4 pm.

Making Paper Garden Lanterns – Japanese Style
Hands on workshop

Members $75/Nonmembers $85; Materials fee $15 paid to instructor. Materials list available upon registration.

Make a beautiful Japanese style paper garden lantern from natural materials to create a one of a kind lamp for your home or garden. Instructor: Nancy Moore Bess
Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, MA 01262
413 29 8-3926 www.berkshirebotanical.org

Friday, July 15, 5-7pm

Cocktails in Great Gardens
Members $20/Nonmembers $25
One in a series of four Friday evening visits to spectacular private gardens. Enjoy this rare opportunity to roam these private spaces with the gardeners themselves, while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres in the beautiful waning light of the summer day. Garden location to be announced.

Saturday, July 16, 2 – 3:30 pm

Naturally Healthy Roses with Rosarian Michael Marriott

Lecture

Members $30/Nonmembers $35

An in-depth look at naturally healthy roses that exhibit New England hardiness and compliment an informal growing setting. Learn about the planning behind Berkshire Botanical Garden’s newly redesigned rose garden and learn tips and techniques for successfully growing this group of plants. Rosarian Michael Marriott has been nursery manger for David Austin Roses, Ltd. since 1985. He has gardened since he was a child and studied Agricultural Botany at University

Saturday, July 16, 3:30pm

Rose Garden Opening and Reception
Join rosarian Michael Marriott of David Austin Roses as Berkshire Botanical Garden celebrates the opening of the new rose garden.

Tuesday July 19, 10am-1pm

The Garden in Watercolor

Hands on workshop

Members $145/Nonmembers $175. Individual classes $45.

View the summer garden with an eye for color, mood, texture and painting. Learn the basics of composition and color through the medium of watercolor. Take all four sessions or individual classes.

Instructor: Ann Kremers.

Tuesday & Wednesday, July 19 & 20, 3 - 6 pm

Macro Photography
Hands-on workshop

Members $55/Nonmembers $65

Materials list available upon registration

Learn to take amazing photos of flowers, leaves, insects, feathers, pebbles and more. Each class will include a lecture on techniques, demonstrations, and practice time in the garden. Participants will bring developed photos to the second class for analysis and critique. Classes include tips and techniques of macro settings, different lenses and lighting techniques for advanced photo adventures. Discuss focus, light, composition, color and final output of your photographs. Students will have an opportunity to use the instructor’s high-end macro lenses during class. Instructor: Taylor Mickle.

Thursday, July 21, 4 pm

Beverage Confidential – The History of Libations

Sweet Perfection . . . Chocolate from Seed to Sweet

Class Fee: $22

One of four in a series of classes on the history, lore and practical know-how on some of life’s best indulgences. Chocolate has been considered a delicacy for centuries, beginning with the pre-Columbian Mayan cultures. Learn about the natural history of the tropical cocao plant, consider its culinary properties and learn about the art and craft of chocolate making from an expert.

Instructor: Joshua Needleman

Wednesday, July 27, 2-4 pm

Preserving the Harvest – Putting Food By

Dry it – You’ll Like It & Baby It’s Cold Inside!

Lecture/demonstration in a professional kitchen off site (directions available upon registration)

Member $22

Learn how to use a dehydrator to make soup, snacks and delicacies to give as gifts or enjoy at home. Freezing summer’s bounty is a fool proof method for putting food by. Master the basics of blanching, chilling, air tight wrapping and freezing for a taste of summer in the depths of winter.

Instructor Kathy Harrison

Thursday, July 28, 4 pm

Beverage Confidential – The History of Libations

Beyond the Buzz. . .All About Coffee

Class Fee: $22
One of four in a series of classes on the history, lore and practical know-how on some of life’s best indulgences. Enjoy a stimulating program on the history of coffee and learn about its remarkable journey from ancient Ethiopia to the latte shops of modern society. Learn how to brew a great cup of coffee and enjoy a delicious sample of the Barrington Coffee Roasting Company summer menu. Instructor: Barth Anderson.

The author of "Boston's Gardens & Green Spaces" will lecture Sunday, June 12, 12:30 p.m., on the role of public spaces in greater Boston's historic and contemporary landscapes. She explores how the philosophy behind public spaces has shifted over the years and the significance of native flora and green space to the city's overall health. Tower Hill's Orangerie is featured in her up[ to date book, which has been well reviewed and will be fore sale. The lecture and admission for Tower Hill members is $15, non-members $20

Sandwich, Mass.—Heritage Museums & Gardens kicks off summer with the Heritage Rhododendron Festival, running through May 30 from 10:00am to 5:00pm daily. This ten-day celebration features horticultural walking tours, children’s activities, a plant sale of rare rhododendrons, and workshops about rhododendron care, flower arranging, digital photography, and nature painting.

The 100-acre grounds of Heritage Museums & Gardens feature thousands of rhododendron shrubs that burst into pink, red, and cream-hued bloom in late May. These plants are the legacy of two rhododendron-obsessed men. Charles Owen Dexter, a man of varied interests who became famous for hybridizing and propagating rhododendrons, lived on the property between 1921 and 1943. His plant breeding goals were hardiness, clear bright colors, fragrance, and large, showy blossoms. Other unique rhododendron cultivars in the Heritage gardens are the work of horticulturist Jack Cowles, who lived and worked on the estate from 1957 to 1967.

Heritage Museum & Gardens is open daily from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Museum admission is $15.00 (adults), $12.00 (seniors), $7.00 (youth, ages 4 to 16), 
and free for members and children age 3 and under. Heritage is conveniently located off Route 6 at 67 Grove Street in Sandwich, Massachusetts. For more information, call 508.888.3300 or see www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org.

Heritage Museums & Gardens, a 42-year-old not for profit, is the largest public garden in Southern New England. It is located on 100 acres of gardens and nature trails on the banks of Shawme Pond in Historic Sandwich. In addition to the magnificent grounds, known for their encyclopedic collections of daylilies, hostas and hydrangeas, the estate holds a nationally significant collection of Dexter rhododendrons, specialty gardens, water features, and sculpture. Hidden Hollow, a new family-friendly feature, is a place for exploration of the natural world and learning about environmental stewardship. Heritage offers three buildings housing permanent exhibits of world-class automobiles, a working carousel, American folk art, and changing special exhibits on aspects of American culture. Heritage holds nationally significant collections of American folk art and other artistic and historical artifacts.

BOYLSTON, Mass.- Tower Hill's annual Plant Sale has been re-branded as "SPROUTS!" - to include specialty commercial nurseries that will augment the selection from non-profit plant societies, and Tower Hill's own selection of perennials, herbs & everlastings, shrubs & trees including Cary Award winners, native plants, houseplants, annuals, and vegetables. Also for sale will be souvenir plants-divisions from the Tower Hill Botanic Garden. Vendors will offer unusual garden ornaments and accessories. Knowledgeable volunteers and staff will be on hand to help shoppers with their selections.

In addition, two Silent Auctions feature a variety of choice, hard-to-find plants
and garden ornaments. The Cactus & Succulent, Conifer, Daylily, Epimedium, Fern,
Heather, Hosta, Indoor Gardener, Lilac, Miniature Plant, and Rose Societies will
also offer their specialties, as well as how-to-grow information.

Refreshments are available cafeteria-style at Twigs Café. The Shop at Tower Hill
also offers tools & supplies, garden gifts and new and used gardening books. Admission is $5 per carload.

A Preview Party and Sale with a Live Auction of Garden Services, will be held
on Friday, June 3, at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $25, Call 508-869-6111 ext 136 to order,
or order online at the Garden's website.

For information on other June plant sales, classes and garden tour, please refer to previous postings.

Painters for a Purpose supports the Elizabeth Stone House with new exhibit at the Arnold Arboretum. Opening reception will be Saturday June 11, 1:00pm. This is a group of South Shore artists who donate 30% of their sales from each exhibit to a local charity. For their upcoming exhibit at the Arnold Arboretum, they have chosen the Elizabeth Stone House. The opening reception will be in the Hunnewell Building at the Arboretum and is free and open to the public. There will be an Artists talk: Wednesday, June 29 6:30–8:00 p.m.

Located in Roxbury, MA, the Elizabeth Stone House is committed to countering the effects of trauma and breaking the cycles of violence and abuse—one family at a time. Through residential and community support services, the Stone House helps families heal and women reclaim control over their lives. The Stone House helps women and families rebuild their lives after experiencing domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse and other forms of trauma. The Stone House provides residential and non-residential programs, as well as an emergency shelter for those who are in immediate need.

Saturday, May 21; 9:30am - 2:30pm at the Espousal Conference Center, 554 Lexington St., Waltham, MA 02454: Perennials, herbs, shrubs, and trees $3-$10 for most, also gardening gloves, worm farms, and worm castings. Experienced gardeners will be on hand to help with selection. Professional landscape designers will be available for individual design consultations for $25 for half an hour. Bring photos of your yard or project.

Proceeds from the Plant Sale will be used for COGdesign's Nursery Garden, on the grounds of the Espousal Center, which supplies plants to other community projects throughout greater Boston. For more information visit cogdesign.org

The 20th Annual Long Hill Plant Sale will be held Saturday, May 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Unusual plants include tulip tree, Japanese snowbell, dove tree, and Japanese maple.The sale includes a silent auction, hundreds of perennials, including many native, and a connoisseur’s corner. Enjoy a stroll through the historic Sedgwick Gardens which will be in peak bloom. Horticultural experts will be on hand to answer gardening questions. Rain or shine.

The Hanover Garden Club will have a Members' Favorites Plant Sale on Saturday, May 21, at Riley Hall, Hanover Center, Rt. 139, Hanover, MA, 9 a.m. to noon. Proceeds fund the purchase of flowers for the traffic islands.

Stockbridge, MA. . .Berkshire Botanical Garden announces its 2011 theme, Out on a Limb along with a lineup of informative and fanciful exhibitions and events as it celebrates its 77th year providing garden information and inspiration.

The display gardens open May 1, 9 am-5 pm with the first annual Roy Boutard Day celebrating the vision and leadership of the Garden’s director from 1954-1984. This free, community celebration marks the start of the season with a 1 pm tour and tales of the Garden led by horticulturist David Burdick, followed by a reception at 2 pm with a traditional Mai Bowle punch.

Also on May 1, the Garden launches its season with the opening of “Out On a Limb: Architects Take a Bough,” featuring an installation of six tree houses created by noted architects and designers. This exhibition is sponsored by Iredale Mineral Cosmetics, Ltd. The Out on a Limb theme continues June 11 with the opening of “Bird Necessities,” an exploration by artists and designers of how to provide birds with shelter, food, water and habitat. Both installations will remain in place through Columbus Day.

The Garden’s 34th annual Plant Sale, “Furnishing Your Garden,” is scheduled for May 6-7. Over 5,000 plants in every category appropriate to northeastern gardens will be on sale. The sale is highlighted by a dramatic plant display à la Chelsea flower Show by designer David Dew Bruner. Specialty vendors from the Berkshires and Hudson, New York will provide an exceptional selection of plants, garden gifts, home furnishings and antiques. Hours are Friday, May 6 11 am–5 pm and Saturday, May 7 9 am-5 pm. Early buying is available to Garden members Friday, May 6, 8 to 11 am. Free admission. The Plant Sale is sponsored by Ed Herrington, Inc.

Cocktails in Great Gardens, a popular series of Friday evening visits to spectacular private gardens, provides a rare opportunity to roam private spaces with the host gardeners themselves in the waning light of the summer day. This year’s dates are June 17 in Lenox, MA, July 15 in Great Barrington, MA and August 19 in Stockbridge, MA. Admission is limited and reservations are required. Members $20 / Nonmembers $ 25; all three great gardens:
$50 /$65.

2011 is the year of the rose at Berkshire Botanical Garden, where guest gardener Michael Marriott, rosarian for David Austin Roses has redesigned the rose garden with beautiful, fragrant hardy English Roses. A July 16 rose garden celebration will include a 2:30 pm lecture by Mr. Marriott on naturally healthy roses, followed by a reception at 4 pm. Members $30 / Nonmembers $35. Reservations are required.

The Garden’s annual Fête des Fleurs, a dazzling midsummer garden gala held at the height of the season’s bloom, will be hosted at Berkshire Botanical Garden on July 23. Gala tickets will be available through the Garden’s web site or by calling 413-298-3926.

The Grow Show on August 6-7 is a spin off on best-in-show gardening featuring categories ranging from home raised blooms to vegetables as art in a new twist combining flower show tradition with garden whimsy. There will also be a photography competition with the area’s best photographers. Hours are August 6, 1-5 pm and August 7, 10 am-5 pm. The Grow Show is held in conjunction with “Contained Exuberance,” a popular annual exhibition of container gardens highlighted by an instructive tour with the designers August 6 at 11 am.

Families have been flocking to the Garden’s beloved Harvest Festival for over 75 years. This year’s festival, scheduled for October 1-2, 10 am-5 pm, promises to live up to its reputation as a Berkshire mainstay, with new attractions, live music, a world-class silent auction (Saturday only), one-of-a-kind gifts, locally grown produce and fun for all ages.

The year concludes with the Garden’s Holiday Marketplace, where a twinkling winter wonderland is abuzz with holiday cheer. Choose from

Aged cow manure is perhaps the single best ingredient for fertile garden soil because cows' digestive systems famously include four stomachs which digest and dissolve any weed seeds they have grazed and break nutrients down for easy access. This is in contrast to other animals such as horses that can produce manure containing viable weed seeds.

My own garden was originally built with aged cow manure from a friend's nearby dairy farm 30 years ago. Now thanks to urban sprawl, dairy farms are further afield. A nonprofit fundraiser for the Milton Garden Club is trucking in cow manure from a western Massachusetts farm for sale in 40 pound bags of pure aged cow manure at $6 a bag. That's enough to top dress 500 square feet of lawn or enrich 20 square feet of garden bed area with an inch of gardeners' "black gold."

To reserve your order, please contact Barb Phinney at 617-696-8009 or cooper448@me.com by Wednesday, May 4. Once your order is confirmed, send a check, payable to The Milton Garden Club, c/o Barb Phinney, 104 Canton Ave., Milton, MA. 02186. Orders must be picked up on Saturday, May 7, between 8:30 and noon at the Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave., Milton. There will be a limited number of bags for sale for walk-ins.

The Community Garden Club of Cohasset's "Four Seasons in the Garden" is an educational fundraiser. There will be six garden tours over thirteen months. Each season will have one tour, except for spring which will have three tours to mark the differences of the bulb season, the lilac season and then the peonies and roses. The first tour is on May 5, 2011 and a lunch will be included and the cost is $40. A second lunch will conclude our garden tours in June, 2012 for $40. The other tours are $20 apiece or $75 for all six.

Tours will begin at the Lightkeeper's House in Cohasset at 9:30 a.m. with labeled horticultural tables, a hot drink and homemade snacks. A lecture and slides will follow. The information will be geared to the season and to the gardens to be visited that day. Two of the gardens will be visited all six times so as to mark all four seasons in those gardens. Added to those will be three or four other gardens which exhibit the points made in the informative section. All of the gardens will have Club members in them to talk about the various points of interest.

Tour dates are May 5, July 14, Oct. 6, Jan. 26, 2012, April 4, 2012, and June 14, 2012. Make checks payable to CGCC and send to Diane Benson, 172 Forest Ave,, Cohasset, MA 02025. Please include a long SASE for your ticket return and indicate which sessions you are purchasing.

Eleven free garden lectures and demonstration will be conducted throughout the day, on the half hour. Bring a picnic lunch. For more information, directions or a schedule, call the nursery at (508) 252-4002 or visit www.tranquil-lake.com.

10:00 Cutting Back, Spring Pruning and Coppicing Your Tree and Shrubs

The day begins with a pruning demonstration with horticulturist Warren Leach, co-owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery. Learn how and when to cut back shrubs and trees, ornamental grasses and vines as he takes you through the nursery garden "Cutting Back, Spring Pruning and Coppicing Your Tree and Shrubs." He will show you how to cut back trees and shrubs to keep them in scale with the garden, thin out overgrown shrubs and trees, rejuvenate older plantings and encourage prolific bloom in the future. Spring is the best time to prune summer blooming shrubs that flower on new growth. It is also the time to severely cut back and manage certain trees and shrubs to produce exuberant new growth. When coppiced, towering trees become supple shrubs. Cutting back or pollarding also dramatically increases the size of emerging foliage. These specialized pruning techniques will allow you to shape your trees and shrubs, so that they can be used in many versatile ways.

10:30 The Art of Digging and Drum Lacing A Tree

Have you ever wanted to move a tree from one place to another in your yard, but didn’t have a clue how to go about digging the tree? In their demonstration "The Art of Digging and Drum Lacing A Tree", seasoned nurseryman and horticulturist Philip Boucher will join Tranquil Lake Nursery’s landscape foreman Andy Balon to show you how to hand dig a tree and craft a drum-laced root ball that can easily be moved without injuring the tree roots. They will discuss appropriate root ball size, while showing how to dig, burlap and drum lace the tree, known as Seven Son flower or Heptacodium miconoides. Then they will extract the heavy tree from freshly dug hole by hand to be moved to its new home. (On-going throughout the day)

11:00 Ornamental Trees and Shrubs to Add a Long Season of Bloom

Horticulturist and garden designer Warren Leach will share some of his favorite woody plants for the perennial garden in his garden talk "Ornamental Trees and Shrubs to Add a Long Season of Bloom." Warren many designed gardens, including those at Tranquil Lake Nursery are known for the emphasis on distinctive woody ornamentals with abundant display, spatial depth and a long season of interest. Meet a variety of common and lesser know trees and shrubs that will offer multiple seasons of interest in the border, providing fragrant flowers, distinctive foliage, fruits and seeds, attractive and invaluable accents throughout the season. Warren will share his design and horticultural knowledge offering inspiration and a palette of choice varieties to add to your garden that will thrive under a diversity of cultural conditions. He will offer suggestions for placement in the border, plant combinations, maintaining plant habit and more. Plan to add a few more of these sensational garden accents to your borders this year.

11:30 Favorite Daylilies and Companion Plants with Bloom June to September

The fields and gardens at Tranquil Lake Nursery feature more than 300 varieties of Siberian Iris and 3,600 varieties of daylilies. Both are low maintenance perennials. The Iris begin blooming in late May and continue through the month of June and daylilies start as early as May and continue until frost. Nursery co-owner Philip Boucher will share his love and knowledge of these special flowers at in his garden talk "Favorite Daylilies and Companion Plants with Bloom June to September." Phil will showcase a wide variety of early blooming daylilies in early ever color, height and form and the many beautiful and diverse Siberian Iris and other late spring and early summer and garden companions that will bloom along with daylilies in the early-summer garden.

12:00 Wattling and Weaving Garden Fences and Structures

Spring branches bend, providing material that can easily be used to construct woven garden fences and partitions. Horticulturist Andy Balon will demonstrate this old time craft of weaving these pliable twigs and stems into a practical, low cost yet elegant and sculptural garden fences and other structures, taking you step by step through the process during his demonstration "Wattling and Weaving Garden Fences and Structures." Learn which twigs are best to use and how to create these strong and attractive garden barriers, arbors, trellises and seats.

12:30 Favorite Herbs for Fragrance, Tasting and Garden Ornamentation

Debi Hogan, horticulturist and avid herb garden has been growing herbs in the gardens, containers and window boxes for more than twenty-five years. She will share her love for herbs in her presentation "Favorite Herbs for Fragrance, Tasting and Garden Ornamentation" offering tips on favorite cultivars, tips for growing, drying techniques, how to prepare for culinary use and overwintering.

1:00 Sustaining Your Garden with Tough, Hardy Plants that Offer Big Seasonal Impact

Deborah Swanson, gardener and former U. Mass Extension Horticulturist will offer a selection of tough yet choice hardy woody and herbaceous plants that will provide a long season of beauty from sune to shade in her garden talk "Sustaining Your Garden with Tough, Hardy Plants that Offer Big Seasonal Impact." A dedicated gardener and educator whose extensive gardens are filled with a bounty of distinctive perennials and woody plant, Deborah will discuss the ornamental qualities of her favorites. Many of these plant have also been selected as award winners for northern gardens by the Arnold Arboretum, Worcester County Horticultural Society's Cary Award Program and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Styer Gold Medal Award Program. She will also discuss their cultural requirements and offer suggested garden combinations.

1:30 Creative Arrangements from the Spring Garden with a Japanese Flair

Gilbert Moore, a talented gardener and flower arranger from North Smithfield, Rhode Island will share his talents in his demonstration "Creative Arrangements from the Spring Garden with a Japanese Flair." Gil will compose several summer arrangements in a diversity of containers, showcasing his unique design style. For several years now, he has been studying Ikebana, the art of Japanese Flower Arrangement and he will review a few basic principles and demonstrate a couple of Japanese-style arrangements that can easily be made from simple flowers and branches you will find in the your garden. He will also share tips for selecting containers and tell you how to condition flowers and foliage picked from the spring garden.

2:00 Planning and Planting a New Hosta Garden

Warren Leach, garden designer and co-owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery will take you step by step through the design and planting process of making a new garden in his Garden Design Tutorial "Planning and Planting a New Hosta Garden." Focusing on color, texture and scale, he will show how to make plant combinations for focal point impact as well as refined pairings of foliage and flowers. Warren will stress good soil amendment procedures as well as planting techniques for a choice selection of Hostas and their companions.

2:30 Constructing a Path through the Hosta Garden

Warren Leach and Andy Balon, Tranquil Lake Nursery landscape foreman will demonstrate "Constructing a Path through the Hosta Garden." Garden Paths offer an essential function in exploring a garden as well as providing structural ‘bones’ to the well designed landscape. The display gardens at Tranquil Lake Nursery feature many paths with artistically detailed surfaces. Warren and Andy will show how to use various materials, from stone, gravel and even pine needles. They will demonstrate an aesthetic approach to path configuration and construction.

3:00 Design Tour of the Gardens of Tranquil Lake Nursery

Garden Designer Warren Leach, will end the day with a "Design Tour of the Gardens of Tranquil Lake Nursery." Over the past twenty five years, Warren designed and built all the nursery gardens. They were designed to offer flowers and foliage that provide interest from early spring through fall. There are also many built garden features such as paths, bogs, benches, purple posts, fences, stone walls and more that captivate visitors as they wander around the grounds. During this garden tour Warren will spotlight favorite plants, horticultural techniques, and design features that he has used to solve problems and create beautiful display.

Tranquil Lake Nursery grows more than 3,600 cultivars of daylilies and more than 300 varieties each of Siberian and Japanese Iris.

You will also have the opportunity to wander among the gardens at Tranquil Lake Nursery, where you will see a diverse variety of perennials, grasses, shrubs and vines. The gardens include a number of perennial borders, mixed perennial and shrub gardens, an ornamental vegetable garden, a thyme bench, container herb garden, an entry garden, an ornamental grass garden, a pond-side water garden, a purple garden designed to attract hummingbirds, a bog garden, a dry-scree garden, spectacular container plantings brimming with annuals and perennials, a pool with a water rill and a new rain garden and bog water garden. All plants discussed during the day will be available for sale.
20th Annual Open House and Summer Garden Festival

Coming up this summer: Tranquil Lake Nursery's 20th Annual Open House is scheduled for Saturday, July 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Open House is free and open to the public. This year the event will feature chefs, flower arrangers, herbs, container gardening and a gathering of talented garden speakers and garden demonstrations. The day will be filled with workshops on daylilies, perennials, herbs, cooking with daylilies and more...10 acres of daylilies will be at peak bloom.

Directions to Tranquil Lake Nursery

From Rhode Island and Connecticut:
Rehoboth is located about 8 miles due East of Providence. To reach us take Route 95 to Route 195 eastbound out of Providence. Stay on Route 195 to the first MASSACHUSETTS exit. A large 'Raymour and Flanagan' furniture store on the right tells you that your exit approaches. Go left off the ramp onto Route 114A northbound. Stay on 114A until it intersects with Route 44. Turn right (eastbound) on Route 44. Stay on Route 44 approx. 3.7 miles to Winthrop Commons on your left. Turn left on River Street immediately after passing Winthrop Commons. Follow River Street across Broad Street (4 way stop). Tranquil Lake Nursery is the fourth driveway on the right after Broad Street.

From Fall River and Cape Cod:
Take Route 195 westbound to exit 3, Swansea and Rehoboth. At the end of the ramp go left on Route 118 North. Follow 118 North approximately 8 miles to the Route 44 intersection. Turn left onto Route 44, travel 1.5 miles, passing the Rehoboth Schools. Take the next right onto Danforth Street. Then take the first left onto River Street. Tranquil Lake Nursery is on the left about .4 miles down River Street on left.

From
Boston and Route 495: Take Route 128/93 or 495 to Route 95 southbound towards Providence. Continue on Route 95 to the exit for Route 123 eastbound (Exit 3A - Attleboro & Norton). Follow Route 123 through 5 traffic lights. At the sixth light, follow Route 118 South. Continue on Route 118 for approximately 9 miles to the Route 44 intersection. Turn right onto Route 44. Travel 1.5 miles, passing the ehoboth Schools. Take the next right onto Danforth Street. Then take the first left onto River Street. Tranquil Lake Nursery is on the left about .4 miles down River Street on the left.

Phone: (508) 252-4002 or (508) 336-4426
Fax: (508) 252-4740 or (508) 336-0682
e-mail: tranquil-lake@earthlink.net
Web Site: www.tranquil-lake.com

Each spring, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), celebrates the season with Art in Bloom, a festival of flowers featuring 50 New England garden clubs, along with professional designers, who will create vibrant floral displays throughout the galleries. Running from April 30th through May 2nd, this year's event-now marking its 35th anniversary-will feature arrangements that will draw inspiration from the Museum's masterpieces throughout the Museum, focusing on works the new Art of the Americas Wing, which opened in November 2010. Among the 50 works of art that will be interpreted in flowers are some of America's greatest masters, from Cassatt and Sargent to Homer, Heade, and Copley.

In keeping with the Americas theme, the three-day event will include lectures and demonstrations by Nancy Clarke, the chief floral designer at the White House during six presidencies. Other lively programs include a Members' Night on Sunday, May 1; a free evening Open House on Monday, May 2; and hands-on demonstrations, lectures, master classes, and guided tours. Art in Bloom is presented by the MFA Associates, a volunteer group that contributes more than 40,000 hours each year to the Museum by leading daily gallery tours, creating regional membership outreach programs, and arranging flowers in the MFA's public spaces.

Dale Chihuly who masters in large scale glass art will have an enormous exhibition of his work in the Gund Gallery. He is so prolific that his colorful pieces are spilling out into the Museum's public areas. Two large-scale works, a green icicle tower and a neon wall piece will be on display in the Shapiro Family Courtyard in addition to colorful "Cat Tails" on view outside the Courtyard, visible through the soaring glass walls.

ART IN BLOOM ACTIVITIES

FAMILY DAY-Saturday, April 30, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Nature-oriented activities for families, art-making projects that include chalk sidewalk drawing with Sidewalk Sam, and additional special tours and programs are featured throughout the galleries. Children 17 and under are admitted free.

MEMBERS' NIGHT-Sunday, May 1, 6-8 p.m.
Museum hours are extended for a special viewing of Art in Bloom for MFA members. No tickets are required. To become a member, call 617.369.3395 or email membership@mfa.org.

LECTURE AND MASTER CLASS-Monday, May 2
Tickets are $35 for the demonstration/lecture, $200 for the master class (reservations required for master class; please call 617.369.3169).
Nancy Clarke served as the chief floral designer in the White House through six presidencies and three decades, arranging beautiful creations according to the tastes of the specific presidents and first ladies, from the Carters to the Obamas, before recently stepping down. During the lecture she will provide brief demonstrations. The Master class will include more in-depth demonstrations and hands-on learning.

FREE EVENING OPEN HOUSE-Monday, May 2, 5-9 p.m.
The Museum's evening Open House is from 5 to 9 p.m. on Monday, May 2, when admission is free to the public. Visitors are invited to enjoy a special evening viewing of the beautiful floral arrangements throughout the MFA's galleries. The New American Café and the Bravo restaurant are open for dinner. Performances include:
* Second Wind (an a cappella singing group featuring Peggy Ford)
* Gian Carlo Buscaglia (Latin singer/guitarist)
* Jazzmen (a trio of Jazz musicians)

Art in Bloom at Home--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Alfond Auditorium
Flower arranging workshops are offered for visitors interested in learning how to design their own inspired creations.

Free Spotlight Tours--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
10 a.m. - 3 p.m. (additionally from 5-9 p.m. on Monday during the Open House)
Throughout the galleries
An in-depth look at the floral arrangements and the works of art that inspired them is presented during these ongoing tours.

Flower Cart--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
1 - 4 p.m.
Huntington and Fenway Entrances
Flowers and spring-time products are available for purchase outside the entrances.

An Elegant Tea--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 1
2 and 4 p.m.
Koch Gallery for European Masters
*requires tickets ($25 for adults, $10 for children)
The MFA hosts and elegant Art in Bloom tea in the dramatic Koch Gallery.

HOURS
During Art in Bloom, the MFA is open daily (Saturday through Monday, April 30 - May 2) from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., with the addition of a special free evening Open House on Monday, from 5 to 9 p.m.

TICKETING
Art in Bloom is free with general admission, which includes two visits within a 10-day period:
* Museum members FREE
* Adults $20
* Seniors/Students $18
* Youths 17 and younger FREE
(on school days until 3 p.m., $7.50)

Tickets for Art in Bloom special events are available for purchase by visiting the Museum's website at www.mfa.org, or by visiting or calling the MFA's Remis Auditorium box office at (617.369.3306). For specific questions concerning events, as well as the purchase of master class tickets, please call the Art in Bloom hotline at 617.369.3169.

Framingham, MA - New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods opens its 2011 season April 15. The Garden’s season extends through October 31, 2011, Tuesday through Sunday and holiday Mondays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. From April 15 through July 4, extended hours are scheduled on Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to give the public a chance for an early morning walk or to catch the perfect light for photographing native plant species in bloom. Admission fees are $10 for Adults 18-64, $7 for Seniors 65+, and $5 for Youths 3-17. Last admissions are one-half hour before closing. Guided walking tours are offered free with paid admission when the Garden is open weekdays at 10 a.m. and weekends at 2 p.m.

The theme for the 2011 season is People, Plants, and Pollinators. New interpretive signage explains the importance and role of native plants in New England and develops the horticulture and conservation messages of using native plants in different New England habitats and gardens. The Idea Garden has undergone a face lift with expanded ideas and conservation messaging presented. The Invasive Plant Jail has been moved to this location, providing a stronger location for the message to visitors about the problems arising in New England from the spread of these invaders and what can be done about them. Also, in the Idea Garden, an expanded edible garden and herb garden give visitors a fascinating view of native edible plants and medicinal herbs.

Last winter, a significant amount of tree work was performed in the Garden which opened up the canopy above many of the flower beds to more light. Trees had been allowed over the years to grow mightily from tiny specimens of the 1930s. By opening up the canopy, the Garden will be able to feature more native plant species and recognize its heritage from the 1930s and 1940s when the trees were much lower and not shading the area so much. The stock beds, which have not been used for many years, are being refurbished to allow the Society to grow many plants for sale which need this habitat.

Three exhibits are planned for the season;

June 15 – August 31: Native BUZZ: Creative Container Gardening for Pollinators

August 17 – September 21: People, Plants, & Pollinators Take 1-Photo Show of Historic Photos

September 21 – October 31: People, Plants, & Pollinators Take 2-Photo Show

Garden in the Woods began in 1931 when Will C. Curtis purchased 30 acres to create his dream of a “big wildflower sanctuary in which plants will be grown, their likes and dislikes discovered, and the knowledge gained passed on in an effort to curb the wholesale destruction of our most beautiful natives.” Thirty-four years later Curtis and his partner Howard Stiles deeded the property to New England Wild Flower Society. The Garden was then expanded to 45 acres with new plantings along new trails and in extended habitats. The beauty and charm of the original Garden, with winding paths and a choice collection of rare and beautiful plants, are still hallmarks of the Garden today. With more than 1,000 native plant species and 100 rare and endangered species, the Garden is an ever-blooming place to visit spring, summer, and fall and learn about native plants and sustainable gardening.

2011 Calendar for Garden in the Woods

April

April 15 - Opening Day

April 23 - Earth Day Celebration – free general admission - special events from 12-4p.m.

April 30 – “Civil War Era” Native Plant Garden Tour – 1 p.m.

May

May 6 - National Public Gardens Day

May 8 - Mother’s Day

May 13 - GO WILD! Fundraising Party/Auction

May 30 - Memorial Day – Open

June

June 19 - Father’s Day

June 21 - Animal Ambassadors "Rainforest Reptiles" 10-11a.m.

June 15 - Members Day

June 15 (thru August 31) – Opening Day – Container Show - "Native BUZZ: Creative Container Gardening for Pollinators” - Invitational, educational competition (professional and people’s choice awards)

July

July 4 - Independence Day – Open

July 19 - Animal Ambassadors "Animal Adventures" 10-11a.m.

July 20 - Members Day

July 20 (thru September 20) - Opening Day – Photo Exhibit “People, Plants, Pollinators” Take 1

August

August 9 - Animal Ambassadors "Eyes on Owls" 10-11a.m.

August 14 - Free Lecture on Native Plants and the Civil War 1 p.m.

August 14 – “Civil War Era” Native Plant Garden Tour 2 p.m.

August 17 - Members Day

August 28 – “Civil War Era” Native Plant Garden Tour 2 p.m.

September

September 5 - Labor Day – Open

September 21 - Members Day

September 21 (thru October 31)-Opening Day–Photo Exhibit “People, Plants, Pollinators” Take 2,

September 24 - Museums Day with Smithsonian Magazine special pricing

September 25 – Grandparents Day – special events 1-4 p.m.

October

October 2 - Annual Native Plant Lecture and Certificate Awards

October 10 - Columbus Day – Open

October 19 - Members Day

October 31 - Closing Day

The mission of New England Wild Flower Society is to conserve and promote the region’s native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes. Founded in 1900, the Society is the nation’s oldest plant conservation organization and a recognized leader in native plant conservation, horticulture, and education. The Society’s headquarters is located at Garden in the Woods, a renowned native plant botanic garden in Framingham, Massachusetts, that attracts visitors from all over the world. From this base, 35 staff and more than 1,000 volunteers work throughout New England to monitor and protect rare and endangered plants, collect and preserve seeds to ensure biological diversity, detect and control invasive species, conduct research, and offer a range of educational programs. Education programs are offered in every New England State as part of the largest native plant education program in America. The Society also operates a native plant nursery at Nasami Farm in western Massachusetts, which grows plants for retail customers and for landscaping and restoration projects, and has eight sanctuaries in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont that are open to the public. For more information, visit www.newenglandwild.org.

COGDesign notice:
Looking for that special garden ornament? A specimen tree? Or maybe tree pruning from one of the area’s most reputable contractors? Then prepare to bid early and often at the annual on-line auction In the Garden at www.cogdesign.org, April 5-12. All proceeds help bring gardens and parks to the greater Boston area.

In the Garden offers specialty goods and services for the discerning gardener and attracts great interest and spirited bidding. Among the prized offerings this year are a topiary lemon cypress from specialty nursery Snug Harbor Farm, one-of-a-kind artwork for indoors and out, pampering soaps from the Royal Horticultural Society, and much more. Retail values for auction selections range from $25 to $1,600.

COGdesign provides pro bono landscape design services wherever people need plants, gardens and parks, from homeless shelters and public schools to community gardens and neighborhood green spaces, throughout the greater Boston area.

"The Earth Is Our Garden: Are We Doing Our Best?" This is a continuation of the Gardens and Spirit Lecture Series at Trinity Church, Copley Square, 206 Clarendon Street, Boston, Thursday April 7, 7:00– 8:30pm. Speaker: Bill McKibben, Environmentalist and Writer. Twenty years ago, with his book, The End of Nature, Bill McKibben offered one of the earliest warnings about global warming. Those warnings went mostly unheeded. His latest book, Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, is his latest plea for each of us to consider deeply how we tread upon this earth.
Fee: $25 nonmember
Offered with Trinity Church

"Growing Plants from Seeds" Saturday April 16, 9:00am–1:00pm, with Jack Alexander, Plant Propagator at the Arnold Arboretum.Location: Arnold Arboretum, Dana Greenhouse Classroom

There’s nothing more satisfying to a gardener than growing plants from seeds. From annuals and perennials to trees and shrubs, success can be achieved if you understand what triggers germination. Expert propagator Jack Alexander will share techniques for starting various types of plants from seeds. Students will leave class with a selection of seeds raring to grow. Aftercare will be necessary. Level: Beginner. Fee: $55 nonmember

See a complete list of spring offerings, and register online at: my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info

Lilac Sunday is May 8th. http://arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/lilac-sunday/

Boston Globe garden writer Carol Stocker will be on line LIVE at boston.com 1-2 p.m. Friday to answer your gardening questions.

The Mall at chestnut hill announces Step Into spring flower & Garden show April 1 – May 15. Award winning landscape artists, horticulturists, master gardeners and floral designers will share exquisite examples of richly planted gardens, stone sculptures, unique garden settings and beautiful floral arrangements in common areas throughout the mall. The public will have the opportunity to view native floral along with some of the most rare and unusual varieties. Examples of textures and blooming colors of the natural outdoors will be on view throughout both levels of the mall.

As part of Step Into Spring, the Mall at Chestnut Hill will also host three special events to celebrate the season:

· A Taste of Spring Preview VIP Party – Friday, April 1, 7:00-10:00 p.m.
A special evening to unveil the glorious spring garden displays. Guests will enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets are $35 and will benefit the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and are available online at www.masshort.org or at the door.

· Children's Spring Fling – Saturday, April 16, 12:00-2:00 p.m.

A free arts and crafts event for children incorporating spring flowers and bright colors.

· Fashion & Florals – Saturday, April 16, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

The Mall at Chestnut Hill presents fashions created by 10-12 student designers from Mount Ida’s Fashion Design program. Retailer fashions from Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, BCBG, Bloomingdales, Brooks Brothers, Kate Spade and Tous will be showcased in between the student’s looks.
Participating landscapers and florists include:

1-800-Flowers, A Blade of Grass, A Yard and a Half Landscaping, Berkeley Wholesale Florists, Berry’s Greenhouse, Brattle Square Florist, Bunker Hill Florist, CMC Design, Carbone Floral Distributers, Cass School of Floral Design, Cedar Grove Gardens, Celebrated Flower, Chester Brown Inc., COGS Design, Coleen's Flower Shop, Crystal Brinson, Horticulturalist, Dana Markos, David Austin Roses, Earthworks, Elgreen Orchids, Exotic Flowers, Flores Mantilla, Flowers by Steve, Frosty Hollow Orchids, Holly Alderman, Ikebana International, Ilex Flowers, Irish Limestone, Jeri Solomon Floral Design, Land Escapes, Mahoney's Garden Center, Markus Specimen Trees, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association, Michael Jardin Fine Gardens, New England Land Artisan, Parterre Garden Services, Peter R. Sadeck, Rosa Flora, Quansett Nurseries, Quinlan-Wasserman Inc., Raspberry Bouquet, Riccardi Wholesale Flowers, The Rose Society, Stapleton Floral Design, Stephanie's Flowers, Twig Boston, Vetra Horticultural Services, WAFA and Winston Flower

“This is a wonderful partnership between many talented florists and landscapers and we are proud to work with Chairs Peter Sadeck and Diane Valle to showcase some of the area’s most artistic forces,” said Debora Konig, Director of Mall Marketing for Mall at Chestnut Hill. “We hope folks will come down to the mall to view the displays and participate in the events, to be inspired or simply for a reminder that spring is about to bloom!”

Flower and landscape exhibits will be on display at the Mall at Chestnut Hill from Friday, April 1 through Sunday, May 15. For more information and a full list of participating landscapers, please visit www.simon.com or call (617) 965-3038. Step Into Spring is produced by Boston Portfolio Properties, LLC, a real estate brokerage firm focused on personalized service to owners and buyers of the most desirable properties in Boston and the surrounding suburbs. Visit www.bostonpp.com for more information.

Garden designer Page Dickey will lecture on her new book, “Embroidered Ground,” April 9, 1-3 pm at 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, MA. “I’ll talk about the pleasures and pitfalls of my thirty year-old garden at Duck Hill, showing before and after pictures of its development and what I’ve learned from the process,” she said. Duck Hill, located in North Salem, New York was the topic of her popular Duck Hill Journal: A Year in a Country Garden. She has authored several other books including Breaking Ground and Inside Out: Relating Garden to House. Page Dickey has written on garden design for House & Garden, House Beautiful, and Elle Décor. She lectures regularly on garden design and teaches classes at the New York Botanical Garden and the Horticultural Society of New York. A book signing and informal reception will follow the lecture.

The fee for the lecture is $30 members / $36 nonmembers. To register, call Berkshire Botanical Garden at 413-298-3926 or register online at wwwberkshirebotanical.org.

By Carol Stocker
Globe Correspondent

So how is The Boston Flower & Garden Show now that it has settled into its second season at the Seaport World Trade Center? It's smaller than its predecessor, which used to cover five acres at the Bayside Expo each March. But it is still big enough that my feet hurt by the time I see everything. Which means it's big enough.

This late winter tonic commands a lot of skill and creativity, especially among the show's more than two dozen major exhibitors. The theme is container gardening. Best in Show goes to Peter R. Sadeck's spooky woodland garden which features a dark cedar swamp and a forest of dead tree trunks serving as "containers" or nurse trees for the next generation of wild woodies. An exquisite life size moss maiden is perched magically atop one of the 12-foot tall ash trunks that suggest a requiem for an old growth forest. Two live owls add to the Gothic atmosphere, along with a giant peregrine-gyrfalcon hybrid. Sadeck's flower show exhibits always make surprising use of live birds, and this might be the best one yet.

Stranger still, while Sedack's wildlife handler Mala Isaac was introducing onlookers to the beautiful barn owl, a center employee came in with a small wild saw-whet owl he had found in a nearby parking lot, where it had perhaps been hit by a car. At first stunned, the owl darted free when it regained its wits. "I guess it can fly after all," said Isaac as it landed on a rafter 40 feet above the exhibit. I hope the hall has a mouse population so the little saw-whet owl can find something to eat at night when they turn the lights out.

The gorgeous garden created by Miskovsky Landscaping of Falmouth and Allen C. Haskell Horticulturalists of New Bedford also has birds, their signature free flying white fantail pigeons who roost in a white dovecote. But the aesthetic highpoint of this exhibit is a lofty tree house by Mike Duffany, with its own window box, staircase and daybed. At ground level shady seating nook is nestled underneath. Talented Paul Miskovsky and David Haskell last teamed up for the 2007 New England Spring Flower Show and its good to have them back for this show.

Nearby, the always entertaining sculptor Jill Nooney of Fine Garden Art in Lee, N.H., has given a transcendent spin to the show's theme of container gardening by using organic containers ranging from emu eggs to lobster shells. A human skull sports a bird's nest and a crown of seaweed.

The 2011 Newport Flower Show has mounted an ambitious exhibit to promoted its own 16-year-old show, which will be held June 24 - 26 on the grounds of the historic Rosecliff mansion in Newport. This display features a large tree hung with candelabras as decorations and a Grand Dame from the Edwardian era dressed in a gown of fresh cut flowers.

Michael C. Jardin Fine Gardens of Lakeville and Earthworks of Leverett both have built wonderful rock formations using native granite and The Magma Design Group of Pawtucket, RI, built a photographic stone moon gate that could be the focal point of any garden. Cape Cod Life, the Mashpee based magazine, landscaped with native plants around a seaside structure to introduce a whiff of summer on the Cape.

The New England Orchid Societies, Mahoney's Garden Centers, Heimlich Nurseries, the Bonsais Study Group, Katsura Gardens of Plymouth and Crystal Brinson of Fairhaven all display impressive plant material while Cass School of Floral Design in Watertown will conduct flower arranging mini-demos every couple of hours. To see some really spectacular formal arrangements, wend your way through the back doorways to Mass Hort's "Blooms!" Floral Design Divisions.

The Miniature Garden Competition, a longtime favorite at the old Flower Shows in Boston, has been resurrected nearby. In 2008 when the New England Spring Flower Show closed its doors for the last time, it was thought that these diminutive Edens were gone forever. But late last year the Massachusetts Horticultural Society asked long time Miniature Gardens exhibitors Debi Hogan and Warren Leach of Seekonk to work with them to bring these popular gardens to the new Boston Flower and Garden Show. (Warren is a co-owner of the very fabulous Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth.)

The Boston Flower Show is owned and produced by Paragon Group, and is managed as a Trade Show. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society partners with Paragon Group to keep horticulture front and center and to also keep some aspects of the traditional New England Spring Flower Show alive, particularly the floral design classes, and potted plants and gardens that have been such part of the old show for more than a century.

The Miniature Gardens have always been a popular part of this Amateur Design Division of the show. Each garden is designed to resemble an actual vista with plants and accessories scaled down to one twelfth size, and is viewed through a small window. The four groups of exhibitors have painted a background for their box, grown the plants, and assembled the final plan at the show. The Holbrow family have made a particularly charming miniature garden based on the spring display of trailing nasturtiums in Isabella Stewart Gardener’s courtyard on the Fenway in Boston. Exhibiting at the Flower Show in Boston is a family tradition that goes back more than a century to Charles E. Holbrow, a Brighton greenhouse grower who won a silver cup from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in the 1890s.

Carolyn Weston has continued doing a fine job as the show's director. Katherine Macdonald, the new executive director of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Wellesley, has also been on hand running "Blooms!" - Mass Hort's show within the show which includes all of Thursday's lectures and programs.

The Boston Flower And Garden Show is open Thursday, March 17, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Friday, March 18, 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 19, 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday, March 20, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Tickets prices are: Adults $20; Seniors (65+) $17; Children 6-17 $10; and Under 6 Free. Massachusetts Horticultural Society members receive free tickets. For more information visit, www.masshort.org/Blooms_and_the_Boston_Flower_&_Garden_Show

Saturday, April 2, 1:30-4:30 p.m. there is a Pruning Shrubs with the Pros class at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Early spring is an excellent time to prune many woody plants. In this hands-on workshop, participants work in small groups for guided practice on woody members of the Garden’s shrub collection. Instructor Deborah Howe helps us discover ways to enhance a plant’s vigor, health, and appearance and learn which tools to use, when to prune, and how the plant responds. Bring hand-pruners and dress for working outdoors, rain, snow, or shine. Fee: $36 (Member) / $43 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Thursday, April 7, 7-8:30 p.m. Certificate Program Orientation. Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Join Bonnie Drexler, Education Director, and certificate program graduates for a free illustrated talk that includes some of the fascinating stories that native plants have to tell, along with a look at the Society's efforts to conserve the region’s native flora. Hear about the structure of the Society's Certificate in Native Plant Studies program and how it can guide your learning. Everyone is welcome at this free presentation. Preregistration is requested, but not required.

Thursday, April 14, 7-8:30 p.m. Wild Foods, Nutrition, and Land Conservation. Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Land conservation has many obvious benefits -- protecting habitats and watersheds, preventing erosion, offering places of beauty and respite. Few of us consider the additional benefit to our health and well-being that derives from the wild, nutrient-dense foods these natural areas can provide. Instructor Arthur Haines takes a provocative look at agriculture (particularly small-scale) and its effects on the environment and human health. How does clearing the canopy and understory of a natural area affect wild food sources? Do changes in our diet over the past century have a physiological and genetic impact? Appreciating the critical need humans have for wild food provides another powerful argument for the protection of land from uses that drastically alter its ecological function. Fee: $20 (Member) / $24 (Nonmember). Cosponsored by New England Wild Flower Society and MA Audubon Drumlin Farm. Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Saturday, April 16, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Vernal Pool Ecology. Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. During the end of the last ice age, retreating glaciers carved some of New England's most unique habitats, vernal pools. These ephemeral bodies of water harbor an array of plants, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife. Instructor Mark D. Cooperman begins with an introduction to the geology and ecology of these pools. We discuss the natural history of the organisms inhabiting them, devoting particular attention to those that rely upon vernal pools for successful reproduction. Our afternoon session brings us into the field where we take a first hand look at the Garden’s Lost Pond, a classic woodland vernal pool. Bring a lunch and rubber boots. Fee: $60 (Member) / $72 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Sunday, April 17, 12:30-4:30 p.m. Invasives: ID, Ecology, and Control. Garden in the Woods, Framingham. Get a head start on invasive control this year by learning to identify invasives in the early season. This course provides an introduction to about 40 of the most common invasive non-native plants in our local landscapes. Through lecture, discussion, power-point presentation, herbarium specimens, and a walk outside, become familiar with identification clues as well as the habits of a number of these plants that are so disruptive of natural ecosytems. Instructor Ted Elliman discusses management techniques for many of these species, on both a home and a landscape scale. The “Invaders” issue of the Society’s magazine as well as the MA Field Guide to Invasives will be available for purchase at a discount. Fee: $48 (Member) / $58 (Nonmember).
Cosponsored by New England Wild Flower Society and Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Wednesday, April 20, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Beginning Bonsai with Native Plants. Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Have you ever admired the form of a venerable bonsai tree and wondered how it was created? Now is your chance to try your hand at creating a bonsai designed from native plant materials to take home and nurture for years to come. Instructor Glen Lord teaches all the basics to get you started with your own bonsai, including the application of moss, landscaping with rocks, and tips about bonsai care. All materials provided. Fee: $75 (Member) / $90 (Nonmember). Cosponsored by New England Wild Flower Society and Bonsai West, Littleton, MA. Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Thursdays, April 21, 28, May 5, 19, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Also, alternate course of classes given Thursdays, April 21, 28, May 19, 2011, 6:30-9 p.m. and Saturday, May 14, 10 a.m.-12 noon. Wildflowers of New England. Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. A great way to begin the study of native plants, this course focuses on learning to identify wild plants and provides field experience across the spectrum of New England flora. Sessions will cover plant identification using Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Instructor: Neela de Zoysa familiarizes students with family characteristics, growth patterns, habitats, and pollination mechanisms of many of our native wildflowers. Practice plant identification and study plant habitats in the field. Bring a hand lens to each class. Required text: Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Fee: $142 (Member) / $167 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 33

Wednesdays, beginning April 27, Native Herbaceous Plant Materials: Early Season. Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Many native North American herbaceous plants are suitable for growing in New England. Instructor Jessie Panek examines the characteristics of horticulturally important native plants that grow and/or flower early in the season. Discussion includes how a plant’s cultural requirements relate to its wild habitat. Lectures are accompanied by firsthand looks at plant materials used at Garden in the Woods. Designed for anyone wanting to work at a professional level with native plants, this course is also appropriate for the avid home gardener. Fee: $142 (Member) / $167 (Nonmember)

Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303

Wednesday, April 27, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Low-Maintenance Design with Native Plants. Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Lower your garden maintenance by using native plants and designing carefully. Learn how to design a unique garden space with strong connections to our spectacular New England landscape. In this interactive format, you are encouraged to bring your ideas, along with photographs, plans, or sketches of your own property. Landscape designer Owen Wormser helps you create enjoyable, low maintenance, and sustainable garden spaces while discovering important functional and aesthetic aspects of native plants. Fee: $36 (Member) / $43 (Nonmember). Cosponsored by New England Wild Flower Society and MA Audubon Drumlin Farm. Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Friday, April 15, 6:30-8 p.m., Frog Moon Night Hike. Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. What strange quacks, trills, and peeps can be heard coming from ponds and bogs on a spring evening? Who is making all of that racket and why? Come to the Garden for a slide program presented by instructor Bonnie Drexler about some amazing amphibian singers, practice some croaky calls yourself, and then walk through the woods to experience the sound from the swamps. The evening ends with snacks and some "froggy" crafts to take home. Fee: $9 (Member) / $11 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

NEWFS classes, courses, and field trips are searchable online, down loadable online, and available by calling the registrar (508-877-7630, ext. 3303). For more information, visit http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn.

The Boston Flower & Garden Show, will return to the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston on Wednesday, March 16 through Sunday, March 20 and focus on the creative possibilities of container gardening. The theme – A Burst of Color: Celebrating the Container Garden— will showcase dozens of ways to add vibrancy, warmth, and drama to any size space – a sunny welcome on a city terrace, a gourmet harvest in a suburban side yard, or a fresh focal point for a mature landscape.

The 2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show will kick off on Tuesday evening, March 15 with a VIP Preview Party, which brings together New England’s best garden designers, hundreds of garden enthusiasts, and Boston glitterati. Proceeds from the annual sneak-peek fundraiser will benefit the Boston Parks and Recreation Department’s Fund for Parks and Recreation in its work to maintain and beautify the City of Boston.

Set to the backdrop of over 25 garden displays by cutting-edge landscape professionals and area nurseries, visitors to the 2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show will also enjoy daily hands-on children’s gardening activities, 200 vendors featuring thousands of plants and hundreds of the newest gardening products, as well as chances to take home exciting giveaways.

Highlights include:

* Gardening & floral arrangement demos: Guests will enjoy 30 gardening demonstrations from leading experts and gardening groups such as the New England Rose Society and the Massachusetts Nursery & Landscape Association; floral arranging demos will be presented by the Massachusetts Professional Florists Association.

Lectures by top garden writers: The Show will feature 28 lectures by garden experts, including authors Charlie Nardozzi, Tovah Martin, Ray Rogers and Ed Smith.

Daily cooking exhibitions from local gurus such as garden chef Carole Murko of Heirloom Meals and the culinary team at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts coordinate colorful competitions amongst the region’s top amateur floral arrangers.

The Marketplace Book Store: Many of the Show’s speakers and lecturers will have their books on sale at the Book Store, where guests will also find hundreds of other titles pertaining to gardening—cookbooks, garden design, containers, pruning.

Preview Party, Tuesday, March 15: A kick-off to New England’s largest horticultural event, proceeds from this exclusive fundraiser and annual sneak-peek to the Show will benefit the Fund for Parks and Recreation, which helps support environmental projects, park beautification projects, and recreation programming in the City of Boston. WCVB’s Randy Price and Bianca de la Garza will Co-Chair this VIP event. Tickets for the Preview Party are available at www.cityofboston.gov/parks/.

The 2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show is produced by Paragon Group, event marketer and producer of major events, including the New England International Auto Show and the National Golf Expo Boston.

Where:

* Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston

When:

* Preview Party: Tuesday, March 15, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
* Wednesday, March 16 through Saturday, March 19, 9 AM – 8 PM
* Sunday, March 20, 9 AM – 6 PM

Admission:

· $20 for adults

· $17 for seniors (65+)

· $10 for children ages 6-17

· Children under age 6 admitted free

· Group rates for 20 or more at $16 per ticket

· Tickets are available at all Roche Brothers stores and at www.TheBostonFlowerShow.com

Each spring, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), celebrates the season with Art in Bloom, a festival of flowers featuring 50 New England garden clubs, along with professional designers, who will create vibrant floral displays throughout the galleries. Running from April 30th through May 2nd, this year's event-now marking its 35th anniversary-will feature arrangements that will draw inspiration from the Museum's masterpieces throughout the Museum, focusing on works the new Art of the Americas Wing, which opened in November 2010. Among the 50 works of art that will be interpreted in flowers are some of America's greatest masters, from Cassatt and Sargent to Homer, Heade, and Copley.

In keeping with the Americas theme, the three-day event will include lectures and demonstrations by Nancy Clarke, the chief floral designer at the White House during six presidencies. Other lively programs include a Members' Night on Sunday, May 1; a free evening Open House on Monday, May 2; and hands-on demonstrations, lectures, master classes, and guided tours. Art in Bloom is presented by the MFA Associates, a volunteer group that contributes more than 40,000 hours each year to the Museum by leading daily gallery tours, creating regional membership outreach programs, and arranging flowers in the MFA's public spaces.

A final American artist will be well represented at the Museum during Art in Bloom. Dale Chihuly who masters in large scale glass art will have an enormous exhibition of his work in the Gund Gallery. He is so prolific that his colorful pieces are spilling out into the Museum's public areas. Two large-scale works, a green icicle tower and a neon wall piece will be on display in the Shapiro Family Courtyard in addition to colorful "Cat Tails" on view outside the Courtyard, visible through the soaring glass walls.

ART IN BLOOM ACTIVITIES

FAMILY DAY-Saturday, April 30, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Nature-oriented activities for families, art-making projects that include chalk sidewalk drawing with Sidewalk Sam, and additional special tours and programs are featured throughout the galleries. Children 17 and under are admitted free.

MEMBERS' NIGHT-Sunday, May 1, 6-8 p.m.
Museum hours are extended for a special viewing of Art in Bloom for MFA members. No tickets are required. To become a member, call 617.369.3395 or email membership@mfa.org.

LECTURE AND MASTER CLASS-Monday, May 2
Tickets are $35 for the demonstration/lecture, $200 for the master class (reservations required for master class; please call 617.369.3169).
Nancy Clarke served as the chief floral designer in the White House through six presidencies and three decades, arranging beautiful creations according to the tastes of the specific presidents and first ladies, from the Carters to the Obamas, before recently stepping down. During the lecture she will provide brief demonstrations. The Master class will include more in-depth demonstrations and hands-on learning.

FREE EVENING OPEN HOUSE-Monday, May 2, 5-9 p.m.
The Museum's evening Open House is from 5 to 9 p.m. on Monday, May 2, when admission is free to the public. Visitors are invited to enjoy a special evening viewing of the beautiful floral arrangements throughout the MFA's galleries. The New American Café and the Bravo restaurant are open for dinner. Performances include:
* Second Wind (an a cappella singing group featuring Peggy Ford)
* Gian Carlo Buscaglia (Latin singer/guitarist)
* Jazzmen (a trio of Jazz musicians)

Art in Bloom at Home--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Alfond Auditorium
Flower arranging workshops are offered for visitors interested in learning how to design their own inspired creations.

Free Spotlight Tours--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
10 a.m. - 3 p.m. (additionally from 5-9 p.m. on Monday during the Open House)
Throughout the galleries
An in-depth look at the floral arrangements and the works of art that inspired them is presented during these ongoing tours.

Flower Cart--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
1 - 4 p.m.
Huntington and Fenway Entrances
Flowers and spring-time products are available for purchase outside the entrances.

An Elegant Tea--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 1
2 and 4 p.m.
Koch Gallery for European Masters
*requires tickets ($25 for adults, $10 for children)
The MFA hosts and elegant Art in Bloom tea in the dramatic Koch Gallery.

HOURS
During Art in Bloom, the MFA is open daily (Saturday through Monday, April 30 - May 2) from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., with the addition of a special free evening Open House on Monday, from 5 to 9 p.m.

TICKETING
Art in Bloom is free with general admission, which includes two visits within a 10-day period:
* Museum members FREE
* Adults $20
* Seniors/Students $18
* Youths 17 and younger FREE
(on school days until 3 p.m., $7.50)

Tickets for Art in Bloom special events are available for purchase by visiting the Museum's website at www.mfa.org, or by visiting or calling the MFA's Remis Auditorium box office at (617.369.3306). For specific questions concerning events, as well as the purchase of master class tickets, please call the Art in Bloom hotline at 617.369.3169.

This spring’s Show will return to the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston on Wednesday, March 16 through Sunday, March 20 with a focus on the creative possibilities of container gardening, showcasing dozens of ways to add vibrancy, warmth, and drama to any size space.

Set to the backdrop of over 25 garden displays by landscape professionals and area nurseries, the Show will feature 28 lectures including those by Ellen Odgen Ecker and Tovah Martin, 30 gardening demonstrations from leading experts and gardening groups such as the New England Rose Society and Ikebana International, and daily cooking segments from local gurus such as garden chef Carole Murko of Heirloom Meals and the culinary team at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Visitors to the Show will also enjoy daily children’s gardening activities, two hundred vendors featuring hundreds of the newest products, as well as chances to take home exciting giveaways.

The tradition continues as the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts coordinate colorful competitions amongst the region’s top amateur floral arrangers and horticulturists. The 2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show is produced by Paragon Group, event marketer and producer of major events, including the New England International Auto Show and the National Golf Expo Boston.

2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show:

* Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston

Dates:

* Preview Party: Tuesday, March 15, 7-9 PM
* Wednesday, March 16 through Saturday, March 19, 9 AM – 8 PM
* Sunday, March 20, 9 AM – 6 PM

Tickets:

· $20 for adults

· $17 for seniors (65+)

· $10 for children ages 6-17

· Children under age 6 admitted free

· Group rates for 20 or more at $16 per ticket

For more information, please call the Paragon Group at (781) 273-5533 or visit www.thebostonflowershow.com.

Four Miniature Gardens will be created by gardeners from Cambridge, Framingham, Mansfield, Somerset & Seekonk/Rehoboth for The Boston Flower And Garden Show.

The theme of the Show is "A Burst of Color: Celebrating the Container Garden". The Massachusetts Horticultural Society presents a Show within the Boston Flower and Garden Show titled: "Blooms! 2011 at the Boston Flower & Garden Show." The Miniature Gardens Competition are part of this Show within a show. The Show Hours are: Wednesday, March 16, 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; Thursday, March 17, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Friday, March 18, 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 19, 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday, March 20, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Tickets prices are: Adults $20; Seniors (65+) $17; Children 6-17 $10; and Under 6 Free. Massachusetts Horticultural Society members receive free tickets. For more information visit, www.masshort.org

The Miniature Garden Competition has long-time been a popular feature of Flower Shows in Boston. In 2008 when the New England Spring Flower Show closed its doors for the last time, it was thought that these diminutive edens were gone forever. Late last year the Massachusetts Horticultural Society asked long time Miniature Gardens exhibitors Debi Hogan and Warren Leach of Seekonk to work with them to bring these popular gardens to the new Boston Flower and Garden Show.

The Boston Flower Show is owned and produced by Paragon Group, and is managed as a Trade Show. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society partners with Paragon Group to keep horticulture front and center and to also keep some aspects of the traditional New England Spring Flower Show alive, particularly the floral design classes, and individual plants and gardens that have been such a popular part of the New England Spring Flower Show for more than a century. These flower arrangements, individual pots of flowers, window boxes and even gardens are tended and designed by amateur gardeners, garden club members, plant societies and even children. The Miniature Gardens have always been a popular part of this Amateur Design Division of the show.

These spectacular mini landscapes are created on a scale of one inch is equal to one foot. Each garden is designed to resemble an actual vista with plants and accessories scaled down to one twelfth the size size. The gardens are viewed by Show participants through a viewing window set 48" feet off the Show floor. The window is just 14" tall by 26 inches wide.

The Miniature Gardens combine horticulture and artistry with an intricate design. They are composed primarily of live plants with accessories such as water, pots, paving, small buildings and other accessories allowed. The gardens are constructed within a plywood box measuring 30 inches high by 24 inches deep. The exhibitors paint the background of the box, grow the plants, plan the garden and finally assemble it all at the Show. Miniature garden may be created by groups or individuals. This year four miniature gardens will be created by groups or individuals from Cambridge, Framingham, Mansfield, Somerset and Seekonk/Rehoboth.

* The Holbrow Family have long been exhibitors of Miniature Gardens, creating imaginative and artistic miniature designs in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and several years before that. In fact exhibiting at the Flower Show in Boston is a family tradition that goes back more than a century to Charles E. Holbrow, a Brighton greenhouse grower, who won a silver cup from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1892 , for "the second best two dozen Waban roses" at the show. The cup is a handsome trophy; and the family wonder sometimes what the first place trophy most have looked like.

Several family members will help with the miniature garden this year including Mom (Mary Holbrow of Cambridge) and daughter and granddaughter, artists Gwendolyn and Felicity Holbrow of Framingham.

The Holbrow family’s miniature garden design is based on the spring display of trailing nasturtiums, colorful blooms and greenery in Isabella Stewart Gardener’s courtyard on the Fenway in Boston. Inspired by her travels in Venice, Mrs. Gardener designed the garden as part of the museum she established on the Fenway and opened to the public in 1903. It is sure to be a colorful exhibit.

Kim Sestak and Andrea Kukulka from the Garden Club of Mansfield will be creating a Miniature Gardens for the very first time this year. Kim reports that "Andrea and I are thrilled to be participating in our first exhibition at the Flower Show. My mother-in-law and I have been attending the show for many years and the miniature garden window box exhibits were always our favorites. I have been curious about these gardens for years, and when the opportunity cam along I just jumped in knowing it would be a great opportunity and a learning process."

Kim and Andrea have been busy scrambling for plants and eyeing everything to see if it can fit that one inch is equal to one foot scale. Kim dug through two foot of snow looking for garden plants and is keeping her fingers crossed that they will be ready for exhibition by mid-March They also rummaged through a trailer of over winterized plants at Osburne Nursery, scraped moss off the ground at Patrick Lyons Greenhouse and worked with the owner of Evergreen Tree and Landscape to dig through the ice to open his greenhouse doors. They have been growing seeds and rooting whatever they find. Neither gardener can sit at their kitchen tables with their family any longer, since the tables are covered in plants.

Andrea and Kim’s Miniature garden will feature a typical home owner’s landscape. The idea for the home garden was inspired by this year’s Flower Show theme: "A Burst of Color - Celebrating the Container Garden." Kim says "After such a long winter covered with an endless blanket of snow, we really welcome the lush color of green and every color thereafter is a bonus. The warmth of color fills the air as the gardener puts into action what was planned over the winter’s rest." They will use careful staging of blooms to provide instant color and draw ones eye away from the sides of the boxes, just like in the garden, color can be used to help draw the gardens to a closer living outdoor space. Andrea reports "One can manipulate the canvas more easily with container gardening than a garden bed. Even garden accessories and hardscape have their role in the overall tapestry." They hope the viewer can embrace the colors that nature has given and embellish it with ones own sense of uniqueness.

Fred Perry of Somerset is designing a classic courtyard in which visitors will look into the garden, peering through the architecture of a colonnade. A small fountain will bubble into crossing channels that divide the enclosed quadrangle into four sections. The well chosen and diminutive plants within the garden will create a secluded place of beauty. Fred is also the Director of Horticulture at Blithewold Gardens and Arboretum in Bristol, Rhode Island. In his home landscape he has worked with his son Eric to create a miniature railway garden. This is the first time Fred will be going solo in designing a Miniature Garden for the Flower Show. In 1999, he co-designed the gold medal winning miniature that also won the Historic Landscape Award for the whole show.

The final Miniature garden will be created by Debi Hogan and Warren Leach of Seekonk, although their garden will be for display only - not for judging, since Debi and Warren are co-chairing the Miniature Gardens this year. The were instrumental in finding exhibitors, judges and bringing the Miniatures back to the Show this year. Warren is also co-owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth.

Debi and Warren are working on their seventh Miniature Garden. They designed their first garden for the New England Spring Flower show in 1994. A year later when the Miniature Gardens were pulled out of the Flower Design competition and given their own status, Debi and Warren were asked to Co-Chair the Miniature Gardens Competition and guide it towards independent status. They Chaired the Miniature Gardens for the New England Spring Flower Shows in 1995 and 1996, exhibiting a garden just for display in 1996. In subsequent years, they entered competitive miniature gardens in 1999, 2006, 2007 and 2008, winning a gold medal each year and also winning the silver bowl for First place among the Miniature Gardens three times and the Historic Landscape Award for the entire show three times, competing against all the other gardens in the show, including the larger landscapes.

This year Debi and Warren will create a miniature garden that is the archetype of Persian garden, originating from the marriage of a rich cultural heritage, artistic expression and environmental responsiveness to a hot dry climate. The visitor will look through the window to see a garden oasis composed of the playful use of water represented by geometric rills, pools and fountains surrounded by the colorful architecture of the Persian culture. Plants in this dry climate are used sparingly for shade and structure with responsiveness to the hot and dry environment. Drought tolerant plants will be emphasized .

Many people are planting fruit trees as one of the easiest ways to cut food bills by growing food at home. The Boston Natural Areas Network is launching the Boston Orchard Program to provide support and education for the care and cultivation of Boston’s fruit trees and orchards located on public lands throughout the City of Boston. As part of the Boston Orchard Program, Boston Natural Areas Network is partnering with the Food Project, the Boston Tree Party, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation on two free pruning workshops.

On Saturday March 5, as part of the Food Project’s Winter Workshop Series, John Bunker, Pomologist from Super Chilly Farm in Maine will provide pruning tips at the Shirley-Eustis House Orchard located at 33 Shirley Street in Roxbury.

On Saturday March 12, Ben Crouch, sole proprietor of Jamaica Plain’s Land of Plenty Gardens will provide more information about pruning at the Blake House Orchard located at 735 Columbia Road in Dorchester.

The free programs, for everyone interested in learning more about protecting their trees begin at
10 a.m. Reservations are required. Contact BNAN at 617-542-7696 or info@bostonnatural.org.

Boston Natural Areas Network is succeeding the work of Earthworks, Inc. which after many years of stewardship has closed its doors.Boston Natural Areas Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together local residents, partner organizations, public officials and foundations to preserve, expand, and enhance urban open space, including community gardens, greenways, and urban wilds.

Stockbridge, MA. . .Classes, lectures, and workshops all geared towards the
home gardener are currently open for registration at Berkshire Botanical
Garden.

A three-session lecture, The Home Vegetable Garden, provides an opportunity
to fine-tune garden plans in an informative and practical program on how to
grow food. This introduction to vegetable gardening will include site
selection, soil and nutrient management, seed selection, design, crop
rotation schemes, seeding and planting, pest management, and specific plant
cultivation. Taught by former Extension Vegetable Specialist for the
University of Massachusetts John Howell, the lecture meets February 26,
March 5, and March 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cost for the series is
$108 Members / $135 Nonmembers.

The Wild Side of Gardening, an illustrated lecture/demonstration focusing on
growing summer bulbs, is scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Horticulturist Matt Mattus will share his designs, ideas, and inspirations
for adding lesser-used summer bulbs to gardens and container plantings.
Participants will receive a plant resource list and growing tips to
successfully recreate summer bulb gardens at home. Cost: $20 Members / $25
Nonmembers.

Housescaping with Succulents, Orchids, and More is scheduled for Saturday,
March 12, 10:00 a.m. to noon. This hands-on demonstration/workshop explores
plants from around the world, including agaves, orchids, and other exotics,
which can be grown as low maintenance patio plants that double as
houseplants during the winter months. Under the direction of garden
designer Rob Gennari, students will practice dividing and repotting a
variety of specimen plants and take home divisions to incorporate into their
collections. Cost: Members $37 / Nonmembers $42.

Growing Under Glass, a lecture/discussion focusing on the practical home
greenhouse, will be held Saturday, March 12, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Designed for
all levels of growers, topics covered will include assessing and evaluating
different greenhouse designs, framing, glazing, ventilation, heating,
cooling, and accessory equipment necessary for a successful operation. The
program will conclude with a walking tour, led by instructor John Bartock,
of the various greenhouses on the grounds of Berkshire Botanical Garden,
including an historic Lord & Burnham glass house, a Lexan production
greenhouse, a solar pit greenhouse, a poly hoop house, and cold frames.
Cost is $20 Members / $25 Nonmembers.

Beginning gardeners and nascent market gardeners can learn how to create a
small, highly productive cutting garden Saturday, March 19, 10:00 a.m. -
noon at a discussion/workshop, Growing a Cutting Garden. Taught by Anne
Hunter, owner of Lastings, a specialty fresh and dried flower farm, the
program will include selecting varieties, sowing times and techniques,
planting and transplanting, cultivating and preparing for market.
Participants will sow seeds and transplant flower seedlings to take home.
Fee for the workshop is $25 Members / $30 Nonmembers.

A Plant Press Workshop taught by Berkshire Botanical staff, is scheduled for
Saturday, March 26, 10:00 a.m. - noon. This hands-on workshop involves
constructing a professional-sized herbarium plant press for preserving
flowers, fruits, ferns, and leaves from gardens, fields and forests. The
cost is $45 Members / $54 Nonmembers. Following the workshop, participants
are invited to join University of Massachusetts herbarium Director Karen
Searcy, for a discussion and demonstration, The Art and Science of Pressing
Plants. Students will then practice preserving plant material with their
newly constructed plant press. Students only interested in the
discussion/demonstration by Ms. Searcy can join the program from noon - 1:30
p.m.
The cost is: $22 Members / $27 Nonmembers.

All classes, lectures, and workshops are held at Berkshire Botanical
Garden's Education Center, 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, MA. To
register, call the Garden at (413) 298-3926, or visit the web site:
www.berkshirebotanical.org Berkshire Botanical Garden offers year-round
programs to children and adults wishing to expand their knowledge of
gardening and the environment.

Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom is sponsoring a Statewide Winter Conference for teachers titled "Growing Minds Through Massachusetts Agriculture." The conference offers educational and networking resources, activity ideas and framework connections that can facilitate and enhance pre-K through 12th grade classroom teachers alike and help bring agriculture to the classroom.

The 10th Annual Growing Minds through Massachusetts Agriculture Conference offers educational and networking resources that can facilitate and enhance pre-K through 12th grade classroom teachers alike. This year’s conference will feature a choice of six concurrent workshops during each of four workshop sessions. Workshops will explore the many diverse commodity sectors of Massachusetts Agriculture while providing hands-on learning opportunities that bring agriculture alive in the classroom. Each will offer specific background and activities for either elementary, middle or high school level. Speakers, panels and activities will emphasize agriculture and hands-on activities for the classroom. Don’t miss this day of discussion, interaction and opportunities for exploring new ideas for your Massachusetts classroom.

The $50 fee includes lunch and all materials. ($55 on the day of the conference) Ten Professional Development Points are provided for those who attend the full day conference, carry out a related classroom activity, and send in a brief report of their experience. Scholarships are available to new teachers and teachers from urban schools thanks to funding from a Farm Credit East AgEnhancement Grant. For eligibility information and an application form, check the MAC website at www.aginclassroom.org, click on winter conference and then Scholarship link. We also thank Big Y Foods, Inc. of Springfield and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources for sponsoring our Winter Conference for Educators by providing funds to support some of the costs. We also thank the Ludlow Public Schools and Randall’s Farm in Ludlow for their support! A limited number of full and partial.

The day will begin with registration from 8:00 to 8:30 a.m., followed by a Welcome and Introductions. Choose from six workshops during each concurrent sessions from 9:00-10:10 a.m.; 10:20-11:30 a.m.; 12:50-2:00 p.m. and 2:10-3:20 p.m.9:00 to 10:10 Concurrent Workshop Session

At 9:00 a.m. the first of four concurrent workshop sessions will begin. (Choose one of six Workshops)

Workshop 1: Fund-Raising for Schoolyard Agriculture

This workshop will start with a primer on writing a successful grant proposal with Mary Greendale program development and grant writing consultant for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. She will discuss locating grant sources, tailoring grant application to donor's interests and steps for writing a successful proposal. She will also discuss strategies for finding the community of likely local supporters for your project and engaging the school administrations and parents.
Then learn form other teachers who have been successful raising funds and developing community support for their school gardening programs. Finally, hear about MAC's mini-grant program and what we look for in a mini-grant application. Appropriate for all grades.
Workshop Facilitator: Bill Cassell, 3rd grade teacher and school farmer at the L.D. Batchelder School in North Reading.

Workshop 2: Making Cheese in the Classroom

Dairy Farmers, Marjorie Cooper and nephew James Cooper from Coopers’ Hilltop Dairy Farm in Rochdale will offer an overview of the dairy industry in Massachusetts today. Learn about the life cycle of the cow, milking, milk products, pricing and direct marketing. The making of cheese is a simple process that can be easily adapted to the classroom. Marjorie and James will demonstrate making cheese from the milk of the cow. They will also provide resources including information on where to purchase cheese-making kits. Appropriate for elementary and middle school.
Instructors: Marjorie and James Cooper, Coopers’ Hilltop Dairy Farm

Workshop 3: Teaching Sustainability Using the School Garden

For the past two years the Jackson Street School in Northampton has engaged in a school-wide garden initiative to promote environmental learning, healthy eating, and an awareness of caring for our earth through recycling and composting. Teachers use the garden as an outdoor classroom for science, nutrition, literacy, social studies and math. The school also has embarked on a school-wide garbage reduction program; students and staff recycle and compost school waste in the cafeteria and individual classrooms. Teachers Mary Bates, Mary Cowhey, Susan Ebitz, Mary Ellen Reed and Aaron Piziali are partnering with faculty, school administration, parents, the school PTO, the Northampton Education Foundation and Northampton city departments to make these efforts sustainable over the long term. Appropriate for Grades K-6.
Instructors: Mary Bates, Mary Cowhey, Susan Ebitz and Aaron Piziali from the Jackson Street School in Northampton

Workshop 4: Art Meets Agriculture in the Classroom

Two art teachers who participated in our 2010 Summer Graduate Course will share a variety of ideas and activities that they used to incorporate their summer of agricultural immersion into their art lessons. Kerry Bart-Raber from the Hubbardston Elementary School and Diana Billipp from the William Diamond Middle School in Lexington will show you how they use sketching and drawing, observational research, murals , printmaking and clay sculptures to connect the farm to the school. Targeted for elementary and middle school.
Instructors: Kerry Bart-Raber from the Hubbardston Elementary School and Diana Billipp from the William Diamond Middle School in Lexington.

Workshop 5: Mini-Chicken Coop from Pallets

Reduce waste by reusing pallets and recycle them into a small chicken coop. Backyard poultry has become very popular and is also a good way to introduce kids to agriculture in the classroom. In this hands-on workshop, Russ Anderson from Worcester Technical High School will work with participants to help build a low cost mini-chicken coop for home or schoolyard using recycled materials with hand tools & cordless drill. Limited to 12 participants.
Instructor: Russ Anderson has raised poultry for many years. He majored in Animal Science at Stockbridge and later Agricultural Education at UMass and has worked on large scale poultry farms and taught poultry keeping as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa. He has a Masters in Tech Ed/Industrial Arts (FSU). He has a small farm in Leicester, Mass where he keeps poultry, game birds & rabbits and teaches Environmental Science & Technology at Worcester Technical High School.

Workshop 6: Let the Outside In: Hidden Hollow: An Outdoor Discovery Center

Learn about Hidden Hollow, a new innovative outdoor space at Heritage Museums and Gardens focused on low-tech, natural activity areas where children and their families connect to nature. Participants will learn about ways they can adapt this "Nature Explore" model to fit their site, and they will gather curriculum materials and ideas for outdoor learning; including changing weekly themes tied directly into Massachusetts Curriculum frameworks, booklists, community collaboration ideas and more. Join us in helping every school in Massachusetts create their very own outdoor discover space!
Instructor: Tobey Eugenio, M.Ed., Environmental Education Specialist, Heritage Museum of Sandwich

At 10:10 a.m. there will be a brief break and participants will choose a workshop for the next session concurrent session which will last from 10:20 to 11:30 a.m. (Choose one of six workshops).

Workshop 1: Managing a School Garden Program: Roundtable Discussion

This workshop offers an opportunity to share ideas, successes, challenges, and overall know-how with others who already have experience with gardening at a school. Participants are encouraged to bring copies of printed handouts of ideas, information, materials and resources that would be helpful to fellow school gardeners. Target age range: Pre-K through grade 8.
Discussion Leaders: Marian Hazzard, retired elementary teacher, current volunteer coordinator, four-season garden and greenhouse program, Touchstone Community School, Grafton, MA; Seth Mansur, middle school assistant science teacher, Touchstone Community School, Grafton, MA and Kelly Foss, school garden coordinator from the Wheeler School in Providence.

Workshop 2: Bringing American History to Life: Learning from Our Agricultural Past

Learn the story of Massachusetts farming and the people who worked the land with Dennis Picard, living history interpreter and Director of the Storrowton Village Museum in West Springfield. He'll trace our agricultural roots from the earliest European colonies to 18th and 19th century family farms and kitchen gardens to the shift to the cities due to industrialization and changes in technology. Some of these changes may surprise the attendees in light of our long held concepts of historic farming. Learn about life on these farms, the crops they planted, animals they tended and the life of the farmer in New England. Dennis will describe how these farmers made a living and the differences today and will offer activity ideas for teaching with tools in the classroom. Suitable for grades K-12.
Instructor: Dennis Picard, Living History Interpreter and Director of Storrowtown Village Museum

Workshop 3: Farm Literacy Workshop

Prudence Barton, the school librarian at Lanesborough Elementary School will introduce or remind teachers of books and websites about farming, farmers and farm animals. This is a great way to integrate reading with social studies and science. This presentation is targeted primarily to elementary level teachers, with some information for secondary level instruction.
Instructor: Prudence Barton, Librarian, Lanesborough Elementary School and owner of a small local farm focusing on Heritage Breeds.

Workshop 4: Grain and Breadmaking Workshop

During this hands-on multi-sensory lesson you will explore grains and grasses, learning about different types of breads that can be made in the classroom. During the session Laurie Amberman, children's educator from the Soule Homestead Education Center in Middleboro will make bread and herbal butter, while also exploring the social customs, etiquettes and storytelling around sharing food as you taste several home-made breads. Appropriate for all grades.
Instructor: Laurie Amberman, Children's Educator, Soule Homestead Education Center, Middleboro.

Workshop 5: Fiber to Fabric Workshop

This workshop will offer an introduction to spinning and an overview of fibers. Working with fiber is an excellent hands-on experience for students. Whether you are teaching a unit that can incorporate fiber production, or just looking for something to keep their fingers busy, come explore the fun you and your students can have with fiber! Explore different fibers such as wool, alpaca, angora, cotton and flax observing the differences and learning how each is grown and used. Brenda Loescher, experienced spinner from Amburgey Farm in Ashburnham, will show you how to card wool and spin using a drop spindle and spinning wheel. She'll offer a history of spinning and send you home with a kit that you can use with your students in the classroom. Appropriate for all grades. (Limited to 15 participants.) This workshop will be repeated in the afternoon.
Instructor: Brenda Loescher, Spinner, Amburgey Farm, Ashburnham

Workshop 6: Ornamental Plants for the School Landscape

Bright colorful flowers, fruits and twigs help create an enjoyable and interesting environment and also provide food and shelter for birds, butterflies and other desirable wildlife. Many school sites provide challenging cultural conditions for growing plants, such as shallow soil; poor soil structure and texture; road salts from parking lots; other toxins from previous construction in the area, as well as a lack of skilled horticultural maintenance. Horticulturist and garden designer Warren Leach from Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth will showcase a variety of tough plants for the schoolyard and provide examples of how each can be used to create a beautiful and inspirational landscape that also offers opportunities for educational links to the classroom.
Instructor: Warren Leach, horticulturist and garden designer, Tranquil Lake Nursery, Rehoboth, MA

11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. Lunch, Awards and Speaker, followed by the opportunity to interact and visit exhibits.

Cassie Uricchio from Mount Everett Regional High School in Sheffield is our Teacher of the Year.
The Lunch Time Speaker is Marian Hazzard on: Lessons from the Green School in Bali

12:50 to 2:00 p.m. Workshop Session Three (Concurrent sessions, choose one of six workshops)

Workshop 1: Gardening to Increase Biodiversity

Plant a garden at your school or home that will attract and support butterflies, frittilaries, moths and other herbivorous insects. In doing so, you will be able to enjoy and study the life cycles of these key members of the food web, while also help to increase biodiversity by providing the food for organisms such as birds, amphibian, reptiles and even mammals. Horticulturist Debi Hogan will offer an overview of some of these insects, showing their life cycle and the plants that will attract and feed the adults while also providing food for the larval stages. She will also suggest gardening practices that will encourage and support these insects.
Instructor: Debi Hogan, horticulturist and educator, Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom and Tranquil Lake Nursery

Workshop 2: Composting Workshop

This workshop will offer an overview of composting session. You will learn how to build a bin, the science of compost, adding the materials to the pile, turning and aeration and how to adapt composting to a larger school or municipal project. Composting educator Anne-Marie Runfola will also discuss how to teach science, math, civics and even art using the compost pile. Learn how to make a soda bottle bioreactor activity.
Instructor: Anne-Marie Runfola, Compost educator

Workshop 3: Fiber to Fabric Workshop

This workshop will offer an introduction to spinning and an overview of fibers. Working with fiber is an excellent hands-on experience for students. Whether you are teaching a unit that can incorporate fiber production, or just looking for something to keep their fingers busy, come explore the fun you and your students can have with fiber! Explore different fibers such as wool, alpaca, angora, cotton and flax observing the differences and learning how each is grown and used. Brenda Loescher, experienced spinner from Amburgey Farm in Ashburnham, will show you how to card wool and spin using a drop spindle and spinning wheel. She'll offer a history of spinning and send you home with a kit that you can use with your students in the classroom. Appropriate for all grades. (Limited to 15 participants.) Repeat of the morning workshop.
Instructor: Brenda Loescher, Spinner, Amburgey Farm, Ashburnham

Workshop 4: Embryology in the Classroom

Incubation of eggs in the classroom provides many cross curricular opportunities for teaching reading, writing, math, science and much more. It can also be a challenge for those who have not tried it before. Jessica Ouimet hatches eggs with her fifth grade students at the Coburn Elementary School in West Springfield. She will unravel the mystery, showing you how to set up the incubator, put in the eggs and turn the eggs for successful hatching. She will also present an overview of embryo development, life cycles and brooding of newly hatched chicks and share activities used in her classroom as she teaches this unit. Content is geared towards the elementary grades.
Instructor: Jessica Ouimet, teaches fifth grade at the Coburn Elementary School in West Springfield

Workshop 5: Dairy Farming in Massachusetts

This workshop will offer an overview of dairy farming in Massachusetts providing a history of milk production in the state from colonial to current times. Try out a couple of hands on activities for the classroom and meet a number of farms that offer educational programs and school tours. Connect to the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture's Google maps link and learn how to use it as a teaching tool.
Instructor: Krisanne Koebke, Massachusetts Dairy Promotions, Dudley

Workshop 6: Maple Sugaring Workshop

Late winter is the time to get outdoors, explore the local landscape and woodland, and find the perfect Sugar Maple tree to tap with your students. As you boil the sap into syrup, students can study the history of maple sugaring, draw and chart the boiling process, sing songs, write stories and generally immerse themselves in the maple season. Farm Educator Doug Cook, from Land's Sake in Weston will bring equipment and activity ideas offering ideas and answering questions to take you through the maple season. Targeted for elementary to middle school.
Instructor: Doug Cook, Education Director, Land's Sake, Weston

The last concurrent workshops session will be held from 2:10 to 3:20 p.m. Choose one of six workshops.

Workshop 1: Worm Composting in the Classroom

Take a step towards developing your own green classroom. Learn how food wastes from snack time or the cafeteria are composted in worm bins right in the classroom. Amy Donovan, the Program Director for Franklin County Solid Waste Management District in Greenfield, has started all types of composting and recycling programs at many Massachusetts schools. She’ll offer an overview of how to make an easy and inexpensive worm bin, what materials are acceptable for worm bins, why composting is important, student involvement, and following the waste materials from the school to the garden. Activity ideas related to composting will also be offered.
Instructor: Amy Donovan, Program Director, Franklin County Solid Waste Management District, Greenfield

Workshop 2: Using the Nutrition Label to Teach Science, Math & Nutrition

The workshop will focus on helping students to become informed food consumers by analyzing the information on the nutrition label. Linda Rohr, middle school nutrition educator will review concepts of math, science and nutrition providing opportunities for sharing and discussion. Participants will also prepare three easy-to-make snack foods: popcorn, pita chips and potato chips. These classroom made foods will then be compared to commercially made items for taste, cost and nutrition. You decide which food product is better! Targeted to middle School.
Instructor: Linda Rohr, Middle School Nutrition Educator

Workshop 3: Ornamental Plants for the School Landscape

Bright colorful flowers, fruits and twigs help create an enjoyable and interesting environment and also provide food and shelter for birds, butterflies and other desirable wildlife. Many school sites provide challenging cultural conditions for growing plants, such as shallow soil; poor soil structure and texture; road salts from parking lots; other toxins from previous construction in the area, as well as a lack of skilled horticultural maintenance. Horticulturist and garden designer Warren Leach from Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth will showcase a variety of tough plants for the schoolyard and provide examples of how each can be used to create a beautiful and inspirational landscape that also offers opportunities for educational links to the classroom.
Instructor: Warren Leach, horticulturist and garden designer, Tranquil Lake Nursery, Rehoboth, MA

Workshop 4: Connecting to the Curriculum Frameworks

The workshop will engage you in connecting food and agriculture to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. While the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has recently adopted the Common Core State Standards, which can be found at www.corestandards.org, the frameworks will continue to be used by local communities to augment these standards and to develop more specific curriculum. Take advantage of this opportunity to bring your experiences and expertise to help us create a MAC compendium of relevant, real world activities and resources for teachers, students and parents to use in their schools and communities.
Facilitator: Rita Brennan Olson, M.S., Nutrition Education and Training Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Education, Elementary and Secondary Education

Workshop 5: Starting a Community Garden Project

There are many ways to start a community garden. Using the Harvests From The Heart garden project located in Wrentham, as a model, Ken Oles will discuss the initial steps in planning, organizing and maintaining a community garden. Whether you are working with friends, neighbors, or a local organization, there are many factors to consider when beginning a new garden. From choosing a name for your project to starting seeds and initial cultivation, this workshop will facilitate planning while identifying pitfalls that may occur. The following specific items will be addressed: site selection and preparation, team-building, start-up costs, publicity, irrigation, food safety, selecting a sponsor, liability, disease and pest control, and data collection. Who should attend: gardeners, educators, volunteers, supporters of community garden projects, and others who are interested in promoting healthy communities. Meet others with similar interests, participate in discussions, and leave with new ideas.
Instructor: Ken Oles, a URI/MGA Master Gardener and retired educator, is the organizer and consultant for the Harvests From The Heart project in Wrentham. In 2010, project volunteers grew and harvested over 3,000 pounds of fresh produce for the Wrentham Food Pantry. Ken also serves on the Board of Directors for Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom.

Workshop 6: Horses

History was written on the back of the horse." No other animal, except perhaps the dog, has had as much influence on human development as the horse. Learn how horses helped shape civilization in the past and how they continue to shape society today. We may no longer need horses for transportation and "horsepower" as we did in previous centuries, but the animal continues to hold our fascination and respect. The equine industry is alive and well in the Northeast, generating billions of dollars of revenue. Horses provide a viable agricultural industry that is economically sustainable. This industry improves quality of life by preserving open spaces. Horses provide immeasurable benefits improving strength and independence to individuals with physical, mental and emotional challenges through therapeutic riding programs. They also provide tremendous pleasure to the people that own and are involved with them. Come and learn about the many ways you can include horses in your classroom from reading to math, biology, art and history. Suitable for all ages.
Instructors: Dale Perkins, of Mesa Farm in Rutland, offers many programs for children and adults focused on farming and equestrian activities, both recreational and therapeutic. Leonora Giguere is a life long horse enthusiast and equine artist from Leicester. Both are affiliated with City to Saddle, a local organization committed to providing funding and access to equestrian programs to underserved youth.

The day will end at 3:00 p.m.
with a Poster Viewing Session, Evaluations and Distribution of Educational Materials related to Massachusetts Agriculture.

The mission of Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom is to foster an awareness and learning in all areas related to the food and agriculture industries and the economic and social importance of agriculture to the state, nation and the world. In addition to the Annual Winter Conference for Educators, Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom offers a seasonal newsletter; workshops on the farm for educators; A fall "Greening the School Conference" for teachers; a Summer Graduate Course; a Directory of agricultural materials and providers; mini-grants for teachers and educators; an interactive website; an various manuals and curriculum. For more information on the Growing Minds through Massachusetts Agriculture Conference or on Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, contact
Debi Hogan
Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc.
P. O. Box 345
Seekonk, MA 02771
e-mail: massaginclasssroom@earthlink.net
Web Site: www.aginclassroom.org
Phone: 508-336-4426
Fax: 508-336-0682

Stockbridge, MA. . .Classes, lectures, and workshops all geared towards the home gardener are currently open for registration at Berkshire Botanical Garden.

A three-session lecture, The Home Vegetable Garden, provides an opportunity to fine-tune garden plans in an informative and practical program on how to grow food. This introduction to vegetable gardening will include site selection, soil and nutrient management, seed selection, design, crop rotation schemes, seeding and planting, pest management, and specific plant cultivation. Taught by former Extension Vegetable Specialist for the University of Massachusetts John Howell, the lecture meets February 26, March 5, and March 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cost for the series is $108 Members / $135 Nonmembers.

The Wild Side of Gardening, an illustrated lecture/demonstration focusing on growing summer bulbs, is scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Horticulturist Matt Mattus will share his designs, ideas, and inspirations for adding lesser-used summer bulbs to gardens and container plantings. Participants will receive a plant resource list and growing tips to successfully recreate summer bulb gardens at home. Cost: $20 Members / $25 Nonmembers.

Housescaping with Succulents, Orchids, and More is scheduled for Saturday, March 12, 10:00 a.m. to noon. This hands-on demonstration/workshop explores plants from around the world, including agaves, orchids, and other exotics, which can be grown as low maintenance patio plants that double as houseplants during the winter months. Under the direction of garden designer Rob Gennari, students will practice dividing and repotting a variety of specimen plants and take home divisions to incorporate into their collections. Cost: Members $37 / Nonmembers $42.

Growing Under Glass, a lecture/discussion focusing on the practical home greenhouse, will be held Saturday, March 12, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Designed for all levels of growers, topics covered will include assessing and evaluating different greenhouse designs, framing, glazing, ventilation, heating, cooling, and accessory equipment necessary for a successful operation. The program will conclude with a walking tour, led by instructor John Bartock, of the various greenhouses on the grounds of Berkshire Botanical Garden, including an historic Lord & Burnham glass house, a Lexan production greenhouse, a solar pit greenhouse, a poly hoop house, and cold frames. Cost is $20 Members / $25 Nonmembers.

Beginning gardeners and nascent market gardeners can learn how to create a small, highly productive cutting garden Saturday, March 19, 10:00 a.m. – noon at a discussion/workshop, Growing a Cutting Garden. Taught by Anne Hunter, owner of Lastings, a specialty fresh and dried flower farm, the program will include selecting varieties, sowing times and techniques, planting and transplanting, cultivating and preparing for market. Participants will sow seeds and transplant flower seedlings to take home. Fee for the workshop is $25 Members / $30 Nonmembers.

A Plant Press Workshop taught by Berkshire Botanical staff, is scheduled for Saturday, March 26, 10:00 a.m. – noon. This hands-on workshop involves constructing a professional-sized herbarium plant press for preserving flowers, fruits, ferns, and leaves from gardens, fields and forests. The cost is $45 Members / $54 Nonmembers. Following the workshop, participants are invited to join University of Massachusetts herbarium Director Karen Searcy, for a discussion and demonstration, The Art and Science of Pressing Plants. Students will then practice preserving plant material with their newly constructed plant press. Students only interested in the discussion/demonstration by Ms. Searcy can join the program from noon – 1:30 p.m.

The cost is: $22 Members / $27 Nonmembers.

All classes, lectures, and workshops are held at Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Education Center, 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, MA. To register, call the Garden at (413) 298-3926, or visit the web site: www.berkshirebotanical.org Berkshire Botanical Garden offers year-round programs to children and adults wishing to expand their knowledge of gardening and the environment.

Ned Friedman, the new director, has initiated a series of outstanding free public lectures by top names in the field of evolutionary studies. All lectures take place in the Hunnewell Lecture Hall, 125 Arborway, Boston, MA 02130. Advance registration is required. Contact Pamela Thompson, 617.384.5277. http://calendar.arboretum.harvard.edu/index.php

"The Good, the Bad, and Occasionally the Dead: Humanity’s Relationship with Earth’s Nitrogen" by Alan Townsend, University of Colorado, Boulder, is the next lecture in the series, to be held Monday, February 28, 6:30–8:30pm

He will speak about the occasionally odd, often dramatic history of humanity’s relationship with phosphorous and nitrogen.

How do we live the lives we want while maintaining healthy ecosystems that can support future generations? These challenges will define the coming century, and one of them lies at the heart of the most fundamental of human needs: the need to eat, the good these chemical elements do and the harm they cause, and ultimately, the reasons to have hope for a better future.

There will also be a lecture on "Our Constitution’s Intelligent Design" by U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III on Monday, March 28, 6:30–8:30pm for Arboretum members only. You can join online at arboretum.harvard.edu/membership or call 617-384-5767.

In 2005 Judge John Jones presided over the landmark case of Kitzmiller v. Dover, and thereafter rendered an opinion holding that it is unconstitutional to teach the concept of intelligent design as an alternative to the theory of evolution. In the aftermath of that ruling, Judge Jones, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, was subjected to intense criticism. Judge Jones will highlight some of the lessons he learned from these experiences, including the development of his passion for judicial independence, and a belief in the need for better civics education, particularly related to our three branches of government

Ned Friedman recommends the following reading related to this talk:

· Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (available online), Monkey Girl by Edward Humes,

· 40 Days and 40 Nights by Matthew Chapman,

· The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything by Gordy Slack

· The Devil in Dover by Lauri Lebo.

Magnolias are without doubt the most spectacular flowering trees that can be grown in temperate climates. Luckily for gardeners, the genus Magnolia is going through a "golden age" of new plant development. The result is rapidly expanding options for cold-climate gardens. Come and see some of these gorgeous new hybrids, some old favorites that still deserve planting, and see what beauty may result if you try growing your own magnolias from seed.

Magnificent Magnolias for Northern Gardens an illustrated lecture will be given on Saturday, February 12 from 10:30 am to noon at the Berkshire Botanical Garden. The Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at the intersection of Routes 102 & 183 in Stockbridge, MA.

Instructor Stefan Cover works at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology where he studies North American ants. He moonlights as a botanist/gardener with special interest in ornamental woody plants, especially magnolias. He runs the international seed exchange for the Magnolia Society and cultivates many of these lovely trees in Stow, Mass.

Hardy Cactus Gardening for New England Gardens, an illustrated lecture, will also be offered on Saturday, February 12th from 12:30 to 2 pm by Stefan Cover at the Berkshire Botanical Garden.

There are cacti with desert landscapes in the west but there are many cacti that you can grow in southern and central New England. This talk illustrates what will grow here, where to get the plants, and what you need to do to have a successful cactus garden in Massachusetts — all illustrated by the speaker's USDA Zone 5B cactus garden in Stow, MA.

The cost if each talk is $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Registration is required. To register, call the Berkshire Botanical Garden at 413-298-3926. For more information about upcoming family, youth and adult programs, visit the website @ www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Boston Globe garden writer Carol Stocker will take your questions today at 1 p.m. at boston.com.
Also: Please note that the Berkshire Botanical Garden Annual Winter Lecture
“At Home in the 365-Day Garden” with author / garden blogger Margaret Roach
is Saturday, February 19, 2:00 pm (snow date February 20)
Monument Mountain Regional High School
Tickets: $35 Garden Members / $42 Nonmembers / $25 Members Lunch
Tickets: www.berkshirebotanical.org or call 413-298-3926 (Reservations Required)

The exciting new public lecture series related to the issues of evolution began last month with a look at Charles Darwin by Ned Friedman, the new Arnold Arboretum director. It continues this month at the Hunnewell Lecture Hall, 125 Arborway with two notable speakers.

"Restoring Hawaii’s Marvels of Evolution" will be the topic of Robert Robichaux of the University of Arizona Monday, February 7, 6:30–8:30 pm.Botanist Robert Robichaux of the Hawaiian Silversword Foundation and University of Arizona will discuss recent efforts to restore Hawaii’s marvels of plant evolution.Evolving in splendid isolation over millions of years, Hawaii’s native plants exhibit patterns of diversity that are unrivaled elsewhere on Earth. Especially striking are the many examples of adaptive radiation, in which original immigrants to the islands evolved into dazzling arrays of plants exhibiting great variation in form and habitat preference. Yet, Hawaii’s native plants face an uncertain future. Many native plants, such as the exquisitely beautiful silverswords and lobeliads, now teeter on the edge of extinction.

The third public lecture in the new series will be "The Good, the Bad, and Occasionally the Dead: Humanity’s Relationship with Earth’s Nitrogen" by Alan Townsend, University of Colorado, Boulder on Monday, February 28, 6:30–8:30pm.

He will address the occasionally odd, often dramatic history of humanity’s relationship with phosphorous and nitrogen. How do we live the lives we want while maintaining healthy ecosystems that can support future generations? These challenges will define the coming century, and one of them lies at the heart of the most fundamental of human needs: the need to eat, the good these chemical elements do and the harm they cause, and ultimately, the reasons to have hope for a better future.

The fourth lecture will be "Our Constitution’s Intelligent Design" by U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III on Monday, March 28, 6:30–8:30pm This will only be open to arboretum members. (You can join online at arboretum.harvard.edu/membership or call 617-384-5767.)

In 2005 Judge John Jones presided over the landmark case of Kitzmiller v. Dover, and thereafter rendered an opinion holding that it is unconstitutional to teach the concept of intelligent design as an alternative to the theory of evolution. In the aftermath of that ruling, Judge Jones, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, was subjected to intense criticism. Judge Jones will highlight some of the lessons he learned from these experiences, including the development of his passion for judicial independence, and a belief in the need for better civics education, particularly related to our three branches of government

Recommended reading related to this talk includes:

· Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (available online), Monkey Girl by Edward Humes,

· 40 Days and 40 Nights by Matthew Chapman,

· The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything by Gordy Slack

· The Devil in Dover by Lauri Lebo.

All lectures are free and take place in the Hunnewell Lecture Hall at the Arboretum at 125 Arborway, Boston. Advance registration is required. Contact Pamela Thompson, 617.384.5277 or go to http://calendar.arboretum.harvard.edu/index.php

The Dan Snow lecture has been cancelled for this evening, and rescheduled for Wed., March 30, according to Kathryn Acerbo-Bachmann, Director of Art & Architecture Programs at Trinity Church Boston.

Snow will lecture at Trinity Church on "Working with Stone - Creating a Connection with the Spirit of Place." The event will be co-sponsored with the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

The gardener's perspective is the perfect loci for seeking inward and reaching outward, for ordering the experience of time and space, and observing higher orders. Dan Snow is a designer of outdoor spaces in stone, and an art maker specializing is dry stone constructions. He is the author of In the Company of Stone and Listening to Stone—Hardy Structures, Perilous Follies, and Other Tangles with Nature and the subject of the PBS documentary Stone Rising. Book-signing to follow. For more information visit www.inthecompanyofstone.com.

Dan Snow's presentation will examine the many uses of stone in the garden; how stone can support a garden design, or simply be the garden itself. Illustrated with images of his work, the presentation will also explore the "give and take" experience of working in nature, and the connection to spirit expressed through stone.

Tickets $20 member, $25 non member, available at The Shop at Trinity (206 Clarendon Street, lower level), by phone (617.536.0944 x225) or online www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Working with Stone - Creating a Connection with the Spirit of Place is the title of the 7 p.m. lecture Feb. 1 co-sponsored Trinity Church and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. The gardener's perspective is the perfect loci for seeking inward and reaching outward, for ordering the experience of time and space, and observing higher orders. Dan Snow is a designer of outdoor spaces in stone, and an art maker specializing is dry stone constructions. He is the author of In the Company of Stone and Listening to Stone—Hardy Structures, Perilous Follies, and Other Tangles with Nature and the subject of the PBS documentary Stone Rising. Book-signing to follow. For more information on Dan and his work, please visit www.inthecompanyofstone.com.

Dan Snow's presentation will examine the many uses of stone in the garden; how stone can support a garden design, or simply be the garden itself. Illustrated with images of his work, the presentation will also explore the "give and take" experience of working in nature, and the connection to spirit expressed through stone.

Tickets $20 member, $25 non member, available at The Shop at Trinity (206 Clarendon Street, lower level), by phone (617.536.0944 x225) or online www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

If you are in New York and a fan of garden antiques, stop by at the Barbara Israel Garden Antiques booth at the famous annual Winter Antiques Show, which is at the Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street through Jan. 30.

Her stuff is amazing! When I was there at the preview last week, the show stopper was a 19th century bas relief carved marble Italian wellhead with a bronze overthrow of floral design. Planting containers included a pair of mid-19th century Versailles urns by the Paris based Durenne foundry, on pedestals. and a terra-cotta planter ornamented by entwined serpents from traditional Celtic design which was designed by Arts & Crafts Symbolist Mary Seton Watts and exhibited at the 1893 Colombian Exposition in Chicago. The always popular animal sculptures included a cast iron Newfoundland and stone panther, both life size. And amusing giant stone frog was from the 1950's but most articles more made in the 19th century and brought over from Europe by garden lovers on the Grand Tour.

The garden ornaments and artwork was selling fast and the price tags were hefty. But Barbara Israel Garden Antiques has also come out with a line of affordable reproductions of its treasures, called Garden Traditions. Visit the website at www.gardentraditions.us for information. The Massachusetts dealer is Tracker Home Decor of Pease's Point Way in South Edgartown. Original antiques can be viewed by appointment at Katonah, NY., where Barbara Israel also puts out a scholarly newsletter, Focal Points.

Barbara Israel has long been a leading expert on the subject of garden antiques and ornaments. Her 1999 book, "Antique Garden Ornament; Two Centuries of America Taste," was a groundbreaking work, noted Ronald Lee Fleming of the Townscape Institute in Cambridge, who also attended the opening.

"I wanted people to realize it was a serious academic art," Israel said when we talked at the show, which is the most prestigious of its kind in the country. She traces her interest to childhood. "One of my grandmothers would take me to an estate in New Jersey which had nine foot tall statues of the first 12 Roman Emperors. My sister and I would play and peek out around them. I was curious why they were there."

"Working with Stone - Creating a Connection with the Spirit of Place" is the title of the 7 p.m. lecture next Tuesday co-sponsored Trinity Church and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

The gardener's perspective is the perfect loci for seeking inward and reaching outward, for ordering the experience of time and space, and observing higher orders.

Dan Snow is a designer of outdoor spaces in stone, and an art maker specializing is dry stone constructions. He is the author of In the Company of Stone and Listening to Stone—Hardy Structures, Perilous Follies, and Other Tangles with Nature and the subject of the PBS documentary Stone Rising. Book-signing to follow. For more information on his work visit www.inthecompanyofstone.com.

Dan Snow's presentation will examine the many uses of stone in the garden; how stone can support a garden design, or simply be the garden itself. Illustrated with images of his work, the presentation will also explore the "give and take" experience of working in nature, and the connection to spirit expressed through stone.

Tickets $20 member, $25 non member, available at The Shop at Trinity (206 Clarendon Street, lower level), by phone (617.536.0944 x225) or online www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Stockbridge - Today, Jan, 27, 4:00 pm, educators of grades K-12 are invited to an Open House and Reception hosted by the Garden’s Youth Education office. Educators are invited to visit the education building and new classroom, engage in an indoor garden-related activity, and become acquainted with the 2011 school programs and workshops offered at Berkshire Botanical Garden. Admission is free and pre-registration is requested.

On Saturday, February 12, 1–3 pm, a favorite Garden class, Make Your Own Paper! is offered to families with children ages five and up. Participants will learn the craft of paper making from beginning to end, and take home hand-crafted paper for cards, collage, printing or framing. The cost is $20 Members / $25 Nonmembers.

Altered States – Artistic Books, a workshop on recycling and repurposing books, will be offered on Saturday, March 12, 12:30 – 3:30 pm. Designed for families with children ages seven and up, this is an opportunity to learn the fascinating art form of transforming unwanted volumes into unique creations using gluing, folding, and pop-up techniques. The cost for this workshop is $50 Members / $60 Nonmembers. Note: Families who register for both Make Your Own Paper! and Artistic Books receive a 10% tuition discount.

Seed Bombs and Other Guerilla Gardening, a workshop for children ages eight and up, is scheduled for Saturday, March 19, 1 – 2:30 pm. Children will create seed bombs (also called green grenades used by plant- loving urban rebels) designed to enable seeds to be sown in hard to reach places and locations. Cost for this workshop is $8 Members / $10 Nonmembers.

For more information and to register, please call Berkshire Botanical Garden at 413-298-3926.

Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at the intersection of Routes 102 and 183, Stockbridge, Mass. The Garden offers year-round programs, classes and workshops for adults and children. For a complete listing, visit the Garden’s web site at www.berkshirebotanical.org

As New England’s longest standing and largest flower show, this year’s theme is “Gardening With Heart” and includes a partnership with the American Heart Association (AHA). In addition to 28 romance-themed gardens, guests can take advantage of various tours, lectures, demonstrations and marketplace vendors.

Each garden will highlight a romantic, classic love story such as Casablanca, Gone with the Wind and Sleepless in Seattle. The Rhode Island Hort Society gardens will showcase a “red” motif featuring red flowers and special red dresses designed by students at the Rhode Island School of Design. Corresponding with the overall theme, this year’s signal flower is the bleeding heart (dicentra).

Guest lecturers will include television personalities Gordon Hayward and Donna Ranucci. An American Heart Association component will include lessons on how to lead a heart-healthy lifestyle. The top floor of the RICC will consist of a “de-stressing” center with yoga instructors, massage therapists and educational stations.

Visitors can take advantage of special hotel rates for the weekend with participating hotels including Marriott Providence Downtown, complete with free parking and shuttle service; Hotel Providence; Radisson Hotel Providence Harbor; Hampton Inn & Suites; and Johnson & Wales Inn. Additionally, select local restaurants are offering discounted menus in honor of the event, including Geppetto’s Pizzeria and Walter’s Ristorante d’ Italia.

Participants can take dedicated Floral Tours of the John Brown House, one of America’s grandest mansions, for only $5 per person on February 25 and 26. Group tours are available by appointment. To reserve a tour, call 401-273-7507.

Tickets to the Rhode Island Flower Show are available for $16 in advance for adults or $18 at the door. Admission is free for children five and under and tickets are $7 for children ages 6-12. Additional event and ticket information for the Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show is available at www.flowershow.com or www.goprovidence.com.

Buildings account for nearly 40% of all U.S. energy use and carbon emissions. With one of the country’s leading preservation architects as your guide, the lecture will explore the power of adaptive reuse to reduce those numbers and move us toward sustainability.

The lecture will demonstrate how an icon such as H.H. Richardson’s Trinity Church in Boston can go green—and why a 1970s strip-mall supermarket not only deserves similar attention but can also emerge as a building that delights users while it protects the environment. Sustainable Preservation makes a compelling argument that preservation and sustainability don’t just protect the environment, but deliver a full range of societal benefits, from job creation to stronger social connection.

Jean Carroon, FAIA, LEED® AP, is a principal in Goody Clancy's highly regarded preservation practice, based in Boston. She has earned national recognition for her expertise in applying sustainable-design technology to historic buildings, including more than a dozen National Historic Landmarks. She has directed the adaptive reuse and preservation of signature buildings in a broad range of sectors, including educational, civic and cultural projects for clients such as Harvard University and the National Park Service. She is currently working on the renovation of more than 50 historic structures on the St. Elizabeth’s West Campus in Washington, which will become the home of the Department of Homeland Security.

Jean Carroon FAIA, LEED® AP
January 26, 7 PM, Trinity Church, Copley Square
Book-signing to follow. Co-sponsored by Trinity Church and the Boston Society of Architects

Tickets: $15 ($10 BSA and Trinity Church Members and students), available at sustainablepreservation.eventbrite.com, The Shop at Trinity (206 Clarendon Street) or by phone 617.536.0944 x217.

On Jan. 1, Edward “Ned’’ Friedman became the new director of Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, only the eighth in its 138-year history. Friedman is a tenured professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard.
In outreach to the public, he has initiated a New Director’s Lecture Series at the Arnold Arboretum

All lectures are free and take place in the Hunnewell Lecture Hall, 125 Arborway, Boston, MA 02130.

Advance registration is required. Contact Pamela Thompson, 617.384.5277. http://calendar.arboretum.harvard.edu/index.php

Here is a lecture schedule and an interview by garden writer Carol Stocker with Ned Friedman:

Restoring Hawaii’s Marvels of Evolution

Robert Robichaux, University of Arizona

Monday, February 7, 6:30–8:30pm

Botanist Robert Robichaux of the Hawaiian Silversword Foundation and University of Arizona discusses recent efforts to restore Hawaii’s marvels of plant evolution.

Evolving in splendid isolation over millions of years, Hawaii’s native plants exhibit patterns of diversity that are unrivaled elsewhere on Earth. Especially striking are the many examples of adaptive radiation, in which original immigrants to the islands evolved into dazzling arrays of plants exhibiting great variation in form and habitat preference. Yet, Hawaii’s native plants face an uncertain future. Many native plants, such as the exquisitely beautiful silverswords and lobeliads, now teeter on the edge of extinction.

The Good, the Bad, and Occasionally the Dead: Humanity’s Relationship with Earth’s Nitrogen

Alan Townsend, University of Colorado, Boulder

Monday, February 28, 6:30–8:30pm

Hear about the occasionally odd, often dramatic history of humanity’s relationship with phosphorous and nitrogen.

How do we live the lives we want while maintaining healthy ecosystems that can support future generations? These challenges will define the coming century, and one of them lies at the heart of the most fundamental of human needs: the need to eat, the good these chemical elements do and the harm they cause, and ultimately, the reasons to have hope for a better future.
Our Constitution’s Intelligent Design

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III

Monday, March 28, 6:30–8:30pm

**FOR MEMBERS ONLY** Join online at arboretum.harvard.edu/membership or call 617-384-5767.
In 2005 Judge John Jones presided over the landmark case of Kitzmiller v. Dover, and thereafter rendered an opinion holding that it is unconstitutional to teach the concept of intelligent design as an alternative to the theory of evolution. In the aftermath of that ruling, Judge Jones, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, was subjected to intense criticism. Judge Jones will highlight some of the lessons he learned from these experiences, including the development of his passion for judicial independence, and a belief in the need for better civics education, particularly related to our three branches of government

Recommended reading related to this talk:

· Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (available online), Monkey Girl by Edward Humes,

· 40 Days and 40 Nights by Matthew Chapman,

· The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything by Gordy Slack

· The Devil in Dover by Lauri Lebo.

Ned Freidman spoke to us of his passion for bringing more scientific research to the grounds of the 265-acre Arnold and about the new lecture series he has started.

Q. We know you are a research scientist, but are you also a gardener?

A. I love to garden. I am almost competitive about gardening. My wife and I canned 80 quarts of tomatoes this year from just nine plants. We make jam from our fruit trees. We live now in Boulder, Colo., where the season is short but the sunlight is intense. I also grow hops and brew my own beer there.

Q. What kind of tomatoes do you grow?

A. Celebrity, Sweet 100’s. No heirlooms or anything unusual because my wife is a botanist, too, and she studies Solanum plants, which are related to tomatoes, and we don’t want to transmit any plant diseases to her research projects.

Q. What have you done at the University of Colorado?

A. I’m a plain old garden variety professor studying the evolutionary origins of flowering plants (mostly trees) and how they reproduce. We’ve come up with some big surprises.

Q. What are your goals for the Arnold Arboretum?

A. The new Weld Hill building will open with a spectacular set of labs as a base for bringing undergraduates and post-docs and plant researchers to the Arboretum. They’ll be able to do microscopy and molecular biology right at the Arboretum. My job will be to get the new research building on Weld Hill up and running, but also to get science out of the building and into the schools and community.

Q. How?

A. I want to do outreach to public school teachers about the history of evolution. I want to get a National Science Foundation S.T.E.M. grant (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) for our graduate students to partner with science teachers in the public schools. I will do more on adult education, too. I will have a monthly community night when I will bring in someone very special from around the world for Boston. We’ll do it in an evolutionary way.

Q. Do you actually take care of the trees?

A. We have talented arborists for that, and we’re well-staffed, with 75 employees. But I hope they’ll let me up in the bucket for a bird’s eye view.

Q. Do you worry about the Asian long horned beetle?

A. I was visiting when they found those four infected trees in the hospital parking lot across the street. I don’t know where they came from. I was so impressed by the way the staff snapped into action. They knew what species the beetles preferred and the date that each tree had been previously checked. They checked all the trees again, and the beetles hadn’t spread to the Arboretum, but the trees there are so attentively checked by a full staff that it would never go undetected. We wouldn’t be playing “catch-up.’’ But we want to continue to educate our neighbors to keep an eye on their own trees.

Q. Given all the new threats to trees today by changing climate and imported pests and diseases, what kind of tree would you plant for the future?

A. My favorite tree is the ginko. I did my dissertation on it. It’s tough, pollution- and pest-tolerant, it has beautiful gold coloring in the fall. There’s a stretch of streets linked with ginkos in Yokahama and they look beautiful. Goethe wrote a tremendous love poem to a much younger woman about the ginko leaf. It’s a mysterious and romantic plant.

Q. Are you as cheerful as you seem?

A. I’m very cheerful. I have always felt I’ve been the luckiest person in the world because I get to spend my life with plants.

--CAROL STOCKER

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s popular Landscape Visions lecture series continues its 2010-11 season—entitled CITY.GARDEN.NOW—this spring with three new talks on gardens and the urban environment. The series will be presented off-site this season (at Simmons college in January and February and at a location as yet to be determined in March) while the museum works to restore the historic Tapestry Room to its original orientation as a grand gallery for viewing tapestries according to Gardner’s original intent.

Since the Gardner Museum opened its doors on January 1, 1903, horticulture has been an integral part of the visitor experience. Gardner was herself an urban pioneer, choosing to build her museum at the turn of the century in the Fenway neighborhood, a new section of Boston that had been recently transformed by Frederick Law Olmsted from a tidal marsh into the parks of the Back Bay Fens. The Gardner Museum was one of the first buildings in the Fenway, an area which today remains an important and vibrant example of the value of urban landscape.

The past century-plus, however, has seen a dramatic evolution in Boston’s urban environment, the museum itself, and ideas about gardens and landscape design. Today, the complexity of urban organization and new thinking about the urban landscape are changing the field of landscape design.

The 2010-11 Landscape Visions series is directed by Chris Reed, landscape architect for the Gardner Museum’s Extension and Preservation Project, who has assembled an outstanding array of landscape architects, artists, and activists at work in today’s cities, gardens, and landscapes.

The season began in fall 2010 with programs by landscape architects Laurie Olin and Eelco Hooftman. This spring, the series continues with special guest lecturers Alexander Reford on January 22 and Amale Andraos on February 19; and concludes on March 19 with Chris Reed, who will discuss the design for the Gardner Museum’s new landscape.

On January 22 at Kotzen Meeting Center (located at Simmons College, a short walk from the Gardner Museum), Alexander Reford discusses 100 Gardens: Conceptual Gardens and New Landscapes. Reford is the director of Les Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens—created by his great-grandmother Elsie Reford on the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec—and the founder of the International Garden Festival, an annual event that has become one of the leading contemporary garden design events in the world. He will present a selection of the 100 conceptual gardens exhibited as part of the festival since its inception in 2000 and will reflect on the ways in which they have reinvigorated his traditional gardens, offered new experiences to a new generation of visitors, and contributed to the renewal of garden design and design thinking.

Next, Amale Andraos presents a program entitled Nature Revisited on February 19 at Kotzen Meeting Center (Simmons College). A co-founder of WORKac in New York City, Andraos examines how the meaning of nature has changed in the face of today’s realities of global urbanization, exploding populations, and shrinking resources. Using recent projects by WORKac—whose work has included a master plan for the new BAM cultural district in Brooklyn; the redesign of a section of Hua Qiang Bei Road in Shenzen, China; the installation ‘Public Farm 1’ at PS1/MoMA; and the first Edible Schoolyard New York City with Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Foundation—Andraos explores the need to reinvent nature for the twenty-first century.

The season-long exploration of gardens and the urban landscape concludes on March 19 (location TBD) with a program titled The Gardner’s New Gardens. Chris Reed (stossLU), landscape architect for the Gardner Museum’s Extension and Preservation Project, will discuss the designs for the museum’s new exterior landscapes, along with other projects created by Stoss Landscape Urbanism. The Gardner Museum is currently constructing a new wing located behind the historic museum building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano. Featuring a fully transparent first floor of glass with direct views across newly landscaped gardens towards the historic museum, the project will increase the transparency of the Gardner Museum at work and connect the site and its interior gardens more directly with the surrounding landscape of the Emerald Necklace. More information on this lecture will be available in early 2011.

Landscape Visions Programs At-A-Glance

Saturday, January 22, 1:30PM at Kotzen Meeting Center, Simmons College

100 Gardens: Conceptual Gardens and New Landscapes

Alexander Reford, Director, Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens (Quebec)

About the Speaker ▪ Schooled as an historian, Alexander Reford is an honorary member of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. In 2009, he was awarded the Frederick-Todd Prize by the Association des Architectes Paysagistes du Québec. In the same year, the Montréal Botanical Garden bestowed the Henry-Teuscher Prize on Alexander Reford and Elsie Reford (posthumous) for their contribution to horticulture in Québec.

Saturday, February 19, 1:30PM at Kotzen Meeting Center, Simmons College

Nature Revisited

Amale Andraos, Co-founder, WORKac (New York City)
About the Speaker ▪ Amale Andraos is a visiting professor at Princeton University’s School of Architecture and has taught at numerous institutions including Harvard and Columbia Universities, the University of Pennsylvania, Parsons School of Design, and the American University in Beirut. She was born in Beirut, Lebanon. She has lived in Saudi Arabia, France, Canada and the Netherlands prior to moving to New York in 2002. She currently serves on the Architectural League of New York’s Board of Directors.

Saturday, March 19, 1:30PM – Location TBD (in the Fenway area)

The Gardner’s New Gardens

Chris Reed, Principal, stoss landscape urbanism (Boston)

About the Speaker ▪ Chris Reed is the principal and founder of Stoss Landscape Urbanism (Boston) and the landscape architect for the Gardner Museum’s Extension and Preservation Project. Stoss has distinguished itself internationally for a hybridized approach to public works projects rooted in infrastructure, functionality, and ecology, and was recently honored by being named one of two Finalists in the Landscape Design category of the Smithsonian/Cooper Hewitt Museum’s National Design Awards. Reed is an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a design critic at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Tickets

$15 General Public; $12 Seniors; $5 Members; FREE College Students. Lecture attendees are encouraged to bring their tickets to the museum for free admission before or after the program.

Tickets may be purchased by phone through the museum’s box office at 617 278 5156 (open Tues.-Sun., 10am-4pm), online via www.gardnermuseum.org, or in person at the museum’s entrance at 280 The Fenway (Tues.-Sun., 11am-4pm).

Will-call tickets for the January and February programs will be available for pick-up at the Kotzen Meeting Center. Tickets will be available for purchase on the day of each lecture at the Gardner Museum's front desk (pending availability). Please note that capacity is limited, and advance ticket purchase strongly encouraged.

Location and Directions
The spring 2011 Landscape Visions lectures will be held a short walk away from the Gardner Museum while the museum restores the historic Tapestry Room. The January and February programs will take place at the Kotzen Meeting Center at Simmons College, a short walk from the Gardner Museum. The Kotzen Meeting Center is located in Lefavour Hall on the Simmons College Campus. From the Gardner Museum's front entrance, cross Palace Road and walk through the Simmons College quad (behind the main building). Lefavour Hall is located on the far side of the quad. Maps will be sent with all tickets purchased in advance and available at the Gardner Museum’s front desk on the day of each lecture.

The March program will take place at a nearby location, to be announced in early 2011. Check online for more details at www.gardnermuseum.org.

Lecture attendees are invited to bring their tickets to the museum before or after the program for FREE admission to explore its three floors of galleries and take in the beauty of the ever-changing interior courtyard.

Landscape Visions Lecture Series
Rooted in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s rich landscape tradition, the museum’s Landscape Visions lectures focus on a common theme each season, offering challenging, engaging discussions by noted speakers from various branches of the landscape arts. This season, the series—titled CITY.GARDEN.NOW—explores gardens in the urban landscape through conversations with landscape architects, landscape artists, and activists.

Landscape at the Gardner
The art of landscape has always been central to the Gardner Museum. Reflecting Isabella Stewart Gardner’s passion for horticulture and design, the museum’s interior courtyard is itself a work of art, combining plants, sculpture, and architectural elements into a sun-filled oasis at the heart of the museum experience. On view through December, A Holiday Garden features dark forest greens punctuated by red and silver highlights: flowering jade trees, holly topiaries, dark red poinsettias, red and ivory amaryllis, and silver Artemisia. Beginning in early January, the Midwinter Tropics display fills the courtyard with many shades of green, featuring masses of lush tropical and subtropical plants along with flowering jade, yellow jasmine, and brightly colored orchids, bromeliads, and amaryllis.

In addition to the courtyard displays, the museum continues Isabella Gardner’s horticultural legacy today through its Landscape Visions lectures, which illuminate timely topics in landscape design, as well as Ask the Gardener hours and tours for garden clubs, which provide further opportunities to explore the changing courtyard displays and the story of landscape at the Gardner.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum • 280 The Fenway Boston MA 02115 617 566 1401 www.gardnermuseum.org • Tue.-Sun., 11 am-5 pm • $12 adults; $10 seniors; $5 students; $2 discount w/ same day Museums of Fine Arts admission; FREE for members, children under 18, all named Isabella, and everyone on their birthday • Modeled after a 15th-century Venetian palazzo with an interior courtyard garden, the Gardner Museum houses a collection of fine art spanning 30 centuries and featuring Titian, Rembrandt, Botticelli, and Sargent, as well as changing contemporary and historic exhibitions, classical concerts, lectures, and special events.

NEWBURYPORT, MA - The 10th annual Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Course in Organic Land Care will be held on January 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 2011 (snow date Jan. 20) at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport, Massachusetts, a sustainably-constructed “green” building with a state-of-the-art theater and multi-purpose classroom where the course will be held. The refuge was established in 1942 to provide feeding, resting and nesting habitat for migratory birds, and is of special significance to waterfowl and shorebirds.

Sponsored and organized by the NOFA Organic Land Care Program, this five-day, (accreditation optional) intensive courseStandards for Organic Land Care: Practices for Design and Maintenance of Ecological Landscapes, written by NOFA’s Organic Land Care Committee. These Standards, first published in 2001, are the first of their kind in the country.

Course faculty include respected scientists and experienced organic land care practitioners, who instruct the following classes: Principles and Procedures; Site Analysis, Design, and Maintenance; Rain Gardens/Storm Water Infiltration; Soil Health; the Soil Foodweb; Fertilizer and Soil Amendments; Composting; Lawns; Lawn Alternatives; Planting and Plant Care; Wetlands; Pest Management; Wildlife Management; Disease Control; Mulches; Invasive Plants; Client Relations and Running a Business. Four hands-on case studies are also included in the course.

At the end of the course, attendees will be able to incorporate methods and materials that respect natural ecology and the long-term health of the environment into the care of their own landscapes or ones that they manage. Those who pass the optional exam offered at the conclusion of the course can become NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals (AOLCPs), able to use the NOFA Organic Land Care AOLCP logo, be listed in the new AOLCP Online Searchable Database at www.organiclandcare.net and have the opportunity to represent NOFA at organic land care events.

Over 1,200 land care professionals from 22 states have taken NOFA’s course. These professionals include landscapers from large and small firms, landscape architects, garden center employees, municipal groundskeepers and property managers. Small business owners, entrepreneurs, homeowners, land trust and conservation organization staff and many others have also found the course extremely valuable.

For more information or to receive registration brochures, contact Kathy Litchfield, NOFA/Mass Organic Land Care Course Coordinator, at (413) 773-3830, kathy@nofamass.org or visit www.organiclandcare.net to register online.

24th ANNUAL NOFA/MASS WINTER CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN WORCESTER

“Celebration of Sustainability”

Over 900 people from central New England are expected to attend the Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter, Inc. (NOFA/Mass) 24th Annual Winter Conference on Saturday, January 15, at the Worcester Technical High School on Skyline Drive. The conference has doubled in size over the past five years, indicative of a growing interest in regional food systems. Everyone from beginning to advanced farmers, gardeners and anyone interested in sustainability can participate in seminars or workshops, a lively exhibit area, a delicious potluck lunch, and a children’s program.

Michael Phillips,of Heartsong Farm and Lost Nation Orchard, in Groveton, New Hampshire, will keynote the conference. Michael Phillips and his wife, Nancy, grow 65-80 varieties of organic apples in their orchard and direct-market their products to local consumers who can purchase apples on the farm or through an apple-share buying program. Nancy is a well-known herbalist and educator who manages the family farm’s production of medicinal herbs. Michael will lead an all-day seminar on Organic Orcharding. Nancy will lead an all-day seminar on Herbs for Family Health. Participants can register for either of the all-day seminars or choose to attend any of 60 workshops.

For beginning gardeners there are workshops on soil fertility, gardening in small spaces, and seed saving. Livestock workshops include raising cows, poultry, dairy goats and bees. For more advanced farmers there are workshops covering weed management, cardboard mulch, draft animals and income taxes. For those interested in raising and preparing their own food there are workshops on food preservation, making condiments at home and making naturally fermented non-alcoholic drinks.

Somerville resident and Slow Money board member Eric Becker attended the NOFA/Mass Winter Conference in 2009. After attending a workshop on beekeeping by Jean-Claude Bourrut of Natick Community Organic Farm, Eric fell in love with bees and installed a beehive on his front porch. “Raising bees has been such a rewarding activity for me and my kids. My kids have learned how to handle them and care for our hive. The NOFA conference was a turning point for my family. It’s definitely possible to live an urban lifestyle and raise your own food.”

Conference registration is $65 per person with discounts available for NOFA members, certified farmers, students, teens and children; seminar registration is $120. Complete conference information is available at www.nofamass.org.

The conference is sponsored by Whole Foods Markets, Stonyfield, Farm Family, Greenleaf Foundation, Clements Law Office, Boston Organics, Green Fields Market, Suzanne’s Specialties, Nature’s Best Organic Feeds, Groton Wellness, Harris Seeds, Vermont Compost, Groundscapes Express, Fertrell, Bejo Organic, Lancaster Agricultural Products and Neighboring Food Coop.

By Carol Stocker
Globe Garden Writer

The Gardner Museum’s interior courtyard is adorned with winter berries, dozens of red poinsettias, flowering jade, jasmine trees, white azaleas and lady’s slipper orchids.

On December 16, the Gardner opens its doors to celebrate the season—and herald the arrival of the museum’s new Renzo Piano-designed wing, currently under construction and slated to open in early 2012—with an evening of music, cocktails, informal talks, gallery games, and more in the museum’s uniquely atmospheric courtyard and galleries. Acclaimed multidisciplinary artist and Gardner Artist-in-Residence Adam Pendleton returns to the museum to present the premiere of three scenes (variation two), a new work that incorporates musical performance and spoken text.

After this event, Gardner After Hours will take a hiatus for 2011 as the museum prepares for the opening of its new wing. However, from January through August 2011, the museum will continue to hold Extended Evening Hours (5-8pm) on the third Thursday of each month.

Both the Café and Shop offer special holiday fare this month. And both will be closed during all of 2011 as construction is completed, and will reopen in new and improved facilities within the museum’s new wing in early 2012. Building On a Legacy: Learn more about the Gardner Museum’s new wing, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, at http://www.buildingproject.gardnermuseum.org.

Each New Years Day, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum offers a free day of museum admission in conjunction with Boston’s First Night celebration, inviting Bostonians and visitors to kick off the new year in style. This annual event honors the late Frank Hatch, former board member and President of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, for his lifelong dedication to public service and the arts. On January 1, the museum is open to all from 11am to 5pm.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum • 280 The Fenway Boston MA 02115 • Tue.-Sun., 11am-5pm; plus After Hours events, 5:30-9:30pm on the third Thursday of the month, through December 2010 • Admission: $12 adults; $10 seniors; $5 students; FREE members, children under 18, everyone on their birthday, and all named “Isabella”; full list of discounts at http://www.gardnermuseum.org/specials.asp • $2 off regular admission with a same-day receipt or membership card from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston • Box Office 617 278 5156, boxoffice@isgm.org • www.gardnermuseum.org • Modeled after a 15th-century Venetian palazzo surrounding a flowering courtyard garden, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum houses one of the most remarkable art collections in the world, featuring works by Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Raphael, Degas, and Sargent. Concerts, seasonal garden displays, lectures, and special events enrich the collection and continue to fire the imagination of all who visit.

The Maxwell Conservation Trust, a Scituate based land trust, is sponsoring “A Walk in the Woods” on Sunday December 12th from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Over the last 10 years, the Maxwell Trust has been instrumental in the preservation of over 200 acres of open space in Scituate, particularly in the west end of town, where there is a large tract of unfragmented forest that was privately owned by several different families.

Steve Ivas, an environmental scientist who specializes in wetlands, will lead a fun and informative walk through the Litchfield, Maxwell and Carl Pipes Memorial Trails starting at the Mt. Hope Improvement Society Building,which is located at the corner of Clapp Road and Cedar Street in Scituate’s West End. Please plan to warm up with us after the walk with mulled cider and cookies in the Mt. Hope building.

This walk is an opportunity to experience these trails while learning about the flora and fauna from a local expert. Come see the land that has been preserved through the efforts of Maxwell Trust, the Community Preservation Committee and you, the people of Scituate, who have voted at town meeting to support this effort.

Overflow parking is available in the Robbins’ field opposite the Mt. Hope building.

For further information, please contact Lisa Tompson on 781-545-7376.

NEW BEDFORD PRESERVATION SOCIETY PRESENTS ITS 19th ANNUAL HOLIDAY HOUSE TOUR:

Herald in the holiday season with the New Bedford Preservation Society on their 19th Annual Holiday House Tour on Sunday, December 5 (1 to 5 p.m.). Get in the yuletide spirit at this popular holiday event - a must for architecture and history enthusiasts!

Experience the history and appeal that New Bedford is noted for as you visit historic homes that have been decked in festive holiday décor. Along the way, you'll enjoy greetings from historic characters in period costume. The magnificent Rotch-Jones Duff House and Garden Museum will be included in this year’s tour with its gala holiday décor and designer-decorated rooms. Additional highlights at RJD will be a Festival of Tables and a New Bedford Museum of Glass exhibit. The popular "Spot the Victorian Peppermint Pig Scavenger Hunt," an addition to last year's tour, will again be part of the tour with proceeds from the sale of the pigs (available at tour headquarters) benefiting the society's scholarship fund. View a sneak peak video of last year's tour at the society's website: www.nbpreservationsociety.org .

Both the Saturday candlelight tour and Sunday afternoon tour start at the Wamsutta Club, 427 County Street, tour headquarters, where a pre-tour holiday brunch will be held on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., along with a holiday raffle of gifts, art, handcrafted items and generous gift certificates donated by local merchants. Discounted advance tickets ($19 with $2 discount to Society members) are now on sale at the following locations: Elaine's at the Black Whale, New York Shoe Repair (for credit card sales), The Surrey Shoppe, Periwinkles, Baker Books, Davoll's General Store, The Ultimate Touch, The Woodhouse Shop, Roseland Nursery and the Marion General Store. At the door, ALL tickets will be priced at $23. Cost of the Sunday brunch is $17 (all-inclusive, tax and tip), and reservations may be made by calling the Wamsutta Club at 508.997.7431.

The Annual Holiday House Tour is the Society’s signature fund-raising event. All proceeds benefit the work of the Society in its efforts to sustain and promote historic preservation in New Bedford through such projects as the historical building marker program, historical cemetery tours, walking/trolley tours, the Re-Leaf tree-planting program, the newly formed scholarship fund, the publication of self-guided walking tour brochures, lectures, and more.

For more information, please call the New Bedford Preservation Society office (388 County Street, New Bedford) at 508-997-6425 or visit www.nbpreservationsociety.org.

GALLERY OF WREATHS AT BERKSHIRE BOTANIC GARDEN HOLIDAY FESTIVAL TODAY.

Stockbridge, MA. . .Berkshire Botanical Garden hosts its 20th annual Holiday Marketplace Sunday, December 5, 10 A.M. – 3:00 P.M. A sale of unique, hand-made gifts and seasonal decorations including a Gallery of Wreaths, displays of holiday centerpieces, swags, table top decorations, and hundreds of unique items and ornaments created by local artisans will transform the Garden into a festive celebration of the holiday season. Admission is free.

Preparation for the highly anticipated event brings together a community of over 80 wreath makers and designers who volunteer their talents and skills to create unusual, one-of-a-kind selections for the Garden’s Gallery of Wreaths. Available for sale will be traditional, live wreaths combining various evergreens, natural seed pods and other found materials, as well as elaborate wreaths using decorative bows, balls, and ribbons. This year’s guest wreath designers include Susan Shook of Trillium Garden Company, Lenox, MA; Cornelia Webster, Webster Ingersoll, Sheffield, MA; Abigail Lanoue and Lisa Mareb Pfannestiel, Windy Hill; Erin Piester and Claire Ward, Ward’s Nursery; Susan Faivre of Dolby Florist, and Annie Whalen, Bella Flora, all of Great Barrington, MA. In addition, boxwood kits and decorated boxwood trees, baskets with seasonal greens, small tabletop evergreens, amaryllis, paper whites, and hyacinths, all beautifully potted and ready for holiday bloom, will be available for sale.

This year’s Holiday Marketplace features over a dozen local growers, artists and artisans, including gifts and alpaca wool products from Spruce Ridge Farm, Old Chatham, NY, jewelry by Silver Twist, Housatonic, MA, antique and depression glass and tea sets from Adenida Antiqua of Southampton, MA, and exotic and unusual plants from Glendale Botanicals, Glendale, MA. A whimsical, unique selection of garden-lovers favorites especially selected for Holiday Marketplace will be offered by the Garden’s own Gift Shop. Sweet and savory snacks and refreshments will be provided by SoMa Catering of Richmond, MA.

Of special interest this year is the debut of the Berkshire Botanical Garden Calendar. The calendar represents a compilation of retrospective photographs taken over the past year at Berkshire Botanical Garden by Reinout van Wagtendonk, of Berkshots. Mr. van Wagtendonk’s work has appeared locally in The Berkshire Eagle, Berkshire Living and Animal Life, and in national and international publications. He has been named Berkshire Botanical Garden’s 2011 featured guest photographer.

Proceeds from Holiday Marketplace support Berkshire Botanical Garden’s education programs and display gardens. Additional information on Holiday Marketplace and other events is available at www.berkshirebotanical.org or by calling (413) 298-3926. Berkshire Botanical Garden is located in Stockbridge, MA at the intersection of Routes 102 and 183.

Great Barrington – The BIFF’s REEL FRIENDS Film Society in collaboration with the Berkshire Botanical Garden and The Nature Conservancy will present two short films and a discussion with leading experts Sunday, Nov. 21 at 11 a.m. at the Triplex about the dangerously invasive Asian Longhorned beetle that has been found in Worcester and more recently Boston.

The films are LURKING IN THE TREES, produced by Frank Lowenstein of The Nature Conservancy and BUGGED, directed by Emily Driscoll an independent filmmaker. According to Driscoll, “The Asian Longhorned beetle (ALB) is one of the world’s worst invasive alien species and could destroy one third of America’s trees.

BUGGED follows scientists, government officials and private citizens who are on the front lines in the ALB eradication war. Both films focus on Worcester, MA where the beetle has been found and how that city is dealing with the eradication of this ALB invasion.

Following the films, a discussion with Frank Lowenstein, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Forest Health Program, Ken Gooch, DCR’s Forest Health Director for the State of MA and Emily Driscoll will be held to discuss what is being done, and what we can do to prevent the ALB from reaching the Berkshires which would be devastating.

The films and discussion are open to the public. Make reservations by contacting Lauren Ferin at the BIFF at 413-528-8030. For more information about future programs at the Berkshire Botanical Garden, visit www.berkshirebotanical.org or call 413-298-3926. And for more information on The Nature Conservancy, please contact Sarah Volkman at 413-229-0232 ext. 231.

BIFF 2011 will be held June 2-5, and submissions open October 1, 2010.

Boston Globe garden writer Carol Stocker will be on line with more tips and gardening answers today at 1-2 p.m. so email your questions to boston.com at that time to get an immediate response.

Here's her top rated House and Garden Event for this weekend:

The New Bedford Preservation Society19th Annual Holiday House Tour Saturday, December 4 (4 to 8 p.m.) and Sunday, December 5 (1 to 5 p.m.).

Everyone knows Nantucket, but if you haven't discovered Historic New Bedford, an even bigger center of 18th century whaling wealth, this is your chance. Historic homes have been decked in festive holiday décore with historic characters in period costume. The magnificent Rotch-Jones Duff House and Garden Museum will be included in this year’s tour. Highlights at RJD will be a Festival of Tables and a New Bedford Museum of Glass exhibit. The "Spot the Victorian Peppermint Pig Scavenger Hunt," will again be part of the tour with proceeds from the sale of the pigs (available at tour headquarters) benefitting the society's scholarship fund. View a video of last year's tour at the society's website: www.nbpreservationsociety.org .

Both the Saturday candlelight tour and Sunday afternoon tour start at the Wamsutta Club, 427 County Street, tour headquarters, where a pre-tour holiday brunch will be held on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., along with a holiday raffle of gifts, art, handcrafted items and generous gift certificates donated by local merchants. Discounted advance tickets ($19 with $2 discount to Society members) are now on sale at the following locations: Elaine's at the Black Whale, New York Shoe Repair (for credit card sales), The Surrey Shoppe, Periwinkles, Baker Books, Davoll's General Store, The Ultimate Touch, The Woodhouse Shop, Roseland Nursery and the Marion General Store. At the door, tickets will be priced at $23. Cost of the Sunday brunch is $17 (all-inclusive, tax and tip), and reservations may be made by calling the Wamsutta Club at 508.997.7431.

The Annual Holiday House Tour is the Society’s signature fund-raising event. All proceeds benefit the work of the Society in its efforts to sustain and promote historic preservation in New Bedford through such projects as the historical building marker program, historical cemetery tours, walking/trolley tours, the Re-Leaf tree-planting program, the newly formed scholarship fund, the publication of self-guided walking tour brochures, lectures, and more.

For more information, please call the New Bedford Preservation Society office (388 County Street, New Bedford) at 508-997-6425 or visit www.nbpreservationsociety.org. Be sure to check out the New Bedford Whaling Museum, too.

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The “Horticultural History Tour” symposium, a series of five lectures, will be held at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society headquarters at Elm Bank, in Wellesley on Saturday. The day-long lecture series on Garden and Landscape History runs 9:00am - 4:00pm at Hunnewell Carriage House in The Gardens at Elm Bank 900 Washington Street Wellesley, MA Info and registration at www.MassHort.org. 617-933-4995.

In conjunction, The Massachusetts State Senate, on the Motion of Dover Senator James Timilty, has certified that November 13 is Garden History Day in Massachusetts.

The symposium will be hosted by John Furlong, FALA, emeritus director, Landscape Institute, Arnold Arboretum, faculty member Boston Architectural College.

At 9:00 AM Gerry Wright as Frederick Law Olmsted presents a biography of the landscape architect who was influenced by the natural landscapes of New England throughout his life. In 1850, at age 28, he traveled to England and was smitten with the countryside and a “democratic park” in Birkenhead . Omlsted’s two styles of landscape architecture were the creation of the “pastoral” and the “picturesque”. Beyond the creation for beauty, there was a sense of “service deeply rooted in his planning of public places. N.Y. City ’s Central Park, Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum and to the two 200 acre country estates on the Charles River in Wellesley and Dover are among the legacies of Olmsted and his firm.

At 10:30 AM Allyson Hayward , garden historian and author of Norah Lindsay: The Life and Art of a Garden Designer will deliver a new talk on two important New England estates, the Hunnewell estate, known as Wellesley, and Elm Bank, the Cheney/Baltzell estate which is now the home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Today, these landscapes reveal a layering of New England ’s garden history. Ms. Hayward will take you on an armchair tour of these exciting gardens with an illustrated lecture tracing the landscapes dating from 1850 to the present. You will revel in the beauty of the initial vision of Horatio Hollis Hunnewell and his Italian Garden and Pinetum at Wellesley . The lecture will continue with images of Elm Bank from its Victorian grandeur to its transformation into a 1920s grandiose playground for Boston society, complete with theme gardens that portrayed the owners’ sense of taste and style.

At 11:30 AM David Barnett, PhD., President and CEO of Mount Auburn Cemetery, will present Wilson’s China: A Century On, published by The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , 2009. Wilson was the Arnold Arboretum’s principal plant collector from 1906, and in 1927, on the death of Director Charles Sprague Sargent, was appointed the self-styled “Keep” of the Arboretum. In addition to introducing over 1,200 plants, Wilson was a popular author and lecturer and a Mass Hort Trustee . His remarkable achievements are a continuing inspiration to botanists, horticulturist and landscapers. The slides have been loaned to Mass Hort through the courtesy of the English authors, Tony Kirkham and Mark Flanagan, respectively Head of the Arboretum at Kew and Keeper of the Royal Gardens in Windsor Great Park .

12:30 PM Lunch – Catered by Cuisine Chez Vous

1:30 PM Elizabeth S. Eustis is a garden historian and guest curator, former Trustee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, past President of the New England Wild Flower Society and faculty member of The Landscape Institute. She will speak on Romanticism in the landscape, the subject of a 2010 exhibition that she co-curated for the Morgan Library in New York , Romantic Gardens: Art, Nature and Garden Design, with a catalogue published by David R. Godine. Following the transition from formal classicism to more naturalistic garden design, Romanticism added a new emphasis on emotional and spiritual response to the landscape. The pervasive influence of Romanticism inspired artificial ruins, garden cemeteries, wild gardens, and contributed powerfully to the public parks movement. This talk will be extensively illustrated by recent photographs and historic works of art.

3:00 PM Local author Meg Muckenhoupt will lead attendees through the verdant world of her book, Boston’s Gardens & Green Spaces (Union Park Press, 2010). She examines the role of public spaces throughout Boston ’s historic and contemporary landscape.

What makes a vibrant and memorable gathering space? In this lecture, Robert Gatje will explore why certain public places are so memorable to us and how each functions within its context. From the storied piazzas of Rome, Venice and Florence to Louisburg Square, Robert Gatje offers new insights and assesses their success in meeting human needs for inspiring outdoor space. Book-signing to follow.

Robert F. Gatje is a native of New York. After studying architecture at Cornell University and traveling on a Fulbright Scholarship, he began twenty-three year-long working relationship with Marcel Breuer; they were partners for eleven years. From 1987 to 1995 Gatje worked with Richard Meier, becoming his partner in 1990. Gatje retired from active architectural practice in 1995. He is the author of Great Public Squares (W.W. Norton) and Marcel Breuer (Random House.)

The event will take place at Trinity Church on Copley Square (206 Clarendon Street). Ticket available at The Shop at Trinity (206 Clarendon Street), $15 General Public, $10 Members and Students or on-line through the BSA www.storiesaboutsquares.eventbrite.com.Co-sponsored by Trinity Church and the Boston Society of Architects. CE credits available.

For more information or questions: Kathy Acerbo-Bachmann, kacerbobachmann@trinitychurchboston.org, 617.536.0944 x217, or Pamela deOliveira Smith at the BSA (psmith@architects.org).

BOYLSTON, Mass.- Tower Hill Botanic Garden will host "Trident's Treasures,"
the Massachusetts Orchid Society's Annual Orchid Show on Friday, Nov. 5; 1-5pm and Saturday & Sunday, November 6-7; 10am-5pm. Thousands of breathtaking (and sometimes spooky!) orchids will be on display throughout the Visitors Center and around the Orangerie, and in newly opened spaces--including the Limonaia at Tower Hill.

This show is known for its
spectacular variety, creativity and informational value. As Orchid Society member
Joanna Eckstrom explains: "...with the dozen or so orchid societies and individual
orchid enthusiasts who participate, 'Trident's Treasures' is sure to be one of our
best efforts ever." Some of the orchid societies participating in the show include:
A&P Orchids, New Earth Orchids, Frosty Hollow Orchids and more.

The theme for this year's show, "Trident's Treasures" is a play on words in memory
of Dr. Wilford B. Neptune of Boston, a surgeon and orchid expert and long-time member of the Massachusetts Orchid Society, who died earlier this year at the age of 88. Consequently, many of the exhibits will have an "under-the-sea" motif.

Orchid vendors from across the country will offer a wide variety of plants, supplies
and even jewelry for sale. Art and educational exhibits will be held each day of
the show and experts will answer orchid growing questions from visitors. Also,
members of the Massachusetts Orchid Society will offer demonstrations on orchid
care, instructional videos, and guided tours of the show. Although the judging sessions
themselves are not open to the public, the results of the judging will be on display
at the show.

The show and its associated programs are included with Garden admission ($10 adults,
$7 seniors, $5 youth aged 6-18, children under 6 free). Tower Hill Botanic Garden
is located at 11 French Drive, Boylston, Mass., exit 24 off Route 290. For further
information, call 508-869-6111 or log on to www.towerhillbg.org

The Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, will host its new fall exhibit, Perspectives on Nature, featuring more than 30 paintings and artwork by members of the New England Society of Botanical Artists. The exhibit is open from November 10 to December 15 on Wednesday evenings from 6-8 PM and Sundays, November 7, 21, and December 12 from 2-4 PM. An Opening Reception takes place on Sunday, November 7. Some artwork is available for purchase. Special programs complement the exhibit:
November 10, 6:30 PM, photographer Stoney Stone discusses “A Photographer’s Perspective on Nature”.
November 17, 6:30 PM, Erika Sonder shows how to “Make Your Own Herbarium”.
November 21, 2 PM, Patricia Buchanan and Ester Klahne demonstrate their botanical art.
December 1, 6:30 PM, Jim MacDougall, a naturalist with the Ipswich River Watershed Association, discusses how botanical art portrays changing life along the river.
Price: Members free; non-members $7.

The Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, hosts its annual fall clean up day on Saturday, November 6 from 9 AM to noon. Volunteers are needed to help clean up the gardens and grounds at the Heard and Whipple Houses. Free coffee and donuts. Call 978-356-2811 or 978-356-8696 for more information.

The Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich will host a Wednesday Evening Lecture on November 17, at 7:30 PM on the “Essex Road Neighborhood”. Dow Curator and museum member, Stephanie Gaskins, will facilitate a discussion and encourages lots of audience participation by sharing stories, pictures and memorabilia as she “walks” down Essex Road. The First National Bank of Ipswich generously sponsors the Wednesday Evening Lecture Series. Refreshments served. This lecture follows the 6:30 PM featured botanical artist demonstrator in the “Perspectives on Nature” exhibit.
Price: $10 for non-members; free to members. $7 for entry to exhibit demonstration only.

The Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, will host its annual holiday fundraising events on December 4 and 5. On Saturday, December 4 from 10-4, the Holiday Boutique features a sale of holiday greens, handmade gifts and Grandma’s Attic treasures. Admission is free. First floor museum rooms will be open for viewing, beautifully decorated for the season by Town & Country Garden Club. At 6 PM, Museum Trustee Elaine Lucas leads a Candlelight Tour of the Whipple House. Cost is $10. Reservations are required; call 978-356-2811. Limited to 15 people. On Sunday, December 5, a Holiday Open House occurs from 1-3 PM. View the decorated museum rooms and “Perspectives on Nature” exhibit. A gingerbread cookie decorating workshop is featured for kids for a nominal fee. At 6:30 PM, the weekend events culminate with a Holiday Party and Silent Auction for museum members and guests featuring hearty appetizers, drinks, and festive holiday atmosphere. Cost is $40/per person for members and $45 /non-members. Call 978-356-2811 for information or to make reservations.

I cut all my dahlia flowers last night, some by flashlight after it got dark. But the predicted first frost did not happen. As usual, I cut the flowers to leave as many buds behind as possible. Weather will be warmer and wetting over the next few days so the garden will continue for a while longer and those buds may have time to bloom. Fall frosts often accompany the full moon, and now that the moon is on the wane, nights will be warmer. After the tops of tropicals such as cannas and dahlias do blacken from frost, you have a couple of weeks before you have to dig up the tubers from the soil if you want to store them over the winter.

Dracula is one character of legend who is not affected by frost (or cold). The ballet by the same name will be performed tonight and tomorrow at spooky Belcourt Castle in Newport, and there could not be a more appropriate venue. I first saw The Island Moving Company perform last month in the amazing classical Newport garden of Ronald Flemming. Now the troop has moved down famous Bellevue Avenue a short ways. Dracula was created to fit the Gothic mansion, and progresses through its library, gallery and two ballrooms with audience in tow. Just the perfect thing for Halloween (though a week early).

The company also has another "site specific" ballet scheduled for another Bellevue Aveune mansion: "The Nut Cracker," at Rosecliff Mansion Nov. 26-Dec. 3.
For more information on "site specific" performances visit www.islandmovingco.org.

Tickets for Dracula and Nutcracker are now on sale now at Arttix.

Times and prices for Dracula:

Sat, October 23 ~ 4:00 p.m. ~ $85

Sat, October 23 ~ 8:00 p.m. ~ $85

Sun, October 24 ~ 2:00 p.m. ~ $85

Sun, October 24 ~ 6:00 p.m. ~ $85

STOCKBRIDGE: Horticulture Certificate - Level II Designs on the Land- An Historical will be offered on Mondays, November 8 - 29 from 6 - 9 p.m. at the Berkshire Botanical Garden. Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at the intersection of Routes 102 & 183 in Stockbridge, MA.

Understand the origins of landscape design by exploring the early gardens of Persian and Islamic traditions. These slide illustrated lectures will cover the classical gardens of Egypt, Greece, and Rome and then travel on to Chinese and Japanese influences in garden design. The series concludes with a study of medieval garden design. Design project required. Instructor Marie Stella is a landscape designer, historian and lecturer. She specializes in historical landscapes, and initiatives to foster the preservation of rural landscape.

The cost of this series is $185. All levels To register, call the Berkshire Botanical Garden at 413-298-3926. For more information about upcoming family, youth and adult programs, visit the website @ www.berkshirebotanical.org.

TELEPHONE: 413-298-3926 FAX: 413-298-4897

Horticulture Certificate – Level III Designing with Plants will be offered on Wednesdays, November 3 - December 1, from 6 - 9 p.m. at the Berkshire Botanical Garden. Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at the intersection of Routes 102 & 183 in Stockbridge, MA.

This course will cover how to develop a planting design plan. Students will learn concepts specific to designing using plant characteristics as a basis for selection. This design method known as plant driven design uses plant growth characteristics as the major consideration in developing a planting plan. Plant combinations using factors including site conditions and compatibility in addition to aesthetic considerations will be the main focus of this course. Learn the technical aspects of making a planting plan including estimating numbers, spacing and cost for given projects. Students will complete a design project. Instructor Drew Monthie, is a horticulturalist, garden designer and ecologist working in upper New York State. He is committed to teaching about the importance of using native plants to provide beauty and preserve biodiversity in yards and gardens.

The cost of this series is $185. All levels To register, call the Berkshire Botanical Garden at 413-298-3926. For more information about upcoming family, youth and adult programs, visit the website @ www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Crazy, Mixed-up Border a Lecture With Steve Silk

Crazy, Mixed-up Border, a lecture will be offered on Saturday, November 6, 10 am - noon at the Berkshire Botanical Garden. Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at the intersection of Routes 102 & 183 in Stockbridge, MA.

This kitchen sink approach to garden making welcomes representatives from every realm of the plant kingdom including trees, shrubs, annuals, tropicals, edibles and perennials. No leaf is left unturned in this search for the best and brightest of forms, foliage and flowers, which are then combined to create garden vignettes whose beauty lasts from spring through fall. The crazy, mixed up border also relies on artful garden framework, inspiration in geometry, contributions of thoughtful hardscape and consideration of a well kept edge. This is a gardening style that celebrates change and experimentation. Instructor Steve Silk is an award-winning photographer and writer. He has worked for at the Hartford Courant, and Fine Gardening magazine. His photography has garnered two Garden Writers of America awards for best portfolio. He collaborated with Sydney Eddison on several projects, is past President of the Connecticut Hardy Plant Society and is the President of the Connecticut Horticultural Society.

The cost of this lecture is $20 for members, $25 for non-members. All levels To register, call the Berkshire Botanical Garden at 413-298-3926. For more information about upcoming family, youth and adult programs, visit the website @ www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Framingham, MA – New England Wild Flower Society’s Education Department has announced its November and December 2010 classes, courses, and field trips; and they are searchable/available online, downloadable online, and available by calling 508-877-7630, ext. 3303. For more information, visit http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010, 1-3 p.m., Booklover's Botany, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Join two book aficionados (Instructors Carol Govan and Robin Wilkerson) who would love to share their favorites from the Society’s impressive collection in the Lawrence Newcomb Library. Did you know Asa Gray wrote a beautifully illustrated botany primer for schoolchildren? Are you familiar with Peter Parley’s Illustrations of the Vegetable Kingdom; Trees, Plants and Shrubs printed in 1840? See rare books illustrating wild flowers, ferns, and woody plants; wonderful children’s books any adult would love; serial publications that show the history of American Botany; and Newcomb’s original notebooks. Conclude with tea and scones. Fee: $28 (Member) / $33 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Saturday, November 13, 2010, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Pruning Fundamentals, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Proper pruning improves both the health and structure of woody plants and allows the gardener to influence the aesthetic qualities of trees and shrubs. Instructor Dave Ropes covers pruning methods for established plantings in the home landscape. Learn how to select basic tools, make a proper cut, determine which branches to cut, and the correct time to prune for different species. Bring hand pruners to try various cuts. Fee: $33 (Member) / $39 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Saturday, November 13, 2010, 1-4 p.m., Understanding Botanical and Horticultural Names, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. During this workshop on plant nomenclature, students have the opportunity to sort out the confusion often associated with plant names. Instructor Judith Sumner discusses common names, binomial scientific names, and the history of nomenclature since Linnaeus. Review the current rules of nomenclature and see why and how plant names sometimes change. Practice looking at a variety of plant names and deducing clues to the plant characteristics. Attention is also given to the names of species and hybrids in cultivation and the meaning of cultivar names. Fee: $40 (Member) / $48 (Nonmember). Cosponsored by New England Wild Flower Society and Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Wildflower Propagation II, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Learn tips for raising wildflowers from seed, allowing access to an astonishing variety of species not often seen in garden centers or nurseries. Develop a deeper appreciation of plant physiology and evolution. Instructor: Kate Pawling discusses seed physiology and ecology as well as the various techniques used to germinate and grow a wide variety of native species, including such challenging genera as Trillium. Discuss seed and spore collection and storage. Clean and sow a variety of seed to take home and grow. All materials provided. Fee: $48 (Member) / $58 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Saturday, December 4, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Identifying and Enjoying Herbaceous Plants in the Late Fall, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. When herbaceous plants have died back and look "disenchanted," it is still possible to identify some of them by closely examining their dried leaves, stems, and persistent fruits and seeds. Join Frances Clark for a classroom exploration to investigate 25-30 weeds and native herbaceous species growing in disturbed habitats, fields, and woodland edges. Examine specimens close at hand to learn identification features and intriguing seed-dispersal mechanisms. Fee: $36 (Member) / $42 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Thursday, December 9, 2010, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon, Energywise Landscaping (Energy-Wise Landscape Design), Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Design your landscape so it saves energy and contributes to a healthier environment. Instructor Sue Reed helps you discover tips to lower your home’s heating and cooling costs, minimize fuel used in landscape construction, maintenance and everyday living, and choose products and materials with lower embedded energy costs. Our landscapes are full of opportunities to reduce energy consumption-- most of them involve little or no cost, and some will actually save money. Find out how to shrink your energy footprint while enhancing your property and adding value to your home. Sue Reed will sell and sign her widely acclaimed new book on the topic following the program. Fee: $15 (Member) / $18 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Sunday, December 12, 2010, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Shrubs in Winter, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. The leaves are nearly gone from most shrubs, but you can still learn to recognize them. In this class, instructor Roland "Boot" Boutwell focuses on a number of macro-characteristics such as branching patterns, growth habits, bark, persistent fruit, galls, and habitats to help us identify more than 20 native New England shrubs in late fall and winter. We also discuss the natural history of the shrubs we see. The program begins with a classroom session and then moves into the field. Look for such species as witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), and, of course, winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens). Fee: $48 (Member) / $56 (Nonmember). Cosponsored by New England Wild Flower Society and MA Audubon Drumlin Farm. Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

November and December 2010 Listings – Kids Classes, Gardening, Horticulture, Field Trips in Eastern MA

Sunday, November 21, 2011, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Full Moon Night Hike, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Near the night of the "Beaver Moon", Instructor: Tracy Phipps invites us to venture out into the dark forest to enjoy the nighttime sights, smells, and sounds. Who is still awake? What stars or planets can we spot? What tricks can we use to find our way? After our walk, enjoy hot cocoa and make a booklet of full-moon activities for months of full moons to come. For Children with Adult Companion. Fee: $9 (Member) / $11 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 3:30-5:30 p.m., Holiday Nature Crafts, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Instructor Bonnie Drexler shows us how to use "gifts" found in nature to create gifts for friends and families for the holidays. Learn how to string seed pods and cranberries to make chains for a tree or to feed the birds. Set up a natural print shop to make wrapping paper, gift tags, and greeting cards. Pot up a topiary wreath that will continue growing for years. With a variety of materials from the woods, make special gifts for special people and have fun too. For Grades 1-4. Fee: $14 (Member) / $16 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

The Harvest Festival & Perennial Divide, hosted by Boston Natural Areas Network, will take place at City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive, Mattapan today from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The Harvest Festival will have select native plants and produce from local farms available for sale, as well as a children’s craft project, live music, tours of BNAN’s Learning Garden and bee apiary, and plant advice from Master Urban Gardener graduates. Gardeners can also participate in the Perennial Divide, a unique way to swap plants you no longer want for something new to plant in the garden. Gardeners bring plant divisions and empty containers from home and select something new provided by other gardeners. A wide variety of other plants, cultivated at City Natives, will be available for sale.

Gardeners are also invited to participate in the The Incredible Crop Olympics with categories like the Biggest Tomato, Heaviest Zucchini, Largest Sunflower and Most Voluminous Vegetable. Register vegetable entries by calling BNAN at 617-542-7696, or bring your vegetables for consideration to the event before 11:00 a.m. Prizes will be awarded.

Boston Natural Areas Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together local residents, partner organizations, public officials and foundations to preserve, expand and enhance urban open space, including community gardens, greenways and urban wilds. For more information about BNAN, becoming a member or programs and events, visit www.bostonnatural.org or call 617-542-7696.

By Carol Stocker
Globe Garden Writer

Newport, RI. - Ronald Lee Fleming of the Townscape Institute in Cambridge is creating an important classical garden at Bellevue House, his Newport summer home, which is celebrating its centennial this year. It was built in 1910 by celebrated designer Ogdon Codman for his aunt Martha Codman Karolik, whose collection of painting, furniture and silver forms the hub of the Museum of Fine Art's American collection. A reproduction of an 18th century Samuel McIntire tea house was built in the garden in 1926. Since purchasing the house in 1999, Fleming has added two more full scale reproductions of McIntire's Federal period architecture as garden follies, an Oriental garden and formal hedges, fountains and a central axis to create a network of garden rooms that reference historic landscape design.

Fleming hosted a fundraiser for The Island Moving Company here Sept. 18. The dance troupe specializes in "site specific" performances, and have performed on an aircraft career and a beach as well as some of Newport's most spectacular mansions. At twilight last Saturday a half dozen nymphs in blue togas frolicked barefoot in fountains and danced their way through Bellevue House's new classical gardens. They chimed finger cymbals to lead about 50 supporters from one garden room to the next, each outfitted with outdoor speakers providing music. Attendees included Margot and Richard Grosvenor, Ellen Barnes, Sunne Savage, Sidney Williams, Theodora Aspergren, Kate Spinell and company artistic director Miki Ohlsen and its executive director Dominique Alfandre

Dancers performed vignettes from the company's own "Dracula" ballet in Fleming's new Oriental Fantasy Garden and around a new copper domed reproduction of a church cupola designed by McIntire. Dancers pantomimed a nourishing blood feast as darkness fell on the garden.

The Island Moving Company has two full scale "site specific" ballets scheduled for other Bellevue Aveune mansions: "The Nut Cracker," at Rosecliff Mansion Nov. 26-Dec. 3, and "Dracula," Oct. 20-24 at Belcourt Castle. Dracula was created to fit the Gothic mansion, and progresses through its library, gallery and two ballrooms with audience in tow.

After watching the garden performance David Grant of Newport said his old school chum Dominic von Habsburg, who now owns the famous 13th century Bram Castle in Transylvania, "went to the Dracula ballet last year at Belcourt and loved it!"

For more information on "site specific" performances visit www.islandmovingco.org.

Globe Garden Expert Carol Stocker will be on-line live at boston.com from 1-2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17, to answer your gardening questions.

On Thursday, September 23, the landscaper Paul Miskovsky will open his Falmouth garden for an evening of conversation with Adrian Bloom of Blooms of Bressingham. Many of his plant introductions can be seen at the Bloom-designed 46,000-square-foot Bressingham Garden at Elm Bank.

Paul Miskovsky's garden has as its centerpiece a 90-foot-long waterfall that cascades down a densely planted hillside. Explore the garden and talk with Adrian Bloom while enjoying wine, cocktails and hors d'oeurves. All proceeds from the evening benefit the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Tickets, which are tax-deductible, are $150 per person at 617-933-4995.

Tower Hill Botanic Garden will host the 4th Annual Show and Sale presented by the Cactus & Succulent Society of Massachusetts September 18-19. Lectures
throughout the weekend will provide additional information and insight into this group of plants. Children can learn about cactus at a planting station for
kids. Vendors will offer plants and supplies for sale.

So, what specifically is a cactus? Technically speaking, cacti are "succulent xerophytes."
Succulents are plants that store large quantities of water in their leaves, stems,
or roots, which gives them their characteristically fleshy appearance. Since many
succulent plants developed in areas with periodic drought, they developed special
adaptations to survive long periods without rainfall. Biologically speaking, these
are referred to as "xerophytes." In cacti, extreme evolutionary modification has
resulted in spines, thick stems, and shallow roots. While all cacti are succulents,
not all succulents are cacti. Cacti are perhaps the best-known family of the succulents.

The Cactus and Succulent Show is included with regular admission to Tower Hill Botanic
Garden. The Garden is located at 11 French Drive, Boylston, exit 24 off Route 290.
Members are admitted free, otherwise Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for Seniors,
and $5 for Youth; Children under age 6 are admitted free. For more information,
log on to Tower Hill's website at towerhill.org.

(Posted by Carol Stocker, Boston Globe garden expert, who will be on line to answer your questions live Friday, Sept. 10 at 1 p.m)...
The Fall tour of the Secret Gardens of Newport will be held Friday Sept. 10 to Sunday Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets benefit the arts programs of Rhode Island public schools and are $25, good for all three days, rain or shine, at the Newport Visitors' Center, 23 America's Cup Avenue or Kingscote Mansion at 253 Bellevue Avenue, Newport. For more information call 401-847-0514 or email info@secretgardentours.org. Gardens on the tour, which are widely spaced, include the new allee garden at Ronald Flemming's Bellevue House, which connects a two story white clapboard tea house with an arched entry way, to the gate at the entry of Berkeley Street. It is composed of two column of hornbeams about 30 feet tall that march southward on either side of a gravel path lined with herbaceous borders of blue and white floers. A new wooden gazebo is at the center of the pathway.

By Carol Stocker
Globe Garden Writer

The Romantic movement which came to full flower in the first half of the19th century was nothing less than a transformation of consciousness, elevating emotion over rationality, inspiration over rules, and personal liberty over class structure. The important "Romantic Gardens; Nature, Art, and Landscape Design" exhibit at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City displays almost two centuries of the movement's most important books, drawings and manuscripts. Gathered from several countries, the exhibit begins with the first etchings ever produced in China (circa 1713), depicting gardens of the Emperor which were a revelation to Europeans. The climax is Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's hand drafted wall-spanning "Entry No. 33" for the contest to design New York's Central Park in 1858. (They won.)

Brahmin Boston was a leader of this international movement with its parks by Olmsted who lived in Brookline, the writings by Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalists in Concord, and the country's first garden cemetery and, amazingly, the first large scale designed landscape of any kind open to the public (in 1831) at Mount Auburn in Cambridge. Looking at Boston's great Victorian achievements in park building, it's hard not to feel a little sad that today's Boston can barely scrape together enough money to plant trees and grass on the new greenway created by The Big Dig. Would Olmsted move his office from Brookline to Manhattan if he lived today?

After all, Manhattan seems to have solved such funding and maintenance problems. As founding president of the mighty Central Park Conservancy, Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, who co-curated this exhibit, helped raised $450 million in largely private monies to restore and maintain Central Park. Also head of the Foundation for Landscape Studies, Rogers owns many of the objects in the exhibit and obtained the loan of others from abroad. She probably also had a hand in prying the iconic "Entry No. 33" for Central off its wall at the proprietary New York Parks & Recreations Department and getting it hung at the Morgan.

Landscape design was only one element of the Romantic movement, whose cross pollination between the arts, politics, technologies and cultures is a major theme of the exhibit, which includes Romantic landscape art by J.M.W. Turner, Caspar David Friedrich and Frederick Church. Rogers defines the evolution of the Romantic movement in four countries in her magisterial essays for the handsome catalogue (David R. Godine, $50). In England, she writes, Romanticism is predominantly literary and artistic, in France philosophical and theatrical, for Germans it has a mystical attachment to "folk, fatherland, and forest," while in the United States it is essentially religious, rooted in Transcendentalist beliefs.

Though gardens with winding paths may seem pleasantly harmless, the Romantic movement has a political subtext because it grew out of the 18th century revolutions in America and France, which were very threatening to Europe's aristocracy. "You could tell someones political outlook by their garden's design," said exhibit co-curator John Bidwell in an interview at The Morgan. The old order clung to stiff classical gardens where the plants were lined in rows were favored by the old order, while a more naturalistic landscape reflected sympathy with the new ideas of freedom and equality.

Another icon here is British satirist Alexander Pope hand lettered 1731 draft of his poem which produced the Romantic landscape design credo: "Consult the genius of the place," (meaning respect the inherent nature and terrain of the land).

The once famous antiquarian book collection of the financial gutted Massachusetts Horticultural Society is represented by a single volume. It was bought by the Morgan at a heart breaking and ill-timed Sotheby's auction soon after after the stock market crash of 2008 which delivered rare books of horticultural illustrations into the hands interior decorators for cutting up and framing. The 1834 book that survived to star in the current show is "Hints on Landscape," a German masterpiece by Prince Puckler von Muskau.

"You could say that a piece of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society survives at the Morgan Library," said Bidwell, who is also the museum's curator of printed books. " "It cost very little - we were the only bidder - but it was terribly foxed - dirty and discolored from unhappy storage conditions. It took our own conservation department a month to restore it. They took the book apart and every page spent days in a bath of distilled water in sunlight on the museum's roof. I could have cheated and pulled apart one page and framed it on the wall, but I wanted to show we had saved the whole book."

Prince Puckler was himself an interesting character. He spent his fortune landscaping his 1,350 acre family seat, Muskau, which today straddles the border of Poland and Germany. In debt, he divorced his wife Lucy to go heiress hunting in England in 1826. His letters to her describing early 19th century English society, landscapes, and his own search for her replacement were later published anonymously as "Letters of a Dead Man." Failing as a fortune hunter, the Prince returned to his patient Lucy and was eventually forced to sell Muskau, which was happily restored in modern times.

Public parks had not yet been invented when Mount Auburn Cemetery opened in Cambridge in 1831. Romantic landscaping was supposed to be a selling point, but proved almost too popular. It "inadvertently attracted overwhelming throngs of visitors," writes co-curator Elizabeth S. Eustis in the catalog. "Desecration of garden cemeteries by 'persons on pursuit of pleasure' became a compelling argument for the creation of public parks."

Though the subject is Romantic design, this is largely a sepia colored exhibit that visitors must enter through the intellect rather than the emotions. To add some bright shots of green, The Morgan has also hung contemporary color photos of the historic gardens. But the catalogue is more visually satisfying and Roger's essays make illuminating reading as they deftly clarify a potentially diffuse subject. The exhibit's "Red Books," Moroccan leather bound plans that 18th century landscape designer Humphry Repton made for prospective clients, are visible in their entirety on-line at themorgan.org.

Romantic Gardens
Nature, Art, and Landscape Design
At: The Morgan Library & Museum,
225 Madison Ave., NY, NY
Through August 29
212-685-0008
www.themorgan.org

Globe Garden Expert Carol Stocker will be on-line live at boston.com from 1-2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, to answer your gardening questions. .

Water Whimsy at Garden in the Woods
Framingham, MA - New England Wild Flower Society announced today the Society has partnered with New England Garden Ornaments to present Water Whimsy, a small show of large and small water features at Garden in the Woods. In addition to the Michael Mazur fountain in the entrance garden and the Nate McCullin bird baths in the wildlife garden, there are seven fountains which appear in Water Whimsy at the entrance to the Curtis Path, in the Idea Garden, Edible Garden, Rain Garden, and Patio Garden. All of the fountains recirculate the water being used or they are standing water birdbaths.

Water Whimsy continues in the Garden through September 7. Included in the show are bubbling, flowing, and standing fountains. Elements were chosen to appear timeless as opposed to new or antique. Chiseled stones, millstones, staddle stones, stone balls, molded balustrades and caps, granite bowls and bamboo are used to create these features, nestled among the native plants in the various gardens. They provide a whimsical feeling within the naturalized structure of the many gardens.

Millstones were used in windmills, watermills, and other structures to grind wheat and other grains. Grains would be poured into a round trough. The millstone would be run around the inside outer lip of the trough, grinding the grains. Larger mills used wind or water to power the operation. Smaller mills used human or animal strength to handle the rotation of the millstone around the trough. The three millstones in this exhibit show three different sizes. The two larger stones were imported from England.

Staddle stones look like stone mushrooms and were originally used as supporting bases for granaries, hayricks, game larders, etc. These staddle stones lifted the structures off the ground to protect them from moisture and vermin. The two shown adjacent to the Rain Garden are from the Cotswold region of England and are from the 19th Century.

The three column fountain in the Entrance Garden is of Basalt, a stone quarried on the west coast of the US. Naturally occurring in the rock face as plates, it is easily cut along its veins into the natural column shape. The top is then cut and polished and the column plumbed for a water feature.

The granite bowl used in the Idea Garden water feature is from a piece of Quincy, MA, granite, salvaged from the foundation of a building in Boston. The stone mason who carved it is famous for using a blow torch to carve into stone. The spheres of the Three Sphere Fountain, found opposite the Patio Garden, are hand carved from lava stone. Each has been weathered to a beautiful dark black patina.

Scott LaFleur, Botanic Garden Director and Horticulture Director for New England Wild Flower Society, remarked, “Water Whimsy is a great show for the hot days of summer. The soft sounds of the water draw you in close to hear and see the features. They are beautifully integrated into the Garden and look like they were always there. Being a small show, it does not overpower the Garden. You still focus on our collection of native plants when you visit.”

New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods was founded in 1931 by landscape designer Will Curtis who developed the Garden with Howard Stiles. The Garden showcased Curtis’ designs and interest in featuring native plants for sustainable gardens. Curtis deeded the Garden to New England Wild Flower Society in 1965. The Garden is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday and holiday Mondays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from April 15 through October 31. Guided walking tours of the Garden are given weekdays at 10 a.m. and weekends at 2 p.m. Entrance fees to the Garden are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students with identification, and $4 for youths 3 to 18.

The Ipswich Museum's Whipple House, 1 South Village Green, Ipswich, will host a 17th Century Saturday event on Saturday, August 7. The herb workshop has been canceled but from 11 to 1, musicians Michael Hamill and Sarah McManaway will play 17th century English music with two violas da gamba in the garden. Between 11 and 3, woodwright Jim Whidden will demonstrate timber frame construction at the site of the 17th century authentic reproduction Alexander Knight House.
Price: Lawn activities free. Tours: members free, non-members $7 for one house or $10 for both Heard and Whipple Houses.
For more information visit www.ipswichmuseum.org or call 978-356-2811,

CARLISLE, MA – On Sunday, August 1, Northeast Organic Farming Association/ Massachusetts Chapter (NOFA/Mass), is sponsoring a wild edibles foraging walk led by Russ Cohen at Great Brook Farm State Park on 984 Lowell Street in Carlisle from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

“Great Brook Farm State Park is one of the best places I know to lead foraging walks,” said Cohen. “The reason we chose this site over other options is that I have documented 66 different species of wild edibles plants at the park. This number is greater than any other single site that I’ve visited.”

Cohen explained that the huge variety of edible species results from the diversity of the landscape at the park, which contains a working farm, forested areas, a wetland area, and multiple field edges.“At the farm there are many wonderful garden weeds that are edible, including stinging nettle, which is classically associated with dairy farms. The woodland species include blueberries, huckleberries, wintergreen berries, raspberries, black raspberries, blackberries, and sumac. Along the River Meadow Brook, which runs through the park, there are cattail, elderberry, water chestnut, and groundnut.”

“Groundnut is the plant that allowed the Pilgrims to survive the lean winter of 1620 to 1621 when they first arrived on this continent, and it remained an important food crop for many years. Despite the stories we learned in grammar school, corn was not even in the picture,” said Cohen.Along with many native species like groundnut, the park is home to what are considered invasive species such as the Autumn Olive, whose copious berries can be made into a delicious fruit leather or jam. Cohen remarked: “When it comes to the difference between native species and invasive species, the approach I take in my workshop is to ask whether the plant edible -- not to ask for its birth certificate. The generally dry conditions we’ve been experiencing this summer severely limit mushroom yields. If the rain pick up, it’s possible that we’ll see them.”

Registration for the walk is $30, and it is open to the public on a first come, first served basis. Workshop registration is limited to 35 people. There is a $5 discount for NOFA members. To register online or by check (these options are available if received by Saturday, July 31), visit www.nofamass.org and look under “Upcoming Events.” The cost for on-site registration is $35, and last minute registrants are asked to contact event organizer, Ben Grosscup, at 413-658-5374 to check on space availability.