The Garden Club of the Back Bay

The annual John M. Prather Lectures in Biology will be presented by Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino Research Professor Emeritus and Honorary Curator in Entomology at Harvard.  Dr. Wilson is one of the world’s leading voices for conservation of global biodiversity.  He is one of the most influential and accomplished biologists of the last half-century.  He is known for his groundbreaking research on the biology and behavior of ants, as well as his celebrated work in such broad fields as island biogeography, sociobiology, and conservation biology.  He is the author of two Pulitzer Prize winning books, On Human Nature (1978), and The Ants (1990, with Bert Holldobler), as well as the recipient of many fellowships, honors and awards. Wilson’s Prather lectures will encapsulate his remarkable 55 year career in biology at Harvard, and look forward to the challenges ahead.

Monday, April 5:  “Biodiversity and the Future of Biology.”

Global biodiversity is richer than thought even 20 years ago, but it and the ecosystems supporting it are disappearing at an accelerating rate–to the great and enduring loss to future humanity. Science is not well prepared to handle this issue. We live on a poorly explored planet: only a tiny fraction, probably fewer than ten percent, of species are known to science, when microorganisms are included; and of these, only a minute fraction have been studied at any depth. There are remedies to this ignorance, and when they are applied, a major new front of biology will open, equal and complementary to molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.

Location: Sanders Theatre at Memorial Hall, 6:00 PM. (Reception and book signing to follow at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.) Lecture tickets are required, and can be obtained through the Harvard Box Office in Holyoke Center beginning on March 3. $10 – general public/ Free to Harvard University ID holders.

Tuesday, April 6: “The Superorganism.”

The study of insect societies is today one of the fastest growing major branches of evolutionary biology. It has revealed a great deal about the general principles of the origin and evolution of advanced social behavior, and has shed light on the enormous ecological success of the social insects (with ants and termites making up over half of the insect biomass around the world). The evolution from organism to superorganism has been the major transition between levels of biological organization, easiest to penetrate and understand.

Location: Science Center, 4:00 PM. Free, advance tickets not required.

Wednesday, April 7: “Consilience.”

The boundary between science on one side and the humanities and humanistic social sciences on the other is not an intrinsic epistemological divide but a broad borderland of previously poorly understood causal relationships. The borderland is now being explored, and offers increasing opportunities for collaboration across three great branches of learning. A definition of human nature will be offered and examples from the borderland will be used to illustrate it.

Location: Science Center, 4:00 PM. Free, advance tickets not required.

For more ticket info, please call 617-496-2222, or visit the Harvard Box Office web site at http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/cal/details.php?ID=40839

Come to the Pierce School, 50 School Street, Brookline on Sunday, March 28 beginning at 5 pm for an event featuring a reading and book signing by Ben Hewitt, author of the forthcoming book The Town That Food Saved.  Learn about growing fruits and vegetables in tiny spaces, tall spaces, shared spaces, and very long skinny spaces.  Talk to growers and connect with a community of gardeners.  There will be a raffle, and you will have the opportunity to attend a wide choice of workshops as well.  You can register in advance on line at http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2pfras3cd9f01ec, or email bountifulbrookline@gmail.com.

The Brockton Garden Club presents The Garden Show and a Standard Flower Show emphasizing the 4 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover, on Sunday, April 11 at The Shaws Center, 1 Lexington Ave., Brockton, Massachusetts.  For hours and complete schedule and information, contact Peg Kearney at 508-942-7535, or email brocktongc@verizon.net.

You are invited to The Boston Nature Center’s Spring Fling Auction on Saturday, April 10, from 7 – 10 (auction closes promptly at 9:15), at The Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street, Mattapan, one of the Mass Audubon Society’s 47 wildlife sanctuaries.  Enjoy an evening of delicious appetizers and desserts, complimentary seltzer, beer and wine, and live jazz by musicians from the Community Music Center of Boston.  Honorary Committee Members include Governor Deval Patrick and First Lady Diane B. Patrick, Mayor Thomas Menino, Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, Councillors Felix Arroyo, Maureen Feeney, John Connolly, Stephen Murphy, Charles Yancey, Robert Consalvo, and Ayanna Pressley.  Garden Club of the Back Bay member Chris Anderson sits on the working committee, so we encourage our members to participate in this worthy cause, which raises funds to benefit the Boston Nature Center Summer Camp and Teen Ambassador Scholarship Funds.  The very modest ticket price is $30 per person, $50 per couple, and all tickets will be held at the door.  RSVP no later than April 2, please, by calling 617-983-8500, or visit www.massaudubon.org/boston.

Yes, you read that right – Garden & Gun.  At first  we thought “Joke”, but in fact the editors say Garden & Gun is a Southern lifestyle magazine that’s all about the magic of the new South – sporting culture, food, music, art, literature, and naturally, gardens.  You can read all about it at www.gardenandgun.com.  A number of Southern landscape designers are profiled in back issues.  We wonder what a New England equivalent publication could be named?  Suggestions welcome at info@gardenclubbackbay.org.

CraftBoston 2010 will open Thursday, April 22 at the Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Boulevard in Boston, and continue through Sunday, April 25.  CraftBoston is New England’s premiere juried exhibition and sale of contemporary craft, which showcases one of a kind and limited edition pieces in baskets, ceramics, decorative fiber, wearables, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper and wood.  CraftBoston features 200 artists as well as work by emerging artists from leading schools and universities, an artist mentor program, a craft book seller and an educational lecture series.

Garden Club of the Back Bay February speaker Dianne Plantamura informed us of this event.  The garden fountains and sculptures (see picture below)  of her husband Larry W. Elardo, a potter, will be represented at the event.  Hours are Friday and Saturday, 10 – 6, and Sunday 11 – 5.  $15 general admission, $13 seniors, $12 SAC members. For more information call 617-266-1810, or log on to the sponsor’s website, www.festivalnet.com.

This one-day workshop on Saturday, May 1, from 10 – 4, traces the history and evolution of medieval gardens in western Europe, from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance. Topics of discussion include the varieties and influence of monastic gardens, the impact of the water gardens of Islamic Spain, and the exquisite ornamental gardens of the fifteenth century, designed solely for pleasure and sensual delight. Selected slide images of paintings and manuscript illuminations illustrate details of medieval gardeners at work, the tools they used and the surprising views of their garden designs.

The image below is the re-created medieval garden Commanderie des Templiers de Coulommiers.  The buildings were part of a monastery belonging to the Knights Templar.  The garden design, inspired by paintings of medieval gardens, was designed by Joel Chatain, a landscape architecture graduate from Versailles, and the work was carried out by young volunteers.  Extensive use is made of wattle fencing.

The course is taught by Priscilla Baumann, Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from Boston University, and is part of the Lesley University/Art Institute of Boston’s  Spring Seminar Series in the Arts.  The cost of this workshop is $100, and it will take place at University Hall, Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Room 4-040.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.lesley.edu/aib/EXTRA/courses.html, or email darcadip@aiboston.edu.

Sign up for the next American Horticultural Society Travel Study Program June 16 – 20, 2010, with AHS Host Katy Moss Warner.  Chicago was incorporated with the Latin words Urbs in Horto, meaning a “city in a garden,” a motto that has long inspired the people who live here.  This tour will highlight the innovative gardens that have contributed to the greening of chicago and influenced the horticultural heritage that distinguishes the surrounding communities.  Katy Moss Warner, president emeritus of the American Horticultural Society and a city judge for America in Bloom, invites you to join her on this excursion.

To experience the breadth of what Chicago has to offer, you will be staying downtown at the Raffaello Hotel, a four-star boutique hotel just steps away from Michigan Avenue in the heart of the Gold Coast.  You will see gardens that are in the heart of Chicago as well as the gardens in the surrounding area.  These range from modern gardens such as the Lurie Gardens in Chicago’s Millennium Park (below), to the world renowned Chicago Botanic Garden and Garfield Park Conservatory, which stems from the city’s early horticultural initiatives.  The tour will also take you to Rockford, Illinois, an award winning city of flowers and gardens that the residents have taken great pride in creating.  You will see private gardens and gain insight into Ball Horticultural Company’s international influence on ornamental horticulture.  Along the way you will feast on local cuisine (lunch, for instance, at Rick Bayless’s Frontera Grill, with a tour of Bayless’ organic garden)  and learn about the history of a city that has been a fountain of innovation.  Complete details are available at www.ahs.org.

Focusing on the Flower Show theme of A Feast for the Senses, Hilda Morrill, founder of bostongardens.com, will share some of the special gardens she has enjoyed in her world travels in a talk to be held in the Lecture Hall of the Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Boulevard, at 5 pm on Wednesday, March 24.  The lecture is free with admission to the Boston Flower & Garden Show.  For more information on the show, log on to www.TheBostonFlowerShow.com.

Each year farmers as well as agriculture officials from across the Bay State visit their legislators on Massachusetts Agriculture Day at the State House, to discuss issues and legislation affecting their farms and communities.  The event this year, taking place Thursday, April 8, includes a speaking program, “Agriculture Day” awards, informational exhibits and a reception featuring Massachusetts’ farm and specialty food products.  Join The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources in recognizing Massachusetts’ farmers, and learn more about efforts to maintain the long-term viability of Massachusetts’ agriculture.  For more information, contact Lisa Damon at 617-626-1731, or email Lisa.Damon@state.ma.us.

The Ecological Landscaping Association Roundtable presents “Growing and Greening Your Landscaping Business, Even in This Economic Climate!” on Wednesday, March 24, from 4 – 6, at Nordic Hall at the Scandinavian Living Center, 206 Waltham Street, West Newton, MA.  $20 for ELA Members and $25 for Non-Members.

This ELA Roundtable presentation offers a unique perspective on growing a landscaping business in the midst of uncertain economic times. Jackson Madnick will discuss his approach to organic lawn care in combination with the new drought tolerant, ultra deep-root grass seed options. Working with the results of a recent state wide survey, Jackson will present strategies to reach the 91% of the public who are not currently using a landscaping company – a large untapped source of clients. Another highlight of this discussion will be Jackson’s methods for producing the ultimate “Green” Lawns; lawns that are not just green in color but are water saving, run off preventing, carbon foot print lowering, and more profitable for you!

Walk-ins Also Welcome! For more information: ela.info@comcast.net or (617) 436-5838 Jackson Madnick is an environmental, water-energy, and turf expert. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Congress of Lakes and Pond Association (COLAP), was the former Chairperson of the Wayland Surface Water Quality Committee, and was instrumental in the successful efforts to renew the National Clean Water Act. Jackson lives in a sustainable house that he is renovating to produce 95% of its heating, cooling, and power from the sun and earth.

The second annual awards program sponsored by Garden Design magazine reveals the exciting moment when great design meets ecological responsibility.  Smart water and energy use, repurposing, recyclables, natives and organics, and other earth friendly innovations will be recognized.  Designers and companies owning designs are eligible to enter.  Entries must highlight key “green” components and should not have previously appeared in national publication.  Your entry should include a completed entry form (print at www.gdgreenawards.com), ten uploaded images with captions showing all parts of the completed project, and a single paragraph summary of the project.  There is a $50 fee per entry.  Winners will be published in the January/February 2011 issue of Garden Design.  Deadline for entry is May 1, 2010.

Attend a one day symposium sponsored by the Rotch Jones Duff House in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on Saturday, March 20, beginning at 8:30 am and concluding at 3:30 pm.  In celebration of the RJD landscape, this symposium, the first of a three year landscape series exploring changing tastes in gardening in the 19th and 20th centuries, will focus on flower gardens.

Landscape designer and worldwide garden traveler Nan Sinton explores two centuries of the influences on American flower gardening as she shows how attitudes regarding spaces have evolved in her talk entitled “What Were They Thinking?”  Gardener, author, lecturer and long time instructor at New York Botanical Garden, Keynote Speaker Page Dickey, author of Dogs in Their Gardens,  invites gardeners to discover how the floral bounty of meadows and natural places can be brought home to even the tiniest space in her illustrated lecture, “Bringing Wildness into the Garden”, followed by a book signing.  Later, Joann Vieira, Director of Horticulture at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, who leads the planning and planting of the extensive gardens and dynamic indoor and outdoor container displays there, will reveal which flowers she chooses for an extended season of bloom in “Tradition Meets Experiment: The Best Plants for a Flourishing Flower Garden.”  Following these presentations, there will be time for informal questions with the speakers.  Registration at The Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum, 396 County Road, New Bedford, Massachusetts, begins at 8:30 am, and the program cost of $65 per person (members of the sponsor Rotch Jones Duff House) or $75 (nonmembers) includes lunch.  For more information, or to purchase tickets, call 508-997-1401, or log on to www.rjdmuseum.org.

Dr. Walter H. Lewis, Emeritus and University Research Ethnobotanist, Washington University in St. Louis and Missouri Botanical Garden, and the 2010 New England Botanical Club Distinguished Speaker, will give a talk on the Complexities of American Rose Species: Their Taxonomy to DNA on Friday, April 2, in the Lecture Hall (Room 102) of the Fairchild Biochemistry Building at 7 Divinity Avenue in Cambridge.  The Fairchild Biochemistry Building is part of the main campus near Harvard Square and is between Busch Hall and the Peabody Museum.  For specific directions log on to www.rhodora.org/Meetings.html.

The sponsor, The New England Botanical Club, which originated in 1895, is a non-profit organization that promotes the study of plants of North America, especially the flora of New England and adjacent areas.  The Club publishes the journal Rhodora, holds monthly meetings during the academic year, maintains an herbarium of more than 253,000 sheets, has a small library, and annually grants a graduate student research award.  An office for the Club is maintained at the Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, and you may reach the office at 617-308-3656 for membership information, or log on to www.rhodora.org.  Regular member dues are $50 annually, and a family rate, including a copy of Rhodora, is $60.  Student membership costs $25.

On Saturday, March 27, at 8:30 pm Eastern Time, plan to participate in Earth Hour. On Earth Hour, hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple – turning off their lights for one hour.  The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations.   Since its inception three years ago, Earth Hour’s non-partisan approach has captured the world’s imagination and become a global phenomenon.  Nearly one billion people turned out their lights for Earth Hour 2009, involving 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents.  Earth Hour will once again cascade around the globe, from New Zealand to Hawaii. To learn more, and to see videos of what Earth Hour looks like, log on to www.myearthhour.org.  The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway will participate, as well as over 300 US cities.

The Global Days of Service will feature Volunteer Actions by tens of thousands of global participants, from April 17 – 18, 2010. These projects in parks, beaches, schools and forests will focus on climate change solutions like tree planting, energy efficiency retrofits, water protection, urban gardens and forest restoration. Produced with the help of Earth Day Network, along with local community organizations and governments, the activities will address current challenges and will help cities and organizations streamline their energy needs, and ‘green up’ their communities. Suitable for individuals of all ages, including children and families, these activities encourage active lifestyles and healthful living, while also connecting volunteers with the green solutions.  This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, and you may find more information about local events at www.earthday.net/earthday2010.

Uxbridge Rotary presents a fundraiser, “The Little Black Dress,” on Sunday, March 21, beginning at 2:00 pm at the Whitinsville Golf Club, Fletcher Street, Whitinsville, Massachusetts, featuring well known floral designer Bill Graham.  Bill is well known to local garden clubs and is an exciting speaker and entertainer.  All proceeds help the Peace of Bread Community Kitchen, and tickets may be purchased on line at www.clubrunner.ca/CPrg/Home/storyitem.asp?cid=3700&iid=135486.  Or, you may call Leslie Reichert at 508-234-4626, or email vacuumlady2@yahoo.com.

Not just spines! Lots of unusual and fascinating plants most people can easily grow. Hundreds of rare and bizarre plants strutting their stuff! Art Scarpa of the Cactus and Succulent Society will bring along both indoor tropical and hardy outdoor plants, depending upon the season, to Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston for this instructional class on Saturday, April 17, beginning at 11 am and running through 12:30 pm. The plants pictured below are aeoniums.  THBG members $20, non-members $22. Register on line at www.towerhillbg.org.

Plan to attend the 169th Annual Meeting of the Worcester County Horticultural Society on Thursday, March 18, beginning at 4 pm, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston, Massachusetts, with special guest speaker Dr. Robert Bertin, Biology Department Chair, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, speaking on Plant Species Native to Worcester County.  The lecture, and a reception to follow, will be preceded by the WCHS business meeting.  Cash bar and hors d’oeuvres by Twigs Cafe.  You may respond by calling 508-869-6111, x 136, or by logging on to the special events page at www.towerhillbg.org.

Ted Elliman, Vegetation Manager of the New England Wild Flower Society, in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum, will present this one day class on Saturday, April 17, from 10 am – 2 pm at Garden in the Woods in Framingham.  This course will provide an introduction to about 40 of the most common invasive non-native plants in our local landscapes (see Japanese knotweed below). Through lecture, discussion, power point presentation, herbarium specimens, and a walk outside, you will become familiar with identification clues as well as the habits of a number of these plants which are so disruptive of natural ecosytems. Ted will discuss management techniques for many of these species, on both a home and a larger landscape scale. Homeowners and property managers who wish to get a head start on invasive control this year will appreciate the timing of this course, which will allow them to learn to identify young invasive plants before they become camouflaged by other vegetation. The New England Wild Flower Society’s Invader’s Magazine, as well as the Massachusetts Field Guide to Invasives, will be available for purchase at a discount. Fee $44 for members of the Arboretum or NEWFS, $52 nonmembers.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.