The Garden Club of the Back Bay

On Thursday, March 15, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and Hunt’s Photo & Video will sponsor a horticultural photography clinic at the Boston Flower & Garden Show.  Led by photographer Barbara J. Ellison of Canon USA, the clinic will focus on floral and garden photography techniques and composition.  Barbara will start with a critique of the entries in the flower show’s Photography Competition: why specific photos, subjects and manipulations are representative of an artistic eye.  She’ll spend the second half of the clinic on the floor of the show, talking about how to photography horticulture and gardens, using the garden exhibits as a case study.  The clinic will run from 5:45 to 7:15, and is limited to 25 participants.  Attendees are encouraged to attend Ms. Ellison’s photography lecture, which runs from 4:30 – 5:30 in the lecture hall.  The fee for the clinic is $25 per person, with all proceeds benefiting Mass Hort.  Register by calling 617-933-4963.  Photo below by Barbara J. Ellison.

Anyone in pursuit of a career as a designer or builder of landscapes will eventually have to face one possibly distasteful reality.  Like it or not, part of you will have to function as a salesperson.  During our education, most of us designed in a nurturing vacuum, never forced to confront the reality of the needs, wants, personalities, tastes and budgets of clients with an ultimate veto power.  Embracing that reality needn’t be painful, although it can be if not done properly.  This Ecological Landscaping Association and New England Wild Flower Society seminar, to be held Thursday, March 22, from 7 – 9 at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, will introduce you to some of the “Forget-Me-Nots” that Tom Strangfeld, the instructor, learned by ignoring the consequences of forgetting them.  $24 for NEWFS or ELA members, $29 for nonmembers.  Register at www.newfs.org.

Plant a colorful spring garden with instructor Betsy Williams, to grow indoors while you are waiting for the outdoors to bloom. Fill an attractive basket with flowering plants accented with ferns, ivies and moss. When summer arrives, plant the bulbs in the garden and transplant the fern, violas, primroses and ivy to a damp shady spot to enjoy all summer. The Tower Hill Botanic Garden class will be held Saturday, March 31, from 10 – 12 and the fee is $65 for THBG members, $70 for non members. All materials included. To sign up, visit www.towerhillbg.org.

The traits typically used to describe trees, leaves, twigs, and buds are often not clearly visible or seasonally absent. Join Michael Wojtech, naturalist and writer, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts on Saturday, March 24, from 1 – 4 for an indoor/outdoor exploration of bark, which is always visible, in any season. You will learn about a system for distinguishing bark characteristics and discover clues to bark ecology. For more details on Michael or his new book, Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast, visit: www.knowyourtrees.com.  Tower Hill member price $30, nonmembers $35.  Sign up at www.towerhillbg.org.

Designed for those starting or caring for a vegetable garden, get all your questions answered in this Berkshire Botanical Garden practical class on growing food, to be held Monday evenings from March 12 – April 12, from 6 – 9. This course will include site selection, soil and nutrient management, seed selection, design, crop rotation schemes, seeding and planting, pest management, and specific plant cultivation. These topics will be discussed with an emphasis on building a healthy soil and careful management of moisture requirements. Each week students will investigate a different vegetable family (Melon family, Tomato family, Beet family, Cabbage Family, Legume family and the Greens family) to insure all questions are answered about cultivation of these important food groups.

John Howell is the former Extension Vegetable Specialist, for the University of Massachusetts and currently lectures on vegetables, fruits and soil management Author of numerous newsletters for growers and is currently the editor for New England Vegetable Management Guide, published biennially by the University of Massachusetts. Course fee $185, and you may register on-line at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Want to learn how to grow the fruits your family loves? Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are delicious and nutritious, and beloved by kids of all ages. This Tower Hill Botanic Garden course on Sunday, March 11 from 1 – 4 will cover: variety selection, planting site recommendations, soil and nutrient needs planting, spacing, mulching, pest control strategies, structural considerations (containers, netting, frames, etc.) and pruning/thinning.

Patti Powers has been growing small fruits organically since 1978, first at her farm in Western Massachusetts, and for 26 years at Cheshire Garden in Winchester, NH. She studied Plant and Soil Science and Botany at UMass, and worked for 10 years as a researcher in the UMass Entomology Department studying insect behavior. THBG member price is $30, nonmembers $35. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

Discover how to create stunning close-ups of flowers and other plant features in this one-day workshop with photographer David Kahn, at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden in Wellesley, Massachusetts.  Begin with a discussion of equipment, preparation, composition, lighting, tips and tricks, as well as see examples of what can be achieved.  Then practice macro techniques using a variety of settings in the Ferguson Greenhouses and Visitor Center.  This hands-on workshop is ideal for photographers who want to explore their own creative vision in the realm of macro photography as well as artists who want to record small details as a reference for future artwork.  Requirements: a digital camera and a good working knowledge of your camera, including being able to focus on a subject 6″ or less from the lens, set your camera’s exposure mode, and turn your flash on or off.  A more complete list of requirements will be available online at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.  Please contact the office if you are not sure if your equipment or experience is sufficient.  Please bring your lunch as David plans a special presentation over lunch hour.  The class, which runs from 10 – 4, will take place Friday, March 23 (snow date Friday, March 30), beginning at 9:30 am.  Friends of the Wellesley College Botanic Garden: $75, non-members $95.

Work with Jessie Banhazl, owner of Green City Growers, a raised bed vegetable gardening company, to learn how to make the most of the New England growing season.  The Tower Hill Botanic Garden class will be held Saturday, March 10, from 10 – 12, and you may register online at www.towerhillbg.org.  THBG member fee is $10, nonmembers $12.  Come prepared to chat about your garden and make a four season plan for producing food all year long.

Have you ever wondered about safe ways to hunt for wild and exotic mushrooms, or wanted to spice up supermarket varieties like crimini or portabello? If so, join president of the Boston Mycological Club, Susan Goldhor, and renowned Boston-area chef Chris Douglass, on Monday, March 5, from 6 – 8 at the Boston University Demonstration Room, 808 Commonwealth Avenue,  to explore fascinating fungi. Goldhor has been collecting and eating wild mushrooms—without a single stomach ache—for more than 25 years, and she writes a regular column for the magazine Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming. Chef Douglass is chef-owner of Dorchester’s beloved Tavolo and Ashmont Grill, as well as leading member of Chefs Collaborative and an active proponent and patron of local food producers. Together, Goldhor and Douglass will expand your knowledge of mushrooms and please your palate with mushroom dishes paired with wine. Cost $60.00.  Register online at www.bu.edu/foodandwine, or telephone 617-353-9852.

Join nurseryman Ed Bowen of Opus Nursery on Saturday, March 10, from 1 – 3, at Berkshire Botanical Garden, for a look at the lesser known garden-worthy plants sure to enhance your garden. Ed’s philosophy suggests that while he appreciates the efficacy element of gardening, success depends on many factors beyond simple plant selection. This lecture will open your eyes to an eclectic range of choice plants to rejuvenate your perennial plant palette

Ed Bowen is a horticulturalist and owner of Opus Nursery, Little Compton, RI. Opus is a deliberately small nano-nursery actively collecting, propagating, and growing a diverse range of plants. Ed’s focus is the under-cultivated and garden worthy, and he specialize in unusual perennials. He employs strictly organic pest controls, and is striving to be peat free. The class is $22 for BBG members, $27 for non-members, and you may register on-line at www.berkshirebotanical.org.  Photo below, copyright Sakonnet,  from an excellent website www.whatweretheskieslike.com, reporting on gardens, horticulture, and botany.

As part of the True North Garden & Landscape Series,  The Massachusetts Horticultural Society is hosting Barbara Pierson at Elm Bank on Tuesday, March 13, from 10 – noon.  She  will lecture on creating Impressive Entryways.  In this class, you’ll delight in discovering dramatic, colorful combinations for steps, porches and patios. Also included are the latest in container trends and new breeding for flower power. Barbara Pierson is the Director of Greenhouse Operations at White Flower Farm.

To RSVP, please call 781-433-6400.

Cutting gardens are lovely to look at and provide fresh cut flowers for indoors. Learn how to make a small, highly productive cutting garden, in a class to be held at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, March 3, from 10 – 12. Consider all aspects of growing cut flowers, including selecting varieties that hold up best, sowing times and techniques, planting and transplanting, cultivating and preparing for market. This program is designed for both the home gardener and the nascent market gardener. After the presentation, participants will sow some of the instructor’s favorite seeds and transplant seedlings to grow on at home.

Jan Schaffer and Marty Sax are horticulturists and own Joe Pye Weed Nursery in Carlisle, Massachusetts. They have been growing flowers for over 30 years. Their special obsession is hybridizing Siberian iris. Their nursery includes beautiful display gardens and a large cutting garden that serves the Boston Flower Market. This session is priced at $25 for BBG members, $30 for non-members, and you may register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Investigate the trend of gardening with plants from around the world, in a demonstration/workshop to be held at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, February 25, from 1 – 3.  Consider agaves and other succulents as low maintenance patio plants that double as houseplants for the winter months. Learn about orchids and how to care for these exotic beauties. Practical information on selection, cultivation, maintenance and overwintering will be covered, with a focus on keeping plants beautiful and healthy. Students will practice dividing and repotting a variety of specimen plants and take home divisions to grow on. Materials are included in the cost of the workshop (BBG members $37, non-members $45), but please bring gloves, pruners, and a cardboard box to transport your plants home.  Additional plants will be for sale following the class.  To register, visit www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Rob Gennari is a garden designer and owner of Glendale Botanicals, a specialty tropical nursery located in Berkshire County. He uses tropical plants in his design work and has in-depth experience with propagating, growing, and maintaining these plants.

Learn how to combine a passion for gardening and helping people through the innovative field of horticultural therapy.  Join students from across the country to learn more by enrolling in Fundamentals of Horticultural Therapy, to be held at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, October 11 – 14, 2012.

At the non-profit Horticultural Therapy Institute (HTI), the mission is to provide education and training in horticultural therapy to those new to, or experienced with, the practice of using gardening and plants to improve the lives of others.  The faculty is dedicated to teaching best practices with passion, and past students form a community of learners that become horticultural therapy practitioners in a variety of settings.  Take one class, or the full certificate program.  With its unique format, you don’t need to live where the classes are held.  Classes are offered in a four-day intensive format to accommodate those who must travel to attend.

Class cost is $750 ($600 for full-time college students with proof of student status.)  The remaining three certificate courses will be held in Denver, Colorado and at Half Moon Bay in California.  For full class descriptions, schedules, and enrollment forms, go to www.htinstitute.org, or call 303-388-0500.

Do you have a beautiful plant that you have lovingly cultivated and cared for that brings you such pride you want to show it off? Don’t let your abundance of questions keep your pride and joy from taking the show. Although there is no way to guarantee a first place finish, there are ways to increase the odds of doing well in a flower show. Even if you’re not sure about entering a plant for this years’ show, this talk on Monday, February 13, from 6:30 – 8 at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, is guaranteed to give you valuable tips and the inspiration you might need to take a chance at a Blue Ribbon.

Learn first hand from Art Scarpa and Carrie Waterman, both horticulture judges and blue ribbon winners many times over, what judges are looking for in a blue ribbon winner and what the best exhibitors do to prepare their plants for competition. Art and Carrie team up to give a lesson in what wins ribbons at a horticultural competition. They will discuss all aspects of preparing your plant for presentation including grooming, exhibit composition, nomenclature, rules and requirements, and etiquette. Registration is $8 for Mass Hort Members and $12 for non-members. To sign up, visit www.masshort.org.

Once you’ve been given the inside scoop on winning a ribbon, what better place to put your skills to the test than at BLOOMS! at the Boston Flower and Garden Show? BLOOMS! features an Amateur Horticulture Competition open to all individuals, plant societies, and garden clubs. This year Mass Hort is delighted to welcome back junior exhibitors, age 16 or under, with a selection of Junior Horticulture Classes. Submissions for the BLOOMS! Am Hort competition must have been in your possession no later than December 11, 2011 and will be accepted for admission at the show on Monday, March 12th, 2012.

The Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture will sponsor a great day of sketching on Tuesday, February 21, from 10 – 4, at the greenhouses at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden. Go on a fern foray with Elizabeth Farnsworth, illustrator and co-author of the Peterson Field Guide to the Ferns of Northeastern North America. Using the diverse fern collections of the Ferguson Greenhouses, explore fern anatomy, architecture, life cycle, ecology, and microscopic characteristics. See the features to look for when identifying ferns in the wild. There will be plenty of time for sketching ferns and their diagnostic characters, plus question-and-answer time about these amazing plants.  Bring your lunch along with sketchbook and pencils or pens (whichever is your preferred medium for sketching), and colored pencils for recording various anatomical structures.  Snow date will be Wednesday, February 22.  WCFH members $75, non-members $95.  Register on line at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

The Real Food Campaign is announcing a two-session course, presented by Dan Kittredge, at the Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street, in Mattapan on two Sundays, February 12 and March 25, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. The course is designed for urban home and community gardeners, as well as growers from elsewhere who want to learn how to grow more bionutrient rich food crops so they and others can live healthier lives.

Bionutrient rich crop production is a form of biological farming that works to balance and enliven the soil so that the crops growing in it provide all the necessary minerals, phytonutrients, anti-oxidants and enzymes that humans and animals need in their bodies. The soil is stimulated by adding amendments containing the minerals in which the soil is deficient. Then, with close observation of the plants as they grow and by providing nutritional support with regularly applied drenches and foliar sprays, the vitality and energy of the soil and plants are enhanced to produce healthier crops, greater yields, extended seasons and longer shelf life. Insects cannot digest the complex compounds developed in healthier plants, and healthy plants are not as vulnerable to disease. As a result insect and disease problems diminish and can entirely disappear.

The Boston Nature Center is easily accessible by the T. The course begins at 9:30 am and ends at 4:30 pm, The cost is $150, and it’s possible to register for that amount online with a credit card at www.realfoodcampaign.org.. Some scholarship aid may be available. For further information and to register by check or in installments for the course, please contact Douglas Williams, Course Administrator, at doug@realfoodcampaign.org or 603-924-7008.

Seduced by begonias? Join the crowd. And who can blame you? Not only are begonias outrageously glam, but they are a cinch as houseplants – if you know the ropes. Join Tovah Martin, curator of the begonia collection at Logee’s Greenhouses for 25 years and lifelong begonia addict, at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, February 11 from 10 – 12 for a begonia workshop. She’ll spill the goods on which begonias make the best houseplants as well as revealing which begonias to avoid. She’ll recommend begonias that make a smooth transition from indoors to outside. In fact, she’ll introduce you to the entire begonia family with scenic detours to show you her favorite real live plants. Care, maintenance, watering, pruning, repotting, and propagating will be demonstrated with plenty of hands-on interaction. Best of all: Bring home several begonia cuttings in a mini-greenhouse to grow on! Bring hand pruners and a cardboard box to transport plants home. BBG member price $37, non-members $45, and you may register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Tovah Martin is a horticulturist, writer and garden personality living in Northwest CT. She writes for many horticultural publications and her latest book is The New Terrarium, published in 2009.  Photo below of begonia ‘Chocolate Cream’ from Logee’s Greenhouses 1999.

Give your sweetheart a special gift – learn basic glass blowing theory to produce brilliantly colorful glass flowers and hearts.  No experience necessary to take this Boston Center for Adult Education class on Sunday, February 12 from 2 – 6, taught by the instructors at the Diablo Glass School.  The $145 session will take place at Diablo Glass and Metal, 123 Terrace Street in Roxbury.  To sign up, visit www.bcae.org.  The antique glass flower bouquet pictured below was a gift to Elizabeth C. Ware and her daughter Mary Lee Ware from Leopold Blaschka in 1889.  Photograph by Hillel Burger, copyright President and Fellows of Harvard College.

For complete information, visit www.ecolandscaping.org.