Fall Lecture Series at Garden in the Woods
SIZING UP INVASIVES: PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO LANDSCAPE RESTORATION
The seemingly ubiquitous presence of invasive plants across the landscape of the Northeast presents many questions: Which populations should we prioritize for control efforts, and what reasonable goals can we establish? When is it better to look the other way and refocus elsewhere? What steps can we take to stop the “Wildlife Express”—the spread of invasive plants by birds and other berry-eating animals? Botanist Marty Michener will discuss functional aspects of invasive control strategies and present case studies that illustrate some effective techniques.
Thursday, October 11, 7–9 p.m.
Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA
Course Code: BOT5124
Marty Michener is author of two CD-ROM books: Graminoids: A Guide to Some Common Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes of the Northeastern USA, and Botany Everywhere: A Photographic Guide to Over 1,200 Vascular Plants of the Northeast.
Details: Preregistration is encouraged, but not required. Refreshments and a book signing will follow this free seminar.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINNAEUS!
The year 2007 is the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. Known as the “father of modern taxonomy,” he was the most renowned botanist of his time. Join longtime “Linnaeus lover” Sally Wadman for an illustrated botanical journey to Sweden to learn more about the man and the plants he named. Sally will highlight Sweden’s provincial plants (like our state flowers), most of which were named by Linnaeus, and will draw comparisons to the New England flora, where many of the same plants occur. Join this brown bag lunch talk, and decide for yourself if our region is botanically more akin to Sweden than it is to England!
Wednesday, November 7, 12–1:30 p.m.
Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA
Course Code: BOT8305
Sally Wadman is an amateur botanist who has traveled extensively in Sweden.
Details: Preregistration for this free talk is encouraged, but not required. Please bring a bag lunch to enjoy during the lecture. Coffee and refreshments will be served.
AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE FLORA OF THE NORTHEAST
Join botanist Dennis Magee for a lecture about his collaboration with the late Harry Ahles to produce the newly released Flora of the Northeast (2nd edition), the most recent comprehensive regional flora to be published in the United States. Dennis will discuss how he built the plant identification keys and prepared descriptions, distribution maps, and illustrations. Learn how the authors dealt with difficult groups of plants, and handled current and past plant names. Dennis will share some good stories and describe some of the strengths and shortcomings of this new resource for New England plant enthusiasts.
Sunday, December 2, 2–3:30 p.m.
Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA
Course Code: BOT2405
Dennis Magee is coauthor of the newly revised Flora of the Northeast and vice-president of Normandeau Associates, an environmental consulting firm based in Bedford, New Hampshire.
Details: Preregistration for this free talk is encouraged, but not required. Refreshments and a book signing will follow the talk.
Fall Lecture Series at Conway School
New England Wild Flower Society is pleased to cosponsor the second annual fall lecture series with the Conway School of Landscape Design. Talks will be held at the Conway School in Conway, Massachusetts. Space is limited, and participants are encouraged to preregister by calling 413-369-4044, ext. 5. Check www.newenglandWILD.org for directions.
BREAKING THE RULES:
CREATING NATURAL LANDSCAPES IN THE REAL WORLD
Observing how plants develop in nature can lead us to a host of new gardening techniques, a surprising number of which are diametrically opposed to traditional horticultural practice. From choosing, arranging, and spacing plants, to the simple act of weeding, Larry Weaner will show how alternative approaches can yield more easily maintained gardens that express the rich beauty of our native landscapes.
Monday, September 17, 7–8:30 p.m.
Larry Weaner is principal of Larry Weaner Landscape Design Associates, a design, consulting, and installation firm for residential, commercial, and public clients since 1982. Larry is active as a guest lecturer and instructor for numerous horticultural and environmental organizations throughout the United States, and his projects have been featured in national and international publications. In 1990, Larry developed the New Directions in the American Landscape conference series, which has a dedicated following among professionals in the design and landscaping community.
CUES TO CARE: THOUGHTFUL WAYS TO DESIGN AND PRESENT MESSY ECOSYSTEMS
How do we retrofit nineteenth-century cities and twentieth-century suburbs to improve their ecological health? Join Joan Nassauer to learn how understanding changing perceptions of alternative landscapes of the future can help us to design more ecological landscapes today, whether the goal is storm water management, brownfield redevelopment, or more-sustainable residential properties.
Wednesday, October 17, 7–8:30 p.m.
Joan Iverson Nassauer is Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Michigan. Her award-winning work focuses on the relationship between aesthetics and ecology, and she has offered strategies for basing ecological design on strong science and interdisciplinary collaboration, both in the U.S. and internationally. Her book, Placing Nature: Culture and Landscape Ecology (1997), defines cultural sustainability for ecological design, and her new book with Mary Santelmann and Don Scavia, From the Corn Belt to the Gulf (2007), discusses how alternative practices could improve the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes and the water quality of the Gulf of Mexico.
NATIVE PLANTS FOR SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES
Can our landscapes be producers of clean water and air, biodiversity, beauty, and a sense of place? What do native plants offer in accomplishing those lofty goals that other plants don’t? Dale Hendricks will explore these questions and present a selection of mid-Atlantic and New England natives and cultivars that can help bring about these verdant landscapes.
Thursday, November 1, 7–8:30 p.m.
Dale Hendricks is co-owner and founder of North Creek Nurseries in Landenberg, Pennsylvania. North Creek is a propagation nursery supplying eastern North American natives and cultivars to wholesale and retail nurseries, as well as for highway, municipal, and conservation restoration projects. Dale has focused on propagating native perennials, grasses, and ferns for more than twenty years.
2008 Winter Horticultural Lecture Series
Begin your 2008 season of gardening with three provocative lectures from the 13th annual Winter Horticultural Lecture Series, cosponsored with Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Tower Hill Botanic Garden, and Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture. All lectures take place at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Elm Bank Horticultural Center in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The fee for each lecture is $20 for members of the sponsoring institutions and $25 for non-members. Each lecture will be followed by refreshments and a book signing.
TEAMING WITH MICROBES: THE GARDENER’S GUIDE TO THE SOIL FOOD WEB
Jeff Lowenfels
Thursday, January 31, 7–8:30 p.m.
Course Code: LEC2033
No one ever fertilized the redwood forests. So how did those trees grow to 350 feet and live for over 500 years without applications of Magic-Miracle-Fertilizer? You can begin to understand how by attending this entertaining lecture by Jeff Lowenfels, the “Al Gore of Gardening.” Jeff will present the basics of chemical-free gardening, which rely on making use of microbial activity in the soil. He will explain how soil microbes work, what you can do to encourage them, and how they might afford you more leisure time in your garden. Learn the science that explains why chemicals and gardening don’t mix.
Jeff Lowenfels is the author of Timber Press’s best seller, Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web. Former president of the Garden Writers of America, Jeff hosted Alaska public television’s most popular show, Alaska Gardens with Jeff Lowenfels. The show ran four times a week and was even broadcast in Barrow, Alaska, way above the Arctic Circle. Today, Jeff has a radio show, The Garden Party, where he is known as “The Germinator.”
THE GARDENS OF KYOTO
Charles Mann
Thursday, February 14, 7–8:30 p.m.
Course Code: LEC2034
With their deceptively simple lines, spare plantings, and muted colors, the gardens of Kyoto, Japan, seem the polar opposite of traditional English flower gardens. Yet for many Westerners, their style and tradition are as evocative as any English border. What makes Japanese gardens such profoundly contemplative spaces? What can we draw from them to balance our Anglo-centric gardening tendencies and enrich our personal spaces? Join professional photographer, world traveler, and cultural connoisseur Charles Mann for a stunning visual tour of the gardens of Kyoto and a discussion sure to transcend traditional barriers of language, culture, and garden philosophy.
Charles Mann is a freelance and stock photographer, specializing in imagery of gardens and horticulture, and southwestern scenic landscapes. His photographs have illustrated three books, including Cutting Edge Gardening in the Intermountain West, written by Marcia Tatroe. His work appears regularly in many magazines, including Horticulture, Organic Gardening, Country Living Gardener, Sunset, Fine Gardening, and Better Homes and Gardens. Charles has published photo essays on Japan, New Zealand, Italy, Majorca, Ireland, Alaska, and most major cities in the western United States.
FROM EMERALD CARPET TO AMBER WAVE: SERENE AND SENSUOUS PLANTS FOR THE GARDEN
William Cullina
Thursday, February 28, 7–8:30 p.m.
Course Code: LEC2035
Gardens are fusions of form, color, and texture. While these three elements act in concert to affect space, mood, and impression, gardeners tend to focus primarily on color. Yet texture and form are the more enduring, and perhaps, more complex of the three. In this presentation, Bill Cullina will introduce some of his favorite native ferns, grasses, and sedges. Just as in nature, where they knit together the canvas of forest floor, boggy carpet, or rustling prairie, these plants can do the same for your garden, providing soft, tangible grace, subtle yet captivating when you truly stop to see.
William Cullina is Director of Horticultural Research for New England Wild Flower Society and an award-winning author of many classic reference books, including The New England Wild Flower Society’s Guide to Growing and Propagating Wildflowers, Understanding Orchids, and the soon-to-be-published Native Ferns, Moss, and Grasses.
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