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    Cultivating Space: Women in Horticulture and Place-Making

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    This year’s "cultivating women" symposium will highlight contemporary efforts by women to create, share, and preserve greenspaces for all and will showcase the importance of community spaces in this era of increasing urban and suburban density. Join the Arnold Arboretum for presentations from four dynamic women, each a leader in greening communities:

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    Grafting Woody Plants: Fruit Trees

    Location: 

    Dana Greenhouse Classroom, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Grafting is the technique of joining parts of separate plants in such a manner that they unite and continue their growth as one. Learn basic principles of grafting with an overview of different types of dormant-season grafts. Arnold Arboretum propagator Sean Halloran will provide step-by-step instructions so that you can practice both cleft and side veneer grafts using apple root stock. Simple after-care will be required until planting out in springtime. Registrants will need to sign an Assumption of Risk and Release in order to participate in this class.

    Cost:...

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    Measure Twice, Cut Once: Introductory Tree and Shrub Pruning

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Put down the hedge shears! Through both classroom instruction and hands-on field training, this class will include what’s, why's, and how’s of proper pruning approaches and techniques. Andrew Gapinski will focus on small ornamental trees, young shade trees, and shrubs with general approaches towards maintaining a plant’s natural form and encouraging health and vigor.

    Note: Pruning for fruit production will not be covered in this offering. Dress for indoor and outdoor learning.

    Cost: $30 member, $38 nonmember.

    ...

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    Propagating Semi-Hardwood Cuttings

    Location: 

    Dana Greenhouse Classroom, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Enhance your garden! Join Manager of Plant Production Tiffany Enzenbacher to learn how to propagate woody plants from fall cuttings. Students will collect and stick cuttings of several taxa (Ilex and Rhododendron to name a few), and will take their propagules home. After rooting, small plants may be ready to transplant as early as next year. Post-class nurturing will be required.

    Fee for all materials is included in the cost of the class. Students should bring their own pruners to class.

    Cost: $42 for members; $52 for nonmembers...

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    Photography with Chris Morgan

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Chris Morgan is fascinated by the patterns and textures in nature, the shapes of trees, and the movements of birds. He captures these beautifully in his photographs, which were on display at the Arnold Arboretum in the winter of 2019.

    In this program, Chris will discuss his photographic interests and methods in the classroom and then move outdoors to demonstrate his techniques. Class participants will be able to learn alongside Chris, evaluating views, debating camera angles, and considering focal points in order to shoot better images. Participants should bring their...

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    Compost Compendium

    Location: 

    Weld Hill Building and Landscape, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Horticulturist Conor Guidarelli manages the Arnold Arboretum’s organic materials recycling area and has recently improved the production and quality of the resulting compost. Conor will discuss the components of compost and the nutrients that can be returned to a site when compost is applied. He will explain the mix of brown to green materials, moisture, and aeration. Class participants will start in the classroom and then travel to the Arboretum’s materials yard to see compost in various stages of development.

    Cost: $20 for members; $30 for nonmembers

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    Native Woody Plant Materials

    Location: 

    Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham

    Explore the vast variety of native trees, shrubs, and woody vines. Learn which species grow well in shade, which support local wildlife, and how to stagger plantings for continuous bloom, fruit production, and fall color. The class discusses growth characteristics, cultural requirements, and best horticultural uses. It begins with lectures and walks at Garden in the Woods in Framingham and includes a field trip to the Arnold Arboretum in...

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    Smartphone Photography: Capturing the Colors of Autumn

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Capture the drama of fall, when landscapes present a vivid array of colors and the palette is most striking. Professional photographer Nancy Katz will introduce fundamental concepts of landscape photography and then teach techniques for getting the best photographs from your smartphone camera. You will capture images in dynamic color and muted shades, then learn to enhance them using a host of editing tools provided in the Snapseed App. For best results, bring your smartphone and a commitment to completing the weekly homework assignments. Class will take place indoors and out.

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    Art Workshop: Revealing the Wild Print

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join the Arboretum's exhibiting artist, Steffanie Schwam, in this hands-on workshop. You will make your own unique monoprint on paper or fabric, using leaves from the Arboretum's collections, paint, printmaking tools, recycled materials, and the inspiration of the surrounding landscape.

    Note: This workshop is appropriate for ages 8 and up. An adult must accompany anyone between ages 8–12.

    Cost: $15 for members; $25 for nonmembers.

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    Fall Forest Bathing

    Location: 

    Bussey St. Gate, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    This slow-paced guided therapeutic experience promotes wellness through a series of gentle sensory-opening invitations that welcome us to notice more of our natural surroundings. By deepening our connection with the natural world and each other, we open ourselves up to the healing medicine of the forest. Forest Bathing is part of a global effort to tend to the stressful conditions of living in modern industrialized civilization.

    Cost: $25 for members; $35 for nonmembers

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    Butterfly Discovery Walk

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Venture into the Arboretum landscape with caterpillar expert Sam Jaffe. Sam will wander the landscape highlighting host plants and the insects they support, focusing his attention on caterpillars, moths, and butterflies. Bring a camera to document your discoveries and a notebook to record identification tips and plant suggestions for expanding the array of butterflies your garden or park can support.

    This event is suitable for adults and children ages 12 and older. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

    Cost: $10 for...

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    Moth Meet

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join the Arnold Arboretum for a late night learning adventure to discover the nocturnal invertebrates that are flitting about the Arboretum after hours. Naturalist Sam Jaffe will start the evening in the classroom with some introductory information about the life-cycles of moths and other night flyers. He’ll then lead the group outdoors for a moth lighting at which we will admire and study a variety of nocturnal insects. Back in the classroom, microscopes and other field guides will allow us to make clear identifications of these lesser-seen beauties.

    This event is suitable...

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    Garden for Biodiversity

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Sam Jaffe, naturalist and educator, will present both the collaborative and deceitful nature of insects and plants as they’ve evolved to rely upon one another. This lecture, illustrated with Sam’s gorgeous photographs, will expand your invertebrate knowledge, appreciation, and desire to be the best garden host you can be.

    Cost:
    $10 for members; $15 for nonmembers.

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    Gardening for Butterflies and Moths

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Learn how to attract butterflies and moths to your garden and cater to their unique lifecycle requirements in this program focused exclusively on lepidopteran-friendly gardening techniques. Lepidopteran conservation in New England is more important than ever, as many formerly common species are now threatened with extirpation. Colin McCallum-Cook, Horticultural Technologist, will also show you how to use citizen science applications to monitor species in your garden and contribute valuable data to the cause of lepidopteran conservation.

    Cost: $25 for...

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    Art Workshop: Making Art in the Landscape

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join Paul Olson, the Arnold Arboretum's exhibiting artist of Drawn to Paint, for a sketching workshop "en plein air" (outside, in the landscape). Olson, an instructor at Mass College of Art and RISD, will focus on teaching you to sketch trees from direct observation outdoors. He will encourage you to think about simplifying your design with just the essential shapes to make a good composition in light pencil. Then, you can use ink and water for an expressive tonal image. Bring pencils and sketchbooks; some supplies will be available.

    Cost: $10 for...

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    The Substance of Soil

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Soil is the basis of survival. Without soil, humans and most other living beings could not exist. Conor Guidarelli, who has dug deep into the soils of the Arnold Arboretum will present an overview of soil, from its formation and components to its properties. He will discuss ways to analyze soil quality and health to determine whether or not amendments are needed based on the soil outcome or use desired.

    Participants are encouraged to bring a pint glass jar with about a cup of soil in it to class.

    Cost: $20 for members; $30 for nonmembers.

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    Sprout Lands: Tending the Endless Gift of Trees

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Once, farmers knew how to prune trees in a way that, instead of destroying them, led to robust and sustained growth – of the trees and of the communities that utilized them. 

    Rediscover this lost art that sustained human life and culture for ten millennia in this talk with arborist William Bryant Logan. William offers us both practical knowledge about how to live with trees to mutual benefit and hope that humans may again learn what the persistence and generosity of trees can teach.

    Cost: Free for members; $5 for nonmembers.

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    The Art of Botanical Prose

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    All writers must contend with translation. A poet translates the movement of a dancing figure into a brief couplet, and an essayist translates the noise and commotion of the city where she lives into a single paragraph. The three-dimensional world filters into text, and when done especially well—the realm of literature and art—readers often forget that translation has even occurred.

    In this talk, Jonathan Damery, the associate editor for Arnoldia, will provide a readerly tour through horticultural and botanical reference books, encouraging readers to see the artistic endeavor...

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    In the Groves: A Summer Solstice Journey

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building and Arboretum Landscape, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join us for an enchanting evening of Tree Myths, Songs and Summer Solstice Legends. Attendees will hear tales of the human connection with trees and the deep meaning we have assigned to them through the ages. This unique performance, designed specifically for the Arnold Arboretum, travels through the Arboretum with story and music. Each story is told under a different tree or among a unique collection of Arboretum plants, culminating with the haunting Czech legend “The Wild Woman of the Birch Grove” told amid the birches at sunset. Appropriate for adults and for children twelve years and...

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