Botanical Bliss: Twilight Talks

Virtual Twilight Talk: Jewel in the Emerald Necklace: The Arnold Arboretum

Wednesday, October 28, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Established in 1872 and designed in collaboration with Frederick Law Olmsted, the Arnold Arboretum is a National Historic Landmark and one of the best preserved of Olmsted’s landscapes. Occupying 281 acres, the Arboretum’s living collection of trees, shrubs, and woody vines is recognized as one of the most comprehensive and best documented of its kind in the world.

Join Lisa Pearson, head of the Arboretum’s Library and Archives, for a virtual discussion about the founding of the Arnold Arboretum and its twin roles as an Olmstedian public park and research institution.

The link for the webinar will be sent in a separate email prior to the event.

Please call 617-994-5959 for more information.

Photo: © President and Fellows of Harvard College. Arnold Arboretum Archives

Virtual Twilight Talk: Designing Mount Auburn: A Most Pleasing Effect on the Eye

Wednesday, November 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Mount Auburn Cemetery was established in 1831 as a beautifully designed landscape with the purpose of honoring the dead and providing comfort and inspiration to the living. One of the most frequently cited examples of significant landscapes in the country, the cemetery was a major attraction and pleasure ground shaping artistic taste.

Join Meg L. Winslow, curator of historical collections & archives at Mount Auburn Cemetery, at this virtual lecture to learn about the fascinating story of Mount Auburn’s early design and the Boston horticulturalists who created a new American landscape and placed the “garden in the grave."

The link for the webinar will be sent in a separate email prior to the event.

Please call 617-994-5959 for more information.

Photo courtesy of Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge and Watertown, Mass.

Virtual Twilight Talk: Ladies in the Field: The Victorian Pastimes of Botany and Gardening

Wednesday, November 11, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Whether with fern-filled Wardian cases or wildflower gardens, Victorian women collected and studied plants at home and afield. Botany and horticulture co-mingled as appropriate pastimes for the young and old alike. School girls learned the prurient Linnaean system of botanical classification along with the romantic symbolism of flowers. Women decorated their homes with greenery, mounted algae, and cultivated flower beds of garish annuals. Some pursued careers as botanists and landscape gardeners, no doubt encouraged by the fashionable passion for plant study.

Join botanist and author Judith Sumner for this virtual journey into the botanical pursuits of nineteenth-century women, from fanciful lore and home décor to scholarship, study, and design.

The link for the webinar will be sent in a separate email prior to the event.

Please call 617-994-5959 for more information.

Virtual Twilight Talk: The Glass Flowers: Marvels of Art and Science

Wednesday, November 18, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

The astonishingly beautiful one-of-a-kind Glass Flowers collection has delighted audiences for more than a century. Over a span of fifty years, from 1886 to 1936, Leopold Blaschka and his son, Rudolf, produced 4,300 models representing 780 plant species exclusively for Harvard University. In this virtual talk, Collection Manager Jennifer Brown shares the history of this internationally acclaimed collection and discusses recent projects.

The link for the webinar will be sent in a separate email prior to the event.

Please call 617-994-5959 for more information.

Photo: The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants on exhibition at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, copyright President and Fellows of Harvard College