Lecture: "New York City Garden Spaces: The Green Side of the Big Apple” By Maureen Bovet

The Nichols House Museum, located on historic Beacon Hill, is pleased to present a lecture by horticulturalist and garden designer Maureen Bovet. The lecture, “New York City Garden Spaces: The Green Side of the Big Apple,” will take place on Monday, October 20, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. at the American Meteorological Society, 45 Beacon Street, Boston. Admission is $15 for Nichols House Museum members and $20 for non members.  Paid reservations are essential due to limited seating. Please call the Nichols House Museum at 617.227.6993 for further information.

In her heavily illustrated horticultural presentation, Maureen Bovet will explore the wonderful public parks of New York City. She was born and raised in the Big Apple and her passion for gardening began there. Her presentation offers a unique view of the green spaces enjoyed by natives and visitors alike. The history and the horticulture of these parks are illustrated by beautiful images from her collection.

Maureen Bovet will be your guide to the traditional and modern places where New Yorkers enjoy the great outdoors. She will discuss garden design and plant cultivation along with the fascinating history of these parks. Included green spaces are: Wave Hill; the garden at The Cloisters; Olmsted-designed Central Park, with its 70-year-old Conservatory Garden; the new High Line Park modeled on a Paris railroad bed reuse; The New York Botanical Garden; and Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan looking out at the Statue of Liberty.

Maureen Bovet brings a unique background in horticulture, garden design, and history to her presentations. She has led garden tours for the Paris Garden Guild while living in Paris (2001-2004); propagated plants for Historic New England; developed the volunteer gardening program at Habitat in Belmont; and designed the Memorial Garden at First Parish Church, Lexington. She has been a Museum Associate at the MFA on the Flower Team, and provides practical garden counsel and coaching to her garden design clients. A graduate in history of Wellesley College, she has also studied at the Arnold Arboretum Landscape Institute and the University of Massachusetts Green School. She currently lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.

The Nichols House is a historic house museum that offers visitors a unique glimpse of late 19th and early 20th century domestic life on Boston’s Beacon Hill. Located at 55 Mount Vernon St., the museum is currently open for tours Tuesday through Saturday, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.