Events & Programs

Programs/Events 2026-2027

SEPTEMBER – Tuesday, September 22 at 10:00 am

Field Trip to Massachusetts Audubon’s Boston Nature Center and

Wildlife Sanctuary in Mattapan with optional Picnic Lunch

Please join us for a guided tour of the Boston Nature Center and Wildlife

Sanctuary in Mattapan, our featured GCBB grant recipient for

2026/2027. The Sanctuary is an oasis not far from the center of the city

that is home to over 150 species of birds, 40 species of butterflies, and

more than 350 plant species. We’ll explore a young Miyawaki Method

mini-forest, as well as learn about an exciting new initiative to de-

channelize the canterbury brook with a full restoration of the brook and

its wetlands.

OCTOBER – Wednesday, October 14 at 10:00 am

Lecture on “An Update on the Charlesgate Project” by Marie Law

Adams, Founding Partner of Landing Studio

The Charlesgate Project will ultimately restore ecological infrastructure

performance, urban connections and public access recreation to the end

of the Emerald Necklace. Several years ago, Marie Law Adams,

a founding partner of the landscape architect company working on the

project, introduced us to Charlesgate. Come hear about the progress

that has been made since then, and the plans for its completion.

*The Charlesgate Project was a GCBB grant recipient in 2025/2026.

NOVEMBER – Tuesday, November 17 at 10:00 am

Lecture on “Nature Based Solutions to Climate Change” by Max Rome,

Former Director of Boston’s Green Infrastructure

Nature-based solutions are strategies that leverage natural

ecosystems to address climate change and other societal challenges.

They include actions such as protecting forests, restoring wetlands,

conserving mangroves, rewilding landscapes, and improving agricultural

land management. Nature-based solutions aim to reduce greenhouse

gas emissions, sequester carbon, and enhance ecosystem resilience,

while also providing benefits like cleaner air and water, flood control,

and improved biodiversity. Come learn more about what can be done –

and what is being done -- on a local level here in Boston.

DECEMBER -- No programs due to Wreath Week

JANUARY – The Annual Winter Tea, Thursday, January 21 at 3:00 pm

FEBRUARY LECTURE – Wednesday, February 17 at 2:00 pm

Lecture on “Philadelphia’s Longwood Gardens” by Paul B. Redman,

President/CEO of Longwood Gardens

During this joint event with the Beacon Hill Garden Club, we’ll learn

about one of the world’s great gardens. Longwood’s story is one of

legacy, innovation, and stewardship. Spanning more than 1,100 acres,

the Gardens showcase horticultural splendor, intricate fountain systems,

architectural grandeur, and so much more — all with conservation at

the core. With spectacular displays and year-round, dynamic

beauty—made possible by renowned horticultural expertise —

Longwood is proud to be one of the most-visited gardens in the country.

FEBRUARY ZOOM – Thursday, February 25 at 6:00 pm via Zoom

Zoom Presentation of the Documentary “Earth, I Thank You: The

Garden and Legacy of Anne Spencer”

Anne Spencer was a poet, civil rights leader, advocate, and librarian. Her

home and garden served as a gathering place for leading African

Americans such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston

Hughes, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Located in historic Lynchburg,

Virginia, the Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum is the only known

restored garden of an African American in the United States.

The Garden Conservancy has developed a documentary chronicling the

site as it evolves from a home and gathering place to a nationally

significant cultural landscape that is listed on the National Register of

Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. We’ll view the

documentary together and then have a discussion afterwards.

MARCH – Wednesday, March 24 at 10:00 am

Lecture on “Healthy Neighborhoods and the Philly Tree Plan: Growing

a Healthier City Through Public-Private Collaboration” by Matt Rader,

President of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

The Philly Tree Plan is the City of Philadelphia’s first-ever urban forest

strategic plan, launched in February 2023 after a multi-year planning

process. It is a 10-year strategy designed to grow, protect, and care for

Philadelphia’s tree canopy in a way that supports equity, sustainability,

and climate resilience.

APRIL – Tuesday, April 27 at 1:00 pm

Field Trip to the Lyman Estate in Waltham

The Lyman Estate, also known as “the Vale,” is a National Historic

Landmark and one of the finest U.S. examples of a country estate

following eighteenth-century English naturalistic design. In 1793

shipping merchant Theodore Lyman commissioned famed architect

Samuel McIntire to design and build a Federal-style house for his family.

The family enlarged the house in 1882 in the Victorian style and then

remodeled it in the Colonial Revival style in 1917. The thirty-seven acres

include beautifully preserved gardens and historic greenhouses. 

The Lyman Estate Greenhouses are among the oldest surviving

greenhouses in the United States. The complex includes an 1804 grape

house, 1820 camellia house, and 1840s sales greenhouse where you can

buy plants to take home.

MAY – Annual Meeting, Date/Time TBD

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE 2027 TWILIGHT GARDEN PARTY!

Wednesday May 26th 2027 6-8pm, Four Seasons Boston