Spring comes every year, sometimes a little early and sometimes with fits and starts. But from Wednesday until next Sunday, you can enjoy a day of full-blown mid-spring, complete with lilacs, iris, azalea and rhododendron. It's all at the Boston Flower & Garden Show at the Seaport World Trade Center and, if you're a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, admission to the show is one of your benefits of membership.
At Mass Hort, a group of staff and volunteers have been working for months to pull together the collection of exhibits and competitions that are collectively called Blooms! at the Boston Flower & Garden Show. There are two divisions of floral design competition, with 54 exhibits in each of two entry days. There are two entry days of Ikebana, with 14 displays. The photography competition, now in its second year, features 36 stunning horticultural photographs drawn from across the country.
Miniature Gardens, also in their second year, are one of the most popular exhibits. This year there are four gardens - just two feet by three feet, but containing all of the horticultural detail of a garden fifty times its size.
Amateur Horticulture is at the heart of Blooms! There's 2100 square feet of glorious plants grown by New Englanders. Nearby, there are nine specialty groupings of horticulture in bay windows and plant rooms; the product of garden clubs and plant societies working together to produce extraordinary horticultural displays.
One of the major reasons people come to the Boston Flower & Garden Show is to see lush landscape vignettes, and one of the largest is Mass Hort's display. It stretches 51 feet from end to end and incorporates three distinct zones: a townhouse garden of more than 450 square feet, a home chef's garden featuring five raised beds, and a picture garden filled with colorful bulbs and flowering shrubs where you're invited to come in and have your picture taken.
The Saturday Build
Want to learn more about gardening? Mass Hort's Book Store at the Flower Show is 300 square feet of space packed with hundreds of gardening titles; far more than any 'big box' book store, with books chosen or recommended by Mass Hort staff, volunteers, and Master Gardeners.
And, speaking of Master Gardeners, you'll find them right in the middle of the show. They're ready to field all of your gardening questions (like, 'why won't my hydrangea bloom') and provide succinct, take-away how-to guides on subjects ranging from winter moths to growing roses.
If seeing all those landscapes gets you anxious to find the right tool or plant, there are hundreds of vendors selling everything from specialty spades to orchids in full bloom.
It's going to be a great show. Five days of color, scent and texture. It's all at the Seaport World Trade Center, just east of the Financial District. There is ample parking nearby and a Silver Line 'T' stop just a block away.
The Sunday Build
Special Photography Clinic at the Boston Flower & Garden Show
On March 15, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and Hunt's Photo & Video will sponsor a horticultural photography clinic at the Boston Flower & Garden Show. Led by photographer Barbara J. Ellison of Canon USA, the clinic will focus on floral and garden photography techniques and composition.
A Parrot Tulip captured at it moment of perfection..
Barbara will start with a critique of the entries in the flower show's Photography competition: why specific photos, subjects and manipulations are representative of an artistic eye. She'll spend the second half of the clinic on the floor of the show, talking about how to photograph horticulture and gardens, using the garden exhibits as a case study. The clinic will run from 5:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. and be limited to 25 participants. Attendees are encouraged to also attend Ms. Ellison's photography lecture, which runs from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the lecture hall at the Boston Flower & Garden Show. The fee is $25 per person with all proceeds benefiting the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Registration may be done here or by calling 617-933-4963.
Barbara Ellison has been fortunate to be able to combine five loves - photography, art, gardening, travel and teaching- into her work. As a ProMarket representative for Canon USA since 1989, she has traveled throughout the US, lecturing and instructing on various photographic topics such as botanical and macro photography, printing and alternative processes. An avid gardener, she is always looking for new ways to create floral portraits. Her husband Michael operated a species orchid business for years, where she experimented with creating orchid art pieces from their own collection. Her work has been published in various books and magazines and has been the subject of gallery shows.
'Step into Spring' Flower Show Preview Party to Benefit Mass Hort's Plantmobile
Flower Show Features Landscape & Flower Exhibits throughout Mall Common Areas and a Lineup of Spring Events
Spring will bloom early at the Mall at Chestnut Hill this year when it hosts its annual Step Into Spring garden & flower show beginning Saturday, March 31, through Tuesday, May 15.
Award winning landscape artists, horticulturists, master gardeners and floral designers will share exquisite examples of richly planted gardens, stone sculptures, unique garden settings and beautiful floral arrangements in common areas throughout the mall. The public will have the opportunity to view flowers native to New England along with some of the most rare and unusual varieties. Examples of textures and blooming colors of the natural outdoors will be on view throughout both levels of the mall.
As part of Step Into Spring, the Mall at Chestnut Hill will also host four special events to celebrate the season:
A Taste of Spring Preview VIP Party - Friday, March 30, 6:30- 8:30 p.m.
A special evening to unveil the glorious spring garden displays. Guests will enjoy cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.
Tickets are $35 and will benefit the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and are available here or at the door.
Proceeds from the ticket sales to the Preview Party will be used to fund operations of Mass Hort's Plantmobile. The Plantmobile is an interactive, traveling plant-science program that provides hands-on, exploratory educational programs for children grades K-12.
Students learn best while doing. Our emphasis is on hands-on individual and group activities. This programs design is one that will allow students to gain increased knowledge and understanding of the plant world around them. One of our main goals is to strengthen student’s skills of observation and analysis. Both of these are important tools in their overall development and learning.
Tea & Florals - Saturday, March 31, 1:00 - 3:00p.m.
Sample fresh and flowery teas on the opening day. Tea sampling provided by Teavana.
Children's Spring Fling - Saturday, April 14, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.A free arts and crafts event for children incorporating spring flowers and bright colors.
Mom's Nite Out - Thursday, May 10, 4:00 - 7:00p.m. A much deserved night out with the "girls", this free event is a great way for local moms to have a night out! To join this event as a vendor, please call Carolyn Fitzpatrick at 617-965-3038.
"This is a wonderful partnership between many talented florists and landscapers and we are proud to work with Chairs Peter Sadeck and Diane Valle to showcase some of the area's most artistic forces," said Debora Konig, Director of Mall Marketing for Mall at Chestnut Hill. "We hope people will come down to the mall to view the displays, participate in the events, and to be inspired or simply for a reminder that spring is about to bloom!"
Flower and landscape exhibits will be on display at the Mall at Chestnut Hill from Friday, March 30 through Tuesday, May 15. For more information and a full list of participating landscapers, please visit www.simon.com or call (617) 965-3038. Step Into Spring is produced in part by Boston Portfolio Properties, LLC, a real estate brokerage firm focused on personalized service to owners and buyers of the most desirable properties in Boston and the surrounding suburbs. Visit www.bostonpp.com for more information.
Mark Your Calendars: Flavors of Spring Gala
On May 4th, our Garden to Table Gala "Flavors of Spring" is sure to be a festive evening and a great program. It will be a fundraiser for The Garden to Table program which helps people of all ages and all levels of gardening experience learn to grow, cook, preserve, and enjoy healthy local food.
Our gala committee is busy planning the evening, which will feature a live auction, four catering stations, Bully Boy Distillers, Cono Sur Wines, craft beers and Dueling Pianos by Howl at the Moon. Save the date!
Tickets are $125 per person and may be reserved by calling Maureen Hort at 617-933-4912.
Founded in 1829, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society is dedicated to encouraging the science and practice of horticulture and developing the public's enjoyment, appreciation, and understanding of plants and the environment.
Barbara Ellison has been fortunate to be able to combine five loves - photography, art, gardening, travel and teaching- into her work. As a ProMarket representative for Canon USA since 1989, she has traveled throughout the US, lecturing and instructing on various photographic topics such as botanical and macro photography, printing and alternative processes. An avid gardener, she is always looking for new ways to create floral portraits. Her husband Michael operated a species orchid business for years, where she experimented with creating orchid art pieces from their own collection. Her work has been published in various books and magazines and has been the subject of gallery shows. 
