Distinguished garden writers, renowned landscape professionals, master gardeners, local chefs and the Show’s talented exhibitors will share their expertise at the 2012 Boston Flower & Garden Show in a full program of daily lectures, how-to demos, floral arranging workshops, children’s activities and cooking demonstrations.  New this year: the After Work Urban Gardening Series at 6:00pm, Wednesday-Saturday, offers quick tips on beautifying small-space gardens and increasing the urban harvest.

An exciting schedule of speakers is being finalized.  All programs are complimentary unless otherwise indicated.

Celebrity Guest: Meet HGTV star John Gidding, host of Curb Appeal: The Block, when he visits the Show on Friday, March 16, to demonstrate easy gardening makeovers.

Love Your Lawn Again: Paul Tukey and Victoria Rowell introduce their new book, Tag, Toss & Run: 40 Classic Lawn Games on Sunday, March 18 from 3:30 to 5:00pm. For the last five years, Tukey has focused his energies on teaching about growing lawns naturally through the SafeLawn Foundation. In his new book, co-authored by actress and best-selling author Victoria Rowell, Tukey shares his desire to inspire people to use – rather than just look at – their lawns. Meet Paul and Victoria and get re-acquainted with the joy of old-time-y family lawn games like bocce and croquet and maybe learn a few new ones, too!

Become an Urban Gardening Guru: Stop by on your way home from the office for the After Work Urban Gardening Series at 6pm each night (Wednesday through Saturday, plus a few extra sessions on Thursday) in which city garden center staff and horticultural non-profits will lead programs on growing edibles in containers, community gardens, and gardening in small spaces. Experts will include Mahoney’s Garden Center staff, container gardening guru Deb Trickett, landscape designer Sally Muspratt and Jessie Banhazi, owner of Green City Growers.

Learn the Value of Curb Appeal Upgrades: Local real estate professionals will offer landscape staging tips and estimate the true value of specific landscape upgrades.

Hone Your “Garden to the Table” Culinary Skills: Local chefs will transform easily-grown produce and herbs into impressive, party-staging appetizers for your next backyard bash.

 

2012 Schedule Preview

Here’s a sample of some of this year’s programming.  Check back often as we will be continually updating this list with the latest additions!

Wednesday, March 14

10:00 AM Demo: Invasive Plants: Identifying & Removing from the Home Garden, Ted Elliman, New England Wild Flower Society

10:30 AM Lecture: Passion for Peonies, Kathleen Gagan, Peony’s Envy

11:30 AM Lecture: Historic Gardens – In Your Own Backyard, John Forti, The Heirloom Gardener

12:00 PM Lecture: Soak Up the Rain Campaign, Curt Spalding, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1:00 PM Demo: Floral Design, Cass School of Floral Design Instructors

1:30 PM Lecture: Get Off the Grass: Organic Alternatives to Turf, Therese Ciesinski, Organic Gardening Magazine

2:00 PM Demo: Make a Great First Impression with Porch Pots & Window Boxes, Tina Bemis, Bemis Farm Nursery

2:30 PM Lecture: Beyond the Wild – Creating Habitat for People and Wildlife in Our Gardens and Landscapes, Theresa Sprague, BlueFlax

3:00 PM Demo: Roses, Manuel Mendes, New England Rose Society

3:30 PM Lecture: The Year-round Vegetable Gardener, Nikki Jabbour, Garden Writer

4:00 PM Cooking Demo: Sous Vide: The Art of Slow & Low Temp Cooking, Chef Jayson DeMarco, Bistro 44

4:30 PM Lecture: Variegated Foliage, Stan Megos, Variegated Foliage Nursery

After Work Urban Gardening Series:

6:00 PM Demo: Jaw-Dropping, Traffic-Stopping, Get-Your-Neighbors-Talking Container Gardens, Deborah Trickett, The Captured Garden

Thursday, March 15

Thursday’s lectures and demos are programmed by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

10:30 AM Lecture: Twenty Great Spring-Flowering Shrubs You Don’t Have, Wayne Mezzit, Weston Nurseries

11:00 AM Demo: Floral Design, Mary Huntoon

12:00 PM Demo: Container Gardens for Small Spaces, Betty Sanders, MA Master Gardeners Association

12:30 PM Lecture: Vegetable Gardening Made Simple – And Beautiful, Ellen Ecker Ogden, The Complete Kitchen Garden

1:00 PM Demo: Ikebana, Kaye Vosburgh, Ikebana International

1:30 PM Lecture: Make a Great First Impression, Kerry Ann Mendez, Perennially Yours

2:30 PM Lecture: Dramatic Entryways for A Great First Impression, Barbara Pierson, White Flower Farm

3:00 PM Demo: Floral Design, Gloria Freitas Steidinger

3:30 PM Lecture: Beyond Lawns: Re-Imagining the Front of Your Property, Paul Miskovsky, Miskovsky Landscaping

4:00 PM Demo: Plants We Can Live Without, Jim Ingram, Bartlett Tree Experts

4:30 PM Lecture: How to Take Great Garden Photos, Barbara Ellison, Canon U.S.A.

After Work Urban Gardening Series:

5:30 PM Lecture: Curb Appeal for City Homes, Sally Muspratt

6:00 PM Demo: Containers for City Living, Betty Sanders, Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association

Friday, March 16

10:00 AM Demo: Jaw-Dropping, Traffic-Stopping, Get-Your-Neighbors-Talking Container Gardens, Deborah Trickett, The Captured Garden

10:30 AM Lecture: Organic Container Gardening, Paul Split, Horticultural Lecturer

11:00 PM Demo: Pavers 101, Ed Jameson Jr., Jameson Landscape & Irrigation

11:30 AM Lecture: Designing for Curb Appeal, John Gidding, HGTV’s Curb Appeal: The Block

12:00 PM Demo: Party Starting Apps from the Garden, Paul Split, Horticultural Lecturer

1:00 PM Demo: The Power of First Impressions: Foyer Flowers, Kirsten van Dijk, My PassionFlower

1:30 Lecture: Using Texture & Foliage in the Garden, Crystal Brinson, Horticulturist

2:30 PM Lectures: Designing for Curb Appeal, John Gidding, HGTV’s Curb Appeal: The Block

4:00 PM Cooking Demo: First Bites: Garden-Inspired Nibbles, Carole Murko, Heirloom Meals

4:30 PM Lecture: i-Factor: Defining Yourself In the Garden, Samantha Best, Magma Design Group

After Work Urban Gardening Series:

6:00 PM Lecture: Creating a Small-Space Garden Oasis, Ed Maclean, Potted UP

Saturday, March 17

10:00 AM Demo: Constructing Habitat Boxes, Nate McCullin, New England Wild Flower Society

10:30 AM Lecture: Bringing Your Garden to Life, Tobias Wolfe, Ecologic Landscape Association

11:00 AM Demo: The Love of Lavender, Nancy Engel, Sunny Window

11:30 AM Lecture: Create Winning Perennial Combinations Using Color & Texture Basic, Maria von Brincken, Landscape Architect

12:00 PM Demo: Springtime Frittatas, Chef, Wilson Farms

1:00 PM Demo: Ikebana, Tomoko Tanaka

1:30 Lecture: Anatomy of a Sustainable Rose Garden, Mike & Angie Chute, RoseSolutions

2:00 PM Demo: Pruning 101, Joe Biagioni, Arbor Alliance

2:30 PM Lecture: Four-Season Landscapes: Choosing Trees & Shrubs for Year-Round Appeal, Penelope O’Sullivan, The Pruning Answer Book

3:00 PM Demo: The Bins & Outs of Composting, Colleen Plimpton, Garden Lecturer

3:30 PM Lecture: Creating the Wow Factor in Shade Gardens: Seeing Your Way Out of the Dark, Kerry Ann Mendez, Perennially Yours

4:00 PM Demo: Four Seasons of Charming Container Gardens, Michelle Harvey, Lakeview Nurseries

4:30 PM Lecture: Heirloom Gardening, From Seed to Seed, Ken Greene, Hudson Valley Seed Library

After Work Urban Gardening Series:

6:00 PM Demo: Intensive Growing in Small Spaces: How to Optimize your Vegetable Production when Space and Sun are Limited, Jessie Benhazi, Green City Growers

Sunday, March 18

10:00 AM Demo: Propagation of Trillium & Other Garden Plants, Dan Jaffe, New England Wild Flower Society

10:30 AM Lecture: High on Hydrangea, Jeannie Gillis, Cape Cod Hydrangea Society

11:00 AM Demo: Roses, Manuel Mendes, New England Rose Society

11:30 AM Lecture: The Allure of the Japanese Maple, Brent Markus, Markus Specimen Trees

12:00 PM Demo: Apps from Taps, Chef Natasha Tauscher, Natick Community Organic Farm

1:00 PM Demo: Four-Season Window Boxes, Trish Wesley Umbrell, Natick Community Organic Farm

1:30 PM Lecture: What’s Worth It & What’s Not in Curb Appeal Landscape Upgrades, Robin Brodsky, Coldwell Banker

2:30 PM Program: Tag, Toss & Run: 40 Classic Lawn Games, Paul Tukey & Victoria Rowell

3:00 PM Demo: Body Flowers & Bling,  Cindy Mattson, Given-Irwin Florists

New in 2012!  The After Work Urban Gardening Series.  Stop by on your way home from the office at 6pm, Wednesday-Saturday for tips and techniques on topics such as vegetable gardening in the city, how to get involved in a community garden, and small space gardening!

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