The Shirley Meneice Horticulture Conference

I was lucky to represent SLGC at the Shirley Meneice Horticulture Conference in the Boston area. I learned new things, and I met many kind, accomplished, and knowledgeable women, including many of the other representatives from Zone X. It was an activity filled few days with wonderful tours and information from experts.

We began the conference with an interesting lecture from Uli Lorimer, the Director of Horticulture for the Native Plant Trust. He discussed the many benefits of planting natives. He encouraged us to find local nurseries that carry plants from local ecotypes.

Our second stop of the day was The Garden in the Woods, home of The Native Plant Trust of Framingham. The woods have many walkways showcasing native plants and varying terrain. In the spring, the floor of the woodland is covered with trillium. We might have to plan a spring trip to Boston to see our club flower in full bloom.

Our next visit was to The Garden at Elm Bank, the 36 acre home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. We toured the beautiful Olmsted firm Italianate garden, and we learned about the restoration efforts of the Olmsted Japanese garden. We also walked through the Bressingham Garden, designed by Adrian Bloom. The garden has beautiful drifts of colorful perennials. In addition to the plantings, the garden has a series of virtual gallery stops accessible through an app called Seeing the Invisible. According to Seeing the Invisible, this exhibition is the “first of its kind to be developed in collaboration between botanical gardens and art institutions.” The day ended with dinner in the Hunnewell Carriage House. The evening entertainment was a one man portrayal of the life of Frederick Law Olmsted. The actor definitely embraced his role.

We spent the last day of the conference at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plains and Roslindale. The Arboretum is the oldest public arboretum in North America. The conference attendees split into multiple groups to attend different sessions. I visited The Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden designed by Reed Hilderbrand. The garden is a peaceful spot and is frequented by many walkers and park visitors. The gardeners discussed pruning techniques and how they care for the garden. After the shrub garden, our group had a lively docent led tour of the trees and shrubs of the arboretum. Our guide grew up frequenting the park, and he had many stories and adventures to share. He made sure to show us the huge Dawn Redwood in the park that is the oldest of the species outside of China. We rested at the top of the Peters Hill (the highest spot in the Emerald Necklace see photo) and enjoyed the views of the Boston.

We ended the outing with a lecture of the history of the Arboretum followed by a detailed discussion of pond and wetland care in the park. We shared stories of the day while enjoying a delicious dinner under a tent in the park. There was a lot of buzz about Cynthia’s bulb, tuber, and rhizome presentation. Many of the women mentioned they were looking forward to coming to Columbus for the GCA Annual Meeting. Next year the Shirley Meniece Conference will be in Hawaii, and we will all be able to enjoy the content online.