The Botanic Garden of Smith College, Events



		2010

Susan Hiller: What Every Gardener Knows
Audio installation in the Palm House in Lyman Conservatory
Presented in collaboration with the Smith College Museum of Art
January 29 - March 31, 2010

This electronically-timed carillon plays music composed by internationally renowned artist Susan Hiller (Smith College class of 1961). It will be heard in the Lyman Conservatory Palm House, one of Hiller’s favorite parts of campus while she was a student. Originally commissioned for the exhibition Genius Locii in Stadtpark Lahr, Schwarzwald, Germany in 2003, the piece is based on Gregor Mendel’s theory of inherited traits in plants. Hiller’s musical version of Mendel’s code reiterates and celebrates the variety and richness of genetics and inheritance patterns that characterize all living things. Listen.

This installation is made possible, in part, by a gift from the Selma P. Seltzer, class of 1919, estate, and marks the occasion of the artist’s return to campus to deliver the keynote address for The Real Lives of Women Artists Symposium.

Wood Remnants Silent Auction
Friday February 12, 2010
(snow date February 19, call 413-585-2732 for information)

Here is an opportunity to take home a remnant piece of our Woods of the World installation.

A silent auction of remnant pieces of 150 of the 178 woods in the collection will be held at the Church Exhibition Gallery in the Lyman Plant House. Viewing will begin at 6:00 pm and biding will start at 7:00 pm, ending at 8:00 pm (sorry, but we can accept only cash or checks).

Sizes of the remnants vary. In general they were either ripped along the length of a board, in the range of 12–24" long by ½–2" wide, or they were end pieces, ranging from 1 to 6" long and 3 to 12" wide. The thickness of the boards ranges from ½ to 2". All pieces are best suited either for small woodworking projects or for a collection. You can download a full list of the species with exact sizes of the pieces for sale.

Spring Bulb Show
March 6 - March 21, 2010
10:00 am - 4:00 pm daily, $2.00 donation
Members only hours 9:00 - 10:00 am (please bring your membership card)

Special
Evening Hours:
Fridays
March 12 and 19
6:00 – 8:00 pm

Opening Lecture
Parks, Plants and People, presented by Lynden Miller
Friday March 5, 7:30 pm, Campus Center Carroll Room
Followed by a reception and booksigning at the Lyman Conservatory
with the Bulb Show illuminated

Lynden Miller (Smith Class of 1960) is an outstanding Public Garden Designer of international renown. She is the Director of the Conservatory Garden in Central Park, which she rescued and rejuvenated in 1982. Trained as a painter, Miller brings the artist’s sensibility to her work. She received a Master’s in Studio Art at the University of Maryland and a BA in the History of Art at Smith College, and studied Horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden. For twenty-five years, Lynden Miller has focused on the improvement of parks and gardens throughout New York City. Believing that beautiful and well maintained public open green space can change city life, she has taken a new approach to public horticulture, creating rich plantings that provide interest year-round.

After 9/11, Lynden Miller secured a gift of a million daffodils, to serve as a living memorial to those who died. In the spring of 2002 they bloomed to raise the spirits of New Yorkers and beautify parks everywhere. The Daffodil Project continues with over 3 million daffodils planted.

Smith honored Lynden Miller with its distinguished Alumnae Medal in 1999, describing her as "one who uses the beauty and enchantment of public gardens to instill new pride in communities and change the personal and public experience of urban life."

In 2009, her book Parks, Plants, and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape, was published to public acclaim.

Exhibition: The Inner Beauty of Flowers
A collaboration between the Botanic Garden of Smith College, retired radiologist Merrill C. Raikes MD, and University of Massachusetts physics professor Robert B. Hallock
Church Exhibition Gallery, Lyman Plant House
March 6 - September 30, 2010

Reception: Monday March 8, 7:00 - 9:30 pm

Join us for an exploration of light, vision, x-rays, and flowers. Extending the range of our perception, x-rays open up a new world of the interior structure of objects. Merril Raikes' superb floral radiography reveals an unseen world of delicacy and beauty.

Teacher Workshop:
Connecting the Garden and the Museum
March 26, 9:00am-3:00pm

Join education staff from Smith College's Botanic Garden and Museum of Art in an exploration of the curricular ties between these two popular K-12 field trip sites. This day-long workshop will include visits to both sites, teacher resource handouts, and opportunities to brainstorm lesson plan ideas. A $30 fee (Museum or Garden members, $25) includes morning coffee and lunch. Registration is limited, and will be handled by the Museum.
Contact museduc@smith.edu or (413) 585-2781 by Friday, March 19, to register.

After the Show Bulb Sale

Friends Only:
Saturday, March 27, 9:00 am to Noon
(please bring your membership card)

General Public:
Saturday, March 27, Noon to 3:00 pm &
Sunday, March 28, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Dates of Future Bulb and Chrysanthemum Shows