Saturdays in the Park: Win a Monstera Plant!

*Updated* The winner of the Monstera plant is Leslie Larocca! Congratulations!

Monstera Deliciosa plant in pot.
Photo by Mike Marquez on Unsplash

If you’ve got a green thumb and you’re really into plants, you might be familiar with Monstera Mondays on Instagram. Plant parents with Monstera deliciosa plants celebrate the beauty of these plants by taking pictures and sharing them with the #monsteramonday hashtag.

A Monstera in its full glory is a joy to behold. Many of us would like one of these plants, but they are not easy to find. Your average store doesn’t stock them, so it takes some effort to find one to bring home.

If you live in the Boston or South Shore area near Quincy, you might be about to get lucky. This coming Saturday, August 3rd, I will be holding a free (in person) raffle for you to win your very own Monstera plant!

Since the first plant swap that I held a few weeks ago with the Wollaston Hill Neighborhood Association was so fun and well received, I decided to have another one. This will be the last of the Saturdays in the Park events for the summer, so I decided to take things up a notch.

I contacted Fruit Center Marketplace, a specialty grocery store with locations in Milton and Hingham, that I wrote about five years ago, and asked if they would be willing to donate a plant for a giveaway.

Since the Milton location is practically around the corner from the Wollaston section of Quincy, I’ve visited several times to buy items for myself and others.

Fruit Center Marketplace has an eclectic mix of gourmet foods and treatsice cream, wine, craft beers, flowers, plants, gift baskets and more. During the summer, so many of us are visiting friends and family at home for gatherings, and would like to bring something special as a thank you for our hosts. You can definitely find something here!

Being much more than your typical grocery story, Fruit Center Marketplace is planning to start stocking Monstera plants on a regular basis in the near future! No further need to wander around aimlessly looking for them!

Since they are generous and have access to Monstera plants, they are donating a Monstera plant for the raffle. Yay!

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Plant Swap

The plant swap is being held from 12pm – 2pm on Beale Street in Wollaston at Safford Park with the Wollaston Hill Neighborhood Association.

If you want to participate in the plant swap, bring your potted plants, non-potted but rooted plants, and cuttings. Please label what you bring to help others identify the plants. Indoor plants and outdoor plants are all welcome!

At the last plant swap, people dropped off more plants than they took. So you may be able to take many plants home, because I cannot bring them all home with me!

Raffle

If you’d like a chance at winning a Monstera plant for free, stop by the plant swap table this Saturday, August 3rd to enter.

You don’t have to participate in the plant swap to enter.

It’s free to enter.

Only one entry per person.

Write your name, the city or town where you live, and phone number on a piece of paper and put it in the jar.

At around 1:45 pm, one name will be drawn at random and chosen as the winner. The name will be announced at that time.

In order to win, you either must be on the premises to bring the plant home or live in Quincy. If you leave before 1:45pm and live in Quincy, I will bring it to your home after contacting you by phone and making arrangements. Or you can come back for it before 2pm. I will not be able to bring the plant to anyone living outside of Quincy, so if you leave and your name is called, another name will be drawn.

None of my family or friends are eligible to enter. And obviously not me. Sorry! It wouldn’t be fair or look good if we won.

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Hope to see many of you on Saturday!

Free Yoga Boston: Summer 2019

Outdoor free yoga classes are all over Boston this summer.Here is the 7th Annual listing of free yoga classes for the summer! There are close to more than 40 classes, so there should be something for just about everyone.

Take a look at the Introduction to the 2017 list, for general information and suggestions for taking free yoga classes.

Click the links for details to confirm dates, to see if you need to register, for weather cancellations, etc.

Many branches of the Boston Public Library have free yoga classes on different days. Take a look at the website for details. Many classes, especially without dates, are ongoing.

As always, this list is a work in progress that will have changes and updates. Because I’m trying to get this post up sooner rather than later, it might change a bit more than usual.

Please let me know if you have any questions, corrections and/or tips! Enjoy!

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MONDAY

Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series: June  3 – September 28 (No class September 2)
(Yoga, Mother’s Rest at 4 Corners, Dorchester)
6:30pm

Hands to Heart Center/Yoga For The People
(BPL Charlestown Branch, 179 Main Street)
1:30pm – 2:30pm

FREE/By-Donation Yoga in the Park: July 8 – August 26
(Boarding House Park, 40 French Street, Lowell)
6pm – 7pm

Seaport Sweat: May 28 – September 28
(Vinyasa Yoga, Seaport Common, 85 Northern Avenue, Boston)
6:30pm – 7:30pm

TUESDAY

P.O. Fitness: June 25 – August 31
(Chill Flow Yoga, Post Office Square, Downtown Boston)
7:30am – 8:30am

Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series: June  3 – September 28
(Chair Yoga, Symphony Park, Fenway)
10am

Seaport Sweat: May 28 – September 28
(Vinyasa Yoga, Seaport Common, 85 Northern Avenue, Boston)
5:30pm – 6:30pm

Yoga with Laura: July 2 – September 10
(The Anchor of Hull, 7 Hadassah Way, Hull)
6pm – 7pm

Hands to Heart Center/Yoga For The People
(Union Capital Boston, aka UCB Building, 1544 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury)
6pm – 7pm

Yoga Classes at Boston Medical Center
(Moakley Building, 830 Harrison Avenue, Boston)
6pm – 7:15pm

Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series: June  3 – September 28
(Yoga, Medal of Honor Park, M Street, South Boston)
6pm

Patagonia Yoga Tuesdays: (Free class through October 31, 2019)
(346 Newbury Street, Boston)
7:30pm – 8:30pm

WEDNESDAY

P.O. Fitness: June 25 – August 31
(Yoga For Athletes, Post Office Square, Downtown Boston)
7:30am – 8:30am

Donation Based Outdoor Summer Yoga: July 10 – August 7
(Slocum’s River Reserve, 283 Horseneck Road, Dartmouth)
8:30am – 9:30am

Summer Yoga: (July 24, August 7, August 21)
(Fuller Room, 7 Temple Street, YWCA Cambridge)
12pm

Greenway Fitness: July 10th – August 28
(Lunchtime Vinyasa, Oliver + Atlantic Streets, Downtown Boston)
12:15pm – 1:15pm

P.O. Fitness: June 25 – August 31
(Stretch & Strengthen Yoga , Post Office Square, Downtown Boston)
5:30pm – 6:30pm

YogaHub Yoga & Meditation
(1 Avenue de Lafayette, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Downtown Boston)
5:45pm – 6:45pm

Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series: June  3 – September 28
(Yoga, Brighton Common, Brighton)
6pm

Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series: June  3 – September 28
(Yoga, Adams Park, Roslindale)
6:30pm

HarborFit: Old Ironsides Yoga: July 3 – August 28
(Charlestown Navy Yard Visitor Center, Boston)
6:30pm – 7:45pm

THURSDAY

Greenway Fitness: May 26 – September 23 (No class July 4th)
(Yoga-Lates, Hanover + Cross Streets, North End Park, Boston)
10:30am – 11:30am

 Yoga Classes at Boston Medical Center
(Moakley Building, 830 Harrison Avenue, Boston)
4:30pm – 6pm

P.O. Fitness: June 25 – August 31 (No class July 4)
(Vinyasa Yoga , Post Office Square, Downtown Boston)
5:30pm – 6:30pm

Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series: June  3 – September 28 (No class July 4)
(Summer Yoga, Boston Common near Frog Pond Carousel)
6pm

Sunset Yoga: July 18 – September 5
(Fiedler Field – Charles River Esplanade, Boston)
6pm

Hands to Heart Center/Yoga For The People
(BPL Mattapan Branch, 1350 Blue Hill Avenue)
6:30pm – 7:30pm

 FRIDAY

P.O. Fitness: June 25 – August 31 (No class July 5)
(Restorative Yoga , Post Office Square, Downtown Boston)
7:30am – 8:30am

SeaportSweat: May 28 – September 28
(Hip-Hop Yoga, Seaport Common, 85 Northern Avenue, Boston)
12pm – 1pm

SATURDAY

Borealis Community Yoga: Starting July 13
(Wright’s Pond, Medford)
8am – 9am

Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series: June  3 – September 28
(Yoga, School Master Hill, Franklin Park, Dorchester)
9am – 10:15am

Yoga in The Park: May 4 – September 28
(Assembly Row, Sylvester Baxter Riverfront Park, Somerville)
9am – 10am

Free Yoga Medford: June 1 – August 24 (No class July 6)
(Condon Shell Park, Medford)
9:30am – 10:30am

HarborFit: Island Yoga on Spectacle Island: July 6 – August 31
(Take 9am ferry from Long Wharf to Spectacle Island, Boston)
9:45am – 11am

Saturday Seasonal Yoga
(The Liberty Hotel, Charles Street, Beacon Hill, Boston)
10am

HarborFit: Castle Island Yoga: July 6 – August 31
(Near the information sign at Fort Independence, Castle Island, Boston)
10:15am -11:15am

Hands to Heart Center/Yoga For The People
(Level Ground, 527 Columbia Road, Uphams Corner, Dorchester)
11am – 12pm

Hands to Heart Center/Yoga For The People: July 13 and every other Saturday after.
(Family Yoga, BPL Grove Hall Branch, 41 Geneva Avenue, Dorchester)
1pm – 2pm

SUNDAY

Free Outdoor Yoga: July 14 – August 25
(Winthrop Square/Minot Rose Garden, Brookline)
8am – 9am

Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series: June  3 – September 28
(Yoga, Winthrop Square, Charlestown)
9am

Free Yoga Arlington: June 2 – August 25
(June: Magnolia Park, July: McClennan Park, August: Spy Pond Park in Arlington)
9:30am – 10:30am

Yoga with lululemon: June 2 – September 29
(The Street, Chestnut Hill, 33 Boylston Street, Newton)
9:30am – 10:30am

Yoga at the Pru
(lululemon, 776 Boylston Street, Space 6B, Boston)
10am – 10:50am

Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series: June  3 – September 28
(Yoga, Jamaica Pond, Jamaica Plain)
2pm

Yoga For Runners Community Class
(Marathon Sports, Norwell)
6:15pm – 7:15pm

A Collection Of Moments: June

Summer moments showing gighted balloons in an outdoor park

A Collection Of Moments, is my attempt to actively notice the changes and beauty within each month. Because what is life, but a series of moments strung together like twinkling lights on a string?

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JUNE is …

School’s out!

Graduation.

Parties.

Weddings.

Family and friends.

Gatherings.

Warm nights.

Thunderstorms and fog.

Free outdoor yoga.

Eating outdoors and playing.

Music in the park.

Reminiscing about summer songs of the past.

Summer summer summertime.

Free Yoga Boston: On The Greenway

Happy Summer! Today is the first full day of summer and I am so here for it! Just in time for me to tell you about my second outdoor free yoga class. The class was to enjoy the light of the full moon.

It was this past Monday, the night of the full strawberry moon that Moonlight Yoga On The Greenway took place. There were maybe 50 or 60 people, so it was a nice sized crowd. But we all still had enough space to stretch out.

The class is part of an outdoor summer series collaboration between Peace in Boston, Black & Blonde (Marlene Boyette and Erin Kay Anderson), The Rose Fitzgerald Greenway, Athleta, with Meghan “Meg” Gaucher.

If you didn’t make it to this class, you have at least a couple of more chances this summer, July 16th and September 14th.

It was more than convenient for me to attend, so I had absolutely no excuse not to go. And it’s easy to talk myself out of going places. It was right after work and outside of South Station, where I would be going anyway to get the train home. Outside of the horror show that is the Red Line,which is another story, I had a very zen evening.

The class was more slow and sitting stretches than standing poses, but that was perfect after a day of work and calmed me down for my commute. I definitely recommend this class if you get a chance to go.

The only downside was that the sky was cloudy, so we couldn’t actually see the full moon, though I think most of us were looking for it. Hopefully the next class will be on a clear night, so you can look up and see that big beautiful bright full moon!

Free Yoga Boston: The Street Chestnut Hill

Free yoga class at The Street Chestnut Hill.

This morning I went to my first free outdoor yoga class of the season. Yay!

It was a 9:30am class at The Street Chestnut Hill with lululemon. The classes are almost every Sunday through the end of September.

There is an Eventbrite page to sign up in advance, but I arrived a bit late and just joined in with the class. There was a lot of room to spread out my mat and move around. I’m not sure that any tickets were checked at the beginning of the class.

Since the mall wasn’t opened yet, there was plenty of parking right near where the class was being held. The weather was perfect and I enjoyed the class.

It was a quick drive to Chestnut Hill from Quincy, taking Route 128 to Route 9, because it was a Sunday morning. There was a bit of traffic on my way home, but not too much. I’ll definitely go to this class again. It’s a great way to start off Sunday and I like trying out different classes.

The Street and YogaWorks will host what looks to be once a month free yoga classes in the evenings, called Yoga Under The Stars. The next one is Wednesday, July 17th, so you should probably sign up soon if you want to go!