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The Arnold Arboretum's biggest day of the year is this weekend: Lilac Sunday
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It's Friday! If you're scrambling for a Mother's Day gift, you can still order flowers that do double duty by supporting WBUR. Just place your order by noon on Saturday and you can get flowers delivered on Sunday nearly anywhere in New England. (We won't tell mom how easy it was.)
Now, speaking of Mother's Day:
A Lilac Sunday for the books: This Sunday is Lilac Sunday at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. It's a longtime Mother's Day tradition — and typically the busiest day of the year — for the Harvard-managed botanical garden. And unlike recent Lilac Sundays, those fragrant flowers are expected to be in "peak bloom" this year, thanks to our particularly wintery winter. "The last few years they started earlier, so by the time Lilac Sunday came around they were a little bit past their peak," Sarah Nechamen, the manager of adult programming and events at the Arboretum, told WBUR's Dan Guzman. "Because the winter was so cold and so snowy, it has pushed things a little bit later, which is great timing for us." (Quick aside: Did you know that Harvard leases the Arboretum from the city of Boston for $1 a year? It's a 1,000-year lease, through the year 2883. Nice deal in this rental market.)
- What to expect: Lots of purple (and some white and pink)! The Arboretum has 173 different kinds of lilacs. Between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, staff will be offering guided tours of the collection. You can also do your own self-guided tour whenever. Click here to see the full map of activities and events.
- FYI: Lilac Sunday is also the only day of the year that picnicking is allowed in the Arboretum. "That's why a lot of people come on this day in particular," Nechamen said, "We don't do it the rest of the year just because we don't have enough staff to manage additional trash and such."
- How it's changing: Lilac Sunday was originally held on the last weekend of May when it first started back in 1908. But it has gradually moved up to the second Sunday of the month in response to climate change. "It's getting warmer earlier and things are flowering earlier," Nechamen said.
- How to get there: Traffic and parking around the Arboretum on Lilac Sunday is pretty tough, so Arboretum staff strongly suggest locals walk, bike or take the T. The Forest Hills station is directly across the street.
- ICYMI: Lilacs are hardly the only thing to see if you're headed to the Arboretum. Check out my WBUR colleague Hanna Ali's recent feature on their collection of bonsai trees, one of which is older than the country.
A quick heads up if you're headed to Logan Airport or East Boston this weekend: Blue Line service between Bowdoin and Airport station will be suspended both Saturday and Sunday due to maintenance work.
- Plan B: Shuttle buses will only make stops at Airport, Maverick and Haymarket stations for Orange and Green Line connections. That means no shuttle stops at Aquarium, State, Government Center or Bowdoin. The shuttles will also be a lot slower than usual Blue Line service; T officials say to budget at least 40 extra minutes if you're taking the Blue Line into downtown Boston.
- The silver linings: The East Boston ferry will be fare-free and more frequent all weekend — not bad if you just need a trip across the harbor. Blue Line service north of Airport station will be free all weekend, too.
PSA for parents: Massachusetts rolled out a new online portal yesterday aimed at making it easier for families to apply and track their application for money to help pay for childcare. The state program is open to households making up to 85% of the state's median income.
P.S.— What's reportedly hampering the water quality of the three rivers that flow into Boston Harbor? Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of the stories we covered this week.
