Daily Archives: December 21, 2010


Marian Ullman Passes Away at 99

Charter Garden Club of the Back Bay member Marian Ullman passed away Sunday, December 20, five months shy of her 100th birthday.  Marian’s daughter Hollie Young is planning a late January memorial service in honor of her mother, a longtime resident of Marlborough Street, and as soon as details are announced we will publish the relevant information.  Marian, a neighborhood activist and Board Member of The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay for many years, started the immensely popular Friends and Neighbors program for NABB. For the past decade Marian resided at Edgewood Retirement Community in North Andover, Massachusetts. Her late husband,  American writer and mountaineer James Ramsey Ullman, died in 1971.


Wreath of the Day – Romance

There is something about the wreath below, with its gauzy cream bow, pale green and lavender hydrangea blossoms, deep burgundy roses, and spruce cones,  that says love, courtship and romance.  This indoor wreath, for a unit at The Ritz-Carlton, will look pretty well past the  holiday season, as long as it’s not placed in an overly hot and dry spot.


Friday, January 21, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm – Walls and Steps, Garden Structures and Decks

The Arnold Arboretum, in conjunction with the Landscape Institute of the Boston Architectural College, will hold a morning and an afternoon class on Friday, January 21, with Landscape Architect Scott Scarfone, principal and founder of Oasis Design Group, a landscape and architectural design firm in Baltimore, Maryland.  He is the author of Professional Planting Design – An Architectural and Horticultural Approach for Creating Mixed Bed Plantings, published by John Wiley & Sons.

In the first session, held from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, you will learn about Walls and Steps – Design and Construction. In this class you will consider the various design opportunities that walls and steps provide and the proper construction techniques that ensure that the resulting structures are safe, secure, and built to withstand the effects of time. Structural issues and consideration for safety as it relates to wall foundations, earth retention, risers, treads, and landings will be discussed. The fee for this session is $45.

In the second session, Garden Structures and Decks – Design and Construction, beginning at 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm, more construction issues will be addressed.  Building principles for trellises, pergolas, arbors, small buildings, and decks are fundamentally similar. You will learn about basic and detailed construction techniques for footings, post and beam construction, treillage and roofs, as well as railings as applied to decks and garden pavilions. Scott will show a variety of examples and lead discussion of design and construction techniques. The fee for this session is also $45.  You may sign up for either or both sessions.  The classes will be held at Boston Architectural College, and you may sign up on line at www.arboretum.harvard.edu, or by calling 617-384-5277.