Boston Flora

Month: December 2011

  • Wreath of the Day 2011 – Billing and Accounting

    Wreath of the Day 2011 – Billing and Accounting

    As December progresses, The Garden Club of the Back Bay wreath project wraps up with the final submission of expenses to our intrepid Treasurer, and a final mailing of bills to last minute wreath buyers who didn’t get their payments in with their orders.  We rarely have had any collection problems, but sometimes we do have to send out gentle reminders once or twice – December and January can be hectic, we know.  Once we reconcile the accounts, we’re on to our next projects – this year the Twilight Garden Party, which will raise funds for our 50 for 50 Magnolia planting celebrating our fifty year history with the planting of fifty magnolia trees throughout Back Bay.  We’ll be reporting on this in the coming months, but right now our focus remains tying up all loose ends to finish our 2011 wreath project with a healthy profit.   Every cent of net revenue goes right back into the community, so we like to know how much we have to spend.  Below is a pretty wreath with a burgundy bow that looks ready to go out for New Year’s Eve.

  • Saturday, January 28, 2:00 pm – Gardening Mixed Media – Growing Vegetables and Fruit in the Ornamental Landscape

    The Edwardian kitchen garden sequestered behind walls is long gone. Enthusiastic gardeners with limited space and sun exposure unabashedly mix food production within the most ornamental of landscapes, even the front yard. Landscape designer and horticulturist Warren Leach will show how the ‘vegetable patch’ can be transformed, structured within raised beds, provide abundant production, and be the focal point of the landscape, in this free (with admission) Tower Hill Botanic Garden session on Saturday, January 28, beginning at 2 pm at Tower Hill. Warren, as many of you know, is the co-owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth. For more information, visit www.towerhillbg.org.  Photo from www.veggiegardeningtips.com.

  • Wreath of the Day 2011 – Clean Up

    Wreath of the Day 2011 – Clean Up

    No discussion of The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s wreath project would be complete without discussing the clean up.  We need to leave The First Lutheran Church of Boston space neat and tidy, and after four days of decorating with live greens, paint and wire, you can imagine what a task that can be.  All materials which are to be saved are sorted and boxed back into stackable plastic containers destined for our storage facility.  Tables and easels are broken down, leftover greens are bagged for recycling, garbage is collected by a neighborhood maintenance company, and our members sweep and wash.  The painting tent is broken down, and a human “bucket brigade” sends our materials up the kitchen steps and into the backs of members’ cars.  This isn’t the most enjoyable part of the process, although some members find satisfaction seeing everything tidied up, but it is critical.  Sweeping and trash removal do take place constantly throughout the week, but no matter how much is done, Thursday afternoon and evening is arduous.  The next day finds members traveling to the storage facility, to basements, to barns, and to numerous closets, tucking away materials until next season.  The design below was inspired by the edgy sheer black and gold bow, which the decorator enhanced with silver and gold glittery balls, painted white pine, magnolia leaves, pine cones, and lotus pods embellished with more glittery elements – a powerhouse.

     

  • Saturday, April 14 – Tuesday, April 24 – Mallorca & Menorca: Gardens, Art, and Cuisine

    A trip to the Mediterranean is planned by the Pacific Horticulture Society and the Northwest Horticultural Society April 14 – 24, led by Sofia Barroso, and escorted by Katherine Greenberg. Join them for a spring tour of Mallorca, where you have invitations to visit spectacular private gardens and art collections.
    The tour will take you from the lovely patios of Palma to elegant country estates and charming seaside villages. You will also explore the island of Menorca, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with fascinating archaeological sites and distinctive architecture. Along the way, experience the generous hospitality, regional cuisine, and scenic beauty of the Balearic Islands.

    Tour escort Katherine Greenberg is a garden designer with a special interest in Mediterranean gardens. She is a past president of Pacific Horticulture Society and the Mediterranean Garden Society (MGS). Katherine studied at the University of Madrid, and she has led a number of tours to Spain with a focus on gardens, culture, and cuisine. During her term as president of the MGS, she started a branch of the Society in Mallorca.  This tour is planned for a small group. Early reservations are encouraged.  Image of a garden in Palma shown below is from the excellent website www.onbotanicalphotography.blogspot.com. The complete trip itinerary is available online: http://www.sterlingtoursltd.com/Mallorca2012.html.

  • Wreath of the Day 2011 – Far Flung Volunteers

    Wreath of the Day 2011 – Far Flung Volunteers

    Wreath week is a highlight of the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s program year, for many of our members.  The companionship, added to the warm and welcoming atmosphere and the ability to create works of art, has brought back former and far-flung members each season.  Members who have moved away plan around their schedules to be able to attend.  One member, now living in Manhattan, comes up to work the front desk.  Another, from Martha’s Vineyard, booked into The College Club for the week in order to decorate.  A member from Cape Cod, unable to be here due to conflicting concert schedules with her singing group, drove up Sunday with materials from her garden.  We’ve already mentioned our Las Vegas member who mails baked goods for the volunteers.  We’ve had, in prior years, friends from Texas and California stay to help. We emphasize that volunteers need not be members of the Club – they just need to be willing workers with a good attitude and a smile.  Below is a picture of a matched pair with gold bows and gold and copper accents made for a member’s Commonwealth Avenue windows.

  • Saturday, December 31 – First Night on the Common

    The Friends of the Public Garden have announced the top reasons to spend New Year’s Eve on the Boston Common:

    1. The Boston Common is the nation’s oldest public park! It’s a wonderful, historic place to welcome the New Year.

    2. “The Looking Glass”: Don Chapelle will be carving an ice sculpture so large that you will actually be able to walk through it (weather permitting)! This fantastic piece will be on display on the Common from 6 p.m. until 6:45

    3. Master ice carver Steve Ross pays tribute to the island of Puerto Rico with his piece that will be on display near the Frog Pond from 6 p.m. until 6:45

    4. The TADpole play ground will be home to several First Night Frogs, also in ice! Take a chance to walk around and see each of these incredible sculptures.

    5. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. Viva Viva will thrill audiences with a sound that is equal parts infectious-pop and dark-stomping-blues combined with their own blend of hope, disappointment, grit and wit.

    6. Next up, Vanzetti will perform with their unique style of jazz, grunge and psychedelia- culminating in a post apocalyptic folk sound.

    7. Count down to midnight with Amos Blood! Playing from 10:45 right up until midnight for your enjoyment.

    8. Connect with neighbors and friends as you countdown to midnight in this great public space! Boston has a really wonderful community! See it first hand!

    9. Enjoy an incredible view of the fireworks that will signify the beginning of a new year!  Photo below from www.bostonist.com.

     

  • Wreath of the Day 2011 – Poinsettias

    Wreath of the Day 2011 – Poinsettias

    In addition to wreaths, The Garden Club of the Back Bay sells incredibly full poinsettia plants in three colors, red, white, and pink.  The pink color has varied from year to year, since so many new varieties are introduced to the trade each season, but we’ve tried, for the past few years, to obtain a pastel, rather than a hot, pink hue.  The plants have four major stems and are wrapped in paper for ease of transport.  Once unwrapped at home, buyers are delighted by the size and fullness of the display.  Delivering the plants when the weather is very cold is always a challenge, since these tropicals are quite sensitive to cold.  We were fortunate to experience such mild weather this December, but naturally that isn’t always the case, so we’ve become adept at dashing the plants into heated cars so they will arrive happy and healthy.  Speaking of pink, the lovely wreath below was created by one of our decorators to celebrate the birth of her first grandchild Abigail, who was born on Day Two of wreath week.

  • A New Year’s Resolution for Friends of Copley Square

    Garden Club of the Back Bay representative to The Friends of Copley Square, Bev Christians, has reminded us to remind all our readers of the tree situation at Copley Square.  She and fellow Club member and representative Rita Christensen have been working hard with the Friends group to find a solution to the dead and dying trees.  Bev writes:

    A number of Garden Club members who are concerned about the diseased trees in Copley Square have asked about joining the Friends of Copley Square at this time of year when charitable contributions are made.  Please note that the Friends have set up a designated account to receive monies for tree care and replacement.  When you join, mark the check memo “Tree Fund.” Thus far, Garden Club memberships in FOCS have paid for fertilizer and biotic stress treatment to fortify blighted trees.Your memberships truly count, especially right now.  Mail your check for $50 for individual membership or $500 Singleton Society (special events) to Friends of Copley Square,  P.O Box 170124, Boston, MA 02117-0084.  

    Visit www.friendsofcopleysquare.org to join or donate on line with PayPal, if you prefer.  Copley Square has, in the past, been a site for First Night ice sculptures, and in the dead of winter, the tree damage goes unnoticed.  When spring arrives, however, the extent of the problem will be readily apparent.  Please give generously.

  • Wolfgang Oehme: May 18, 1930 – December 15, 2011

  • Wreath of the Day 2011 – Donations

    Wreath of the Day 2011 – Donations

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay wishes to thank the many wreath buyers who, in addition to their orders, made a general donation to the Club.  This money is especially valuable to us because it represents a vote of confidence in all our projects.  We are a not for profit Massachusetts corporation and a 501c(3) corporation registered with the Internal Revenue Service, so contributions are tax deductible.  The price of a wreath, however, is not deductible, since one receives something of value in exchange for payment.  All donors receive a written thank you and acknowledgement of their gifts.  The wreath below, with a gold bow and red apples, symbolizes our buyers’ generosity of spirit.