Daily Archives: December 20, 2011


Wreath of the Day 2011 – The Assignment Desk

The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s wreath project heartbeat is the Assignment Desk, where decorators receive instructions enabling them to create the beautiful wreaths we sell.  The ladies at the desk must control a number of matters – they decide which wreaths are done in what order, give out the precious assignment tags and record who is doing each wreath, coordinate the bow selection if a client has chosen a specific ribbon, take in new orders, collect late payments, and oversee quality control.  There is rarely a lull.  Periodically they update the room on the number of wreaths completed, and most importantly, the number of wreaths still to be done.  When delivery deadlines approach, they make sure the wreaths are upstairs for loading or pick up. Pictured below is member Judith Fleming holding a special order (extra large) wreath destined for the lobby at 180 Beacon Street while the desk determines if the wreath is ready for its close-up.


Monday, February 6, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Global Forests of Greenhouse Earth

Earth’s climate has passed from times characterized by huge ice caps to times when there was almost no ice at all and both Greenland and Antarctica were covered by forests. Kirk Johnson, Vice President of Research & Collections and Chief Curator, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, studies fossil leaves to refine geologic time, reconstruct ancient landscapes, track climate change, and document the evolution and extinction of species and ecosystems. For 30 years he has been chasing the 50–100 million year-old-forests of the last great global greenhouse period. Join him as he takes you on a journey to an entirely different Planet Earth—an environment that may help us to better understand changes occurring in our own time. This Arnold Arboretum lecture will take place Monday, February 6, from 7 – 8:30 in the Hunnewell Building, as part of the Director’s Lecture Series. The event is free but registration is required. Call 617-384-5277, or visit www.arboretum.harvard.edu to place your name on the list.  Painting below by Peter Trusler.