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.
