Boston Flora

Month: May 2014

  • Tuesday, May 27, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm – Circling the Squares: Open Space in the South End

    Situated among the Victorian row house architecture of the South End Landmark District lie some of Boston’s most interesting parks and open space.  From the neighborhood’s beginnings, a passion for the landscape within the South End was evident, as planners carefully considered proximity of open park space or the presence of a fenced-in “English” park found on some of the short residential blocks.  In true Boston fashion, few of these squares actually resemble their geometric form.  From the Charles Bulfinch-conceived Blackstone and Franklin Squares, to Union Park, Rutland, and Worcester Squares, and finally to some of the more recent, smaller open spaces nestled among brick row houses, this May 27th tour will explore the unity of landscape and architecture in this large historic district.  Tour will be led by Meghan Hanrahan Richard, Preservation Planner, South End Landmark District.  Meeting place will be confirmed at time of reservation.  Free and open to the public, pre-registration required.  Contact meghan.hanrahan@boston.gov before May 23. Past Garden Club of the Back Bay member Phebe Goodman’s excellent book on the squares of Boston is pictured below.

    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51M54WAC91L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

  • Thursday, May 22, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm – South by Southwest: A View from the Park

    Think every brick row house is the same?  Think again.  This May 22 walking tour from 5 – 6:30 will explore the similarities and differences between one of Boston’s largest landmark districts, the South End Landmark District, and one of its smallest, the Saint Botolph Architectural Conservation District, all from the vantage point of the Southwest Corridor Park and St. Botolph Street.  In addition to the high-stooped bow-fronted row house that typifies much of the area, there are abundant examples of other styles and types throughout.  These include flat-fronted Italianates that would be at home in Brooklyn, and Second Empires houses whose faceted bays seem to have wandered over from Beacon Street.  Fanciful Queen Anne and chaste Classical revival houses are to be found as well, enriching the mix.  The tour will be led by Meghan Hanrahan Richard, Preservation Planner, South End Landmark District and Saint Botolph Architectural Conservation District.  Meeting place confirmed at time of reservation.  Free and open to the public.  Contact meghan.hanrahan@boston.gov by May 19 to reserve a spot.

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/SErowHouses.JPG/245px-SErowHouses.JPG

  • Thursday, May 22, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm – Filling the Flat: Beacon Hill’s Western Expansion

    You may have heard that Bostonians of years past enthusiastically embarked on landmaking ventures, expanding the City’s coastlines to make way for development.  But do you know that Charles Street lies on land that was once beyond the shoreline?  The western expansion of Beacon Hill onto the tidal flats of the Charles River provided a foundation for residential and commercial expansion, and later for portions of the Esplanade and Storrow Drive.  the Flat of the Hill now contains an eclectic array of buildings, early examples of adaptive reuse, and a vibrant commercial district.  From tidal flat to historic district, the Flat of the Hill continues its evolution to the current day.  On Thusday, May 22, from 5 0 6:30, join City of Boston Preservation Planner Erin Doherty to investigate the history of this transformation.  Free and open to the public.  Meeting place confirmed at time of reservation.  Contact erin.doherty@boston.gov before May 19 to reserve a place (that’s tomorrow!) Image by www.bostonbyfoot.org.

    http://www.bostonbyfoot.org/sites/default/files/styles/tour_image/public/1024px-RiverSt_MtVernonSt_Boston_2010.jpg?itok=0qIqfeW0

  • Monday, May 19, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – A Landscape Critic in the Gilded Age

    Mariana Griswold van Rensselaer (1851 – 1934) was one of the premier figures in landscape writing and design at the turn of the twentieth century, at a moment when the amateur pursuit of gardening and the increasingly professionalized landscape design field were beginning to diverge.  Her close relationship with Frederick Law Olmsted influenced her ideas on landscape gardening, and her interest in botany and geology shaped the ideas upon which her philosophy and art criticism were based.  Author Judith Major presents the first in-depth study of the versatile critic and author, revealing Van Rensselaer’s vital role in this moment in the history of landscape architecture.  The talk will take place Monday, May 19, at 7 pm at the Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway.  Presented by The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and the Friends of Fairsted, the fee is $10 for members of the sponsoring organizations, $15 for nonmembers.  Registration required at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9780813933924_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG

  • Wednesday, May 21, 7:00 pm – Using Laser Technology as a Preservation Tool

    Michael Feldman, president of Feldman Land Surveyors, will give a presentation on his company’s use of three-dimensional laser scans of historic sites.  Feldman will share his company’s techniques while showing examples of recent work.  He will discuss how these renderings play a crucial role in modern renovations of historic sites.  The May 21st talk is sponsored by The Metropolitan Waterworks Museum and will begin at 7 pm at 2450 Beacon Street in Chestnut Hill.  $5 per person.  For more information contact Lauren Kaufmann at info@waterworksmuseum.org, or call 617-277-0065.

    http://lifeinnewton.com/files/2013/09/WaterWorks.jpg

  • Tuesday, May 27, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Intro to Japanese Flower Arranging

    In a wonderful informative fun evening the President of Ikenobo Boston, J. Padilla-Zamudio, will demonstrate several beautiful Japanese Flower Arrangements while explaining the skills and history of “Ikebana”. Lite Bites + Sake + Green Tea will be served. Cost: $20. You MUST RSVP and pay in advance to: GloriaHammac@Juno.com. The event will take place at the Wyndham Beacon Hill Hotel, 5 Blossom Street in Boston. The program will be repeated at a date to be determined in June, so contact Gloria to get on her mailing list.  Image from www.japanjourneys.co.uk.

  • Friday, May 30 – Sunday, June 1, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm – Perennial and Hosta Sale

    Hundreds of varieties of perennials, both new to the market and old-time favorites, are for sale and thousands of hostas are available in creams, golds, blues, and mixes, at the annual Perennial and Hosta Sale at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses, 185 Lyman Street in Waltham. Choose from large-specimen and small plants, along with many new and hard-to-find varieties at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses. Let our experts help you choose the right plants for your garden. The sale, sponsored by Historic New England, will take place Friday through Sunday, May 30 – June 1, from 9:30 – 4 each day. Free admission. For more information call 781-891-1985.  Image from www.eminencemeadows.com.

    http://www.eminencemeadows.com/hostas/hfantab.jpg

  • Sunday, May 18, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Historic Gems of the Back Bay Fens

    From once foul mud flats to a recreated salt marsh to today’s gardens and park land, the Fens has undergone many transformations in the last 130 years.  Join Emerald Necklace docents as they talk and walk the landscape on Sunday, May 18, uncovering the layers of history from Olmsted’s 19th-Century sanitary improvement and H.H. Richardson structures to the 20th-Century transformations that brought gardens, memorials, and ball fields to the Fens.  What do a 17th-Century Japanese Temple Bell, a historic bridge made of Roxbury puddingstone, the oldest continually operating World War II Victory Garden in the country, and a tree once thought to be extinct have in common?  They all reside in the Back Bay Fens.  Learn about these and other historic gems on a guided walking tour that is sure to bring out the history detective in you.  Meet your guide at 11 am at the Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway.  Free and open to the public.  Contact Jeanie Knox at jeanine@emeraldnecklace.org for more information, or call 617-522-2700. Image below is from 1892.

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ymx9e66vrGc/TNo8kH9j1mI/AAAAAAAANAg/75lIXzLQoZE/s1600/110026r.jpg

  • From the Archives – New England Spring Flower Show Award Winner

    In 1968, the New England Spring Flower Show exhibited for the first time at Suffolk Downs Race Track, and The Garden Club of the Back Bay was there, winning a blue ribbon for its attractive back yard showing a little foreign car in a lattice work enclosure.  President and founder Laura Dwight and Vice President Mrs. Paul Bishop gave a tea in for the members in May of that year to congratulate them on the award. We have found a copy of the Flower Show program for that year on eBay, hoping to gather more information, but we were not listed among the area Garden Clubs exhibiting – perhaps we were a last minute addition, or perhaps we have the year wrong. Club member Elisabeth Lay remembers helping the late Dr. John Twaddle, a radiologist at New England Baptist Hospital, and his wife, Garden Club of the Back Bay member Ann Twaddle, tote things over to the exhibit, and believes the small Fiat was on loan from a local automobile dealer, since the gasoline would have had to be drained.

    The Twaddles put the ideas together, and cut and assembled the lattice in the back of their home at 241 Marlborough Street.  As Elisabeth says: “It was an early idea for those living here as well as those in the suburbs of what could be done in a lovely way with plants, window boxes in a Boston alley space behind a building with still enough room for a car … I remember suburbanites really liking it. ” If anyone out there has a picture of the exhibit to share, or more information on how we came to exhibit, we would be most grateful. The image below, from www.theparisienne.fr, is not our car, but gives us an idea of what could have been shown. Email info@bostonflora.com. 

    http://www.theparisienne.fr//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/45439239_p.jpg

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  • Friday and Saturday, June 20 and 21, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Rockport’s Hidden Gardens

    The Rockport Garden Club will host its annual Hidden Gardens walking tour on June 20 and 21 from 10 – 4, rain or shine.  To purchase tickets at the early bird price of $20, visit http://www.eventbrite.com/e/rockports-hidden-gardens-a-walking-tour-tickets-10122469579 before May 31.  All proceeds will be used to fund civic projects.  For other ticket locations, visit www.rockportgardenclub.org.

    http://rockportgardenclub.org/images/Garen%20tour%20Poster%202014_500x398.jpg