Daily Archives: March 17, 2015

Wednesday, April 1, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Green Roofs and Living Walls

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Living roofs and walls are popping up everywhere, in social media, magazines, and in our cities. What are they? How do they work? Can you have one? Landscape designer Trevor Smith will explain it all: the pros and cons of the different systems on the market, his successes and failures, and the steps you must follow to take your garden to new heights. The lecture takes place at Garden in the Woods, Hemenway Road in Framingham, on Wednesday, April 1, from 6:30 – 7:30 and is co-sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society and the Ecological Landscape Alliance. $20 for members of sponsoring organizations, $25 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/green-roofs-and-living-walls.  Image from www.houzz.com.

Thursday, May 7 – Saturday, May 16 – Italy: Gardens, Roses, Cooking, and Culture

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Have you ever dreamed of visiting Italy in the Spring? This will be a wonderful garden tour – including Ninfa, Bomarzo and the Villa d’Este. Tour organizers Marco Giusti and Claudio Bernardoni are reliable and engaging. They are both trained Italian chefs, and they will be cooking several dinners in your villa as well! This will be a small group of 8 to 10 gardeners and there are only a few places left. Barbara DeRiso, MD, and member of Schenley Farms Garden Club in Pittsburgh is happy to answer any questions you may have, and to help you arrange to join this tour. Feel free to contact her at barbaraderiso@gmail.com.

Itinerary:

Thurs. May 7th
Morning transfer from Rome Fiumicino International Airport to our hotel in Tivoli. Visit the town of Tivoli and see the fabulous fountains of the Villa d’Este gardens. Dinner in a typical trattoria in Tivoli.

Fri. May 8th
Early morning departure for a guided tour of Ninfa, a supremely romantic garden where flowers scramble over the ruins of a medieval town set on the banks of a crystalline river. Monty Don, the famous garden expert has called Ninfa “the most beautiful garden in the world”. Return to Tivoli for lunch. Visit the town of Tivoli and see the fabulous fountains of the Villa d’Este gardens, just about the most sumptuous you’ll see anywhere. Dinner in a restaurant.

Sat. May 9th
Transfer to our villa in the Tuscan countryside. On the way, we’ll visit Bomarzo, a garden like no other, immersed within a forest and filled with fantastic sculptures, and Villa Lante, one of Italy’s most beautiful Renaissance gardens. Arrival at the villa – a centuries-old stone villa with a pool, newly restructured and surrounded by a breathtaking landscape – in time for dinner.

Sun May 10th
First hands-on cooking lesson making traditional local dishes
and creating a full-course Italian meal for lunch. Free time in the afternoon to lounge by the pool or to go for a walk in the local countryside. Dinner at the villa.

Mon May 11th
Visit the wine cellars of the Villa Sant’Anna vineyards, makers of Nobile di Montepulciano, one of the world’s finest wines. Taste some of their best bottles as you snack on cold cuts and cheese.Walking tour of the medieval and Renaissance hill town of Montepulciano with a lovely main square and its elegant 16th century church, built in golden travertine, finely situated at the end of a long avenue of cypresses.

Tues May 12th
Visit the Roseto Botanico ‘Carla Fineschi’, one of the world’s largest private collection of roses (the biggest in Europe) with a stopover in Arezzo. Walking tour of Arezzo, a stunning city, boasting many fine buildings, grand squares and an ancient annual Palio of its own. Dinner at the villa.

Wed May 13th
Guided walk through Pienza, an idyllic Tuscan town that began life as a model Renaissance city. Lunch in the villa. In the afternoon: a guided visit of the beautiful gardens of La Foce, the masterpiece of the great British garden designer and architect, Cecil Pinsent. Dinner at the villa.

Thurs May 14th
Walking tour of Siena, Italy’s loveliest medieval city, full of spectacular art treasures, the splendid Romanesque-Gothic cathedral and the magnificent, shell-shaped main square, where every year the Palio horse race takes place – an event which dates back to the 6th century. Lunch in a trattoria and dinner at the villa.

Fri May 15th
Morning: visit the beautiful abbey of Sant’Antimo, immersed in an idyllic Tuscan countryside where you might chance upon monks chanting in the church. Have a stroll in the quaint medieval town of Montalcino. Lunch at the villa. In the afternoon visit Bagno Vignoni, a medieval village where the central square is a pool of steamy water; and visit San Quirico D’Orcia, yet another village of old-world charm with an elegant 16th century garden. Dinner at the villa.

Sat May 16th
After breakfast, departure for Rome Fiumicino International Airport.

Cost: € 2500,00
(€ 150 ($168) discount if you share a room)

All rooms in villa are en-suite with double or twin beds. The villa also has wi-fi.
All payments must be made by bank transfer. Please contact alfrescoitaly@gmail.

Wednesday, April 22, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm – Metro District Annual Meeting and Luncheon

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The Metro District of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc. will hold its Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Wednesday, April 22, from 10:30 – 1:00 at the Wellesley College Club, 727 Washington Street (Route 16 West), Wellesley.  The featured speaker is Noah Wilson-Rich, Ph.D, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of The Best Bees Company, LLC.  Parking is available adjacent to the Club, just inside the College’s rear entrance off Route 16.  Additional parking is available in the lot across Route 16, and elevators are available to the 2nd floor dining room.

Noah Wilson-Rich founded Best Bees Company in his Boston apartment while getting his Ph.D. at Tufts University. Best Bees supplies gardeners and any other interested parties in the Boston area with beehives, as well as the resources, materials and appropriate consultation for their upkeep. This service is a nontraditional means of raising money for research to improve honey bee health. Profits from installing and managing these honey beehives goes to fund Wilson-Rich’s research into bee diseases.

Dr. Rich will speak at 10:30, followed by lunch at noon.  The menu is butternut squash bisque, chicken Caesar salad, sorbet with fresh fruit, coffee and tea.  $38 per person.  Reservations are due by Wednesday, April 1.  Please make check payable to Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts (GCFM) and mail to Jean McCarthy, 24 Tubwreck Drive, Dover, Massachusetts 02030.  Please note the name of your Garden Club on the check.