Daily Archives: October 18, 2015

Thursday, November 12, 10:00 am – From Landscape Gardening to Landscape Urbanism

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The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America will hold its annual fall membership meeting, lecture and luncheon on Thursday, November 12 beginning at 10 am at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street in Brookline.  Charles Waldheim will give a talk entitled From Landscape Gardening to Landscape Urbanism.

Charles Waldheim is the John E. Irving Professor of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. His lecture will focus on the evolution and current trends in ‘Landscape Urbanism’, a term coined by Waldheim to describe the recent emergence of landscape as a medium of urban order for the contemporary city. Professor Waldheim is a Canadian-American architect, urban theorist, and educator. His research examines the relations between landscape, ecology, and contemporary urbanism. At the same time that urban sprawl has distanced the population from the landscape, environmental literacy among designers and scholars has grown, giving rise to an architectural discourse known as ‘landscape urbanism’. In his lecture Waldheim, who is at the forefront of this movement, explores the origins, the current context and the aspirations of this relatively new field that is inspiring the future of city making. Waldheim is author, editor, or co-editor of numerous books on the subject, and his writing has been published and translated internationally. He has taught at Rice University, University of Toronto, University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan. Charles is also the Ruettgers Consulting Curator of Landscape at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

The event is open to members of Garden Clubs affiliated with The Boston Committee and their guests.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive separate invitations and a car pool notice in the mail.  For more information email info@bostoncommittee.org.

Sunday, October 25, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pmm – Bark: A Multi-Sensory Experience of Trees

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Explore the wonderful variety of bark textures, shapes, thicknesses and colors, visible in any season. Through presentations and a series of participatory exercises you’ll learn how to identify tree species by their bark, and uncover why such a variety of bark characteristics exist. As we practice seeing, touching, smelling and tracing the contours of bark, you will hone your perceptive skills and deepen your intimacy with trees and the forests they grow in. We will begin indoors, and then head out to explore the trees of Tower Hill. Open to naturalists at all levels of experience. Michael Wojtech will be available to sign copies of his book, Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast.

Michael is a freelance writer, educator, photographer, and illustrator. He continues to focus his work on the identification, physiology, and ecology of trees. He is especially interested in the process of studying natural history-the keen observation, the discovery of nuance in infinite layers, the evocation of multiple senses-and the creative expressions that flow from these experiences. He spoke to The Garden Club of the Back Bay two years ago and for those who missed his presentation and walk on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, we highly recommend attending this Tower Hill Botanic Garden lecture, walk, and book signing. $30 for Tower Hill members, $45 for non-members. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.