Learn how to make and care for a beautiful succulent garden on Sunday, January 10 from 3 – 5 at The KITCHEN at Boston Public Market. Students will be able to able to choose from a variety of succulents to create a long lasting, low maintenance garden. The Trustees of Reservations class, led by Barb Rietscha, owner of Stow Greenhouses, will also teach the proper care of succulents. All materials are included. TTOR members $36, nonmembers $45. For more information call 978-578-5867, or visit http://www.thetrustees.org/things-to-do/greater-boston/event-22629.html
Month: December 2015
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Merry Christmas to All from The Garden Club of the Back Bay
May your day be merry and bright. Presidents Jackie Blombach and Jolinda Taylor, along with our members, wish each of you the happiest of holidays.
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Wreath of the Day: A Very Natural Christmas
Hike in the North Woods and you’ll come upon bark and cones, and this wreath is wrapped in birch bark “ribbon” – note the bird on the bottom left.
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Wreath of The Day: Renaissance Splendor
Golden pears and pomegranates, lotus pods and cranberries, French horns and lutes – we’re ready for Revels.
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Wednesday, January 13, 12:00 noon – Connecting the Drops: Creating Abundance with Rainwater Harvesting
Climate change presents humankind with immense challenges, including how to adapt to water shortages in an abundant and resilient manner. Rainwater harvesting and reuse offers solutions for whatever our future holds! Too often, we let precious water drip off of our rooftops, driveways and streets and spill into gutters and stormdrains where it rushes away loaded with all sorts of pollutants and pours directly into our much-diminished rivers. Jeremiah Kidd offers hope and resilience with examples from incredibly productive projects in areas that receive less than 12 inches of precipitation a year. These same solutions can be used in many regions to conserve our scarce freshwater resources. Jeremiah will review techniques including retaining water on the landscape using one rock dams and swales to channeling roof water to cisterns and planting beds. We may not be able to change the amount of precipitation we get, but we most certainly can change our drought mentality by focusing on the abundance of water we waste rather than the scarcity of water we wish we had.
Jeremiah Kidd’s work is directed by Permaculture Principles – a whole system science based approach to design. He is a certified Permaculture Designer and is an accredited and certified Rainwater Catchment Professional through ARCSA (American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association). He has taught and consulted on several projects in the USA, Africa, Central America and Asia. Prior to establishing San Isidro Permaculture, Jeremiah was a partner at Living Structures, Inc., a permaculture-based design/installation green building firm in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Established in 2000, San Isidro Permaculture is a design and installation company focused on water catchment, grey water systems, native and edible plant landscapes, erosion control, and land restoration. San Isidro Permaculture has served Santa Fe and the surrounding area working for the private sector, federal and local governments, the film industry, and commercial projects. Image below from www.weareallfarmers.org.
This free Ecological Landscaping Alliance webinar will take place at 12 noon EST on Wednesday, January 13. See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-connecting-the-drops-creating-abundance-with-rainwater-harvesting/#sthash.9bBP8nsn.dpuf
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Wreath of the Day: Country Flair
Some of our wreaths go to Cape Cod, or the Berkshires, or into homes decorated with rustic style. One of our decorators has a flair for using ornamental grasses, which are tricky to attach and can’t be used outside in the wind. This order was for an indoor matched pair of fully decorated wreaths with plaid bows and all natural and red accents.
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Thursday, January 7, 10:00 am – The Garden in Winter
Garden lecturer and author Joan Butler of Enchanted Gardens reveals that our gardens can be magical places –even in winter. Stripped of summer foliage and flowers, the success of a winter garden lies in its structure, basic design, and choice of plant materials. Inspiration and tips on designing gardens for winter interest include choosing the best trees, shrubs, and perennials, and grouping them to provide interesting vignettes.
This Andover Garden Club meeting takes place at South Church Fellowship Hall, 41 Central Street, Andover, on Thursday, January 7. Meetings begin at 10:00 AM with social time and refreshments, followed by business meeting and program, and usually conclude around noon. Unless otherwise noted, meetings are free for Andover Garden Club members; a $10 donation is requested for guests, who are encouraged to attend. For more information visit http://gcfm.org/andovergardenclub/Calendar.aspx
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Wreath of the Day – Playground Decor
We ended up with an extra 24″ diameter wreath this year, a very large size suitable for offices or large buildings, and decided to add a big red bow and hang it on the Clarendon Street Playground Fence. Little children playing there with a local school group were so excited to see the wreath as they marched out to return to their classroom. Our volunteers who were hanging the wreath said the kids actually squealed with delight. We didn’t clear this action with any governmental agency, so if there are complaints, just contact The Garden Club. Thank you to Penny Cherubino for the photo of the wreath.
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Wednesday, January 13, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – Large-Scale Landscapes Symposium
On January 13, 2016 (Snow Date January 14), join ELA and Wellesley College for a symposium on the development and maintenance of large-scale landscapes that utilize fewer inputs, are designed and maintained with the environment in mind, and become more sustainable over time. Experts who work daily in successful, sustainable large-scale landscapes will lead four presentations and one panel discussion. If you are a landscape professional responsible for planning and maintaining the landscapes of college campuses, municipal parks, cemeteries, public gardens, land trusts, private estates, or other large landscapes, join ELA as we explore ecological options for large-scale landscapes with a distinguished lineup of presenters. Included in the program are Ronnit Bendavid-Val of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Addressing Wear and Tear in High Use Areas, a panel discussion on Maintaining the Maturing Landscape with Mark Richardson, Horticulture Director of the New England Wild Flower Society, Ray Oladapo-Johnson, Director of Park Operations at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Sue Pfeiffer, an arborist at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and John Olmstead, Wellesley College Landscape Manager. Also featured is a talk on Designing Rain Gardens for Long-lasting Success with Clay Larsen, Healthier and Lower-Cost Lawns with Chip Osborne, and Reawakening Large Landscapes: Activating the Space with Sandy Vorce of Audubon’s Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary. Fees $85 – $110. For complete information and registration visit http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/large-scale-landscapes-symposium/
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Wreath of the Day: Ribbon Wars
Today, and in upcoming posts, you will see a variety of ribbons. Our fearless leader Margaret Pokorny insists we have enough ribbon in storage to get us through the entire 2016 wreath season without buying another yard. While that may be technically true, committee members can’t resist buying some unusual and fabulous ribbons they come upon during the year. The gleaming ribbon pictured below has a Japanese textile look. There is no more of it, so don’t try asking for it in the future. What you may order, however, is “designer’s choice – wild and unusual.”
