Boston Flora

Month: December 2016

  • Wreath of the Day – Switch That Bow

    We have a system, and part of that system is quality control.  The front desk reads the print out of the order and makes sure the wreath and the wreath tag represent the same request.  Every now and then we have a glitch – customer wanted silver bow with red accents, and we see a red bow with silver accents.  If the wreath is as pretty as this one, we improvise and switch out the bow. Sometimes we exchange tags, substituting one that actually matches the wreath.  We hope all our supporters get what they order.

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  • Tuesday, January 31, 8:00 am – Landscape Heroes: Carbon, Water, and Biodiversity

    Join Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, the Ecological Landscape Alliance, the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA/Mass), and the Organic Land Care of NOFA/CT at UMass Amherst on Tuesday, January 31st for an in-depth, inspiring conversation on Carbon Sequestration and learn what practical steps you can take to ensure that your interactions with the landscape make positive impacts.

    At this day-long program you will learn from many land care practitioners including land managers, farmers, researchers, and conservationists about what is possible for soil carbon and landscape restoration. From yards to farms to greenways to commons to gardens, how we treat our soils impacts the climate. Click for conference agenda.

    We know soil is alive. In fact, in one tablespoon of healthy soil there are more microorganisms than there are people on this planet. A highly functional, thriving soil has the capacity to store carbon, absorb water like a sponge, and support a thriving landscape. For years we have viewed soil through its physical and chemical properties, and we are beginning to realize the crucial role of biology in soil function and health. Now we are finding that from back yards to farms to greenways to commons to gardens, how we treat our soils has implications for the global climate.

    This day-long program offers practical tips and applications for how you, too, can be part of the climate solution. Whether you are a gardening enthusiast, farmer, conservation/restoration specialist, or landscape professional, there are positive changes that you can make. Whether you work to reduce compaction using biology, actively build soil carbon, increase soil biodiversity and resilience above and below ground, or heal degraded landscapes, you will walk away with practical tips to apply to your own setting. The synergy of many individuals taking small steps can result in big impacts!

    Come learn from experts in the field such as carbon expert and author, rancher and activist Courtney White with his new book Two Percent Solutions for the Planet and Eric Toensmeier with his new book The Carbon Farming Solution. Additional carbon experts include Eric Fleisher, Chip Osborne, Paul Wagner, Bruce Fulford, and Bryan O’Hara. See below for speaker bios and conference schedule.

    Keynote Presentation: “Two Percent Solutions for the Planet”

    The potential for large-scale removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere through plant photosynthesis and related land-based carbon sequestration activities is both large and largely overlooked. Strategies and co-benefits include: enriching soil carbon, no-till farming with perennials, employing climate-friendly livestock practices, conserving natural habitat, restoring degraded watersheds and range lands, increasing biodiversity, and producing local food. In Two Percent Solutions for the Planet, Courtney White profiles fifty different strategies that work together economically and ecologically with the aim of reducing the atmospheric content of CO2 while producing substantial co-benefits for all living things.  $79 registration. See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/carbon-conference/#sthash.959oO5Th.dpuf

  • Wreath of the Day – Merry Christmas

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay wishes you all the merriest day with family, friends and neighbors. May peace prevail on Earth.

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  • Tuesday, May 16 – Thursday, May 25 – Gardens of Southern Scotland

    The American Horticultural Society will visit both public landmarks that are world renowned, as well as private gardens for which the owners have kindly and exclusively opened their gates, May 16 – 25, 2017.

    J. Dean Norton will be accompanying you on this tour. In addition to being Director of Horticulture for George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens. With a degree in plant sciences from Clemson University, Dean is one of the most passionate and personable horticulturists you will ever meet.

    Our tour leader will be Specialtours’ Verity Smith. Verity studied history of art at Bristol University and has a particular interest in architecture. Verity led our successful AHS trip to Gloucestershire and the Chelsea Flower Show in 2014.

    Highlights

    • Explore renowned gardens including the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Garden of Cosmic Speculation.
    • Visit Abbotsford House, the restored home of Sir Walter Scott (the author of Ivanhoe), with gardens he designed (pictured below.)
    • Enjoy a reception on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, one of the most famous ships in the world and former home to Her Majesty The Queen

    Hotels

    • The Blythswood Square hotel in Glasgow, is a 5-star spa hotel overlooking beautiful gardens and one of the most elegant and chic properties in this culturally rich city.
    • The Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian, affectionately known as “The Caley,” sits in the shadow of the Edinburgh Castle and is just a two-minute walk from the designer stores and fashionable bars of George Street.
    • The Roxburghe Hotel in Roxburghshire, set in the beautiful Scottish Borders region, boasts a championship golf course and is also noted for its personal touches.

    For complete information visit http://www.ahs.org/gardening-programs/travel-study/scotland2017

  • Wreath of the Day – Happy Hanukkah

    We do a number of Hanukkah wreaths, as well as winter themed wreaths not specifically tied to Christmas, and the work below is an example.  Shabbat Shalom!

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  • Tuesday, January 10, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Wetland Shrubs in Winter

    Learn to identify wetland shrubs using branching patterns, bud and bark characteristics, habitat, persistent fruits, galls, and marcescent leaves. Garden in the Woods provides an excellent field site for study. We will begin with a short session indoors with instructor Roland “Boot” Boutwell, then head into the Garden for a close look at almost 20 native New England shrubs that grow in and around wetlands. Bring a bag lunch and a hand lens if you have one. The class will take place Tuesday, January 10 from 10 – 2, and is $53 for NEWFS members, $64 for nonmembers. Co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/wetland-shrubs-in-winter

  • Wreath of the Day – Sturdy Enough to Sit On

    The matched pair of outdoor wreaths below took a long time to create. They were in our outdoor staging area, on the bricks,  ready to be picked up, when a volunteer stumbled and fell on one of them.  First thought – oh no, the wreath is crushed! Not a chance. The beauty of having the decorations attached firmly is that mishaps can occur without consequence. We emphasize to our decorators that every piece of greenery or embellishment must be picked or wired into the wreath firmly, and we go around testing to make sure our instructions are followed. This decorator gets a gold star.

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  • Thursday, January 12, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Introduction to Fermentation

    On Thursday, January 12, from 7 – 8:30 in the Parkman Room at The Gardens at Elm Bank, learn how to make your own lacto-fermented kraut, kimchi, and kvass. We’ll look at the science behind beneficial bacteria, pro-biotics and pre-biotics, and how bacteria can transform food. We’ll go over the basic steps in the fermentation process and share recipe ideas that include a variety of fruits and vegetables. If time permits, we’ll take a quick peek at mixed ferments like kombucha and kefir. Massachusetts Horticultural Society Member Cost: $12; Non Member Cost $20. Register online at www.masshort.org.

  • Wreath of the Day – Boston Committee Raffle Wreaths

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay is an affiliate member of The Boston Committee of the GCA, and each fall we prepare gift certificates for each of the fifteen Boston Committee member clubs for raffling in support of The Blossom Fund, which gives periodic grants of seed money to public horticultural projects in the Boston metropolitan area.  This year Boston Committee President Peggy Reiser stopped by the First Lutheran Church of Boston to view our workshop and thank us for our contribution, which over the years has raised thousands of dollars for The Blossom Fund.  Below is one winner’s wreath – she requested all natural accents with no bow.  We have a couple of designers who do a beautiful job with that type of order.

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  • Thursday, January 12, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm – The Alchemy of Creativity

    Thursday, January 12, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm – The Alchemy of Creativity

    Charles (Chip) H. Sullivan, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, University of California, Berkeley, will present The Alchemy of Creativity on Thursday, January 12, 2:00–5:00pm at the Arnold Arboretum’s Hunnewell Building.

    Author of Drawing the Landscape, and most recently, Cartooning the Landscape, Chip Sullivan will present a series of exercises to help the participant find their own individual sources of intuition, inspiration and imagination to elevate ones perception of the environment. We will explore the creative process using such techniques as dream mapping, creative biorhythms, visual note taking, journals and sketchbooks and the sequential narrative.

    This event is offered in collaboration with The Garden Conservancy. One of the singular talents in landscape design, Chip Sullivan has shared his expertise through a seemingly unusual medium that, at second glance, makes perfect sense–the comic strip. For years Sullivan entertained readers of Landscape Architecture Magazine with comic strips that ingeniously illustrated significant concepts and milestones in the creation of our landscapes. These strips gained a large following among architects and illustrators, and now those original works, as well as additional strips, are collected in a new book, Cartooning the Landscape.

    Fee: $45 Arboretum member; $55 nonmember; $35 student. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.(Students must call to register.)

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