Boston Flora

Month: November 2019

  • John Trexler

    We are saddened to report the death on November 16 of John Trexler, former Executive Director of Tower Hill Botanic Garden and a past Garden Club of the Back Bay supporter and speaker. As the new Director of the WCHS, John Trexler arrived in 1984 to find a board looking at options but unsure of the best path forward. Their youthful “benign dictator” championed moving to the countryside and led an ambitious planning process with a fifty-year horizon. John collaborated with an inspired staff, a committed board and generous backers to create thirty acres of gardens. Translating creative ideas into action takes artistry as well as resilience and navigational savvy. He published Tower Hill: The First Twenty-Five Years in 2017. A memorial is planned in March or April of 2020 and we will share the information when received.

  • Friday, December 6, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Holiday Card Workshop

    Taking your inspiration from the fruits and foliage of the holiday season, create a pen and ink painting suitable for your holiday cards, gift tags, and notepaper, in this Friends of Wellesley Botanic Gardens workshop on December 6 from 9:30 – 3:30 in the Putnam classroom at The Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley. Sarah Roche will lead you through the process and help you get your artwork ready for reproduction. Suitable for Techniques and experienced Foundation students. Friends members $110, nonmembers $130. Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.

    ©2015 Margaret Farr
    Eastern Woodland Berries: American Holly, Eastern Wahoo, Red Cedar
    Ilex opaca, Euonymus atropurpureus, Juniperus virginiana
    watercolor on paper, 22 X 18

  • Friday, December 6, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – The Fete: Family Trees, A Celebration of Children’s Literature

    Enjoy an evening at the newly renovated Concord Museum with cocktails and hors d’oeuvre to celebrate the 24th annual display of Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature. This event is organized by the Concord Museum’s Guild of Volunteers and helps support the Museum’s educational initiatives. Pre-Registration required. For pricing and tickets visit http://concordmuseum.org

  • Saturday, December 1, or Tuesday, December 10, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Christmas Tea at the Eustis Estate

    Celebrate the season with a Victorian afternoon tea at the Eustis Estate, 1424 Canton Avenue in Milton. Relax in the beautifully decorated hall and enjoy tea sandwiches, scones, and other treats, including an optional champagne toast. Your ticket includes admission to the museum and the special exhibition galleries. Call 617-994-6600 to reserve your place, or visit https://www.historicnewengland.org/visit/events/christmas-tea-at-the-eustis-estate/

    • $40 Historic New England members
    • $50 nonmembers
    • Optional champagne toast: add $10 to ticket price

  • Saturday, December 14, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Sippican Woman’s Club Holiday House Tour

    The annual Holiday House Tour is the principal fund-raising activity of the Sippican Woman’s Club. All proceeds from the House Tour go towards scholarships to Marion students pursuing bachelor’s degrees. For more than 30 years, Marion’s homeowners have generously opened their homes to the Tour. Until Tour Day (this year on Saturday, Dec. 14), the list of houses on the Tour is kept secret from all but a few. The Tour begins at Handy’s Tavern, proceeds to several local homes selected for special historical or architectural interest, and ends with the hospitality of the Sippican Woman’s Club at the Tea held at the Parish Hall of St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church (2 to 4 pm). Houses are open from 10 am until 4 pm.

    Ticket prices:   advance $20 each, day of Tour $25 each

    Advance tickets may be purchased in Marion at the General Store, and Serendipity by the Sea and in Mattapoisett at Isabelle’s in the Ropewalk or by mail (send a check for the total amount to: Tickets, Sippican Woman’s Club, PO Box 121, Marion, MA 02738). On Tour Day retrieve your “Will Call” Tour brochures or purchase your same day tickets at the Coldwell Banker Realty office next to Handy’s Tavern.

  • Friday, December 6, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – What’s In Your Toolkit?

    Working in your yard or garden is a joyful activity made better when you are well equipped for the work. On December 6 from 11 – 12:30 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Derek Lirange will showcase a variety of common tools and their uses. He will also demonstrate the essentials of good tool care, such as cleaning, disinfecting, removing rust, and sharpening. The opportunity to see and handle these tools will give attendees a sense of how to invest in their toolbox when equipping themselves for a variety of tasks and how to keep their tools in great condition for years to come.

    Derek Lirange is the Community Forester for the Worcester Tree Initiative (WTI) program at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. He has worked for WTI since 2013 helping to coordinate programs ranging from tree planting and pruning events with volunteers to classes for children and adults on the value of the landscape in cities and towns. Derek has a Bachelors of Science in Community Forestry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist.

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden members $15, nonmembers $20. Register online at https://towerhillbg.thankyou4caring.org/pages/event-registration-form—whats-in-your-toolkit

  • November and December – Holiday Fairs

    The coming month brings a wide variety of Artisan Fairs, Holiday Boutiques, Craft Fairs, Specialty Food displays, Christmas Shopping Nights, all over the Commonwealth. To see a very long list with descriptions and links, visit https://festivalnet.com/Massachusetts-art-fairs

  • Saturday, December 28 – Monday, January 6 – New Year’s in the Galapagos

    Ring in the New Year and a new decade on a comprehensive itinerary to the most spectacular outer islands of the Galápagos aboard the 20-passenger premium-class yacht, the 142-foot Origin. The Galápagos Islands are a paradise of diverse landscapes and an amazing array of wildlife species. Most of the animals have never learned fear of humans, enabling astonishing up-close encounters. With pristine beaches, plentiful sea turtles, playful sea lions, and rocky reefs, the Galápagos offers unforgettable snorkeling and swimming experiences.

    • Enjoy two guided shore excursions per day, led by an expert naturalist guide to experience the islands’ birds, reptiles, plants, and volcanic formations
    • Venture out in a kayak or meander along stretches of secluded beaches, swim with playful sea lions, or snorkel among penguins and sea turtles
    • Get up close to the shore life on Zodiac rides through mangroves and along the cliffs.

    There is an optional post trip extension to Machu Picchu January 6 – 12. Discover the breathtaking Lost City of the Inca, Machu Picchu. Fly from Lima to Cusco, the capital city of the Inca Empire. From Cusco, transfer to the lovely town of Yucay in Urubamba Valley. Visit the Pisac market plus the weaving and the llama, alpaca and vicuña center of Awanacancha. Along the way, explore the massive fortress of Sacsayhuamán among other Incan sites. Overnight in Yucay, which is located at a lower elevation, to allow for an easier acclimatization. The next day, take a dramatic train ride through the Urubamba Valley to the enchanting and mystical site of Machu Picchu. On the return, spend two nights in Cusco and absorb a colorful mix of past and present. This seven-day post-tour extension includes deluxe and first class accommodations, all excursions entrance fees; train ticket; six breakfasts, four lunches, and two dinners; air transportation from Lima to Cusco and back; airport taxes; airport-to-hotel transfers; and the services of a Peruvian guide. Accommodations include the Wyndham Costa del Sol in Lima, the Sol y Luna Lodge & Spa in the Urubama Valley, Machu Picchu Pueblo hotel in Machu Picchu and the JW Marriott El Convento Cusco Hotel in Cusco.  Airfare from Guayaquil to Lima is not included. Additional information and itinerary will be sent to confirmed travelers.

    This Harvard Business School exclusive trip will be lead by Daniel Lieberman, the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences; Affiliate of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; and Chair of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology. Complete details can be found at https://alumni.harvard.edu/travel/trips/new-years-galapagos-2019

  • Friday, November 29, Saturday, November 30, or Sunday, December 1, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm – Gardener’s Wreath Workshop

    Design a beautiful botanical wreath from a colorful assortment of choice evergreens, including some collected on the grounds at Tower Hill.  Accent your wreath with a variety of dried materials; bow making instructions will be included. This unique outdoor wreath is made on a foam ring which can be moistened to last all winter. Bring pruning shears, wire cutters, and a towel. All materials included.  Choose between three sessions, November 29, 30, or December 1, from 11:30 – 2:30, and register at www.towerhillbg.org. Tower Hill members $70, nonmembers $80.

    Karen Perkins, former Director of Education at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, has been teaching folks how to fashion singularly beautiful holiday decorations for over 30 years. The wreath below, needless to say, is an example from our 2018 Holiday Wreath collection, and to order one of ours, visit https://bostonflora.com/shop/

  • Monday, December 2 – Thursday, December 5, 8:00 am – 7:00 pm – Holiday Wreath Making

    Monday, December 2 – Thursday, December 5, 8:00 am – 7:00 pm – Holiday Wreath Making

    The Parish of The First Lutheran Church of Boston will again host The Garden Club of the Back Bay for wreath making on the lower level of Church, 299 Berkeley Street (on the corner of Berkeley and Marlborough Streets). We are very, very grateful. Please note that we are setting up the space on Sunday, December 1 and will be ready to work first thing Monday morning!  Monday participation by as many of you as possible is critical to our success. The hours are as follows:

    Monday, Dec. 2 – 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. (decorating)
    Tuesday, Dec. 3 – 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. (decorating)
    Wednesday, Dec. 4- 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. (decorating, delivery)
    Thursday, Dec. 5- 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. (decorating, delivery, clean up)

    Please come to the side door on Berkeley Street. We’ll post a sign. Coffee and baked goods will be available each morning, and catered lunches will be delivered all four days. Dried materials and fresh greens can be delivered to the Church no earlier than Monday, December 2. Please have all decorations cleaned down – branches cut down, dead leaves removed – so we can contain the mess we inevitably make. Delicate materials can be laid flat in sweater boxes or gently stacked in cardboard containers. We are going to need as many dried items as we can collect, and we especially want interesting fresh evergreen boughs and holly. Sturdy pine cones were in short supply at the end of last year, and we did a wholesale cleaning out of old dried flowers and dried fruit before storing supplies, so a fresh batch will be welcome.

    Bring clippers and scissors if you have them, labeled with masking tape for ease of identification. Aprons are also a good idea. Dress comfortably! We need everyone’s help, whether you decorate, deliver, organize, make telephone calls confirming delivery, or sweep. Contact info@bostonflora.com if you can take a delivery shift. Otherwise, we’ll see you on Monday. Non Club members are welcome to join us. Thank you.