New Year’s Eve has traditionally been a day in our Wreath of the Day posts when we illustrate a wreath with lots of bling – it’s a celebration night, after all. This year we are (hopefully) not carousing, at least at parties or in crowds, so we are showing off some more subtle approaches to the color champagne. Please stay safe, and stay indoors tonight if you can.
Thanks go to Laurie Thomas for her sponsorship of Wreath of the Day. Laurie is not only one of our most talented decorators but is renowned for her beautifully round and balanced designs.
Fresh from the release of her new book, The Complete Book of Ferns, Mobee Weinstein – New York Botanic Garden’s Foreman of Gardeners for Outdoor Gardens – will show you how to choose the right species of ferns to group together into a lush, living arrangement. Become familiar with a wide variety of ferns-their cultural requirements and how big they’ll be-so you can choose the best ones to combine into your own miniature landscape. Design an indoor fern garden along with Mobee, or watch and learn! This class will take place online on January 23 from 11 – 1. NYBG members, $59, nonmembers $65. To register, and for a pdf of the materials list, visit www.nybg.org.
Originally, we offered three sizes of wreaths – standard, large, and extra large, and we offered a fully decorated option for all three. The order forms were complicated, to say the least. Decorating an extra large wreath took half a day, and the weight of the decorations usually resulted in a wreath that was less round and more oval. Our decisions to simplify came gradually. First, we dropped extra large wreaths except by special order. A few years later, we dropped the fully decorated option for our large wreaths – the time commitment was too daunting. We lost a few customers but retained our volunteer base, who were in open rebellion over having to decorate large wreaths, especially matched pairs. Below is member Judith Fleming holding a very large fully decorated wreath from years ago, and below, a more modestly sized standard wreath which more than fills a space and is a pleasure to create. Large wreaths with magnificent bows are still on offer, and some people with wide doors have found them to be a terrific option.
Elizabeth Johnson of Charles River Square in Beacon Hill is today’s Wreath of the Day Sponsor and we thank her heartily for her continued support!
Each year we donate many gift certificates to other not for profit organizations for auction or raffle, including certificates to each member and affiliate club in The Boston Committee of the GCA. The proceeds from their raffles benefit The Blossom Fund, which was created to fund public projects of horticultural impact in the Greater Boston area. Our cancellation this year puts the Committee in the position of having to raise additional funds through increased donations, so if you are able and so inclined, please visit their site and make a year end gift (and tell them we sent you!) Below is Milton Garden Club member Beverly Van Orman picking up her winning wreath in 2010, and a more recent example of a winner’s wreath. We confer which each gift certificate holder to determine color and decoration preferences, which are often quite a challenge. These orders are some of our favorites to execute.
Thank you to Susan Sloan and Arthur Clarke, today’s generous Wreath of the Day post sponsors, who themselves are active in many of Boston’s charitable organizations, and understand well the challenges of today’s economy.
Explore the huge variety of native trees, shrubs, and woody vines. Learn which species grow well in shade, which support local wildlife, and how to stagger plantings for continual bloom, fruit production, and fall color. The live, online Native Plant Trust class discusses growth characteristics, cultural requirements, and best horticultural uses. Two sessions, on January 22 and 29, begin at 9:30 am and are taught by Trevor Smith. $90 for NPT members, $108 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/native-woody-plant-materials/
Trends come and go – it’s why they’re called trends, we suppose. A few years ago we began to offer copper as a ribbon and accent option and the response was dramatic. People wanted to try it, and sometimes asked for copper and gold in combination, As years went on, the copper orders became fewer and fewer. We think it’s because when viewed from afar, copper can just look brown, as if you’ve hung up a dead wreath. Indoors and up close, it’s something completely different, but for outside door use, we’d recommend a more traditional choice.
We are grateful to the 165 Commonwealth Avenue Trust and to Patti BiFulco for their contribution to our 2020 Holiday Wreath Project, even without receiving a wreath, and they are today’s Wreath of the Day Sponsors.
Study theories and principles that have shaped the design of landscapes from antiquity to the present. Explore Eastern and Western garden traditions. Survey all types of gardens and landscapes, including corporate and public spaces, through visual presentations, assigned readings, projects, and discussion. Landscape designs will be considered in the context of the times and societies in which they were created.
Please note that the final essay for this class emphasizes research and writing skills, and that English proficiency is required. This New York Botanical Garden class will take place online and registered students will receive log in instructions. Required text: The History of Landscape Design in 100 Gardens, Linda A. Chisholm, 2018. Instructor for this class is Marta McDowell. NYBG members $595, nonmembers $655. To register, and for more information and to see additional session options, visit https://www.enrole.com/nybg/jsp/session.jsp?sessionId=213LAN301FO&courseId=203LAN301O&categoryId=ROOT
There is something a little unsettling about wreaths hung on doors and still lingering in February. There are many reasons to leave wreaths in place after, say, Epiphany, or in our household, Superbowl Sunday. Sometimes, people are away. Weather can play a part – who wants to be up on a ladder in single digit temperatures and ice on the ground? Laziness may play a tiny part, if we’re totally honest. A winter theme wreath solves this dilemma. Until spring comes, your neighbors can’t be too judgmental if the wreaths shown below are still on display.
Member Patti Quinn, our Wreath of the Day Sponsor today, hangs her wreath in her fireplace as a winter accent, and always requests her wreath be winter themed, often without even a bow. The look can last a long time.
The Garden Club of the Back Bay rents a storage facility where we keep leftover ribbon, mechanical apparatus, tools, extra glittery balls and accessories, and substantial cones and seedpods. Anything too delicate, like grasses and dried flowers, don’t survive a year in a dry box very well. But if you look at the wreath below, with the exception of the base balsam wreath, all the decorations could easily have come out of our storage bins. Cones, especially when painted, are pretty much sealed and shatterproof. An advantage here is, should our orders be more extensive than the amount of our fresh greens, we can improvise. Also, a wreath like this one will last much longer in a hot city unit than an all natural wreath with a variety of pines and holly. Don’t be afraid to keep some of the decorations from a wreath you may buy or make yourself for recycling next year. A bowl filled with gold pine cones makes a handsome table centerpiece. The gorgeous bow will top a tower of presents or cookie tins. The gold and red balls can go onto next year’s Christmas tree. It’s all a matter of storage, and how much closet space you can dedicate to the purpose.
Margaret Pokorny, co-chair of the wreath project, is today’s Wreath of the Day post sponsor. She still has much of our material stored in her New Hampshire barn, so the transition to rented storage is as yet incomplete.
COGdesign has accepted three community projects for 2021. They are seeking at least two designers to take on each of the new projects described below. Additionally, a one day community charrette with six to ten designers has been proposed for the Neponset Greenway project. Often COGdesign is able to match less experienced designers with those who have more experience in the field. Sometimes projects involve landscape architecture/design students who are matched with seasoned professionals. If you are interested send an email with your resumé to info@cogdesign.org. Call with questions 781.642.6222. Please see the website for more details about the projects: www.cogdesign.org.
The first project is a Park Redesign along the Muddy River, Fenway/Back Bay. The Muddy Water Initiative (MWI) has adopted this park, providing maintenance in the summer while the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) maintains the property in the winter. MWI seeks to redesign this neglected portion of the Emerald Necklace. They would like to bring this piece of the park to life as an inviting, active space with access to the river. Designers will create pathways, add benches, plant the riparian edge and incorporate many mature trees.
The second project is Benches for the Neponset Greenway in Mattapan. Powerful Pathways (PP), a Mattapan-based community development and civic advocacy nonprofit is engaging COG’s services to participate in a design charrette with the Mattapan community. PP has funding for the creation of two benches that will provide much-needed seating along the Neponset Greenway near the Mattapan entrance. Designers will be matched to groups of residents who are interested in bringing their artistic, cultural and historical ideas to the design of the benches. The COG volunteers will assist in drawing those ideas. The community will vote on which two designs will be used. The designers involved in the winning design may be involved as the project moves forward.
Finally, there will be a Masterplan for the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury. The ISBCC would like to create a cohesive landscape plan for their grounds with a focus on a new community gathering space behind the mosque. They would like this new space to be available to ISBCC community as well as to the surrounding community for events and spiritual reflection. ISBCC envisions a low-maintenance permaculture garden as part of this space.
