Boston Flora

Category: Archives

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Invasives

    In November, the Garden Club of the Back Bay enjoyed a very informative online lecture by Bud Sechler of Native Plant Trust on the topic of invasives. Member Kaye Vosburgh noted that the use of invasive plants in flower arrangements is now expressly forbidden by the Garden Club Federation and the Garden Club of America, and while still allowable in ikebana, seed disposal protocols are strictly followed. This brought to mind our own Wreath Week foraging and how often we may have been guilty of using inappropriate plants, berries, or grasses over the years. A case in point, from ten years ago, is the wreath below with Japanese wisteria pods attached as part of the decoration. Be assured that in the future we will be very careful in our choices of materials. We have, by the way, always been careful not to use anything that is on any endangered list.

    We thank Lois Kunian and Gibson/Sotheby’s for their generosity in sponsoring today’s Wreath of the Day post.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Magnolia Leaves

    Continuing with our memories of popular materials, today we’ll focus on magnolia leaves. Clearly, these are not native to Massachusetts. In the early years, our gardens, both here and in the country, were our primary sources of additional greens. Interesting pines, junipers, holly, rose hips, blueberry twigs, all were brought in to augment the basic balsam wreaths. As years passed, we noticed that our annual supply began to dwindle both in bulk and in variety. Whether this was due to an aging demographic unwilling to climb on ladders, the relocation of New England weekend homes to homes in warmer climates, or some other reason, we did not discover. We did, however, find beautiful, glossy magnolia leaves with velvety brown on the reverse at the flower market. The minute these appeared, decorators began to use them with wild abandon. They are attached in a variety of ways – picks, or wired through the fleshy leaves, or incorporated into mini bouquets with flocked wired – but the effect is dramatic. While the extra expense of purchasing did cut into our profit, most customers not only like the look, but specify them to be included when ordering. The wreath below dates from 2010.

    Today’s Wreath of the Day post is sponsored by Elin Harris, a long time customer, who purchases wreaths for her cooperative building even though she is often in Florida over the holidays. That is public spirit!

  • Garden Club of the Back Bay 2018 Grants Announced

    At the May 7 Annual Meeting of The Garden Club of the Back Bay, the membership discussed and voted upon the following grants, as well as approving an additional $20,000 for direct tree care for the trees of the Back Bay. The total expenditures of $46,000 are made possible through the support of our members and friends who buy holiday wreaths, attend or sponsor The Twilight Garden Party, or donate as part of their annual charitable giving.  We thank them all.

    Blossom Fund of the Boston Committee of the GCA $ 500 for projects in Boston. The current project is to support the new initiative at Boston Nature Center for pruning and care of mature trees on the property.

    Boston Nature Center/Mass Audubon $ 2,000 for scholarships to their summer camp for children from Mattapan, Roslindale and Jamaica Plain.

    Charlesgate Alliance $ 1,000 for new initiative to provide tree care & preservation

    Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee $ 5,000 for continuing tree care program

    Emerald Necklace Conservancy $ 2,000 for care of trees in their park system

    Esplanade Association $ 5,000 for critical tree maintenance, allocated specifically to pruning

    Friends of Copley Square $ 1,500 for maintenance of trees in Copley Square

    Friends of the Public Garden $ 5,000 for care of trees in the Public Garden and on the Boston Common

    Food Project $ 2,000 for building and providing raised bed gardens for Boston residents and community centers

    Mount Auburn Cemetery $ 1,000 in support of the transformation of the Asa Gray Garden.  Four maple trees in the garden were relocated from the Boston Public Library to the Asa Gray Garden with the help of The Garden Club of the Back Bay in 1999. (Photo below)

    Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, Inc. $ 1,000 to support its work on preserving and expanding the tree canopy in East Boston

    Image result for asa gray garden mt. auburn

  • Faye Campion

    Garden Club of the Back Bay member Faye Campion unexpectedly passed away Sunday, February 18. Faye was born in Ballinakill, County Laois, Ireland, and graduated from Mercer’s Hospital, Dublin as a registered nurse.  She worked for many years at Massachusetts General Hospital and at Massachusetts Eye and Ear.  She was a fixture at the gym, as many of our members can attest.  We found a lovely picture of Faye from a past Twilight Garden Party event – she was always a supporter. Faye will be buried in Ireland, but we will remember her fondly here in Boston.

  • From the Archives: Buying Speakers

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay has welcomed an impressive roster of guest speakers to our meetings since we began. The usual process is to identify a topic of interest to our members, and then search for an appropriate person to deliver the information. In 1983, however, late members Stella Trafford and Susan Davis attended an auction held for the benefit of the Arnold Arboretum, which was held at the Case Estates in Weston. They made successful bids on two distinguished speakers – Corliss Engle, who promised to talk on the topic of Begonias, and Lily Rice, whose subject was Daffodils. Each high bid was $25. Additionally, Stella and Susan purchased two spring garden tours: the Haffenreffer garden in Chestnut Hill ($40), and Uplands in Manchester ($70).  Corliss Engle, whose contributions to the Begonia Society led to the naming of Begonia ‘Corliss Engle’ in her honor. gave her presentation on November 10, 1983, and Ms. Rice spoke on March 15, 1984.  We have not yet found mention in our records of taking the two tours purchased.  To see the array of programs presented over the years, we encourage you to visit https://bostonflora.com/history/, and if any recent speaker is of interest, email info@bostonflora.com and we can try to put you in touch.  Photo of a begonia cross of ‘Corliss Engle’ below is by Guy Savard.

  • From the Archives: Early Fundraising with Thalassa Cruso

    Every not for profit group needs to do its share of fundraising so all its planned projects and improvements can be paid for, and The Garden Club of the Back Bay is no exception.  In 1983 we welcomed Thalassa Cruso  (1909 – 1997) at the First and Second Church on Marlborough Street (now known as First Church, Boston). Her lecture was entitled My Grandfather’s Garden. Tickets were $6 in advance and $8 on the day of the event, and included refreshments in the Library Courtyard garden.

    Thalassa Cruso was well known as the host of WGBH’s Making Things Grow, and was a successful author and newspaper columnist. In her obituary in the New York Times, she was referred to as “The Julia Child of horticulture” and “In brisk, impeccable diction, she indoctrinated viewers into the mysterious world of cyclamen and spathiphyllum, enjoining them to tend their plants with loving kindness, and to throw them in the dustbin without a backward glance if the little ingrates failed to respond.”  Net profits from the event totaled $387.45, with 69 tickets sold. Image from www.digitalcommonwealth.org.

  • Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 4 – Taste America – Boston

    The renowned James Beard Foundation is coming to Boston. On Friday, November 3 beginning at 6 pm at the Taj Boston, enjoy a dinner created by Taste America All-Star Daniel Boulud of Bar Boulud (New York City), Local Star Karen Akunowicz of Myers + Chang (Boston), Pastry Chef Maura Kilpatrick of Oleana Restaurant (Cambridge), and Host Gurminder Gidda of Taj Boston (Boston).  Reception Tastings created by Carolyn Johnson of 80 Thoreau (Concord), Michael Lombardi and Kevin O’Donnell of SRV (Boston), Juan Pedrosa of Yvonne’s (Boston), Cassie Piuma of Sarma (Somerville), and Marc Sheehan of Loyal Nine (Cambridge). The Guest Master of Ceremony is Jenny Johnson, Producer and Co-Host of NESN’s Dining Playbook.

    Tickets (starting at $275) are available now on line at www.jamesbeard.org. The James Beard Foundation is proud to donate a portion of the evening’s proceeds to the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America Scholarship Fund. From April 1 through May 15, 2018 local culinary students are invited to apply through jamesbeard.org.

    Two free demonstrations will also take place over the weekend. On Saturday, November 4 at 10:00 am, Daniel Boulud will conduct a cooking demonstration at Sur La Table at Copley Place, followed by a book signing at 11.  At noon, Karen Akunowicz will take over for another hour of cooking demonstrations, and she will sign books at 1 pm. Tickets are essential since space is limited, and reservations will be taken at www.jamesbeard.org starting Friday, October 20.

  • From the Archives: Greenhouse Space

    On February 10, 1983, Michael Connor, then Superintendent of Horticulture in the Boston Parks Department, was our guest, speaking on the topic of Perennials for the Library Courtyard.  At the time, our Club maintained the garden at the main branch on Boylston Street. He outlined what perennials could be started from seed, and the various methods of propagation. He volunteered greenhouse space at Franklin Park. The consensus was that annual begonias would be planted in the spring, and perennials could be started the following year. Mr. Connor then offered the Club a tour of the Franklin Park Greenhouses in May.  Notes indicate the tour took place, with only four Club members attending. Ultimately, perennials, most notably hosta and pachysandra, were planted in the library beds. with many of the plants coming from past President Margaret Pokorny’s gardens in New Hampshire, and these plants were divided and redivided over the years.  Having greenhouse space offered by the City was a special tribute to our Club’s energy in pursuing neighborhood beautification projects, which continue today.

  • From the Archives: Tree Protection Schemes

    Protecting our street trees from environmental and human-caused damage has always been a Garden Club of the Back Bay priority, and in 1983 members discussed a variety of solutions.  Pungent marigolds planted around each new tree were thought to discourage dogs, and thorny barberry shrub plantings were also suggested.  Organizing club members to plant and water thousands of plants would have been daunting, however. Railroad ties around each tree pit were debated (we still see a few examples of this on some of our side streets), and iron fencing was thought at the time to be too expensive. Another proposal was a soldier course of raised bricks, 3″ – 6″ high,  with a gravel fill in the pit, not too deep so the tree roots weren’t smothered.  Today, neighbors may purchase lovely, architecturally approved tree fences from the Club (https://bostonflora.com/tree-fence-project/) which are far more attractive and practical, and far less painful than invasive barberries!

  • From the Archives – Thank You Notes

    Below is an example of a charming note written to one of the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s founding members, Stella Trafford, in 1983, by a member apologizing for having to leave a meeting early.  Today such a note (and penmanship!) would be a rarity, although our members are to be commended for sending emails when a program especially appeals to them – we value such input.  In order to create a year of exciting programming, we need to know what interests our members.  Suggestions are welcome at info@bostonflora.com.