As early as 1982, Garden Club of the Back Bay members were discussing the misuse of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. The complaints mostly revolved around ball and frisbee playing by college students. A suggestion for interpretive plaques was considered, to explain how the Mall, designed as a “passive park” should and should not be used. It’s always a fine line, but soon signs were installed asking visitors to keep dogs on leashes only, to use trash barrels, to refrain from skateboarding, rollerskating, or pursuing active sports on the grass, etc. Still, as good weather returns to Boston, we see exuberant young people rejoicing in the beauty of the neighborhood – just try to keep off the grass!
Category: Archives
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From the Archives: Road Tripping
In June of 1982, Club members traveled to Hammersmith Farm in Newport. Lunch followed at The Inn at Castle Hill. Hammersmith Farm was built by John W. Auchincloss in 1887 as his family’s 28-room summer “cottage.” After Jacqueline Bouvier, daughter of Mrs. Hugh Auchincloss, became Mrs. John F. Kennedy, the wedding reception was held at Hammersmith Farm. President Kennedy and his wife enjoyed visiting the farm when they could find the time, and no wonder. Beautiful rolling lawns and gardens, nature paths and copses of trees—not to mention the lovely old house itself—make the farm a seaside paradise.
Mrs. Auchincloss sold Hammersmith Farm mansion in 1977, and it was opened to the public until recently, when it was reclaimed as a private residence. Many of its original furnishings from the times when it figured prominently in the news have been sold off. Those who had the opportunity to visit were fortunate indeed.The Garden Club of the Back Bay offers a selection of road trips as part of each year’s program calendar. This season we traveled to Wellesley for a program at the Botanic Garden on cycads and gymnosperms, to Smith College for a peek at greenhouses and evolutionary plant murals, and to Windermere Community Gardens for a groundbreaking ceremony, in addition to two trips to The Country Club in Brookline for Boston Committee of the GCA meetings and lectures. Our great disappointment is the lack of widespread support these trips garner. While in theory everyone wants the opportunity to “get out of town” in practice we find difficulties in scheduling members to attend. We encourage all members to consider participating in future field trips, and anyone wishing to organize an outing should email info@bostonflora.com.
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From the Archives: What We Do, and What We Don’t
Garden Club of the Back Bay meeting minutes from November 1982 indicate we placed a notice in the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay newsletter that the Garden Club was available to give advice for front yard landscaping improvements. We’re not sure if anyone at the time took us up on the offer, but over the years we have fielded many inquiries of this sort, usually from people looking for recommendations of landscape designers or garden maintenance experts. Sometimes we know a name, sometimes we don’t. We also have come to realize that a recommendation of a name can look like an endorsement of one company over another, which is not our intent.
Our most amusing queries come from new residents who ask us to come over and actually plant their gardens. We suppose they have confused a Garden Club with a Garden Service. If you are a local urban garden designer or own a landscape firm working in the Back Bay, please feel free to email info@bostonflora.com with your information, so we may add your name to a list we hope to prepare and send to interested parties when asked, with a strict caveat that The Garden Club of the Back Bay is not vouching for or vetting the names contained on the list. Image from www.aspectsofstyle.com.
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From the Archives: The Dog Police
The Garden Club of the Back Bay supported the passing of Boston’s “Pooper Scooper” ordinance in 1979, but problems persisted, and in January of 1983 member Selma Friedman introduced a proposal to deputize block dog watchers to apprehend and embarrass offenders. “Mention was made that owners often do not realize that their dog is polluting the soil and hence slowly killing the tree; they often state they think the opposite.” Signs were discussed, but because of strict signage rules in the historic district the idea was abandoned. Three members then agreed to contact the Boston Ledger regarding the possibility of an article promoting adherence to the law.
There is no evidence in the archives that such an article ever materialized. The concept of a Garden Club militia tracking down puppy-owner offenders is wildly comical. In recent years we began our tree fence program, encouraging individuals, businesses and condominium associations to purchase our pre-approved and beautiful tree fences, protecting our trees and beautifying the neighborhood. To learn more about, and to order such a fence, visit https://bostonflora.com/tree-fence-project/. Image courtesy of www.dogtrainingacademy.org.
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Monday, February 13, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – Flower Arranging with Donna Morrissey
The Garden Club of the Back Bay has added a special workshop to its 2017 program schedule. Member Donna Morrissey, an award winning flower arranger, graciously has agreed to teach a hands-on workshop on Monday, February 13 beginning at 9:30 am at The First Lutheran Church of Boston, 299 Berkeley Street. So that Donna can give each participant guidance and valuable critiques, the class must be limited in size to twenty members. The materials cost will be $35 per person, vases provided. However, if you are just interested in watching the process and listening to Donna’s advice, you may “audit” for $5. Light refreshments will be served. Please email slgsmith58@gmail.com if you plan to attend, and you will be sent information on suggested equipment to bring with you, and information on payment. Deadline for registration is February 9.
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From the Archives: Pageant of Trees
We have always been a “tree club” and a program from March, 1979 gives us a look at our early interest. Albert W. Bussewitz (1912 – 1995) presented an Ektachrome (probably not even in existence anymore) slide presentation of four seasons of New England trees and their ecological importance in our natural and man-made environment. The program addressed itself primarily to the varied habitats of our Northeast landscape, including woodlands, streets and backyard gardens. The lecturer created The Albert W. Bussewitz Collection at The Walden Woods Project’s Thoreau Institute Library. This collection consists primarily of Thoreau-related material written or collected by Albert Bussewitz.
Albert W. Bussewitz — “Buzzy” — was born in Juneau, Wisconsin. He was a graduate of Northwestern College (Watertown, WI). He was a former director of a number of Massachusetts Audubon sites including Moose Hill in Sharon, Stony Brook in Norfolk, and Rocky Knoll Nature Center in Milton, and served as the 17th president of the Thoreau Society (1970-1971). After his retirement from Massachusetts Audubon, he began his long association with the Arnold Arboretum, during which he photographed, gave lectures, lead tours and created exhibits. He was awarded Master Member of the New England Camera Club Council (1980), received the Richard D. Perkins Memorial Award from the Henry David Thoreau School of Wilderness Studies, and was honored by the Arboretum as Volunteer of the Year (1993).
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From the Archives: Lady Parts
The rather graphic discussions of female anatomy we have endured during the November political campaign reminds us of a 1977 Garden Club of the Back Bay program when Dr. John Twaddle addressed the members on the subject of mammograms. Dr. Twaddle’s wife Anne was a Club member and presumably arranged for her husband to lecture on the subject, which was something of a departure from the usual floral and environmental agenda. We can only imagine whether there were slides or hands-on demonstrations. This season we examine The Prehistoric Garden and thus far are very pleased with our speakers and attendance numbers. Below is a right breast arrangement by Camila Sitarama Carlow, part of her series Eye Heart Spleen.
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From the Archives: Bull S***
The Garden Club of the Back Bay designed, planted and maintained the Boston Public Library Central Courtyard in the McKim Building for many years beginning in 1982. The plantings were installed by Capizzi & Co, and border beds were filled with pachysandra which, despite a regimen of thinning and spraying, developed fungus. Poor drainage was probably the culprit. So, at an emergency meeting called by then President Selma Freidman at her home, the Club voted to purchase a truckload of aged bovine “mulch” for $200 – $300 to spread over the acidic and possibly overcrowded pachysandra beds to remedy the fungus issue. Sometimes you have to spread that manure around to achieve your goals.
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From the Archives: Beacon Street Tree Improvement Project
In 1982, under the leadership of Garden Club of the Back Bay President Susan Davis, a pilot program for improving the street trees in the Back Bay was begun. Three waterside blocks of Beacon Street, between Dartmouth and Gloucester Streets, were given first attention. Club members had observed that several trees along both sides of Beacon Street were either in poor condition, or had died. Trees were fertilized (small white cups were noticeable to passers-by), and a volunteer pruner, Robert MacArthur, pruned as much as he could from the ground. The Boston Parks Department was asked to prune out additional limbs, and to take out encircling concrete to enlarge the tree pits. During that year the Parks Department budget had been cut a whopping 60% so action on these requests was not guaranteed. Neighbors were to be notified through flyers when a drought threatened so the trees could be slow watered by hose. Donations were solicited and as of October, 1982, $1,315 was collected from 21 individuals and three condominiums and management companies. Today, The Garden Club continues pruning, feeding, and inoculating trees throughout the neighborhood, and naturally, donations are always welcome. Photo below from www.bostonzest.com © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino .
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From the Archives: Meeting at Night
Most Garden Club of the Back Bay meetings are held on weekdays in the mornings, occasionally in the afternoon, and very rarely in the evening. Periodically we survey our members to see if evening meetings would fit in better with today’s working lifestyles, but have found, surprisingly, that our membership still prefers to meet in the day. We hate to disenfranchise anyone who is interested in our Club but works full time, so we do not require meeting attendance. Certainly we hope everyone can join in for an event or two during the year, but members’ financial support coupled with their understanding of what we do through our communications and through our website is sufficient – we are a “big tent.” In the 1970’s, President Elizabeth Matz scheduled a series of three evening lectures in May at the Boston Public Library with Michelle Wheeler of the Suffolk County Extension Service on the topic of Urban Yards and Gardens. She covered Planning and Design, Planting and Soils, and Maintenance and Problems. Any member or potential member interested in planning a future evening Garden Club lecture or workshop should email info@bostonflora.com.
