Boston Flora

Category: benefit

  • Sunday, December 6, 12:00 – 4:00 pm – Coastal Holiday House Tour

    The Coastal Holiday House Tour and Boutique will be held this year on Sunday, December 6.  The hours of the Boutique, held at the Barker Tavern, are 10:30 am – 5:00 pm.  The House Tour will take place between 12 – 4 pm.  Tickets are $25, $30 on the day of the tour, and benefit the Scituate Elementary Schools.  You may purchase tickets at the Inn at Scituate harbor, the Barker Tavern, Sylvia’s by the Sea, the Welch Company, Vinette Day Spa, and the Pipeline Salon.  For more information log on to www.coastalholidayhousetour.webs.com.

  • Holiday Wreaths from The Garden Club of the Back Bay

    There is still time to purchase a fabulous holiday wreath from The Garden Club of the Back Bay.  Our loyal customer base continues to support our fund raising efforts with generous orders, and we are happy to expand our reach to new customers (that’s you!) who will enjoy our meticulously crafted one of a kind creations.  Unless you are ordering a matched pair, you won’t see your wreath coming and going on doors throughout the neighborhood (the one below was designed for a Mexican Christmas celebration).  Our buyers are not just from Back Bay, Beacon Hill and the South End, either.  We make wreaths for homes in the Berkshires, in Maine, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, the North and South Shore, and almost every suburb within the loop of 128.  Pick up is easy – just drive over to 299 Berkeley Street, on the corner of Marlborough and Berkeley Streets, pull up in front of the large gated garden of The First Lutheran Church of Boston, and the delivery crew on duty in the garden will load your wreath right into your car.  No need to park, and we’ll have your order ready on either Wednesday or Thursday, December 9 or 10, from 8 in the morning until 7 at night – just contact us and we’ll confirm when your wreath will be ready.  You can order on line by clicking here (pay through PayPal), or you may print the order form on the page and fax it to 617-249-1762, and pay by check or cash when you pick up your order.  We can also take telephone orders (617-859-8865) until Friday, December 4.  Don’t regret not owning one of our beautiful holiday wreaths – act now!

  • Sunday, December 13, 12:00 – 4:00 pm – Falmouth Annual Holiday House Tour

    The 33rd Annual Falmouth Holiday House Tour will take place Sunday, December 13, from 12 – 4 pm.  There will also be a holiday boutique. This benefit is held by the West Falmouth Library, and more information may be obtained by logging on to www.westfalmouthlibrary.org, You may also email WestFalLib@comcast.net.

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  • Garden Club of the Back Bay Holiday Wreaths – Supporting Environmental Awareness

    Part of the mission statement of The Garden Club of the Back Bay is to educate the public on horticultural and environmental issues.  In furtherance of that mission, we organize an annual series of lectures and meetings with prominent speakers.  Guests are welcome and encouraged to attend almost all meetings, which are listed on the Calendar page of this website (scroll down past the calendar grid for complete descriptions).   We love a theme, and this year we are exploring the topic of “The Ethical Gardener.”  Should we garden organically?  Should we design our gardens with native plantings?  Should be buy food locally from the farmers markets or CSA’s?  Do our floral centerpieces need to be made with imported tropical blooms with a high carbon footprint?  What about saving the birds by drinking shade grown bird friendly coffee?  So many issues, and not all of them are clear cut.  Proceeds from our wreath sales help subsidize the contributions we make to the organizations (mostly not for profit) who provide the speakers for our programs.  Please do plan a trip into the Back Bay on one of our meeting days, and know that all are welcome to join our Club.  We have no geographic restrictions on membership!  To order a wreath or poinsettia, click here.

  • December 4 – December 6 – Plymouth Holiday House Tour

    The newly reopened Pilgrim Hall Museum is sponsoring a Holiday House Tour of some of Plymouth’s most beautiful homes, decorated for the holidays.  The preview party will be held Friday, December 4, from 6 – 8 pm,  and the Tour will take place Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6.

    Your visit may range from graceful private residences at The Pinehills to the historic homes of Leyden Street, all dressed up for the holidays.  Feel the warmth of the holiday spirit while you help preserve the museum’s superb collection of extraordinary 17th century artifacts and support its educational programs.  Your ticket includes a light lunch at Plymouth Country Club. Exact locations of houses on the tour are kept confidential until the day of the tour.  You MUST pick up the booklet and map that will serve as your ticket (and which reveal the locations of the houses) AT PILGRIM HALL MUSEUM (75 Court Street, Plymouth, MA) between 9:30 and 4:30 on either Saturday, December 5 or Sunday, December 6.  (The houses themselves will NOT open before 10:00 am).  Tickets will NOT be sold at the houses or at Plymouth Country Club.  Lunch at Plymouth Country Club is included with the ticket.  Lunch will be served between 11:00 and 2:00 each day (ticket holders are entitled to ONE lunch).

    Space is limited, so purchase your tickets early!  A discount is also available with advance purchases.     The ticket price for the Preview Party and the Tour will be $40.  Tickets are nonrefundable.

    Pilgrim Hall Museum, America’s oldest museum,  located at 75 Court Street in Plymouth, has recently completed a major expansion & renovation project, adding air-conditioning and a new entry.   The “new” museum also features an imaginative reinstallation of the  permanent exhibitions of 17th century Pilgrim artifacts.

    Celebrate the Pilgrims’ legacy in the restored grandeur of the Main Hall and then encounter the actual artifacts used and owned by the 17th century Plymouth Colonists, in a new and dramatic installation. Pilgrim Hall Museum is open daily from 9:30-4:30  through December 30, 2009. For further details on the House Tour and the Museum, log on to www.pilgrimhall.org, or email pegbaker@pilgrimhall.org. You may also telephone 508-746-1620.

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  • Saturday, December 5 – Sunday, December 6 – New Bedford Preservation Society 18th Annual Holiday House Tour

    The 18th Annual New Bedford Preservation Society Annual Holiday House Tour will take place on Saturday, December 5, from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm (Candlelight Tour) and on Sunday, December 6, from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm (Afternoon Tour).

    Come visit beautifully restored historic 19th Century homes, all decked out for the holidays. Read About Last Year’s Tour!

    Start at the Wamsutta Club, 427 County Street, New Bedford.
    Pre-tour brunch ($15) on Sunday from 11:30am-1pm(reservations recommended, call 508.997.7431)
    Holiday Raffle will be held at the club during tour hours. Advance tickets: $19; $17 Society Members
    At the door, ALL tickets: $23

    Tickets go on sale mid-November at the following locations: Elaine’s at the Black Whale, New York Shoe Repair, The Surrey Shoppe, Periwinkles, Baker Books, Davoll’s General Store, The Ultimate Touch, The Woodhouse Shop, Roseland Nursery and the Marion General Store.

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  • Friday, December 4, 6 – 9 pm – Holly Days Party

    Tower Hill Botanic Garden will kick off its 2009 Holly Days “Celebrations Around the World” with a gala cocktail party on Friday, December 4, from 6 – 9 pm, in the Orangerie at 11 French Drive in Boylston. Enjoy hearty, ethnically inspired appetizers by Peppers Fine Foods Catering, and a huge selections of desserts from multiple cultures around the world.  Cash bar. Joe Blanchard will perform on the Steinway Grand Piano as you stroll through the display of trees, and additional entertainment will be provided by the Stämbandet Scandinavian Vocal Ensemble.

    Founded in 1978, Stämbandet is thirteen singers from Scandinavia with a reputation for excellence both as an a cappella ensemble and a World Music vocal group. Presenting songs rarely heard outside of Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, this captivating vocal band often breaks into six- and seven- part harmonies sung in six languages. Led by Allen LeVines, musical director since 1985, Stämbandet performs a wide range of a cappella folk traditions unique to Scandinavia, including “trall” – singers imitating fiddlers playing dance music – a practice that has been compared to scat singing.

    Stämbandet’s cultural contributions have rarely been placed in perspective, for even within Scandinavia there are few vocal ensembles solely dedicated to the preservation and performance of traditional Nordic song. American-influenced “pop” styles have taken over and continue to dominate not just Scandinavia, but virtually the world. So it is especially significant that in the United States Stämbandet exists at all, where it is the only group of its kind — not only striving for performances of high artistic merit, but carefully researching the music’s origin and history, thereby introducing to the public many other facets of Scandinavian culture.

    The long term commitment of the singers has helped ensure Stämbandet’s cohesiveness of sound and cultural identity. Almost all of the vocalists were born in Scandinavia.

    $40 per person, or by a sponsor or patron at $75 or $125 if you’re feeling like Santa.  To purchase tickets, log on to www.towerhillbg.org, or call 508-869-6111, x. 136.

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  • Garden Club of the Back Bay Holiday Wreaths – Supporting the Community

    There is still time to order a magnificent holiday wreath from The Garden Club of the Back Bay – you may print an order form and mail it in with your check, or you may order online and pay through PayPal.  All the information and directions are available by clicking here.  Why should you buy from us?  Yes, we know you could order from local florists (at a significantly higher price, we might point out), or from the nurseries or groceries stores (at perhaps a slightly lower cost).  Purchasing our wreaths comes with the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting many wonderful local organizations, in addition to our own.  Each year we make grants to not for profit groups which are making a difference in our lives.  Besides the Friends of the Public Garden and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee, we donate to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Charles River Clean Up Boat, the Boston Nature Center of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the Esplanade Association, and to City Roots/The Urban Ecology Institute.   This is by no means the complete list of beneficiaries (click on to our Projects page on the menu above for details) but we give between $15,000 and $18,000 annually to area groups accomplishing great works which we do not have the expertise or manpower to do ourselves.  The dollar amount of these grants is dependent upon our earnings, so we urge you to be generous and allow us the opportunity to enhance your holiday environment with our fresh balsam wreaths. Thank You!

  • Saturday, December 5 – Sunday, December 6 – South Boston Christmas House Tour

    Catholic Charities Laboure Center will hold a South Boston Christmas House Tour of five homes decorated for the holidays beginning Saturday, December 5, from 4 – 6 pm, and continuing Sunday, December 6, from noon – 4 pm.  The Saturday Twilight Tour will conclude with a reception immediately after at The Terrace Room of UMASS Boston Campus Center.  The cost for this benefit evening is $75.  The Daytime Tour on Sunday will be self guided, or you may take an available trolley, and will cost $25 per ticket if purchased in advance, or $30 for a ticket purchased on the day of the tour.  Parking is available at Castle Island, and you may start the tour at Castle Island or at the Laboure Center, 275 West Broadway.  You may also visit The Shoppe at Laboure for a bit of Christmas shopping.  For more information, contact Judy Swanson at jswanson@ccab.org, or by telephone at 617-464-8503.  Tickets may be ordered on line at www.ccab.org.

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  • Saturday, December 5, 9:00 – 11:30 am – Greens Market in the Coachman’s House

    Don’t miss the opportunity to purchase unique tabletop decorations, wreaths and greens from the Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum Holiday Greens Market in the Coachman’s House, at the Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Custom orders may be placed in advance.  The sale will take place Saturday, December 5, from 9:00 am – 11:30 am.  For directions and more information, log on to www.rjdmuseum.org.

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