Garden Club of the Back Bay member Nancy Cyr cannot hold her next Club pop-up class on April 7 from 6 – 8 at Piattini, 226 Newbury Street, as originally planned. In the future, if rescheduled, you will learn to make small flower arrangements with special flowers. The cost of the class is $50, and you will leave with a lovely flower arrangement to welcome Spring. There will be a cash bar and food will be available for purchase.
Join The Charlesgate Alliance for a presentation by Landing Studio of design ideas and discussion of the dog park component of the revitalized Charlesgate Park. This meeting will be at 91 Bay State Road, Seminar Room, at 6:30pm. For more information email charlesgatealliance@gmail.com.
The April meeting of the Garden Club of the Back Bay was to have taken place Thursday, April 16 at 2 pm at The First Lutheran Church of Boston, 199 Berkeley Street. The event has been postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak, but we plan to hold the event in the future, and you will be notified.
Sean Halloran, Plant Propagator at the Arnold Arboretum, gives an interactive talk about sexual reproduction in plants and what that means in terms of agriculture, food security, horticulture, and also plant conservation. Using what they do at the Arnold Arboretum as an example, we will learn about seed propagation using jackfruit, an exotic fruit grown in tropical regions of the world. One unique aspect of jackfruit is its unusually large size, making it easy and fun to work with.
The 5th Annual Green Industry Job Fair will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, February 25 and 26, to be held at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center in Marlborough. It is free, but pre-registration is required. Horticulture, landscape, nursery and greenhouse companies will be on hand to talk with job seekers about a wide variety of jobs. The industry needs irrigation technicians, project managers, foremen, salespeople, managers and supervisors, horticulturists and licensed applicators, landscape designers, equipment and fleet mechanics, people with CAD experience and laborers. Green industry companies have offices and need support staff on their teams, too. RSVP at mnla.com/job-fair-2020
Please join other members of The Garden Club of the Back Bay for a tour of the Prudential Center’s winter gardens, led by Winston Flowers Kelly Bonzani on Wednesday, February 26th, at 10 am.
On July 1, 2019, Winston Flowers began maintaining and revitalizing the winter gardens. Come learn about the different areas that have been re-energized with new plantings, and the design, plant and sustainability choices behind each.
A new seasonal rotation will be going into the Prudential on February 17th, so if you have time to catch what is planted there now, please do so for a “before” perspective.
The tour will last 30-45 minutes. SPACE IS LIMITED TO 10 PARTICIPANTS due to the ambient noise of the Prudential Center. We regret this tour is open only to members – visit our membership page to learn how to become a member. The first 10 people to respond will be notified that your spot has been confirmed. If we have enough interest, we will inquire about scheduling a second tour.
Please RSVP to Stephanie Fletcher at ss.fletcher@yahoo.com
As The Charlesgate Alliance continues to hone its plans with the Department of Conservation and Recreation and its partner, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the design firm, Landing Studio, is developing ideas for the North Field area of Charlesgate. Please join them for a conversation about this exciting part of the project at 91 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, starting at 7pm.
Looking for New Ideas? Solutions? Inspiration? From the practical to the applicable, join the Ecological Landscape Alliance in March for the 26th Annual ELA Conference & Eco-Marketplace at the UMass Campus Center, Amherst, MA. Immerse yourself in a two-day exploration of ecological concepts as our speakers share their experiences and expertise.
Forests and natural systems are under enormous pressure from the effects of climate change, insect damage, invasive plants, and rapid urbanization. What can you do to protect these systems? Join us to learn more about how to restore lost ecological connections, better manage urban land, and create beautiful, highly functioning landscapes!
Wednesday features two educational workshop tracks. Track One – explore soils from “micro to macro” with a dive into the intricacies of soil…. hear about the latest research, and learn how to apply new practices for results in the landscape.
Track Two explores the detailed workings of meadow ecosystems and what it takes to make a successful meadow project and more.
Thursday offers a broad range of sessions. Delve into landscape design elements from native shrubs to playscapes and larger ecological landscapes, including rain gardens and modern agricultural models. Enjoy a presentation or join an idea exchange to engage with your peers on timely topics.
Registration fees range from $20 to $330. Register online and get complete details at https://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/ela-conference-eco-marketplace-2/
After completing a feature documentary on New York’s High Line, award-winning filmmaker Thomas Piper met the inspirational designer and plantsman, Piet Oudolf, and the idea for a new project was born. Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf immerses viewers in Oudolf’s work and takes us inside his creative process, from his beautifully abstract sketches, to theories on beauty, to the ecological implications of his ideas. Intimate discussions take place through all four seasons in Piet’s own gardens at Hummelo, and on visits to his signature public works in New York, Chicago, and the Netherlands, as well as to the far-flung locations that inspire his genius, including desert wildflowers in West Texas and post-industrial forests in Pennsylvania. As a narrative thread, the film also follows Oudolf as he designs and installs a major new garden at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, a gallery and arts center in Southwest England, a garden he considers his best work yet. Piet Oudolf has radically redefined what gardens can be. As Rick Darke, the famous botanist, says to Piet in the film, “your work teaches us to see what what we have been unable to see.” Through poetic cinematography and unique access, Five Seasons reveals all that Piet sees, and celebrate all that we as viewers have been unable to see.
“For me, garden design isn’t just about plants, it is about emotion, atmosphere, a sense of contemplation. You try to move people with what you do. You look at this, and it goes deeper than what you see. It reminds you of something in the genes – nature, or the longing for nature.”
– Piet Oudolf
A free screening on Wednesday, February 12 will take place at The Umbrella, 40 Stow Street in Concord, and is sponsored by The Garden Club of Concord. A brief business meeting for the GCC will begin at 6 pm at the theater. The doors open to the public at 6:30.
Join Generation Citizen’s Massachusetts on February 5 for Beyond the Ballot: Climate Change and Sustainability, an evening of civic engagement featuring cocktails and conversation, a dynamic panel discussion, and ideas for action. The event begins at 6 pm at the offices of TripAdvisor, 226 Causeway Street, 2nd floor, Boston, and light appetizers will be served, along with cash bar. Featured on the panel are Michael Nichols, Executive Director of the Esplanade Association, Jayden Khatib, advocate with Sunrise Movement, Joel Simonson, Development Officer for Lovin’ Spoonfuls, and Yael Nidam, Research Manager, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Hosted by Generation Citizen’s Associate Board of Young Professionals, Beyond the Ballot is an annual event that creates an opportunity to learn more about local issues and how to go beyond the ballot and take action in our communities. Moderated by Samantha Perlman, Marlborough City Counsel. Register at gmabth2020.eventbrite.com. Please email ma@generationcitizen.org if you have any questions.
