Boston Flora

Category: Meeting

  • Monday, November 16, 10:00 am – Maintaining Your Landscape – Naturally

    The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts presents a Horticulture Morning on Monday, November 16, beginning at 10 a.m. at The Espousal Center, 554 Lexington Street, North Waltham, Massachusetts (off Route I-95/128, Exit 27A Totten Pond Road).  Cathy Felton, Current Native Plants Chairman and organic garden expert, will speak on Maintaining Your Landscape – Naturally, using native and dry condition plants in the garden.  A donation of $5, payable at the door, is suggested.  To call for information on cancellations due to snow or storm, call 781-391-0261.  You may also contact Betsy Williams (betsy@betsywilliams.com) or Rita DeLollis (rdelollis@aol.com) for more information on Horticulture Mornings.

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  • Thursday, October 22, 6:30 – 8:00 pm – Boston City Council Candidates Debate Parks and Open Space

    Hear the eight finalists for at-large city councilor discuss and debate issues impacting greenspace in Boston. It’s an exciting slate with two open seats and two incumbents who have a strong record of support for parks and the environment. Only the second time that open space has taken the center stage in a city election, October 22nd will help show how large, diverse, and broad the park constituency is in our city. Everyone – regardless of age, race, income level, neighborhood, or background – uses city parks, playgrounds, and outdoor recreation facilities.

    All eight candidates will participate:

    • Felix Arroyo, Jr.
    • Doug Bennett
    • John Connolly
    • Tomas Gonzalez
    • Tito Jackson
    • Andrew Kenneally
    • Steve Murphy
    • Ayanna Pressley

    Four years ago, the first political debate on greenspace issues brought more than 150 people out to hear who would support parks. The candidates said it was the best attended forum that election season. The Boston Globe, the Phoenix, and many local neighborhood papers covered the event. A group of 65 park, youth, arts, sports, health, public safety, and community organizations signed on as sponsors showing the depth and breadth of the parks movement in Boston.

    The event, taking place Thursday, October 22 from 6:30 – 8:00 pm, will be held at the Franklin Park Golf Clubhouse.  For more information, contact the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy at www.rosekennedygreenway.org.

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  • Tuesday, November 17, 11:00 am – Isabella and Her Gardens

    The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America invites you to its 20th Birthday Celebration Annual Meeting and Fall Lecture on Tuesday, November 17, with registration at 10:30 am, and lecture at 11 am.  Patrick Chassé, the first Curator of Landscape, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, will give an illustrated lecture entitled  “Isabella and Her Gardens.”

    Like a horticultural Sherlock Holmes, Patrick Chassé tracks down clues to gardens of the past. His latest challenge is to unlock the secrets of a magnificent courtyard garden long identified with a Boston museum and its charismatic founder.

    Mr. Chassé, a landscape architect, has served since 2004 as the curator of landscape at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the first person to hold such a title there. His detective work involves documenting the courtyard’s evolution and reinstating elements of its design as envisioned by Isabella Stewart Gardner in the early 1900s.

    The event will take place at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.  Cost of lecture is $20 (public invited), Lecture and Luncheon $45 (members of Boston Committee Clubs only, please.)  RSVP by November 12.  Please make check payable to The Boston Committee of the GCA and mail to Mrs. William U. Shipley, 40 Dunster Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.

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  • Wednesday, November 11, 10:00 am – Low Impact Landscaping

    The November meeting of The Garden Club of the Back Bay will take place Wednesday, November 11, beginning at 10:00 am at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.  We welcome  Paul Marquis, who will speak on  Low Impact Landscaping.  Paul Marquis, of Green Home Solutions in Arlington, MA and former “Green House Doctor” for The Green Roundtable, will be our guest speaker for the November meeting.

    The objective of this talk is to introduce concepts of resource-conserving and environmentally-friendly landscape design and maintenance practices. Conventional residential landscapes are often resource-intensive, and some of the maintenance products and practices typically employed have been associated with adverse long-term health consequences and environmental impact. Topics covered will include low-water landscaping or xeriscaping, rainwater collection and use, advantages of using native plants, more-effective storm water management, and organic turf and landscape management practices. The talk will include a brief discussion of Low Impact Development, green roofs, and “hardscaping” options.

    The Green Roundtable, Inc. (GRT) is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to mainstream green building and sustainable design and become obsolete.  It works toward this goal by promoting and supporting healthy and environmentally integrated building projects through strategic outreach, education, policy advocacy and technical assistance.  The Green Roundtable envisions a world in which green building is business as usual. For more information on The Green Roundtable, log on to www.greenroundtable.org.

    Reservations are required for this meeting, which will be followed by an optional luncheon with our speaker ($20) at The College Club.  The public is invited.  For more information, and to register, email info@bostonflora.com. Club members will receive written notice of this meeting with a response slip.

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  • Wednesday, November 11 – Sunday, November 15 – ARS Fall National Conference & Rose Show

    Come be a part of history in the making! Join  the American Rose Society’s 2009 Fall National Conference and Rose Show, hosted by the Desert Rose Society, which will be held November 11-15, 2009, in Palm Springs, CA. This is the first time that an ARS National will be held in the California desert and the first time in more than 60 years that a Fall National has been held in the Pacific-Southwest District.

    We can’t think of a more attractive venue for an ARS national conference and rose show than Palm Springs, California, “America’s Premier Desert Resort” and “Date Capital of the U.S.” (95% of all American dates are grown in the Palm Springs area). The mid-November weather with warm, sunny days and cool evenings makes it even more ideal.   Remember, Boston people, winter is coming – time to stock up on sunshine for the gray days ahead.

    Take a trip to the top of Mt. San Jacinto on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the world’s largest rotating tram, taking riders up 8,516 feet from the desert floor to the Mountain Station.

    Enjoy a few of the more than 120 golf courses, including some of the finest in the world, or play tennis to your heart’s delight. Visit the Living Desert, which features the unique flora and fauna of the world’s deserts.

    Join other participants in a guided bus tour past the homes of celebrities past and present. Tour the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens and its magnificent new Chinese Garden. The list goes on!

    You’ll have the opportunity to tour private rose gardens at members’ homes, attend educational and inspiring presentations by a world-class faculty from the United States and Europe, exhibit in or simply enjoy a national rose show featuring some of the finest roses anywhere. Participate in a post-conference Ikebana workshop. Enter or just wander through the International Rose Photography Show. This is a great time and place to renew old acquaintances and make new friends.

    The organizers are doing everything they can to provide the rose experience of a lifetime, including locking in a terrific rate at the conference hotel, the Doral Desert Princess Resort. But there’s one thing needed to make it perfect – you! This is one ARS national conference and rose show you definitely won’t want to miss!  For more information, log on to www.ars.org, or email Cliff Orent, Co-Chairman, at cliffofthedesert@yahoo.com.

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  • Saturday, October 17, 1:00 – 4:00 pm – Succulent Pelargoniums

    The Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts (www.cssma.org) will present a program on Succulent Pelargoniums on Saturday, October 17, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston.  The program will be led by Dr. Matt Opel, of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut.  While Dr. Opel’s research focuses on micromorphology and anatomy of Conophytum leaves, he also enjoys Japanese animation, gardening, and hiking, so the program should prove to be quite interesting.

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  • Saturday, October 17, 10:30 am – Bay State African Violet Society Annual Meeting and Plant Sale

    The Annual Meeting of the Bay State African Violet Society will be held Saturday, October 17, beginning at 10:30 am at the Parish of St. Michael, Bedford, Massachusetts.  Following the plant sale, there will be a luncheon beginning at 12:30 with a guest speaker addressing members on special issues in cultivating African violets.  In addition, this year there will be a panel of experts to answer your questions.

    The Bay State African Violet Society was organized in 1959, as an affiliate of the African Violet Society of America (AVSA), the national organization for African Violet enthusiasts. BSAVS provides a forum for lovers of African violets to share their interest in the propagation and culture of these beautiful gesneriads.

    As a member, you will receive four issues of the Society’s official newsletter, Ye Bay Stater. You also become eligible to enter your plants and designs in our African violet shows, sanctioned by the African Violet Society of America.

    Activities include the annual Spring Flower Show and Sale; the annual Meeting in October with a program on AVs presented by a well-known speaker; and other activities such as potting clinics.  All offer the opportunity to socialize with and learn from other violet enthusiasts.  For more information, log on to www.baystateafricanviolet.org.

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  • Wednesday, October 14, 10:00 am – Naturally Simple

    Looking for an alternative to using flowers flown in from all around the world with a high carbon footprint? Are you trying to buy locally, or even create beauty with found materials? Join arranger Joan Parker for an entertaining program of innovation and delight with original flower designs.  The program is overflowing with new ideas, some gathered on her travels to Europe and South America.  Naturally Simple is a fresh look at virtually everything.  With Joan’s theatrical background and craftsman’s degree in metalworking, she has explored art and design on many levels.  Her zest for life and experience has led her into wild and interesting adventures.  This special program is co-sponsored by The Garden Club of the Back Bay and The College Club of Boston.   An optional lunch with our speaker ($20) will follow the meeting.  Registration required. For more information, email info@bostonflora.com.

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  • Sunday, October 11, 12 noon – 3:00 pm – New England Rose Society Founders Day Luncheon

    The New England Rose Society invites you to its Annual Founders Day Luncheon on Sunday, October 11, from noon to 3 pm, at the Piccadilly Pub, 380 Winter Street in Waltham, Massachusetts.  For more information, log on to www.rosepetals.org.  Learn about rose culture and care.  Reservations required – email info@rosepetals.org.

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  • Tuesday, October 20, 10 am – 12 noon – Design Workshop

    Sign up for a series of three hands-on workshops for beginning and intermediate flower arrangers.  The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts is sponsoring the classes, to be held at the Espousal Center, 554 Lexington Street, North Waltham, MA on Tuesdays from 10 am to 12 noon on October 20, April 13, 2010, and May 11, 2010.  This series differs from the series beginning on October 14 because it is truly participatory.  The fee for all three sessions is $105, which includes all materials and instruction.  No refunds are offered if you are unable to attend, but you may designate someone to attend in your place, or ask a friend who is attending to collect your flowers and container at the end of class.  You must supply clippers, a notebook, and a clean up bag.  Please mail your check, made out to GCFM, Inc., to Maureen Marshall, Registrar, 79 Morton Street, Holliston, MA 01746. Include your name, address, Garden Club affiliation, Telephone number, and email.  Space is limited to 90 people, and will be allocated on a first come basis.  You may wish to call first to confirm availability.  Maureen’s number is 508-429-4936, and she may also be reached by email at sweetpeapatch@aol.com.

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