Boston Flora

Category: Wreath of the Day

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Offbeat Colors

    One of our most active members, Bev Christians, has run or contributed to a number of Garden Club of the Back Bay events, such as the Winter Tea and the Twilight Garden Party, but is not particularly fond of traditional Christmas colors of red and green. She has, for a number of years, requested a more offbeat look, sometimes chartreuse, sometimes pink, to hang in her South End home. Designer Rita Christensen has obliged with some truly spectacular wreaths, a few of which are pictured below.

    Thank you to Margo Newman for sponsoring today’s Wreath of the Day posting.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Debbie Roberts and the Blue Balls

    We miss our Executive Committee member Debbie Roberts, who passed away prematurely a number of years ago while traveling. Debbie decorated, expedited, and delivered. She could take your keys and bring your wreaths right into your home. She painted, gathered materials, cut ribbon, and swept. But she was especially intrigued by shiny glass balls, and when she decorated, she used them with abandon. We would sometimes chuckle when Debbie brought her work up to the Assignment Desk to check out- there was never any mistaking whose wreath it was, based on the number of glass balls. And blue was her favorite color. We admit there were times we asked her to delete a few, which she cheerfully did. Debbie, we raise a glass of your favorite Chardonney to you, and thank Doris Hearty, our Wreath of the Day sponsor, for allowing us to pay tribute to you. The pictured wreath is not one of Debbie’s, but she would have approved.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – All Glitzed Up

    Flashy, sparkly wreaths may not be to everyone’s taste, but we have a loyal customer following for eye-popping, spectacular designs that owe a lot to artificial materials. A designer has to be very skilled to pull off this look. Balance and color sense play a big part, keeping the wreaths bold but not gaudy. Below are three examples of glittery but tasteful holiday wreaths that are especially effective hung in dark areas.

    Thank you to Elizabeth Foley for her support of our Wreath of the Day, From the Archives feature.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Della Robbia Wreaths

    For a few years, the Vendome Condominium on Commonwealth Avenue supported us with the purchase of fully decorated large outdoor wreaths for its large scale grand entryway. The Board member in charge of decorations at the time decided a fully fruited Della Robbia design would be fabulous, and not insensitive to those in the building who do not celebrate Christmas but want a wintery, festive decoration. Acquiring the amount of artificial fruit needed for such a large scale project was a year-round affair, especially since an adjoining business coordinated its purchase to match the Vendome scheme. Attaching the fruits with picks and wires was also a challenge. A few years ago we stopped offering fully decorated large wreaths, due to time and material constraints, and the Vendome switched to large wreaths with big, fabulous bows, just as stunning on the building, and a lot easier for us. Below are three examples from our Archives of our fully fruited styles.

    Thank you Jo-Ann Lovejoy for your support of Wreath of the Day and The Garden Club of the Back Bay.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Woodland Looks

    Many customers purchase our wreaths to hang in the country, and we have orders each year asking us to emphasize a snowy, natural look from the forests of Maine, or the Colorado Rockies. Some of our favorite materials to use in these cases are birch bark, twigs, a rich variety of greens, especially white pine, and of course pine cones, especially if still attached on a twig or branch. Below are some examples from past years.

    We thank member Gudi Seward, our Wreath of the Day Sponsor, who herself is a master of understated elegance.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Hanukkah Through the Years

    Holiday wreaths are not just for Christmas – each year we produce a few blue and silver styles to celebrate the Festival of Lights. Sometimes people just ask for blue and silver because of its dramatic effect. In any event, here are examples dating from 2011 – 2017. Happy Hanukkah, everyone!

    A big thank you goes out to today’s Wreath of the Day sponsor Dale Coxe.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Judicious Editing

    We have our secrets, even, sometimes, from our own volunteers. In the early years of our Holiday Wreath Project, we had no formal training procedure set up for decorators. Now, potential designers work at first next to an experienced member, assisting and watching, then do a wreath under supervision, before getting individual assignments. Back then, members grabbed a card and started decorating. We exercise quality control, and make suggestions, but sometimes, no matter how hard we try to gently lead, the finished product just isn’t up to snuff. We are a volunteer organization and treasure every volunteer hour given to us. But after the decorator left for the day, we would snatch the wreath back for a bit of repair and restoration. Sometimes it was a matter of balance, sometimes a mechanical issue (the pine cones are falling off!), but we needed to send out a finished product in line with the prices charged. This type of subterfuge is now rarely needed, thankfully, and certainly wasn’t needed on the wreath shown below, created by one of our star decorators, Rita Christensen.

    Thank you Past President Stephanie Fletcher for sponsorship of today’s Wreath of the Day post.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – The Florence Wreaths

    Former member Florence Massimo specialized in elaborate, very feminine wreaths filled with dried flowers, primarily hydrangeas, roses, lavender, statice, and rose hips, and disdained painted or artificial elements. The fragile nature of the materials made the process long and sometimes frustrating, but each finished product was always a masterpiece. Florence lived on Commonwealth Avenue when she belonged to The Garden Club of the Back Bay, in a condominium building with multiple doors. She created all the wreaths for those doors each year. When Florence moved out of state to be nearer to family, we worried that we would be unable to find a decorator capable of producing that quantity of delicate, ethereal wreaths. In a complete about face, the association decided to change direction and has since ordered bright red and gold, vibrant wreaths to be visible from the middle of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. The wreath below is not one of Florence’s (alas, our early archives do not contain a consistent number of photographs), but is in the spirit of what she did.

    Today’s Wreath of the Day post is sponsored by member Judith Fleming, who we are sure remembers Florence well.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Directed by Stella

    The late Stella Trafford was a founding member of The Garden Club of the Back Bay, and from the very beginning of the Wreath Project, was deeply committed to its financial success. What was less clear, however, was her commitment to some of the more arduous physical work wreath making entailed. In the days when we made the wreaths in Margaret Pokorny’s basement, she would arrive impeccably dressed, gloves and apron in hand, and then proceed to chat and advise (and it must be said, get in the way at times) before dashing off to another engagement. She was, however, a master at marketing, and steered many clients our way. We miss you, Stella.

    Diane Gipson, Past President of the Club, who has run the Volunteer Assignments during Wreath Week, is today’s Wreath of the Day Sponsor.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Reluctant Decorators

    We have loyal members who decorate each year and look forward to the opportunity to work with their hands creating each individual piece of art. Others, equally talented, hesitate to try. Often, they are artists, flower arrangers, graphic designers, people in the business of design. Perhaps they are shy. We encourage everyone to be a decorator if the concept appeals. Sometimes there are physical limitations – attaching the items to the wreath so they don’t fall off in transit takes a bit of hand strength. Often, we have to remind the decorators that symmetry in wreaths is generally preferred by the clients – anything too off kilter may be interesting in an abstract way but not quite right for a holiday decoration. Some have said we are intimidating, Quality control has to be vocal if a wreath is underdecorated or isn’t what was specified in the order. We often go around from station to station tugging at decorations to be sure they are on firmly. But from year to year, new talents emerge. We hope more volunteers will give decorating a try next season. The example below, from ten years ago, features burgundy and gold accents, along with natural elements such as milk weed pods.

    Today’s Wreath of the Day post was generously sponsored by Alexi Conine, who we will coerce into decorating in the future.