Boston Flora

Category: Wreath of the Day

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Luxury Ribbon

    When we started our Holiday Wreath Project, we used a stiff artificial ribbon for our bows, wired (mostly) but made with a flocked faux velvet side backed by a shiny paper side. It was inexpensive, but wide enough to be showy from a distance. Creating lovely loops was a bit taxing when the paper was so uncooperative, but we had a variety of colors from which to choose which met our needs. At one point, a few better quality ribbons were acquired, on sale, from Jacobson’s, big box stores, and craft centers. These were so much more fun to work with, but in order to maximize our profits, we began to charge an extra $5 for “luxury ribbon.” Some customers were quick to add the cost on to their orders, but the problem was this – our decorators rebelled! They only wanted to design around the far more attractive bows, and were using them on orders which did not qualify for the upgrade. That was clearly unfair to those who paid extra, so the following year, we simply made an executive decision to use better ribbon on every order. We do try to find things on sale, and members who spot bargain materials during the course of the year grab them up, but the project became a lot more interesting once we opted for the silks and brocades, velvets and taffetas. Here is a pretty example from 2010.

    Today’s Wreath of the Day Sponsor is Francine Crawford, one of the project co-chairs, who really likes nice ribbon.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Disintegrating Pine Cones

    A staple of our wreath decorations is the pine cone, in all varieties. Some years we have bins and bins of them, collected over the late summer and fall by our members, and some years we are a little short and end up stretching the supply by cutting them in half into pine cone “flowers”. When we have extras at the end of Wreath Week, we pick through them and store the good ones in plastic bins in our rented storage facility. We’ve learned from experience that the term “sorting through” is key. One year, tired and worn out from marathon decorating days and nights, we threw lids on bins and hauled everything off, only to find the next year that some sort of bug had gotten into some of the bins and managed to reduce the pine cone supply to dust. After disposing and sanitizing, we swore not to do that ever again. The same principle applies to dried fruits, nuts, and berries. We do, however, save ribbon, mechanicals such as wire and picks, and artificial decorations mostly used in our “Glamorous Glitz” category. Below is a ten-year-old example of how pine cones, when fresh, are put to good use.

    Thanks today go to Francie Cramb, our Wreath of the Day Sponsor and Past President who travels from up from Florida to staff the Assignment Desk and all important Quality Control, along with Jolinda Taylor, each December.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Invasives

    In November, the Garden Club of the Back Bay enjoyed a very informative online lecture by Bud Sechler of Native Plant Trust on the topic of invasives. Member Kaye Vosburgh noted that the use of invasive plants in flower arrangements is now expressly forbidden by the Garden Club Federation and the Garden Club of America, and while still allowable in ikebana, seed disposal protocols are strictly followed. This brought to mind our own Wreath Week foraging and how often we may have been guilty of using inappropriate plants, berries, or grasses over the years. A case in point, from ten years ago, is the wreath below with Japanese wisteria pods attached as part of the decoration. Be assured that in the future we will be very careful in our choices of materials. We have, by the way, always been careful not to use anything that is on any endangered list.

    We thank Lois Kunian and Gibson/Sotheby’s for their generosity in sponsoring today’s Wreath of the Day post.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Magnolia Leaves

    Continuing with our memories of popular materials, today we’ll focus on magnolia leaves. Clearly, these are not native to Massachusetts. In the early years, our gardens, both here and in the country, were our primary sources of additional greens. Interesting pines, junipers, holly, rose hips, blueberry twigs, all were brought in to augment the basic balsam wreaths. As years passed, we noticed that our annual supply began to dwindle both in bulk and in variety. Whether this was due to an aging demographic unwilling to climb on ladders, the relocation of New England weekend homes to homes in warmer climates, or some other reason, we did not discover. We did, however, find beautiful, glossy magnolia leaves with velvety brown on the reverse at the flower market. The minute these appeared, decorators began to use them with wild abandon. They are attached in a variety of ways – picks, or wired through the fleshy leaves, or incorporated into mini bouquets with flocked wired – but the effect is dramatic. While the extra expense of purchasing did cut into our profit, most customers not only like the look, but specify them to be included when ordering. The wreath below dates from 2010.

    Today’s Wreath of the Day post is sponsored by Elin Harris, a long time customer, who purchases wreaths for her cooperative building even though she is often in Florida over the holidays. That is public spirit!

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Out of Fashion

    Wreath decorating, like flower arranging, follows trends. Some years we see customers favoring minimalism, some years they favor glitz and glam. Special theme requests often reflect current cultural phenomena – we’ve had our Downton Abbey years and our Martha Stewart years. For a while, past President Anita Bucknum sent up round, flat sea grape leaves from Florida, which we used with abandon, although they were a bit brittle and difficult to manipulate. The plants grow profusely in tropical climates and gathering by the roadside was simple. When Anita moved to Delaware, our supply dwindled, and we haven’t used them in years. Below is an example of them, painted a cool gold and peeking out behind the bow, behind the pheasant feathers. They not only framed our bows, making them more substantial, but covered up bare spots in the greenery.

    Our thanks today go to Wreath of the Day Sponsor Jane Gnazzo, another Member who has moved out of state but remains active in many capacities.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Refining Our Techniques

    We’ve been at this a long time, and the materials favored in one year fall out of fashion the next. Sometimes it’s a practical matter. Dried fruits such as oranges and apples were a decorator favorite, until one particularly warm winter when flies and bugs descended on the outdoor wreaths adorned with fruit (sugar!) creating a particularly buggy dilemma for people going in and out of their homes. Now, when we use dried fruit, we either paint the elements gold or silver or spray clear fixative to discourage critters. The wreath below, from ten years ago, shows just how pretty the fruit can be.

    Today’s post has been generously sponsored by Club member Susan Morris. Thank you!

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Margaret’s Basement

    For the first years of the Wreath Project, which began in the 1980’s, we decorated in the kitchen and basement of Past President Margaret Pokorny’s house. In those days we were there for two or three days (our switch to four days plus a half day of set up came later), and we made quite a mess. Margaret’s flagstone wall still bears evidence of some gold spray paint gone rogue. The amount of pine tar and ornamental grass dust shed was epic. I suspect some needles can still be found under the floorboards. Margaret’s long suffering husband would flee to New Hampshire. Even after we moved to The First Lutheran Church of Boston, a few special early orders were completed back on Marlborough Street. Wreath Week is always the first full week in December, but when the calendar doesn’t cooperate, some big buildings schedule their holiday parties on the weekend before we began decorating. To help with their dilemmas, we made a handful of wreaths early, including the one below, one of a fully decorated trio for 180 Beacon Street.

    Today’s Wreath of the Day post is sponsored by member Glenda Mattes, a decorator who specializes in the use of dried herbs, roses, and delicate materials, some of which are included below.

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – On the Doors

    We’ve often photographed our wreaths on their easels, as formal portraits, but rarely have shown the wreaths up on neighborhood doors in all their glory. Partially that is because we take pictures at the Church during Wreath Week, but after the wreaths leave the premises, we don’t necessarily see them again. In 2008 a member walked around the neighborhood and took a few shots of our wreaths in situ, and the matched pair below is an example of how our wreaths beautify our doors. The wide doors below allowed the owner to place the mirror image bows next to each other, although on narrower doors, the bows would have been too close and could create a “cross-eyed” look.

    Today’s Wreath of the Day post sponsor is Garden Club member Sally Mead, who for years has been one of our most reliable delivery squad volunteers.

  • Wreath of the Day – From the Archives, Begins Today

    Thanksgiving is behind us, today is Black Friday, the coronavirus is still with us, and we now turn our attention to The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s annual holiday wreath project, sadly cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. Club members and past purchasers were notified of this state of affairs in an October mailing, but we didn’t go into all the reasons behind our thinking. First and foremost was concern for the health of our volunteers. We make the wreaths in the basement of The First Lutheran Church of Boston, a venue where social distancing and proper ventilation would be challenging. As with all public spaces, we could not be assured the Church could rent to us if State or City guidelines became stricter as case numbers rise. Our volunteers are, in some instances, sheltering away from Back Bay. We always anticipate Wreath Week with excitement, and its loss in 2020 cuts deeply. Luckily we have a collection of photographs from years past, to bring some cheer and inspiration from now through the New Year.

    Generous members have contributed to bring these posts to you, and today we thank Nancy Devereaux, our director of site operations and able second-in-command bow maker, as our first Wreath of the Day sponsor. Contributions can be made at https://bostonflora.com/donate/ and we will be happy to acknowledge your support in a future post. All proceeds to our all volunteer organization go to the support of tree care and neighborhood beautification projects.

    Below is a wreath from 2008, hung outside the Church ready for delivery, with some of the address information edited out for privacy. We chose this image as an example of the many steps necessary before the wreath gets to the door – the production of the paperwork, the decorating in conformance to order specifications, the quality control, and the assignment to our drivers and driving assistants.

  • Holiday Wreaths 2020

    We are sad to announce that The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s 2020 Holiday Wreath Project must be suspended due to COVID-19 concerns.  We will return in 2021.   We are disappointed the neighborhood will be a little less festive in December without our beautiful wreaths.

    Gift certificates will be honored next year – just ignore the stated expiration date if you are a lucky winner or bidder.

    Proceeds from our wreath sale have always gone directly to neighborhood tree care. To continue to support that program, we invite you to visit www.gardenclubbackbay.org/donate/  to make a donation.  If you don’t wish to give online, a check is always welcome at PO Box 991017, Boston, MA 02199. 

    Whether or not you choose to donate, please be sure to follow us on our website, on Facebook or Twitter, or subscribe to our Daily Digest, where we will feature From the Archives: Wreath of the Day beginning after Thanksgiving.  We can offer sponsorships for Wreath of the Day posts as well – perhaps your family or your business would like to be associated with this annual and very well followed tradition? If so, email info@bostonflora.com for more information.