Take a tour of the Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill on Thursday, May 21, 9-5, rain or shine. The tour is self-guided and may be viewed at your own pace. Complimentary tea and coffee will be served at The Church of the Advent, 30 Brimmer Street. To purchase tickets in advance by mail, send a check payable to Beacon Hill Garden Club before May 7, 2009 to Ticket Chairman, Beacon Hill Garden Club, Box 302, Charles Street Station, Boston, MA 02114. Include a stamped, self-addressed business sized envelope with your check. Tickets in advance are $30 each. Tour day tickets, if available, are $35. No refunds or exchanges are allowed, and there are no group discounts. If you have questions, you may call 617-227-4392. Tickets may also be purchased on line at www.beaconhillgardenclub.org.
-
Wednesday, April 15, 9 a.m. – Back Bay Boston: Fusing the Historic and the Modern
Back Bay Historical/The Global Boston Perspective, Boston Architectural College, and the Back Bay Association are sponsoring a forum at Cascieri Hall in the Boston Architectural College, 320 Newbury Street (corner of Hereford and Newbury) Wednesday morning. Following opening comments by Ted Landsmark, President of BAC, Douglass Shand-Tucci will give the keynote address on “Why Trinity Church Needed the Hancock Tower – Why the Historic Needs the Modern.” This will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Jeff Stein, Head of the School of Architecture, and will include Robert Campbell, Architecture Critic for The Boston Globe, Bryan Koop, Sr., Vice President and Regional Manager of Boston Properties, John Palmieri, Director of the BRA, Tad Stahl, member of the Mayor’s Back Bay Task Force of 1970, and Mark Jarzombek, Head of History, Theory, and Criticism, MIT School of Architecture. Meg Mainser-Cohen, President of the Back Bay Association, will conclude the two hour forum. To rsvp, please call 617-266-1991, or email megmc@bostonbackbay.com.
-
Tuesday, May 5, 4 pm – Friends of the Public Garden Annual Meeting
You are invited to attend the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Public Garden on Tuesday, May 5, beginning at 4 pm, at the First Church in Boston, 64 Marlborough Street. Hear reports on the Boston Common, the Public Garden, and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. The guest speaker will be Janet Marie Smith, restoration architect for Fenway Park. For more information call 617-723-8144.
-
Saturday, May 2, 5-7 pm – The Floralia, A Ceremonial Dedication of the New Tortoise Fountains
Members of the Dr. John Green Society may attend The Floralia, A Ceremonial Dedication of the New Tortoise Fountains, a gift of Chloe Nester Sundberg, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Saturday, May 2, from 5 to 7 pm. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvre, music at 5:30, dedication at 6. 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts. For information on joining the Dr. John Green Society, contact Wendy Cehon, 508-869-6111, ext. 136. Please respond for this event no later than April 28, although members of the Dr. John Green Society are invited to many splendid events during the course of each year, so membership is always recommended.
-
Thursday, April 16, 7:30 pm – The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive Program: Protecting America’s Architectural Treasures Through Voluntary Preservation
You are invited to a free one-hour informational seminar about protecting historic buildings. Preserving an historic structure could benefit the Back Bay and may result in a tax deduction. Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston. Register today by calling Mory Bahar, a representative of the Trust for Architectural Easements, at 978-352-5615, or by sending an email to mbahar@architecturaltrust.org. For more information, log on to www.architecturaltrust.org.
-
Saturday, April 25 – Sunday, April 26 – Fruitlands Opening Weekend
Fruitlands Museum, home to the eclectic collection of Native American, Shaker, and American art, celebrates its 95th season with the much-anticipated opening of The Nature of Apples: Art & Memory. This new exhibition of thematic paintings drawn from a private collection, features the enduring beauty of this American icon and its role in the farming economy of Central Massachusetts’ Nashoba Valley. Continuing through November 2009, the exhibit shows artists ranging from Currier & Ives to renowned Provincetown contemporary painter Karl Knaths. A fascinating enhancement to the exhibit, Farmers Voices is a collection of compelling recorded oral histories by local farmers and orchard growers, collected and produced by exhibit cosponsor Freedom’s Way Heritage Association.
Continuing at Fruitlands is sculptor Joseph Wheelright’s astonishing Tree Figures installation, featuring eight monumental, lifelike figures, created from actual trees. With their own distinct personalities the figures are carefully sited throughout the property and greet the visitor in grand style. Wheelwright has exhibited at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA and the Boston Sculptors Gallery. Also on view is Branching Out, a thirty-year retrospective of Wheelwright’s smaller sculptures in the Ell Gallery at Fruitlands Farmhouse. 102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard, Massachusetts. For more information, log on to www.fruitlands.org.
-
Former Garden Club Member Marguerite Feind
Garden Club of the Back Bay member Marguerite Feind died March 27 at her daughter’s home in Long Valley, New Jersey, at the age of 86. Marguerite moved to Boston in 2004 and subsequently joined the Garden Club and The College Club. To view Marguerite’s obituary, log on to www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=125607158.
-
Monday, April 27, 10:30 – 2:00 – Metro East/Metro West Joint Annual District Meeting and Luncheon at Elm Bank
Come to Elm Bank for the Annual Metro East/Metro West District Meeting. Roxanne Randall and Joan Kiley will present “Less is More: Container Gardening. These two talented ladies from Needham will demonstrate how to create beautiful, unusual container arrangements with an emphasis on economy. They will offer plenty of container gardening information and advice, interesting container ideas, and suggestions for using containers, with Yankee frugality thrown in. This program will appeal to any gardener who wants to plant a small space, hide those places where nothing seems to grow, or just spruce up the front steps. Their lively banter and humor will make for a delightful program. Registration starts at 10:30. Coffee, fruit and cheese during registration. Luncheon with a selection of sandwiches, salad, and assorted desserts will follow. There will be a raffle and the presentation of Unsung Heroes Awards. Reservations due by April 20. Send $25 check made payable to GCFM to Wilma Wetterstrom, 9 Glenley Terrace, Brighton, MA 02135. For more information call Wilma at 617-787-9844, or email wetterst@fas.harvard.edu.
-
Tuesday, April 28, 6:30 pm – NABB Membership Meeting
The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay will hold a Membership Meeting Tuesday, April 28 at 6:30 pm in the Boston Room of the Boston Public Library. Ann Gleason, Chair, encourages members to attend and be updated on matters afecting the neighborhood. There will be a persentatioon on groundwater in the Back Bay, an update on the status of the groundwater, what has been done and how it impacts Back Bay residents. There will be an opportunity to ask questions. For more information log on to www.nabbonline.com.
-
Monday, April 27, 9:30 a.m. – Coffee with Mayor Menino at Clarendon Street Playground
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department invite local residents to enjoy an informational Coffee Hour, sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts.The Coffee Hours give residents a unique opportunity to speak directly with Mayor Menino about open space and other needs in their neighborhoods. Through these one-on-one discussions, Mayor Menino looks forward to hearing how the City of Boston can improve upon local parks, public areas, and city services. All participants will enjoy coffee and breakfast treats provided by Dunkin’ Donuts. In addition, each family in attendance will receive a flowering plant grown in the city’s greenhouses as a gift from Mayor Menino. Residents at the event will also be eligible to win a “Day on the Town†raffle prize package including a Dunkin’ Donuts gift basket, Macy’s and Legal Sea Foods gift certificates, Swan Boat rides, and free parking downtown for the day compliments of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.