So much of the holiday season in Boston revolves around entertaining, and that activity has been cancelled or curtailed for the past two years, for valid reasons. The wreath below, from 2016, reminds us of glamorous gatherings with champagne, music, good food, and friends. We hope that, on a small scale, you will enjoy such an evening this year (safely, of course!
Learn the keys to successful floral design and master the mechanics needed to create round, triangular, parallel, and crescent arrangements. Experiment with shape, line, and symmetry while composing beautiful, balanced creations. The New York Botanical Garden online program will take place January 12 – 14 from 10 – 4. The instructor is Nsombi Woodson. Nsombi Woodson is the founder of The Woodson Bloomery, an interactive floral art studio which teaches the artistic expression of floral design. In her 20 year career, her floral designs have been featured in the Kips Bay Decorator Show House, Elle Decor Magazine, Southern Bride Magazine, Coveteur, and Architecture Digest.
Materials:
For this online class, flowers will be shipped directly to your door! You will also need to purchase the tools and hard goods listed in the materials list linked below, which total approximately $100. You can substitute the vase(s) listed with any of similar width, depth and height.
Required Text:
Principles of Floral Design, Pat Diehl Scace and James M DelPrince
$670 for NYBG members, $710 for nonmembers. Register HERE.
The American Society of Botanical Artists is really excited to offer this new travel adventure to our Members. Our initial journey will be to the historic Leiden area of the Netherlands, home to the 16th century medicinal gardens and nurturing sciences of the Hortus Botanicus, the National Herbarium and its associated botanical art, birthplace of Rembrandt and embarkation of early Pilgrims to the New World. We will tiptoe through tulips at the famous Keukenhof Gardens, practice our brush strokes on pottery at the Royal Delft Pottery, visit flower markets, bulb museums, experience the International Horticultural Floriade Expo 2022 and so much more.
Join fellow botanical artists as we enjoy these experiences, while soaking in the unique Dutch ambience; all exclusively designed for ASBA Members. You will cement old friendships, make new life-long friends, and perhaps meet some of our Dutch Members. Come join us in the Netherlands in early May 2022. Contact your Guest Services Coordinator, Alex Hollis, by phone at 1-800-856-1045, ext. 2 or email at ASBA@connoisseurstours.com
Details and complete itinerary are available at https://www.ctjourneys.com/leiden2022
We love ribbon. Sometimes, when it’s November and we are so eager to start and are at the Flower Market browsing in the ribbon aisles, we pick out patterns and colors that are perhaps a little too challenging when we are on the spot decorating. Santa’s Buckle below was one that seemed like a good idea at the time, but was languishing on the rolls with no decorators willing to experiment with it. In these instances, we try to make up a bow with the ribbon to demonstrate what it will look like when made into a bow and hope someone will choose it. Once a wreath is successfully finished, everyone flocks to the ribbon and we can barely keep up with demand.
Botanical art, with its rich history and high standards, has always informed and promoted botany and the plant world. Since the Renaissance and fueled by centuries of plant exploration, great discoveries in global flora, advances in printing techniques, and an increasing interest in horticulture, botanical art gained a wide audience and flourished as both an art form and a means to document plant species from 1600 – 1900. Beginning in the 1990’s, there has been a resurgence of interest in contemporary botanical art. Pam Harrington will review the significant roles and styles of botanical art. from early times to the present. The class will also visit the Special Collections in Wellesley College’s Margaret Clapp Library for a viewing of the College’s extraordinary collection of rare botanical books on January 6 (snow date January 7). Otherwise, class will be online. Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Garden members $125, nonmembers $150. Register at 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.
In this National Trusts video, you’ll meet Leo Jennings, Area Ranger at Greys Court near Henley in Oxfordshire. You’ll learn more about how and why the Trust fells trees, and how it benefits nature in the surrounding area. You’ll also get an insight into all the different jobs rangers do at the National Trust: from managing habitats to helping out the house team now and again. Join Leo as he explains how the Greys Court rangers have been using wood from the estate to create a boardwalk, which will open up new areas for visitors to explore, and improve accessibility for those who find it tricky to navigate the muddier areas of the woodland. You’ll also hear from volunteers about the work they’re doing to help out on the project. We protect and care for places so people and nature can thrive. Everyone can get involved, everyone can make a difference. Nature, beauty, history. For everyone, for ever. The five minute YouTube video may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTtGljPbkPY
Today we simply want to point out the difficulty this 2016 wreath presented to the decorator. First, there is the fabric brocade bow, which unlike other materials can be notoriously difficult to staple in place and fluff properly. Then there are the small pomegranates, with no natural handles to attach firmly to the greens. Berries begin to shed upon touch, and the paper lantern flowers (Physalis alkekengi) fall off their fragile stems if you look at them crosswise. It is a magnificent wreath, however, and if memory serves, was one of a pair.
Sarasota Orchid Society’s Orchids in Paradise is being held January 8 – 9, 2022 at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236. Judging is being held on January 7, 2022 at 5:00 PM. The Miami Orchid Society’s Tamiami International Orchid Festival will take place Friday through Sunday, January 14 – 16, at the Dade County Fairgrounds Expo Center, Fuchs Pavilion, 10901 Coral Way (SW 24 St.), Miami. Fort Lauderdale gets into the act on the following weekend with its Orchids Rock event at the The Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale. So if you are an orchid enthusiast and plan a Florida trip, check out the details of all three events at www.aos.org
Worcester Art Museum gets merry and bright for the holidays with artfully decorated trees inspired by the Museum’s current special exhibition, Love Stories from the National Portrait Gallery, London and the 1965 classic movie, Doctor Zhivago. Stroll through the galleries and view the decorations created by Sally Jablonski of Herbert E. Berg Florist, Inc. On Saturday, January 8 there will be an Ice Carving demonstration by Chip Koser of South Cape Ice Sculptures, among many other activities. For more information visit www.worcesterart.org
The Winter Solstice is here, the Shortest Day, the Longest Night, a time for Christmas Revels or Wiccan Celebrations or maybe just an evening of chestnuts roasting on an open fire. From 2016, here is an all natural wreath symbolizing all of the above. The word wreath comes from the word “writhen” that was an old English word meaning “to writhe” or “to twist.” Just a little bit of information for your day. Welcome, Yule!
