Wreath of the Day – For the Birds
A customer asked for a bird-themed wreath, but requested that no cardinals need apply. Luckily we have a cache of other small birds which we could incorporate into the all natural wreath.
Saturday, January 12, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – An Artist’s Perspective: Nature Journal Workshop (Ages 8 – 12)
Join artist Regina Gardner Milan in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum on Saturday, January 12 from 1 – 2:30 in this Nature Journal Workshop. Participants, ages 8-12, will develop observational skills while learning a new awareness of their environment. Seed pods, pine cones, and other plant material will be available for observation and drawing. If weather permits, you will go on a short walk to collect more specimens. Milan will do demonstrations of drawing and documenting important details, and then you will try your own hand at creating a personal nature journal.
Nature holds a spellbinding allure to Milan, who finds that observing nature often produces scenes of larger-than-life beauty. The Arboretum’s exhibition of Milan’s paintings magnifies nature’s productions, fully illuminating the elegance of plant life as small as a seed pod. This show captures the wonder of the Arboretum in those larger-than-life images.
Milan received a Certificate of Botanical Illustration with distinction from the Society of Botanical Artists in London, England, where she also received the President’s Award. She has exhibited in many juried shows throughout the US and world, including the 2016 New England Society of Botanical Artists’ show at the Arnold Arboretum. She teaches graphic design as an Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and is president of MILAN concept & design, a graphic design firm she founded in 1988.
Simple paper journals, some drawing materials and erasers will be available. Bring your own materials if you have them.
Free, registration required and limited. Register at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.
Wreath of the Day – Mirror Image
One condominium client has a large glass front door, and hangs one wreath on the front facing the street, and one facing the lobby. The wreaths are supposed to coordinate but need not match exactly. Our designer realized the bow outline would be visible from each side so she created mirror image wreaths, which demonstrates the extra measures we go to in order to make the products as nearly perfect as possible.
Tuesdays, January 8 – February 12, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Botany for the Home Gardener
In this six-session course to be held Tuesdays, January 8 – February 12 from 6:30 – 8, join Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Senior Horticulturist, Hannah Traggis, to explore the fundamentals of plant structures and their function, reproductive and floral biology, introductory concepts in physiology and metabolism, and overall systematic organization and classification of major plant groups within the plant kingdom. Participants will better understand the world of plants and learn how to use this knowledge for more success in the garden!
$150 Mass Hort members; $200 general admission. Register at www.masshort.org.
Wreath of the Day – Christmas with the Czars
Who are our favorite customers? Well, all customers are naturally our favorite customers, since their purchases help support our tree work in the neighborhood, planting, pruning, inoculating, and advocating. But we hold a special place in our hearts for those who tell the decorator “Do whatever you want and surprise me.” Here is an example of what can happen then.
Through February 3, 2019 – An Artist’s Perspective; The Arboretum and Botanical Artist Regina Gardner Milan
Regina Gardner Milan spent a year of discovery at the Arnold Arboretum. Botanical jewels of each season–early larches, spring blossoms, fall acorns, autumn leaves–are captured in her exquisite paintings. Nature holds a spellbinding allure to Milan, who finds that observing nature often produces scenes of larger-than-life beauty. The Arboretum’s exhibition magnifies nature’s productions, fully illuminating the elegance of plant life as small as a seed pod. This show captures the wonder of the Arboretum in those larger-than-life images.
Milan received a Certificate of Botanical Illustration with distinction from the Society of Botanical Artists in London, England, where she also received the President’s Award. She has exhibited in many juried shows throughout the US and world, including the 2016 New England Society of Botanical Artists’ show at the Arnold Arboretum. She teaches graphic design as an Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and is president of MILAN concept & design, a graphic design firm she founded in 1988.
Ms. Milan’s paintings may be viewed in the Hunnewell Building of the Arboretum through February 3. Please visit https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/art-shows/ for more information.
Wreath of the Day – Who’s a Good Girl?
Somehow we know we are going to regret this posting, because all you dog lovers out there are going to want this ribbon next year and we have absolutely no way to guarantee it will be available. We did have it this year, however, and the decorator made a quick trip to the convenience store for some Milk Bone dog biscuits, which she sprayed gold, as an extra enhancement to this wreath. To say it was a season favorite is an understatement.
Thursday, March 14, 7:00 pm – Piet Oudolf with Thomas Piper
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum will present a Landscape Lecture on Thursday, March 14 at 7 pm in Calderwood Hall. The lecture is currently sold out but to put your name on a wait list call 617-278-5156, Wednesday through Monday, 11 – 4:30.
The evening begins with a screening of Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf, followed by Piet Oudolf and Thomas Piper in conversation with Charles Waldheim.
Piet Oudolf is an internationally recognized Dutch garden designer, plantsman, and author. Oudolf is a leading figure of the “New Perennial” movement. He practices a naturalistic approach to gardening using bold drifts of perennials and grasses chosen at least as much for their structure as for their color.
Thomas Piper is an award-winning non-fiction filmmaker, focusing on design and contemporary art. Five Seasons won the Polly Krakora Award for Artistry in Film at the 2018 DC Environmental Film Festival. In 2008, his film Ellsworth Kelly: Fragments won best Film for Television at the International Festival of Films on Art in Montreal.
Patrons are invited to a private reception with Piet Oudolf following the screening.
Wreath of the Day – A Retirement
Years ago we moved our Wreath Project from the basement of Margaret Pokorny’s home to The First Lutheran Church of Boston, and were welcomed effusively by Pastor Ingo Dutzmann and his congregation. The Church is the most perfect venue for us, combining a locked outer courtyard space to keep our wreaths fresh and safe, a large basement workshop for decorating, and a functioning kitchen for feeding our members. The Pastor has been a fixture during our four day workshop, smiling, good humored, and an endless source of corny jokes. We learned this year that he is retiring and we hope he will return as Pastor Emeritus or visiting clergy during Decembers, so we may again enjoy his company. The Church website describes him here: Pastor Ingo Dutzmann has been the senior Pastor at First Lutheran Church of Boston for over 20 years and has a great heart for Jesus, his congregation, and the people of Boston. Whether he’s preaching law and gospel to folks both big and small, taking visitors out for lunch, counseling the distraught, or just making bad puns to lighten the mood during Bible study, Pastor takes his responsibility to proclaim Jesus seriously. Pastor has a wonderful wife, Daria, four children, and two grandchildren. After the gas explosion and fire which destroyed their home in 2015 (but, God be praised, spared all who lived there), Pastor has continued to serve the church and LCEF with even greater compassion for the suffering, while looking for a new earthly abode. Their new home in Maine is one way in which Pastor is looking ahead to his retirement, planned for May 2019 (save the date for a celebration of his many years of faithful service on May 18)! Hopefully his new location will help satisfy his lifelong passion for snow, in which he delights. Pastor also delights in the fact that he has never once canceled Sunday services for snow, and to this day is pleased that parishioners have shown up to our downtown Boston location on cross country skis. Below is a picture of the wreath we made for him this year along with a picture of him with wreath co-chair Margaret Pokorny. Pastor, we wish you well!
Thursdays, January 10 – 24, 10:00 am – 3:30 pm – Conservation Biology
This three part New England Wild Flower Society introduction to conservation biology and biodiversity with Nancy Eyster-Smith covers the factors that make a species vulnerable to extinction and the strategies and tools that can be used to protect plants and ecosystems. The course explores the interdisciplinary nature of conservation biology through readings, group exercises, and video clips. Participants receive a bibliography of resources for further study. Classes will be held at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on January 10, 17, and 24 from 10 – 3:30. Bring a bag lunch. $254 for NEWFS members, $300 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/conservation-biology
