Boston Flora

Tag: Beatrix Farrand

  • Thursday and Friday, July 21 and 22 – Our Native Roots – Then and Now

    The Hudson Valley is said by many to be the birthplace of American landscape design. Join Herb Society of America  members on July 21 and 22 as we enjoy a sampling of the area’s attractions while we learn the importance of our native plants both today and in an era gone by. Tour three private gardens that offer a diverse sample of styles representative of the area, meet the Beatrix Farrand Garden Association, relax with friends before heading to dinner, receive news from headquarters, participate in the district meeting, be tempted by our sensational raffle baskets and learn more about our useful natives from experts in their field.

    Registration: $85 per person.
    Visit http://herbsociety.org/events/documents/2016northeastgatheringmailer.pdf to view the 2016 Northeast District Gathering mailer with registration form and lodging information.  Completed registration forms with payment must be postmarked by June 19, 2016.

    For additional information contact:
    Northeast District Membership Delegate Jen Munson at jenmunson@yahoo.com

  • Thursday, June 18, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Exploring Gardens in the Hudson Valley: The Climbery and The Garden at Bellefield

    On Thursday, June 18, take a drive down the Hudson Valley to visit two garden gems that focus on plants. First, tour the Garden at Bellefield, Hyde Park, designed in 1912 by Beatrix Farrand, one of America’s most celebrated landscape designers. Today the garden, pictured below, has been carefully restored, inspired by her landmark work and dedicated to sharing her pioneering legacy. This garden is a perfect example of how Farrand defined the American taste in gardens throughout the first half of the 20th century. She championed the use of perennial plants in combinations based upon color harmony, bloom sequence and texture. This was the birth of the mixed border, a standard in gardens today. A volunteer from the Beatrix Farrand Association will lead the tour of this lovely garden at the height of its June bloom.

    From there, travel to the Culinary Institute of America to catch a quick lunch at the Apple Pie Cafe (cost of lunch not included in the fee). On the return, travel to Livingston, NY, to visit The Climbery, the private garden of Barbara Packer. With a focus on plants, specifically the holy grail of vines, clematis, wander through this beautifully landscaped seven-acre property dedicated to over 5,000 clematis—the second largest planted collection of clematis in the world. In addition to the clematis collection, enjoy an exuberant mid-June bloom of peonies, irises and more. Timed for the height of the clematis bloom, view this exceptional collec- tion and learn how to cultivate these winsome beauties.

    This Berkshire Botanical Garden sponsored tour is $40 for BBG members, $50 for nonmembers. Participants can choose to carpool or drive separately. Those joining the carpool should meet in the parking lot at Berkshire Botanical Garden for an 8:30 am departure. Time onsite in Hyde Park & Livingston, NY, is 10 am – 3 pm). For directions, and to register, visit http://www.berkshirebotanical.org/event/exploring-gardens-in-the-hudson-valley-the-climbery-and-the-garden-at-bellefield/?instance_id=3365.

  • Friday, August 1, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Federal Reserve Bank Green Roof Tour

    The 18,000 sq ft. roof garden at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston was installed in 1976 and is considered one of the oldest, still original roof gardens in the country.

    The roof garden was designed by Robert Fager, ASLA who worked for the building architects, Hugh Stubbins & Associates. Frank W. Sellner was the landscape architect consultant for the project. He often told stories of interning for Beatrix Farrand and his work experience with Fletcher Steele!

    The garden is on the fourth floor, 90′ above the ground floor with sweeping views towards Boston Harbor and the Seaport District. The roof garden has many specimen trees. Organically grown edibles are incorporated into the seasonal plantings.

    The FRB property has over 200 trees and a 60′ roof top greenhouse all maintained by the Bank’s horticulture staff.  The street address is 600 Atlantic Avenue, and the cost of the tour is $15. Sponsored by The Landscape Institute at the Boston Architectural College, you may reserve a spot for the Friday, August 1 tour by emailing pce@the-bac.edu.

  • Through September 7 – Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and the Women Who Designed Them

    Those of us who enjoyed the speakers during The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s program theme a few years ago, Women in the Garden, should travel to the New York Botanical Garden now through September 7.  It is hosting Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and the Women Who Designed Them, an exhibition that focuses on the accomplishments of prominent women whose work influenced landscape architecture and garden design, garden photography, and garden writing in the first three decades of the 20th century.

    Included in the exhibit is Mrs. Rockefeller’s Garden, a reconstruction of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine.  The garden, designed by Beatrix Farrand in 1926, was at the summer home of philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and his wife Abby.  Also featured is Gardens for a Beautiful America: The Women Who Photographed Them,  a display in the Garden’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library of vintage photographs and illustrated books highlighting the work of female photographers.  An outdoor poetry walk will feature the work of Edna St. Vincent Millay.

    During the exhibition, visitors can also enjoy live musical performances featuring pieces by American composers of the time period, hands-on programs for children, public lectures, and a downloadable app that offers additional information about the exhibition.  Visit www.nybg.org or call 718-817-8700 for further details.

  • Tuesday, March 18, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Beatrix Farrand, Rediscovered

    The Hopkinton Garden Club welcomes character actor Colleen Plimpton as “Beatrix Farrand” on Tuesday, March 18, from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm at the Hopkinton Historical Society, 168 Hayden Rowe in Hopkinton. Colleen considers herself both an educator and an entertainer. Her lighthearted, interactive, informative  show ‘n tell lectures illustrate various aspects of gardening and green living.  She has presented to thousands of people over the past several years, including appearances at the Boston, Chicago, Connecticut and Rhode Island Flower Shows.

    Beatrix Farrand (1872-1959) was America’s first female landscape architect and a founding member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Though overlooked for decades, her work is being rediscovered. Many of her gardens, such as Bellefield in Hyde Park, NY; Hill-Stead in Farmington, CT and Garland Farm in Bar Harbor, ME, have been restored. This talk is a dramatic, 45-minute, first person presentation of the life, times and work of this distinguished “landscape gardener”.

    Free and open to the public.  For more information visit www.hopkintongardenclub.org.

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  • Sunday, June 2, 2:00 pm – Rick Darke: The Wild Garden

    The Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, along with its park partner The Beatrix Farrand Garden Association and The Landscape and Arboretum Program at Bard present the 7th Annual Bellefield Design Lecture on Sunday, June 2 at 2 pm at the Henry A . Wallace Visitor Center at the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt Historic Site and The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, 4079 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park, New York.  There will be a garden reception with book signing, an heirloom plant sale and a garden boutique sponsored by the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt Historical Association to follow in the Garden at Bellefield.

    Rick Darke, renowned author, photographer and landscape consultant will present his recently expanded edition of William Robinson’s influential book, The Wild Garden. first published in 1870. Robinson’s approach inspired Beatrix Farrand throughout her career, and now Darke reintroduces this groundbreaking text on the creation of sustainable landscapes to a new generation of gardeners.

    Tickets are $35/$30 for Beatrix Farrand Garden Association members. Visit http://www.beatrixfarrandgarden.org/events.html to purchase tickets.

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  • Thursday, September 20, 10:00 am – Great Gardens of the Northeast

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay opens its 2012/2013 program year focused on Gardens of America on Thursday, September 20, beginning at 10 am at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue. Join Adriana O’Sullivan for a spectacular armchair garden tour from Washington, DC to Mount Desert Island in Maine. This one-hour presentation focuses on some of the finest gardens the Northeast has to offer. Dumbarton Oaks in Washington D.C., designed by Beatrix Farrand between 1921 and 1941, Wave Hill Botanic Garden in The Bronx, Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate in Sleepy Hollow, NY (pictured below), the magnificent gardens at Old Westbury on Long Island, Edith Wharton’s estate ‘The Mount’, and Naumkeag in the Berkshire hills. In New Hampshire we visit the home and studio of Augustus Saint Gaudens and on Mount Desert Island in Maine we will see the Thuya Gardens, the Asticou Azalea Garden and the famous Abby Aldridge Rockefeller Garden. All gardens are a feast for the eye and all are open to the public.  GC members will receive written notification.  The public is invited, with a requested $5 donation, and may rsvp at info@bostonflora.com.

  • Sunday, April 29, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Folk to Fork Garden Party

    The Beatrix Farrand Garden Association is sponsoring a “Folk to Fork” Garden Party and concert to benefit gardening teens on Sunday, April 29, from 1 – 3, rain or shine, at the Beatrix Farrand Garden at Bellefield, 4097 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park, New York.  Enjoy local foods, The Bandana Splits (a retro style female vocal group), singer-songwriter Benji Cossa, and a Garden Boutique by the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt Historical Association.  Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available at http://beatrixfarrandgarden.org/events.html.  You may also call 845-554-7482 for more information.  The mission of the Beatrix Farrand Garden Association is to preserve the Beatrix Farrand Garden at Bellefield and to educate the public about Farrand’s important design legacy.  This event supports a series of garden workshops at the Farrand Garden for the Green Teen Community Garden Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County.  It’s a bit of a hike for us Bostonians, but if you’re in the area, try to attend.

  • Sunday, February 26, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Women in Botany

    Judith Sumner, botanist, author, and educator, celebrates women’s many roles in botany, at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on Sunday, February 26 from 10 – 4. Expert practical botanists – as gardeners, cooks, herbalists, and midwives – women have also become recognized professional botanists contributing significantly to plant science through exploration, research, and publication. Beginning with colonial America and the work of Jane Colden, explore the role of women in botanical studies and documentation. Recognize the role of women in protecting biodiversity (including the origins of the New England Wild Flower Society) and the work of Beatrix Farrand and others in ecology and landscape design.  In addition to lecture, slides, and discussion, peruse primary source materials from the Society library and participate in hands-on activities that commemorate the diverse roles of women in botany. This lecture is offered in collaboration with The Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture. Fee for members of either organization is $72 per person, and for non-members, $87. Register on line at www.newfs.org, or at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH.

  • Wednesday, June 30, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes

    Beatrix Farrand was one of the foremost landscape designers of the early 1900s. Born into a prominent New York family, Farrand eschewed the traditional social life of the Gilded Age to pursue her passion for landscape and plants. Many of her “high society” clients were had estates in Newport, the Berkshires, and Maine, but ultimately Farrand became the landscape designer for university campuses and public gardens. Join past Garden Club of the Back Bay speaker, landscape historian, author, and Vineyard gardener Judith Tankard for a look at the life and work of Farrand.  Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes, published in 2009, is Tankard’s seventh book on landscape history. This lecture, taking place Wednesday, June 30 at the Polly Hill Arboretum, beginning at 7:30 pm, is sponsored by Middletown Nursery and the Polly Hill Arboretum.  $10 admission, $5 for PHA members.  For more information, log on to www.pollyhillarboretum.org.

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