Boston Flora

Tag: Commonwealth Avenue

  • Thursday, May 17, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Commonwealth Avenue: Boston’s Grand Boulevard

    On Thursday, May 17, beginning at 6 pm at the George Washington Statue in the Public Garden, corner of Arlington Street and Commonwealth Avenue, take a walk through the heart of Victorian Boston on this Boston by Foot tour of Commonwealth Avenue. Boston’s grand boulevard, Commonwealth Avenue, provides an enduringly popular stroll. The tour parallels the 19th century filling and development of the Back Bay from its origin at Arlington Street down the seven blocks along the tree-lined, grassy Mall. See how careful effort over 150 years has preserved the “grandness” of the Avenue. General Admission $15 (Boston by Foot members $5). Register at http://www.bostonbyfoot.org/tours/Commonwealth_Avenue

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  • Thursday, May 21, 6:00 pm – Commonwealth Avenue: Boston’s Grand Boulevard

    Boston’s Grand Boulevard, Commonwealth Avenue, provides one of the city’s most enduring popular strolls.  This Boston By Foot tour on Thursday, May 21 at 6 pm parallels the 19th-century filling and development of the Back Bay from its origin at Arlington Street.  The avenue and its promenade were planned to elegantly complement the transformation of the newly filled Back Bay, which was designed as an upscale neighborhood.  Meet your guide at the George Washington Statue in the Public Garden, at the corner of Arlington Street and Commonwealth Avenue.  $15 per person, $5 for Boston By Foot members.  Contact info@bostonbyfoot.org for more information, or call them at 617-367-2345.

  • Saturday, September 15, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – NABB Fall Street Sale

    On Saturday, September 15th, from 10:00am to 5:00pm, The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay will hold its Annual Fall Street Sale, our local community yard sale, on the Dartmouth Street Mall between Newbury Street and Commonwealth Avenue (at Alley 434).

    You may purchase a 10′ x 4′ selling space at the Street Sale for $75. This fee includes one chair. Bring your own table or rent one with your space reservation for an additional $25. Reservations are not transferable according to state revenue restrictions.

    NABB arranges the space, procures the permits, and sets the stage. You bring your clean and sale ready household merchandise, books, antiques or other treasures, priced appropriately, and watch them be snapped up by bargain hunters. The proceeds are all yours.

    No clothing, please. The City of Boston has notified NABB that no commercial products may be sold at this sale.  For more information, or to procure a table, log on to www.nabbonline.com, or mail a check for $75 (or $100 if you wish to rent a table and chair) made out to NABB to the NABB office at 160 Commonwealth Avenue, #L-8, Boston, MA 02116-2749.

     

  • Wednesday, January 13, 10:00 am – Community Supported Agriculture

    Join members of The Garden Club of the Back Bay on Wednesday, January 13 beginning at 10:00 am at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue, for a January meeting featuring Chris Kurth of Siena Farms in Sudbury, Massachusetts.  Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer.  Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public.  Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included.  Interested consumers purchase a share (a/k/a a “membership” or a “subscription”) and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.  This arrangements creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer, and Chris will detail how this grass roots movement has had a profound impact on how we eat.  Many of our members know Chris from The Farmer’s Market on Copley Square, where his beautiful produce is always in high demand.  He supplies a number of Boston’s best restaurants as well.  If you are a GCBB member, you will receive, or may already have received, a written notice of the meeting.  If not, please rsvp to info@bostonflora.com.  There is no charge for the meeting, but there will be an optional lunch at the Club following the talk, which will cost $20, and reservations are essential.

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  • Sunday, November 15, 3:00 – 5:00 pm – Victorian Flower Arranging with Donna Morrissey


    Victorian Flower Arranging with Donna Morrissey

    Presented by The Gibson House

    Sunday, November 15

    3:00 – 5:00 pm

    The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston

    Assorted fine teas, iced tea, mint lemonade, petite tea sandwiches,

    fresh fruit, mini scones, tea breads and tea cookies will be served.

    Tickets are $65.00**

    Seating is limited.  Reservations are required.

    RSVP: 617-267-6338 or email info@thegibsonhouse.org.


    Donna Morrissey is a Master Flower Show Judge and former Chairman for Judges Council of National Garden Clubs.

    She is a Senior Associate of the Museum of Fine Arts and a Floral Designer and Design Instructor at the MFA.

    Donna is a member of the Garden Club of the Back Bay and the Wareham Garden Club. She is a popular presenter of Floral Design Programs and Workshops and has her own floral design business, Chestnut Hill Celebrations.

    The Gibson House Museum is the only museum in Back Bay, preserved as it was lived in by three generations of the Gibson family (1859-1954). The house opened as a museum in 1957, and tells the story of daily life in the Back Bay during the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries.  The Museum also displays its collection of Victorian and Edwardian decorative arts.
    The Gibson House Museum is located at 137 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02116. For more information, log on to www.thegibsonhouse.org.
    **The Gibson House is a Massachusetts not-for-profit corporation. All but $23.00 of the cost of your ticket is tax deductible.

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  • Wednesday, November 11, 10:00 am – Low Impact Landscaping

    The November meeting of The Garden Club of the Back Bay will take place Wednesday, November 11, beginning at 10:00 am at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.  We welcome  Paul Marquis, who will speak on  Low Impact Landscaping.  Paul Marquis, of Green Home Solutions in Arlington, MA and former “Green House Doctor” for The Green Roundtable, will be our guest speaker for the November meeting.

    The objective of this talk is to introduce concepts of resource-conserving and environmentally-friendly landscape design and maintenance practices. Conventional residential landscapes are often resource-intensive, and some of the maintenance products and practices typically employed have been associated with adverse long-term health consequences and environmental impact. Topics covered will include low-water landscaping or xeriscaping, rainwater collection and use, advantages of using native plants, more-effective storm water management, and organic turf and landscape management practices. The talk will include a brief discussion of Low Impact Development, green roofs, and “hardscaping” options.

    The Green Roundtable, Inc. (GRT) is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to mainstream green building and sustainable design and become obsolete.  It works toward this goal by promoting and supporting healthy and environmentally integrated building projects through strategic outreach, education, policy advocacy and technical assistance.  The Green Roundtable envisions a world in which green building is business as usual. For more information on The Green Roundtable, log on to www.greenroundtable.org.

    Reservations are required for this meeting, which will be followed by an optional luncheon with our speaker ($20) at The College Club.  The public is invited.  For more information, and to register, email info@bostonflora.com. Club members will receive written notice of this meeting with a response slip.

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  • Tuesday, November 3, 6:00 pm – Feast or Pharmacy? Meeting Micronutrient Needs with Local Food

    Ellen Messer, Visiting Professor of Gastronomy at Boston University, will present a free lecture on Tuesday, November 3 at 6 pm, entitled “Feast or Pharmacy? Meeting Micronutrient Needs with Local Foods.”  The lecture will take place at 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 117, and is free and open to the public, although Boston University asks that you call to reserve a space – 617-353-9852.   Dr.  Messer is an anthropologist and specialist in human rights, food security, and religion, with a special interest in religion and development. She has taught Religion and Development and, in a cross-cultural approach, Nutrition and Food Security, at Brandeis University. The talk is part of BU’s ongoing MLA in Gastronomy Lecture Series in Food Studies.  More information on all the lectures can be found at www.bu.edu/foodandwine.

  • Rain Cancellation of Garden Club Table at NABB Street Sale

    Once again, heavy rain and a forecast of lightning has scuttled our plans to participate in the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay’s Street Fair, originally scheduled to take place today, October 3, on the Dartmouth Street Mall between Newbury Street and Commonwealth Avenue.  We haven’t heard whether or not NABB and other vendors are going forward with their plans (we suspect not), but thank our volunteers, especially Committee Chair Maureen O’Hara, for their work preparing for today’s event.

  • Wednesday, September 16 – Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay Annual Meeting

    The Annual Meeting of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16th at the Algonquin Club on 217 Commonwealth Avenue.  Paul Grogan, President and CEO of The Boston Foundation will speak on The Foundation’s Indicators Project which has been widely honored as one of the most significant research projects of its kind.  The fourth and latest report will be issued this fall.

    Boston today stands at a crossroads. The American Dream seems out of reach for many, and demographic trends threaten to undermine some of the extraordinary progress made in recent decades. Charting the way forward is the Boston Indicators Project, a signature initiative of the Boston Foundation, drawing on a wealth of data generated by area public agencies, civic institutions and community-based organizations and used to identify critical challenges and opportunities for the region and the neighborhoods that define it.
    The author of Comeback Cities: A Blueprint for Urban Neighborhood Revival and a member of  the legendary team of leaders assembled by Boston Mayor Kevin White, Paul Grogan brought a passion for cities and a deep understanding of civic culture to his leadership of one of Boston’s storied nonprofit organizations. The result has been a new national model for community foundations committed to enabling the regions they serve to compete successfully in the complex world of the 21st century.

    The Boston Foundation is one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations.  Mr. Grogan will provide a thumbnail of the Foundation’s history and role in Greater Boston and the Back Bay and where they are today.  For time of the meeting, and to rsvp, please telephone Lois Harvey at 617-247-3961, or email info@nabbonline.com.

    Derby Photo

  • Monday, August 31, 6 pm – Boston Bikes Initiative Community Meeting

    The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services and Boston Bikes invite you to a

    COMMUNITY MEETING

    Monday, August 31, 2009
    6:00 PM
    Boston Public Library Central Branch
    Mezzanine Conference Room
    700 Boylston Street

    As part of Mayor Menino’s Boston Bikes Initiative, the City of Boston is creating bike lanes on major roadways to improve access and safety for all users.  The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the proposed installation of bike lanes on Commonwealth Avenue.

    For more information, please contact:
    Will Onuoha, Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services
    (617) 635-3485
    Nicole Freedman, Boston Bikes
    (617) 918-4456

    Boston Bikes is part of Mayor Menino’s plan for a vibrant and healthy city that benefits all its citizens. It seeks to make Boston a world-class bicycling city by creating safe and inviting conditions for all residents and visitors.  The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay supports a public process but has some reservations about the plan as proposed, and encourages us to attend this first public meeting.