Boston Flora

Tag: Donna Morrissey

  • Wreath of the Day, From the Archives – Pine Tar

    When you work with fresh greens for an hour or for a day, your hands acquire a coating of black tar which is difficult to get off. Many members find working in gloves cumbersome, but it takes a lot of scrubbing and soaking to rid yourself of the evidence of wreath making once you get home. We won’t even discuss how to de-glitter your hair, skin, and clothes – that is an impossibility and you will sparkle well into February. The pine tar, however, can be dealt with through a thorough rub with vegetable shortening, like Crisco, followed by handwashing with liquid dish detergent like Joy. A nail brush helps too, but the grease plus the detergent is pretty magical. You could use butter, we suppose, but that would be wasteful. A beautiful, all natural wreath like the one below would have deposited a fair amount of stickiness onto the decorator, but isn’t it gorgeous?

    Noted floral arranger and Garden Club of the Back Bay member Donna Morrissey sponsored today’s Wreath of the Day post. Donna frequently represents the Club at Art in Bloom at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. We sincerely hope Art in Bloom will be back in 2021.

  • Monday, February 13, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – Flower Arranging with Donna Morrissey

    Monday, February 13, 9:30 am – 11:30 am – Flower Arranging with Donna Morrissey

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay has added a special workshop to its 2017 program schedule.  Member Donna Morrissey, an award winning flower arranger, graciously has agreed to teach a hands-on workshop on Monday, February 13 beginning at 9:30 am at The First Lutheran Church of Boston, 299 Berkeley Street.  So that Donna can give each participant guidance and valuable critiques, the class must be limited in size to twenty members.  The materials cost will be $35 per person, vases provided.  However, if you are just interested in watching the process and listening to Donna’s advice, you may “audit” for $5.  Light refreshments will be served.  Please email slgsmith58@gmail.com if you plan to attend, and you will be sent information on suggested equipment to bring with you, and information on payment. Deadline for registration is February 9.

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  • 2014 Garden Club of the Back Bay Art in Bloom Entry

    2014 Garden Club of the Back Bay Art in Bloom Entry

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay thanks arranger Donna Morrissey and her assistant Cathy Wallace for their splendid arrangement interpreting Jean Honore Fragonard’s Aurora Triumphing over Night, about 1755-56. Oil on canvas. The painting is a recent Museum purchase with funds by contribution and by exchange from a Gift of Laurence K. and Lorna J. Marshall.

    Art in Bloomphoto 2patrons_choice

  • Tuesday, October 16, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Flower Design Workshop with Donna Morrissey

    Tuesday, October 16, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Flower Design Workshop with Donna Morrissey

    The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts announces a series of three  hands-on Design Workshops for beginning and intermediate flower arrangers.  The first will take place Tuesday, October 16, from 10 – noon at a new location, the Hunnewell Building at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Elm Bank in Wellesley.  Dates for the next two workshops are January 15 (snow date January 17) and April 9.  The fee for all three sessions is $125, and includes all materials and instruction.  No refunds will be given if you are unable to attend, but you may designate someone to attend in your place, or ask a friend who is attending to collect your flowers and container at the end of the class.  You will need to bring clippers, notebook, and a clean up bag.  Please mail your check, made out to GCFM, Inc., to Donna C. Morrissey, 143 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton, MA, 02467, and include your name, address, Garden Club affiliation, telephone number, and email address.  Space is limited to 90 people and will be on a strictly first come basis.  For additional information, email Donna at donnacmorrissey@aol.com.  Below is a snapshot of an arrangement Donna so kindly did for The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s Twilight Garden Party on June 5, 2012.

  • Saturday, April 28 – Monday, April 30 – Art in Bloom

    Coming soon! Celebrate spring at this annual festival of fine art and fresh flowers. See the MFA’s galleries transformed by almost 70 extraordinary arrangements inspired by magnificent works of art. Art in Bloom is free with Museum admission; no reservations are required to see the floral arrangements and participate in most of the programs. The Garden Club of the Back Bay will be represented this year by Donna Morrissey, ably assisted by Barbara Batting. For complete scheduling information, visit www.mfa.org.

  • Tuesday, October 11, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Design Workshop with Donna Morrissey

    Tuesday, October 11 will be the first class in a three part workshop with Garden Club of the Back Bay member Donna Morrissey.  The following two sessions will take place Tuesday, January 17 (snow date Wednesday, January 18), and Tuesday, April 10, 2012.  All three programs will be held from 10 – noon at the Espousal Center, 554 Lexington Street, North Waltham, Massachusetts, and are intended for beginning and intermediate flower arrangers.  The fee for all three sessions is $125, which includes all materials and instruction.  No refunds if you are unable to attend, although you may designate someone to attend in your place, or ask a friend who is attending to collect your flowers and container at the end of the class.  You need to supply clippers, notebook, and a clean-up bag.  Please mail your check, made out to GCFM,Inc. to Donna at 143 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton, MA 02467.

  • 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.

    http://www.pattern-diva.com/victorian_flower_arrangement.jpg

  • Saturday, May 30 – Sunday, May 31 – Open House, A Standard Flower Show

    The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts and The Massachusetts Horticultural Society present Open House, A Standard Flower Show, at The Manor House & The Educational Building, Elm Bank Horticultural Center, Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02482.  Hours are Saturday, 10 – 4, and Sunday, 11 – 4.  Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door.  Garden Club of the Back Bay Member Donna Morrissey is Co-Chairman of the Flower Show Committee, so we hope all our members will try to attend.  Open House is the second joint venture in what may become a biennial tradition at Elm Bank, home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.  Each organization is dedicated to the pursuit of perfection in horticulture and design.  Inspired by the surroundings at Elm Bank and mindful of the elements and principles of design, the aim of this show is to complement the Georgian House.  For directions and more information, log on to www.masshort.org. or www.gcfm.org.