Boston Flora

Tag: Gail Read

  • Saturday, June 18, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Landscape in Translation: Arts & Crafts Ideals in the 21st Century

    With sweeping views of the Narragansett Bay, Blithewold was created as a seaside summer retreat in the 1890s and remained in the same family for almost 100 years. Today, this 33-acre estate evokes the romance of the Country Place Era. The landscape itself reflects the Arts and Crafts style with harmony between house and grounds and amongst the various gardens; garden rooms of an intimate scale ranging in character from mysterious to exotic, poetic to practical; carefully designed and locally crafted details including stonework, wellheads, and fountains; and a remarkable collection of more than 500 species of trees and shrubs. On June 18 at 1 pm, explore this landscape and its rich history in a Digging Deeper walking tour with Garden Manager Betsy Ekholm and Gail Read (gardens and greenhouse manager). The program is sponsored by the Garden Conservancy, and is $30 for Blithewold and Garden Conservancy members, $40 for general public. For more information, please contact the Garden Conservancy by telephone 845.424.6500, M-F, 9-5 Eastern, or sign up at www.gardenconservancy.org

  • Friday, March 13, 10:00 am – 11:00 am – Gardeners’ Roundtable: Cold Frames

    A cold frame can be a gardener’s best friend. Their uses include extending the seasons to grow plants before and after frosts and hardening off young seedlings, plus propagating and overwintering plants, all without the expense of a greenhouse.

    This March 13. Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum class will explore the different types of cold frames and their uses, plus we’ll share a simple construction design that will be great in your home. Cold frames can be a wonderful way to discover the joy of growing plants. The session runs from 10 – 11 and is led by Gail Read and Joe Verstandig. Call 401-253-2707 for more information, or email jcleveland@blithewold.org.

  • Friday, October 13, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm – The Telling and Selling at Blithewold Gardens

    Join The Association for Garden Communicators (GWA) on Friday, October 13 from 9 – 3:30 at Blithewold Gardens in Bristol, Rhode Island, for a day long seminar and garden tour to help develop a better marketing plan for yourself, your business, your not for profit, or horticulture at large. Speakers include Angela Treadwell-Palmer and C.L. Fornari, plus a tour of the Blithewold Gardens and Greenhouse with Gail Read, Garden Manager. Additional tour opportunities on Thursday, October 12 and Saturday, October 14 include trips to Green Animals Topiary Garden, Roger Williams Park Botanical Center, Samuel Whitehorn House, and the Farmers Daughter Nursery. Registration prices range from $50 – $95, online at www.gardenwriters.org.

  • Friday, September 27, 10:00 am – 11:30 am – Growing a Cutting Garden Part II

    For gardeners the ultimate pleasure is to be able to cut flowers from their own garden to beautify their home and give it a fresh look and feel. At Blithewold, located at 101 Ferry Road in Bristol, Rhode Island, which has tended a cutting garden for over 100 years, flowers from the garden have been brought into the Mansion for everyday pleasure as well as for special events, or given away to friends and family. Others who keep a cutting garden love to have home-grown blossoms, foliage, and seed heads handy for fresh or dried floral arrangements and crafts, and even for cooking.

    Guests at this Friday, September 27 session, beginning at 10 am, will meet at Blithewold’s Greenhouse, then accompany Gardens Manager Gail Read into the Cutting Garden, where she will share what she likes to grow for cut flowers. The June session of the two-part series highlighted cutting-garden annuals and planting plans; a walk around the property highlighted a variety of flowers worthy to be cut and brought into the home. The cutting bed comes into its own in July through September. September is Gail’s favorite time in the cutting garden—the flowers are so exuberant! And, it’s a great time to demonstrate cutting techniques as well as the possibilities for favorite foliage cuts. $20 for Blithewold members, $25 for nonmembers. Sign up by calling 401-253-2707, or online at www.blithewold.org.   Photo from www.theruralsociety.com.

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  • Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Wreath Decorating Workshops at Blithewold

    Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Wreath Decorating Workshops at Blithewold

    Blithewold’s Garden Manager Gail Read, and Interpretive Horticulturist Kristen Green will share design ideas and assembly tips that allow you to create a one-of-a kind holiday wreath. You will be able to choose your greens from a wide variety of plant material, some of which is pre-cut from Blithewold’s collection of unique evergreens. Anyone who may be in Rhode Island and plans to help with The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s wreath project the following week may wish to take this “practice” opportunity. Blithewold is located at 101 Ferry Road in Bristol, Rhode Island, and the workshops will be held Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1, from 10 – noon. $38 for Blithewold members and $45 for non members. Register by telephone at 401-253-2707, or on line at www.blithewold.org.  One of our own Garden Club of the Back Bay wreaths is pictured below (to order, click on to www.gardenclubbackbay.org/products-page/.