Boston Flora

Tag: Garden Club of America

  • Saturday, June 18, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Country Gardens of Little Compton

    The Little Compton Garden Club presents Country Gardens of Little Compton, a tour of seven gardens, on Saturday, June 18 from 10 – 4, rain or shine.  Tickets are $35 if purchased before June 11, $40 thereafter.  Food truck lunches available.  Tickets may be purchased at the Little Compton Community Center and at the Partners Village Store in Westport, Massachusetts, or online at www.littlecomptongardenclub.org.  Proceeds will benefit community projects and the Club’s hosting of the 2017 Garden Club of America Zone 1 meeting.

  • Thursday, April 7, 7:00 pm – Champagne Evening with Floral Designer On Thai

    The Andover Garden Club is hosting a festive evening filled with beautiful flowers. Attendees will be invited to sip champagne while watching internationally known floral designer On Thai create stunning arrangements. Wine, cheese, crackers, fruit, and desserts will also be offered.

    The event is being held in the lovely and historic Andover Town House, 20 Main Street in Andover, which is handicap accessible. Tickets ($35) may be obtained by emailing from Anne Feeney at pianopasta@comcast.net.

    Since 1991 when he created it, On Thai has been the owner of Surroundings Floral Studio (http://www.surroundingsfloral.com/), a full-service florist that specializes in floral designs for weddings, parties, and corporate events. His notable accomplishments in New York’s capital region include designing the floral décor for the National Racing Museum’s Hall of Fame’s annual ball, as well as The National Dance Museum’s ball during the racing season in Saratoga NY. In addition he has designed private parties hosted by the most influential members of Saratoga’s social scene.  Photo of his work below from the Daily Gazette.

    Thai is active in local and regional competitions and has won numerous awards for his entries, including the Teleflora’s People’s Choice Award and awards from several Capital District garden and flower shows. Each year he participates in New York in Bloom, a fundraiser for inner-city youth. He also regularly holds demonstrations for garden clubs throughout the Northeast. For example, Thai presented a selection of floral designs before the National Horticultural Society Convention in Boston MA; made presentations before the Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts Federated Garden Clubs and for the Garden Club of America in Seattle WA. Thai also executed a design presentation for the Creative Floral Arranger of America in Orlando FL.

    Internationally, Thai has demonstrated and taught contemporary design at the Club in the Park, a leading garden club in the United Kingdom.

  • Thursday, May 12, 10:00 am – 1:30 pm – Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America Spring Membership Meeting and Luncheon

    The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America will hold its Spring Membership Meeting and Luncheon on Thursday, May 12 from 10 – 1:30 at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street in Brookline.  Guest Speakers will be Reverend Stephen Ayers of Old North Church and Sean Sanger of Copley Wolff Design.  The Beacon Hill Garden Club and Old North Foundation joined forces to create The Longfellow Garden at the Old North Church, the most visited site in Boston, so that future generations of Americans will continue to treasure this iconic structure and honor the values of freedom and civic responsibility embodied in Longfellow’s stirring words.  All member clubs will receive invitations, and members of The Garden Club of the Back Bay will receive a car pool notice as well.  If you are interested in attending and are not a member of one of the participating Garden Clubs which comprise The Boston Committee of the GCA, email info@bostonflora.com  and will will forward your inquiry to the corresponding secretary of The Boston Committee.

     

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  • Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America 2015 Blossom Fund Project

    As many know, The Garden Club of the Back Bay is an affiliate member of the Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America (read about the organization at www.bostoncommittee.org) and is invested in the latest project to be funded by The Blossom Fund in honor of the upcoming 25th anniversary of The Boston Committee.  The Fairmount Greenway and Windermere Road Project is an initiative sponsored by the Boston Natural Areas Network, now part of the Trustees of Reservations.

    Background: The 9.2-mile Fairmount Indigo Line is a MBTA commuter rail service running from Boston’s South Station to Readville in Hyde Park, passing through some of the city’s lowest income neighborhoods. For decades the rail line has offered only very limited service, with few stops and relatively high prices. The City of Boston and the MBTA are now working to improve transit options for the 100,000 residents who live within a half-mile the Fairmont Line. In particular, the MBTA is constructing four new stations and improving access to the railway, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is investing in the half-mile corridor adjacent to the rail line. As part of this effort, many organizations are working to enhance access to parks and open space along the Fairmount corridor. The BRA’s plan calls for connecting existing parks and gardens through pedestrian and bicycle pathways and expanding community gardens. Meanwhile, community development corporations and neighborhood groups are working to create a Fairmont Greenway. The Greenway will convert City-owned vacant lots along the corridor into parks and gardens, and connect them via bicycle lanes and street improvements that make it safe and pleasant to walk between Fairmount station stops, parks, and neighborhood destinations. Ultimately, the Fairmount Greenway will complement the Emerald Necklace; the Boston HarborWalk; and the Rose Kennedy, East Boston, and Neponset River Greenways as signature linear parks in Boston, drawing visitors to new sections of the city and providing green space and pedestrian access for residents.
    Progress to Date: The MBTA has now opened three of the four planned stations along the Fairmount Indigo Line, and plans for the Fairmount Greenway are taking shape. Several pilot projects along the greenway have been identified, and the first of these to be completed is the Woolson Street community garden in Mattapan, built by the Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN) in partnership with the BRA and community members. This garden provides a healing oasis in a neighborhood marked by violence, and its opening on September 6, 2014 was heralded by the Mayor as an outstanding example of teamwork and collaboration.

    Next Steps: BNAN is continuing to work in partnership with the Fairmount Indigo Corridor Collaborative to plan the Fairmount Greenway, and is partnering with the BRA to convert vacant lots along the corridor into community gardens. This year the BRA has offered BNAN four vacant City-owned lots for conversion to community gardens, along with partial funding for construction. BNAN is now raising the remaining funds needed and preparing to begin construction. The next garden to be completed as part of Fairmount Greenway project will be the garden at Windermere Road in the Uphams Corner neighborhood. This 4,095 square foot lot is located a 9 minute walk (0.5 miles) from the Uphams Corner station on the Fairmount line, a few blocks southeast of the Strand Theater. The property will provide approximately 12 new garden plots and will draw in visitors and neighbors for community gardening workshops and garden events. BNAN will provide water for irrigation, terraced beds, garden paths, decorative plantings, and a fence to secure the property. The BRA has provided $75,000 in funding for the project, and BNAN is working to raise the remaining $34,890 needed to cover construction costs such as masonry, fencing, site furnishings, plantings, utilities/drainage, and civil engineering. If funding is secured this fall, BNAN looks forward to completing the project and opening the garden by June 2015. The Uphams Corner neighborhood is one of the most densely populated in the City of Boston, with more than 54,000 people living within one mile of the Uphams Corner commercial district. The neighborhood has a long and distinguished history, having been originally settled in the 1630s, and becoming home to the first one-stop supermarket in Boston in 1915. The district has several historical sites, including the Strand Theatre built in 1918; the Blake House, Boston’s oldest extant house built in 1661; and the Dorchester North Burying Ground which dates to 1634. In nearby Edward Everett Square, a 12-foot bronze sculpture of Clapp’s Favorite Pear celebrates the agricultural history of this section of Dorchester. Today, the Uphams Corner neighborhood is experiencing a surge in reinvestment after decades of decline. The City of Boston is investing $3.1 million to improve streets, sidewalks, and public spaces, and new businesses are opening up to serve the tens of thousands of residents and visitors who pass through this lively crossroads each day. The Windermere Road garden will contribute to the overall revitalization of the area by bringing much needed green space to the densely built streets and an opportunity for residents to garden.

    Track Record of Success: BNAN owns 60 community gardens across the city, and has a well-established protocol for planning gardens in partnership with neighborhood residents, constructing gardens using high quality materials, and helping gardeners to manage and maintain the properties over the long term. BNAN gardens have long been recognized by City as valuable contributions to Boston’s neighborhoods, and this year Mayor Walsh awarded first place for community gardens in the 2014 Garden Contest to one of BNAN’s gardens. BNAN looks forward to continuing to partner with the BRA, the Fairmount/Indigo Corridor Collaborative, and others to develop community gardens along the Fairmount Greenway.

  • Tuesday, April 29, 10:00 am – Boston Committee Spring Lecture and Luncheon

    The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America will hold its Spring 2014 Lecture and Luncheon on Tuesday, April 29, at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street, Brookline.  Guest speaker Catie Marron, co-chair of the board of directors of Friends of the High Line, and Vogue magazine editor, is the author of the recently released book City Parks: Public Places, Private Thoughts.  “We live in our parks, and our parks live in us.  Parks are where we make loose appointments with friends, where we smooth out our nerves, where we introduce our babies to the outside world.  Parks are of the earth, they are of the people, and they are first and foremost, free.”  Catie will escort us on a literary and photographic journey focused on the gift of Parks in our lives.

    Registration and coffee will begin at 10:00 am, and the lecture begins at 10:30 am.  An optional luncheon will follow the lecture.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive a written invitation and a car pool notice in the mail.  For others who wish to attend, email info@bostoncommittee.org.

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  • Thursday, October 24 – Friday, November 8 – Japan: Gardens and Landscapes in Kyoto and Southern Japan and South Korea

    Japan, the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ has one of the great world traditions of garden design. In November the gardens of Kyoto glow with the changing leaf colors of the famed maples set against the deep green of moss and the tones of raked gravel and ancient stones. This storied city, preserved from destruction during World War II, has been an artistic, religious and commercial center for over a thousand years.

    Korea, the ‘Land of Morning Calm’ has a 5,000 year old history and its own traditional garden culture. With four distinct seasons its wealth of native plants and varied topography combine in a landscape described as geumsu gangsan -‘a land of picturesque rivers and mountains as if embroidered on silk.  This natural beauty has led to the development of a landscape style that differs in many ways from the classic styles of China and Japan, notably in its use of a wide range of plants, chosen not only for their symbolism, such as the ‘four gentlemen’ of bamboo, orchid, chrysanthemum and plum, but also for their variety.

    This trip, sponsored by The Boston Architectural College and led by LI Travel Expeditions and Nan Blake Sinton, will take place October 24 – November 8. As director of programs for Horticulture magazine Nan has developed, organized and led an international series of garden seminars and tours. An experienced educator and designer, Nan was also the director of public programs at Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum and has been leading garden design programs to Portugal since 1995. She is a horticultural educator, garden designer, writer, and national lecturer on design and planting; her work in horticultural outreach and education has been recognized by the Garden Club of America, and was Massachusetts Horticultural Society 2005 Gold Medal winner.

    For more information, please email pce@the-bac.edu.

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  • Wednesday, October 16, 11:00 am – Boston Committee Annual Meeting Featuring Bill Cullina

    The Annual Meeting of The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America will take place Wednesday, October 16 beginning with coffee and registration at 10:30 am, and the meeting at 11 am at The Country Club in Brookline. We are fortunate to have as our keynote speaker Bill Cullina, Bill is the Executive Director at one of North America’s newest and most exciting public gardens, The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. Bill’s topic is Sugar, Sex and Poison: Shocking Plant Secrets Caught on Camera: The world of pollen, poisons, pigments, pheromones, sugars and sex, and how they translate into sound into sound organic gardening practices.

    A well known author and recognized authority on North American native plants, Cullina lectures on a variety of subjects to garden and professional groups and writes for popular and technical journals. His books include Wildflowers, Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, Understanding
    Orchids, Native Ferns, Mosses, and Grasses, and most recently, Understanding Perennials, published in 2009.  Members of The Boston Committee clubs will receive invitations by email.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive car pool notices in the mail. If you are not a member but wish to attend, please email info@bostoncommittee.org.

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  • Tuesday, June 25, 11:00 am – Ribbon Cutting for the Harbor-Link Gardens

    The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America and The Boston Harbor Association invite you to a ribbon cutting for the Harbor-Link Gardens on Tuesday, June 25 at 11:00 am.  The event takes place at the old Northern Avenue Bridge in Boston, on the Seaport/Barking Crab side.  RSVP to Michele Hanss, Chair of The Boston Committee, if you plan to attend.  Her email address is m.hanss@comcast.net.  As you may know, The Boston Committee, through its Boston Committee Blossom Fund,  provided $50,000 in funding to The Boston Harbor Association to help create this new addition to Boston’s park inventory.  The Garden Club of the Back Bay is one of the thirteen clubs which make up The Boston Committee.  A website for The Boston Committee is under construction, and we will announce its launch here this summer.

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  • The Garden Club of America 1913 – 2013: 100 Years of a Growing Legacy

    Renowned historian and preservationist William Seale has authored a book to capture the extraordinary 100-year history of the Garden Club of America. Entitled The Garden Club of America 1913 – 2013: 100 Years of a Growing Legacy, the book is more than just a collection of memories.  It is a stirring account of the contributions GCA has made to the political, historical and cultural fabric of our nation. In 1904, Elizabeth Price Martin founded the Garden Club of Philadelphia. In 1913, twelve garden clubs in the eastern and central United States signed an agreement to form the Garden Guild. The Garden Guild would later become the Garden Club of America (GCA), now celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2013. GCA is a volunteer nonprofit organization comprised of 200 member clubs and approximately 18,000 members throughout the country.

    Comprised of all women, GCA has emerged as a national leader in the fields of horticulture, conservation, and civic improvement. As an example, in 1930, GCA was a key force in preserving the redwood forests of California, helping to create national awareness for the need to preserve these forests, along with contributing funds to purchase land on which they stood. The Garden Club of America Grove and the virgin forest tract of Canoe Creek contain some of the finest specimens of the redwood forests.

    The Garden Club of America is a centennial celebration of strong women who nurtured the country, helped spread the good word of gardening, and continue to plant seeds of awareness.You may order the book online at http://www.gcamerica.org/images/FCKUploads/file/Centennial%202013/GCAHistoryBookOrderForm19Aug2012.pdf.  It is also available from Amazon in both a hardcopy and Kindle edition.

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  • Thursday, November 15, 10:30 am – 1:30 pm – Park and Public Garden Design: Trends for the 21st Century

    The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America invites members and guests to its Fall Lecture and Luncheon on Thursday, November 15, at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street in Brookline.  The guest speaker will be Don Rakow, who will speak on Park and Public Garden Design: Trends for the 21st Century.  Don Rakow is the E.N. Wilds Director of the Cornell Plantations, including botanical gardens, a 150 acre arboretum and over 4,300 acres of natural areas of Cornell University.  Don also serves as an associate professor in the Department of Horticulture in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.  His own research focuses on the history and management of public gardens, and their role in human culture.  Don is the lead author of the textbook Public Garden Management, and is also writing a book on the evolution of European botanical gardens.  $50 lecture and luncheon, $25 lecture only.  If you are a member of a garden club affiliated with The Boston Committee, and have not already responded to your written invitation, send a check made out to The Boston Committee of the GCA and mail it to Karen Gregg, 238 Commonwealth Avenue, #5, Boston, MA 02116 by November 10.  All reservations will be held at the door.  If you are not a member but wish to attend, send your check as set forth above, and please note on your check that you have been referred by The Garden Club of the Back Bay.