Boston Flora

Tag: Garden Club of the Back Bay

  • Saturday, June 24, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm – 2023 Roslindale Garden Tour, Garden Oasis

    Roslindale Green & Clean is proud to host the 2023 Roslindale Garden Tour, Garden Oasis, on Saturday, June 24, 2023 from 11am to 4pm. This year’s tour is dedicated to the memory of Robert O’Hara, a friend of Roslindale Green & Clean and an avid Roslindale gardener. Mr. O’Hara is also cousin to Garden Club of the Back Bay co-President Maureen O’Hara, who encourages all to support this wonderful tribute. Featured will be seven private ornamental gardens reflecting a range of design styles. Come join other garden lovers to appreciate the creative efforts of the gardeners, some with challenging sites, which will give you inspiration for your own green pursuits. 

    Tickets can be purchased online through Paypal at roslindalegreenandclean.org, and in person at Joanne Rossman–Purveyor of the Unnecessary & the Irresistible, 6 Birch St. in Roslindale, or at the RG&C Roslindale Farmers Market booth on June 17 and 24 (9am-1:30pm). Tickets are $15 before June 15th and $20 from June 15th to the 24th. Children 16 and under enter free with a paying adult. An informational program with map will be available for pickup at the Farmers Market on June 24. 

  • Thursday, April 13, 10:00 am – Immersion: Living and Learning in an Olmsted Garden

    Please join The Boston Committee’s Spring Meeting and Luncheon on Thursday, April 13 at The Country Club, Clyde Street, Brookline, at 10 am. Author Nola Anderson will recount her personal story of restoring The Chimneys, a 28-acre estate in Manchester-by-the-Sea. The original Italianate gardens at The Chimneys were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. between 1903 and 1914. By 1991, when Ms. Anderson and her husband purchased the property, the gardens had been neglected for more than 40 years and she had never gardened a day in her life. The restoration and renewal of these historic seaside gardens became Ms, Anderson’s three-decade, hands-on personal passion, as she developed the expertise and horticultural proficiency for the evolving design and management. The Chimneys’ gardens are once again the centerpiece of the estate and a vibrant example of horticultural elegance. Using archival materials and sumptuous contemporary photographs, Ms. Anderson’s talk will offer rare views of one of the most beautiful private gardens in America.

    $30 for the lecture only, and an additional $35 for the optional luncheon following. The book may be ordered in advance through the Eventbrite invitation, which will be sent to members of Clubs which participate in the Boston Committee of the GCA. The Garden Club of the Back Bay is one such club, and if you are a member, you will receive the invitation. If you are not already a member, and wish to join, visit https://bostonflora.com/

  • Tuesday, March 28, 1:00 pm – Texture in Floral Design Workshop

    Join Carolyn Ellis on Tuesday, March 28 at 1 pm at The First Lutheran Church of Boston, 299 Berkeley Street, to explore the role of texture in floral design. Create your own arrangement, following Carolyn’s step-by-step demonstration, or use workshop materials to create your own design. All materials, including container, flowers and tools will be provided but if you have favorite flower snips, feel free to bring them. There is a $65.00 non-refundable materials fee for this program.
     

    Carolyn has been designing flowers at the Museum of Fine Arts as an MFA Associate for more than ten years. Her work includes flower arrangements for the visitor center and for special events, holiday demonstrations for museum members, and training for incoming floral designers. She has done many Art in Bloom Roadshow demonstrations. Carolyn loves to share the basics of floral design with flower lovers, and one of her teaching videos for LexMedia cable television received an award for excellence in 2021.

    This program is for Garden Club of the Back Bay Members Only. For information on joining the Club to entitle you to participate, visit https://bostonflora.com/ Even counting the annual dues into the calculation, this class is good value. Plus, you are contributing to the beautification of the Back Bay and the Club’s commitment to urban tree care. Please rsvp by March 15 and pay the materials fee on Eventbrite by clicking HERE. 

    For questions about this program contact Nancy Cyr by clicking HERE. Nancy will keep a waiting list should spaces fill up. Out of respect for our fellow club members, please be sure to let her know if you cannot attend and need to cancel. 

    Tickets are non-refundable. If you cannot attend, we will consider your payment a contribution and you will receive an 
    acknowledgment. 

  • Wednesday, April 26, 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Garden Club of the Back Bay Twilight Garden Party

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s annual Twilight Garden Party will take place on Wednesday, April 26 from 6:00 to 8:30 pm at the St. Botolph Club, 199 Commonwealth Avenue. Join the festivities and sponsor its mission of promoting civic beauty and caring for the trees.  The Club has planted over one hundred magnolias throughout Boston. In partnership with the City of Boston, the Club supports the planting, inoculation, pruning, watering and cataloging of both street trees and the alley trees. In addition, the GCBB provides funding and volunteers in support of community green spaces such as the Clarendon Street Playground and various gardens located throughout our neighborhood. Each year there are target projects aimed at enhancing the beauty of our streets. The wrought iron tree fences surrounding our street trees is one of these projects.

    Please support the GCBB with Back Bay tree stewardship and enjoy an evening of fun, including delectable heavy hors d’oeuvre, drinks, music and beautiful flowers, by clicking below to purchase a sponsorship.  

    Click on this link to view the sponsorship opportunities and choose your support level by March 12th.  Be sure to include your name as you would like it to appear on the invitation. All sponsors will be acknowledged on the invitation, the Club’s website and at the event. Payment must be received by the March 12th deadline to be listed on the invitation, but support at any time is always welcome.

  • Friday, April 14 – Marathon Daffodil Volunteer Day

    Boston Marathon 2023 is Monday, April 17th, 2023.

    This is Boston Strong Marathon Daffodils’ tenth year, bringing a symbol of Hope, a tribute to Boston Strong, and a celebration of Spring and Patriots Day in Boston. We hope you will help welcome back the runners and the crowds. We hope you will help us thank our Boston healthcare workers.

    The goal is to continue the tradition by delivering thousands of potted Marathon Daffodils throughout Boston for the 127th BAA Boston Marathon. When the BAA Marathon was cancelled during the COVID pandemic, Marathon Daffodils kept the city blooming by distributing thousands of potted daffodil plants to our healthcare facilities.

    Thanks to your continued support, we hope to keep the spirit of Marathon Daffodils strong by funding this volunteer community endeavor that provides as many daffodil plants as possible to brighten our city.

    Volunteers are needed  to distribute the daffodil plants on Friday, April 14th, 2023. The Garden Club of the Back Bay has helped with this effort in the Back Bay for a number of years, but all are welcome throughout the Metropolitan Area to participate in their communities. Visit https://www.marathondaffodils.org/ to access a sign up sheet and receive more information, or to donate. You may also email Dianevalle@gmail.com

  • Wednesday, November 9, 2:00 pm – Garden Club of the Back Bay November Meeting: Speak for the Trees

    The mission of Speak For the Trees is to improve the size and health of the urban tree canopy in Boston, with a focus on under-resourced and under-canopied neighborhoods. They partner closely with community organizations to better understand and deeply engage residents in their work by raising awareness about the importance of trees and the role that every resident can take in planting and caring for trees.

    David Meshoulam, Co-Founder and Executive Director, will speak to us about how we can advocate for municipal policies governing tree planting. He will also cover:

    • What they do at Speak For The Trees 
    • Defining “tree equity”
    • Selecting sites and species  
    • How they educate residents to care for their trees
    • Their collaboration with the City of Boston

    David (pronounced Dah-veed) co-founded Speak for the Trees in 2018. Trained as a science educator, his work has focused on ways to increase understanding of the connections between science, culture, and history and to empower people to be change agents. He holds a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a Senior Fellow at the Environmental Leadership Program, and is co-chair of the Urban Ecology Collaborative.

    This will be a combined meeting with the Beacon Hill Garden Club. rsvp to Susie Shafer before November 1.

  • Tuesday, October 25, 10:00 am (Rain Date Wednesday, October 26) – Fall Photography Walk

    Join Stephanie Fletcher, the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s extraordinary Instagram site creator, for a photography walk around the Back Bay on Tuesday, October 25, with a rain date of Wednesday, October 26. Take in the sights of the fall foliage and Halloween decorations and learn some tools for how to get “just the right shot.” No prior photography experience necessary! You can bring your phone or camera. 

    We’ll take some photos based on theme: Color, Halloween, Autumn foliage, etc. and share them amongst ourselves after the walk. 

    The walk is free, but an RSVP is required. Space is limited. RSVP HERE. Meet at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Arlington Street.

  • Tuesday, June 28, 9:30 am – 11:30 am (Rain Date June 29, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm) – Charlesgate Alliance Tree Dedication

    Representatives from the Charlesgate Alliance, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Department of Conservation and Recreation, Landing Studio, elected officials, as well as our partner organizations the Esplanade Association and Friends of the Public Garden will be on hand to join the celebration. 

    Tuesday, June 28th, from 9:30-11:30am

    Rain date:
    Wednesday, June 29th, from 1:30-3:30pm

    This achievement, more than a year in the making, and stewarded from start to finish by Garden Club of the Back Bay Past President Margaret Pokorny in conjunction with Dan and Marie Law Adams of Landing Studio, has given the Charlesgate area its first new trees in many years.

    The dedication will take place in The Grove area of Charlesgate Park, where 14 of the 15 new trees were planted. You can reach the area at the terminus of Marlborough Street and Charlesgate East, bounded on the north by Beacon Street.

    With the addition of the new trees, recently refurbished DCR lighting, and red chair seasonal seating, the Grove is starting to look like the park it was always meant to be.

  • Ten Thousand Posts and Counting

    We missed a celebration moment recently. The Garden Club of the Back Bay website passed the 10,000 featured posts mark. Since the website’s inception, we have notified the public, and especially our subscribers, of over ten thousand events, website recommendations, volunteer opportunities, benefits, classes, lectures, and more recently, in light of the pandemic, a wealth of online opportunities to continue to learn about plants, flowers, the environment, and design. Former member Mary Lou Abbruzzese created the website at a time when many of our members didn’t necessarily use email. Her forward thinking positioned us to be where we are in today. For those who don’t regularly visit the actual website page, here is a bit of a primer and a few suggestions.

    On the home page, beneath the title and a symbol of a shopping cart, you will see three horizontal lines labeled Menu. This is commonly referred to as the “hamburger”. We recently learned some did not recognize this symbol, but if you click on it you will access the complete Page menu, including History, Membership information, Mission and Bylaws, Garden Club programs (as opposed to programs sponsored by other organizations). Online Store, etc. There is also a Membership Directory accessible only to current members with a password. (If you are a member and don’t have the password, email HERE.) Click on to any item and you automatically will be directed to the page in question.

    On the very bottom of the page, another important box is the Search Posts box. Not only can you search by a specific name or organization (butterflies, bees, Native Plants Trust, Friends of the Public Garden) but by area (Berkshires, Cape and Islands, Rhode Island) or subject (flower arranging, landscape design, author book signing). Play around. Also at the bottom of the page is the Subscribe to Daily Digest box, which you may Unsubscribe to at any time. This is a service enabled by Google which sends each day’s new posts directly to your email. When you register, you will receive a confirmatory email which you must respond to in order to be on the list.

    We believe the website serves a very important purpose, increasing awareness of area and virtual events of interest to our members and to garden loving people everywhere. We accept no advertising, so visiting the site is a relaxing experience. We hope you will visit. Happy Ten Thousand!

  • Monday, December 6, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Holiday Evergreen Floral Arrangement, Online

    Monday, December 6, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Holiday Evergreen Floral Arrangement, Online

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s Pop-Up series of floral arranging online continues December 6 from 3 – 4 with Nancy Cyr.

    Nancy will lead a Zoom Holiday Evergreen Floral Arrangement Class.  Participants will focus on creating an arrangement of evergreens as a base using flowers that can be replaced allowing the arrangement to last for the season.  Nancy will present a design scaled for a table and  will explain how you can adapt the design for a larger outdoor installation. If you are arranging during the presentation, you will need to have a container and all the materials, including a mechanic for holding the evergreens and flowers. Nancy will show us how we can use chicken wire or a bendable branch to make our mechanic.

    An email will be sent within two days of our receiving your RSVP. It will include the Zoom link and detailed information about the materials.

    RSVP (no later than December 2) by clicking here: SIGN UP