Boston Flora

Tag: Holiday Wreaths

  • Saturday, December 5 & Sunday, December 6 – The 20th Annual Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas

    The town of Stockbridge, made famous by Norman Rockwell’s painting of the village during the holidays, becomes a magical New England setting decorated with holiday wreaths and festive lights, as the town celebrates the 20th annual Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas, December 5th and 6th.

    Sponsored by the Stockbridge Chamber of Commerce, the holiday celebration offers a full range of activities, with highlights including a holiday house tours, caroling, and a holiday concert.

    Capping off the weekend is a recreation on Sunday of the scene depicted in Main Street at Christmas, complete with vintage automobiles parked in the spots occupied in the painting. The day’s activities include horse drawn rides, a visit from Santa, Roger the Jester, lunch at the Christmas Food Booth and much more.

    The festivities celebrate Rockwell’s popular depiction of what for many is the quintessential small New England Town, with all the longing for a simpler time that it represents. Rockwell began painting the popular image in 1956, but did not complete it until December 1967.

    The image and character of Stockbridge has changed little over the years, thanks to the great care and affection of its residents, and it is that special ambience which draws so many.

    The Holiday House Tour takes place on Saturday from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm.  Visit some of the area’s Historic Properties, B&B’s, and Inns. This self-guided tour is one of our most popular events. The years tour features The Former Rockwell House, The Campbell House, National Shrine of the Divine Mercy Residence, Orleton Farm Carriage House & Stables, Linwood House, the Stockbridge Country Inn and Merwin House.  Tickets are $15.00 per person.

    Children’s Holiday Story Time, from 11 – 11:30 am at the Stockbridge Library, is free, as is the Caroling Luminaria Walk from 6 – 7 pm. Meet in front of The Red Lion Inn, Main Street with your candle or flashlight and join the festive caroling followed by a Luminaria walk to the First Congregational Church.

    The Holiday Concert begins at 7:30.

    Celebrate the magic of the season with a joyful holiday musical program held at the First Congregational Church. Featuring the Berkshire Lyric Chorus, the Blafield Children’s Chorus; Gisella Montanez, Special Guest Soloist; Jack Brown, Artistic Director and Joseph Rose, Accompanist.  Tickets are $20.00 in advance and $25.00 at the door.

    Sunday’s big event runs from 12 noon to 2:00 pm.

    See Main Street as Norman Rockwell did when he painted the famous Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas. Main Street becomes a magical New England village with over 50 antique cars parked along the street (weather permitting) and a full range of festive activities to delight the child in everyone. Enjoy Holiday Music, The Londontown Carolers, Roger the Jester and lunch at the Christmas Food Booth. Children may create holiday fun at Santa’s workshop sponsored by the Norman Rockwell Museum. Complete the day with a visit from Santa.  Commemorative Buttons offering admittance to Sunday’s Main St. activities are $5.00 per person. Children under 12 free.

    Horse drawn rides will also be available for an additional nominal fee.  To purchase tickets in advance to any or all of these events, log on to www.stockbridgechamber.org and print the order form and mail it in to The Stockbridge Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 224, Stockbridge, MA 01262, or, on the week of the event, tickets may be purchased at The Red Lion Inn, 30 Main Street, Stockbridge.

    http://www.ahla.com/uploadedImages/AHLA/Programs_and_Initiatives/Stars/RedLion.jpg

  • Garden Club of the Back Bay Holiday Wreaths – Supporting the Community

    There is still time to order a magnificent holiday wreath from The Garden Club of the Back Bay – you may print an order form and mail it in with your check, or you may order online and pay through PayPal.  All the information and directions are available by clicking here.  Why should you buy from us?  Yes, we know you could order from local florists (at a significantly higher price, we might point out), or from the nurseries or groceries stores (at perhaps a slightly lower cost).  Purchasing our wreaths comes with the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting many wonderful local organizations, in addition to our own.  Each year we make grants to not for profit groups which are making a difference in our lives.  Besides the Friends of the Public Garden and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee, we donate to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Charles River Clean Up Boat, the Boston Nature Center of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the Esplanade Association, and to City Roots/The Urban Ecology Institute.   This is by no means the complete list of beneficiaries (click on to our Projects page on the menu above for details) but we give between $15,000 and $18,000 annually to area groups accomplishing great works which we do not have the expertise or manpower to do ourselves.  The dollar amount of these grants is dependent upon our earnings, so we urge you to be generous and allow us the opportunity to enhance your holiday environment with our fresh balsam wreaths. Thank You!

  • Garden Club of the Back Bay Holiday Wreaths – Saving the Elms

    One mission of The Garden Club of the Back Bay is to beautify the neighborhood, and one historic aspect of the neighborhood is its majestic elms.  As we know, the elm tree population has been decimated by Dutch elm disease, a fungal disease spread by the elm bark beetle.  For many years, the Garden Club has helped fund the inoculation of elm trees, through grants to The Friends of the Public Garden.  This is not inexpensive.  A single application cost between $200 – $300 in the 1980’s.  Thirty years of inflation, naturally, has taken the price, depending on the size of the tree, to the $1,000 range.  In 2009, we gave $4,000 to inoculate trees between Massachusetts Avenue and Charlesgate East.

    Without our fund raising efforts, including the Holiday Wreath project, this financial assistance would not be available.  Please remember the elms as you decide to purchase one of our exquisite wreaths or our full, extra large poinsettia plants.  To order, click here.

  • Garden Clubs Hold Greens Sales in Early December

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay is known for its beautiful holiday wreaths, but many other Garden Clubs throughout eastern Massachusetts hold greens sales in early December, where you may purchase swags, boughs, mistletoe and holly to further decorate your home.  Not all Clubs  have websites to check for details and directions, but we have included contact information below, so you may find the site most convenient to you.  All proceeds go towards betterment projects in the communities served by the Clubs, so buying from them is an easy way to help beautify Massachusetts.

    Tuesday, December 1 – Open Meeting and Greens Sale featuring floral designer Betty Call at the Cove Community Center in Beverly, beginning at 6 pm, sponsored by the Friendly Garden Club.  (www.beverlygardenclub.org)

    Saturday, December 5 -  “Annual Christmas Faire” at the First Congregational Church Fellowship Hall in Wareham, sponsored by the Wareham Garden Club.  Call Donna Greenwood at 508-748-1011 for times and more information.

    Saturday, December 5 – Greens Sale at the St. Joseph’s Parish Hall in Belmont, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, sponsored by the Belmont Garden Club.  Please use entrance from School Street parking lot.  For more information email sherry.h.jones@verizon.net.

    Saturday, December 5 – Greens Sale at the Easton Historical Society, North Easton, from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm, rain or shine, sponsored by the Easton Garden Club.  Contact info@eastongardenclub.org.

    Saturday, December 5 – Basket and Greens Sale at the Marblehead Community Center in Marblehead, from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm, sponsored by the Arrangers of Marblehead. Call Nancy DiLisio at 781-593-3323.

    Saturday, December 5 – Greens Sale at Endicott Park Carriage House, Danvers, from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon, sponsored by the Danvers Garden Club. (www.danversgardenclub.org)

    Saturday, December 5 – Holiday Greens Sale at the Wollaston Congregational Church in Quincy, from 9:00 am – 11:00 am, sponsored by the Wollaston Garden Club of Quincy.  ( http://gardencentral.org/clubs/wgcquincy/)

    Saturday, December 5 – Greens Sale at the Little Red School House in Groveland, from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm, sponsored by the Groveland Garden Club.  Contact Margo Maione at bcsk&mom@verizon.net.

    Saturday December 5 – Sunday, December 6 – Holiday Boutique at St. Peter’s Church in Salem, from 10 – 4 (Saturday) and noon – 4 (Sunday), sponsored by the Salem Garden Club. (www.salemgardenclub.com)

    http://www.alpinewreaths.com/images/D/BGM-08_400_2.jpg

  • Garden Club of the Back Bay Holiday Wreaths – More Reasons to Buy

    We are often asked “What does the Garden Club do?”  Throughout this web site, you will find much information about our mission and our projects, but essentially we are all about the trees.  Previously we explored our pruning project, and today we’d like to introduce you to the magic of mulch, and why we do it.

    When we plant a new street tree on the sidewalks of the Back Bay (and we plant, on average, ten new trees a year in empty tree pits), we install a PVC pipe perforated with holes and topped with a removable cap to facilitate deep watering.  We contact abutting neighbors and find a good citizen willing to provide auxiliary water to the newly planted tree for a period of two years, and then we mulch.  The mulch moderates the temperature of the soil surrounding the tree and lessens evaporation, very important on hot summer days.  A young tree undergoes the same transplant shock that flats of flowers do, but while a small pansy plant can recover rapidly with a quart of water, the tree needs far more moisture to thrive.

    Needless to say, mulch isn’t free.  We purchase bales and bales of mulch and volunteer members clean out the tree pits (cigarette butts are but one of many unmentionable bits of garbage we find discarded next to our beloved trees) and add a few inches of mulch, carefully keeping the mulch away from the bark so we don’t promote rot.  That mulch money comes, in part, from your support of our Holiday Wreath sale, and we hope that, when you decide to purchase one of our gorgeous wreaths, you’ll think of how grateful the young trees will be when they are tucked in to bed with their blankets of mulch.  Click here to order.

  • Holiday Wreaths from The Garden Club of the Back Bay

    We wish to highlight reasons why supporting The Garden Club of the Back Bay through our 2009 Holiday Wreath Sale is so important to the Back Bay, the City of Boston, and the Greater Boston Area, so from now through the end of November, we’ll feature posts which focus on different projects funded by our loyal and generous customer base.

    Today, let us consider the rather prosaic but important task of tree pruning.  It’s not glamorous – no one ever swoons over the thought of lopped off tree limbs.  Without periodic pruning, however, tree branches fall in storms,  tearing off bark and allowing pathogens to enter the trees, weakening and often ultimately killing them.  Tree limbs which are not pruned back hit pedestrians in the face, interfere with traffic, obscure traffic signals, and create misshapen and often ugly silhouettes.  Building shadows  force trees to lean toward the light, so growth is lopsided.  Pruning can give such trees a more graceful appearance.  The City of Boston naturally believes in pruning, but budgetary restrictions only allow pruning when a tree is in danger of toppling over and crushing personal property.

    The Garden Club of the Back Bay came to the rescue a number of years ago, allocating a portion of our yearly budget to the task of pruning.  We hire an excellent licensed arborist, Bob Lorie,  to prune existing trees during street cleaning days when cars have been cleared from the streets. There are approximately 600 sidewalk trees in the Back Bay and most trees have been pruned at least once. We continue regular pruning of the smaller trees to get them above the height of traffic and to give them a good shape as they mature. We also offer pruning services for front yard trees at a group rate.  We hope you will consider purchasing one of our lovely wreaths.  Proceeds support our pruning efforts.  To order, and for more information, click here.

  • Saturday, August 15 – “Hydrangeas” at The Mall at Chestnut Hill

    In the August installment of The Mall at Chestnut Hill’s 2009 Organic Garden Series, come to Chestnut Hill on Saturday, August 15 for a demonstration on cutting and drying hydrangeas for flower arrangements (and Garden Club of the Back Bay holiday wreaths!), see an exhibit by the Open Space Land Trust, and participate in a question and answer session with a wildliffe expert on foraging for wild edibles.  For more information call 617-965-3037, or visit www.simon.com, and click @Your Mall Now.

  • Saturday, September 12, 10 – 5 – NABB Fall Street Sale

    On Saturday, September 12th, from 10:00am to 5:00pm, NABB will hold its Annual Fall Street Sale, our local community yard sale, on Dartmouth Street Mall between Newbury Street and Commonwealth Avenue (at Alley 434).  The Garden Club of the Back Bay will be represented with a table, and visitors will be able to pick up Membership Brochures, see displays of some of the many Garden Club of the Back Bay projects we execute and fund, purchase totes, aprons, and bulbs, and pre-order our justly famous Holiday Wreaths.  We will also have pictures and ordering information for the beautiful iron tree fences you see throughout the neighborhood.  If you’d like to arrange for pruning of your front yard tree, we can take that information, too.  Please stop by and say hello.


  • 2 ways to order wreaths online

    Download and print the 2008 Holiday Wreath Order Form here .

    Order your Garden Club Holiday Wreaths and poinsettia plants online !

    *(Orders for 2008 Holiday Wreaths are no longer accepted)