Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Ms. Lorri Higgins invite you to the 18th annual Rose Garden Party on Thursday, June 19, from 5:30 – 8:00 in the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens. To purchase tickets, call 617-635-4032, or visit www.cityofboston.gov/parks/rosegarden/. The party will benefit free programs in Boston parks.
Help put the Kelleher Rose Garden to bed for the winter on Saturday, December 7, from 10 – 1. Gloves, tools, and training provided. Sign up at projectassistant@emeraldnecklace.org. Thank you motherearthnews.com for the image below.
First Lady Angela Menino and Commissioner Antonia Pollak cordially invite you to attend the 17th Annual Rose Garden Party to benefit ParkARTS on Thursday, June 13, from 5:30 – 8 in the Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens in Boston. Garden party attire enthusiastically encouraged. Wear a hat to enter the “Hats Galore” contest. For more information, call 617-635-4032 or visit www.cityofboston.gov/parks/rosegarden/
Boston’s ParkARTS program, launched by Mayor Thomas Menino and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department in 1996, offers the public the opportunity to enjoy free programs in parks year-round. The Sapphire Sponsors of this event are Paul and Sandra Edgerley. Individual tickets $125. Parking will be available on Park Drive and Agassiz Road – please look for the Boston Park Rangers to direct you. Photo courtesy of yelp.com.
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy will celebrate 15 years connecting people and parks, and conserving the Emerald Necklace, on Tuesday, May 14, from 6 – 8 in the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens. The Olmsted Award of Excellence will be presented, and Emerald Necklace Parks Champions John Blackwell (posthumous) of the Arnold Arboretum, Isabella Callanan (posthumous) of the Riverway, Christine Cooper and John Iappini of Jamaica Pond, Sarah Freeman of the Emerald Necklace Parkways, Walter Little and Dan Richardson of Franklin Park, Arlene and Hugh Mattison of Olmsted Park, and Freddie Veikley of the Back Bay Fens will be honored. Individual tickets $50, patron tickets $150. Purchase tickets at http://www.emeraldnecklace.org, or send a check to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115. Kindly respond by May 1. For more information contact Jillian Levine at 617-522-2700, or email her at jlevine@emeraldnecklace.org.
The Chairs of Party in the Park announce a 10th anniversary goal of $1 million and the founding of the Olmsted Tree Society, at the Justine Mee Liff Luncheon Party in the Park, to be held on Wednesday, May 15 in the Kelleher Rose Garden, The Fenway, beginning at 11:00 am. The 2013 Liff Spirit Award will honor Thomas M. and Angela Menino, Mayor and First Lady of the City of Boston. Proceeds from the luncheon will benefit the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, preserving Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace. $750 per person – please respond by April 26. Valet parking and a complimentary trolley will be available. Make checks payable to Justine Mee Liff Fund for the Emerald Necklace, and send to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115. If you wish to pay with a credit card, call 617-522-2700 or visit www.emeraldnecklace.org.
Join Emerald Necklace docents on Sunday, April 14, beginning at 1 pm at the Shattuck Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway in Boston, as they talk and walk through the sites of the Back Bay Fens, including the Kelleher Rose Garden and the oldest World War II Victory Gardens in America. Free and open to the public, reservations recommended, RSVP online or call 617-522-2700.
Honor your loved ones with a unique and lasting Valentine’s Day gift. On Valentine’s Day, your special someone will receive a customized E-card from the Emerald Necklace Conservancy to announce your gift in their honor ( If you would like a card mailed to your honoree, please order by February 7th, 2013.) It will include the name of the rose that you selected so that you and your Valentine can visit your sponsored rose in the Rose Garden for years to come! In addition, all sponsors and their honorees will receive an invitation to an exclusive summertime reception for the Rose Garden. Sponsorships are $75 and will support the ongoing care and replacement of the roses. If you do not specify a rose, we’ll choose one for you. Questions? Call 617-522-2700. Below, from left to right, are Cherish, Crimson Glory, Love Potion, and Walking on Sunshine, $75 each or all four for $250.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and First Lady Angela Menino invite you to the 16th Annual Rose Garden Party on Thursday, June 28, from 5:30 – 8 in the Kelleher Rose Garden, Back Bay Fens. The event features the popular Hats Galore! contest (hat below was designed for this year’s Boston Flower & Garden Show, and would be a smash at the party.) To purchase tickets and learn about sponsorship opportunities, please call 617-635-4032, or visit www.cityofboston.gov/parks.
Volunteers, take note. The Emerald Necklace Conservancy will sponsor two spring cleanup events on Saturday, April 21, from 9 – noon. If you’re interested in the Muddy River Cleanup or the Wake Up the Kelleher Rose Garden morning, rsvp to Kevin O’Grady at projectassistant@emeraldnecklace.org.
Established in 1989, The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America is a consortium of 14 garden clubs in the greater Boston area, from Buzzards Bay to the South, and coastal Maine to the north, with a total membership of 1,100 individuals. The Garden Club of the Back Bay is an affiliate member of The Boston Committee.
Over the past years, the Boston Committee has awarded $110,000, through its Blossom Fund, to various not for profit groups in the City of Boston, for the purpose of beautifying our urban spaces. The Fund has been most effective when used to leverage larger grants. It has been at the forefront of projects such as the construction of the Blackwell Path at the Arnold Arboretum, which allows access to the Arboretum from public transportation. The Blossom Fund has helped with the construction and planting of a butterfly garden and maple tree allee at Massachusetts Audubon Society’s George Robert White Nature Center, in Mattapan. It has provided money for the restoration of the Kelleher Rose Garden on the Emerald Necklace. The Esplanade Association purchased irrigation equipment, the Charles River Conservancy restored the landscape surrounding the Eliot Bridge, and a garden was established at the Neighborhood Charter School, all with the help of the Blossom Fund.
Now, the Boston Committee is soliciting proposals for a project in the vicinity of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. We expect to award a single grant for $50,000, with the potential to collaboratively raise additional funds in the future.
The Committee members agree that innovation, positive community impact, and horticultural achievement must be the hallmarks of a successful Greenway proposal. Sustainability and future maintenance are important considerations. The grant will not be awarded for general fund drives, endowments, or for operating or staffing costs. The successful applicant must work with us to raise additional monies in the final year of the fund drive. Importantly, applicants must be an exempt organization under the IRS code.
Complete details may be obtained by email. Contact Michele Hanss, current Chairman of The Boston Committee, at m.hanss@comcast.net. Applications are due February 10. We have received notice that applications may be forthcoming from the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park, The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the Boston Aquarium, and the Boston Harbor Walk. After a full review and interviews, member Clubs will vote for the winning application, to be announced at our Annual Meeting in the fall of 2012, after which we will embark on the final year of fund raising. We encourage all groups in or around the Greenway to submit applications.
