The Lenox Garden Club presents a GCA Flower Show at Ventfort Hall, Museum of the Gilded Age, 104 Walker Street in Lenox. The show will be open to the public from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm Thursday and Friday, September 15 and 16. For more information, contact Mary Ellen O’Brien at maryellenobrien@hotmail.com, or check the Lenox Garden Club’s website, www.lenoxgardenclub.net.
The Lenox Garden Club presents “Then and Now”, a Garden Club of America Flower Show, at the Ventfort Hall, Museum of the Gilded Age, 104 Walker Street, Lenox, Massachusetts. The show will be opened to the public each day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. For directions, log on to www.gildedage.org. Ventfort Hall, built by George and Sarah Morgan as their summer home, is an imposing Elizabethan Revival mansion that typifies the Gilded Age in Lenox. Sarah, the sister of J. Pierpont Morgan, purchased the property in 1891, and hired Rotch & Tilden, prominent Boston architects, to design the house. Now on 11.7 acres, Ventfort Hall was originally the centerpiece of a large landscaped garden of 26 acres. The mansion, constructed of brick with brownstone trim, has an impressive porte cochère covering the entrance while the rear of the house, which once had a long view to the south of the Stockbridge Bowl and Monument Mountain, has a wood veranda along its entire length. Admission $12 adults, $6 Members of Museum of the Gilded Age, $10 Seniors and College Students, $5 Children 5 – 17, free for children under 5.
The Arnold Arboretum and Jamaica Plain Open Studios host a juried group exhibition devoted to art inspired by the plants, landscape, and collections of the Arnold Arboretum, in conjunction with the Open Studios weekend. Come to Opening Night on Wednesday, September 16, from 6 – 8 pm. The Open Studios weekend runs from September 26 – September 27, 11 – 6, and the exhibition in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall at the Arnold Arboretum will be on display through October 9, 2009. For more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
What better way than to end your day at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts, than with a floral design class? Instructor Al DeLuca will discuss floral design theory, give inside tips, and walk you through the steps in creating your own beautiful floral arrangement to take home! Beginner to advanced.
Taking inspiration from nature, this class will teach you how to interpret what you see outdoors in floral design to bring a bit of nature indoors.
Al DeLuca is accredited in floral design by the American Institute of Floral Designers and has been recognized for his outstanding contribution to the floral industry by the American Academy of Floriculture. His designs have been featured in both the Philadelphia and Boston Flower Shows. His mastery of floriculture ranges from contemporary to traditional and European styles.
Registration by September 9 is required. Cost – $58 for Tower Hill Members, $63 for Non-Members. For more information, log on to www.towerhillbg.org.
Ellen Hoverkamp was a pioneer in using the flatbed scanner as a tool to create fine art. Her technique involves making intricate arrangements from plants, vegetables and natural objects. The light from the scanner reflects the subject making the arrangement appear to glow against a dark background. Inspiration for her work comes from the Victorian botanical illustration, particularly “Language of Flowers” bouquets, and Dutch still life painting. Hovercamp gratefully utilizes cuttings offered from local gardeners and farmers in her scanned compositions. This collaboration with the gardening community began in 1997 and continues today, as she works to preserve souvenirs of the garden. She views her pictures, often named for the gardeners, as portraits of flowers and also portraits of those who grew them. “Friends, family, neighbors, and even people I hardly know invite me to cut and use their flowers and vegetables for my work.” See more of Ellen Hoverkamp’s work at www.myneighborsgarden.com. The Exhibit will run from July 28 – September 16, 2009 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts. The reception will feature a cash bar and light refreshments. Free and open to the public.   For more information, call 508-869-6111 or log on to www.towerhillbg.org.
