The Garden Club of the Back Bay

British chef, writer, activist and teacher Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is widely known and respected for his dedication to creating beautiful dishes comprised of seasonal, ethically produced food and raising a general awareness of where our food comes from. One of several impressive River Cottage books, The River Cottage Cookbook is as much a fantastic collection of gorgeous, simple, rustic dishes as it is an inspirational treatise on how one chef grows, gathers, and cooks his own food.  Join Barbara Lynch Gruppo’s Stir chefs for an enlightening evening full of discussion, cooking and eating.  The price is $145,  and the program will repeat on Tuesday, March 9 and Wednesday, March 10.  For information, or to register, log on to www.stirboston.com, or call 617-423-STIR.

The Ecological Landscaping Association will hold its Annual Conference and Marketplace on Thursday, February 25, beginning at 8:00 am at the MassMutual Center, 1277 Main Street in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Learn how to maximize biological potential, minimize environmental impacts, and obtain spectacular results.  Sessions will focus on water use, landscape design, and practical skills.  You may also visit the Eco-Marketplace.  Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia’s Garden, will share his design approach to sustainable landscaping.  There will also be a Keynote Dinner at 6:45 PM.  For admission data, contact www.ecolandscaping.org, telephone 617-436-5838, or email elawebmaster@verizon.net.

Attend an all day seminar on Saturday, February 27, from 9:30 am – 2:30 pm at the Berkshire Botanical Garden, and get all your vegetable gardening questions answered in this practical program on growing food organically.  Learn about site selection, bed preparation, soil amendment, design, seed selection, varieties, pest and disease control techniques, and harvesting.  Three experts in the field will lead you through the day.  Pat Parkins owns Gardens of the Goddess, an organic gardening business focused on enhancing nature’s beauty through landscape design, installations and maintenance.  Dominic Palumbo owns Moon in the Pond Farm, a NOFA certified organic farm in Sheffield, Massachusetts.  He produces organic eggs, meat, wool, yarn and  honey.  Jack Sprano is a master gardener and long-time garden enthusiast, and a Board member of the Berkshire Botanical Garden.  Members of BBG pay $45, non-members $50, and everyone is reminded to bring a bagged lunch, or you’ll be pretty hungry by the end of the day!  For more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Phyllis Craine, local chicken owner and paralegal, presents a session through the Arnold Arboretum on Thursday, March 4, from 6:30 – 8:30 in the evening at the Hunnewell Building in Jamaica Plain.  As the movement to eat locally grown food gains momentum, there has been an increase in the number of people who are gardening. Parallel to this is a growing interest in raising chickens. Some cities and towns don’t allow backyard birds. Some do under conditional circumstances, while towns such as Arlington have put chicken-keeping up for vote. If you’ve ever considered raising a few laying hens of your own, this class is for you. We’ve invited suburban chickenista Phyllis Craine to provide basic information needed to start a small flock, the advantages of various breeds, insight into local chicken-keeping regulations, and the symbiotic relationships between garden and fowl when your birds come home to roost.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu. Fee $20 Arnold Arboretum member, $25 nonmember

Bring your seed catalogues to the Natick Community Organic Farm on Thursday, February 25, from 7:30 – 9:00 pm, for an informative evening around the wood stove with Natick Community Organic Farm Assistant Director Jean-Claude Bourrut.  You will talk about variety choices suited for your garden, and will learn to read between the lines of glossy descriptions.  Does “foolproof” mean invasive?  Does “full sun” mean you’d better plant it in Florida?  Does “mildew resistant” mean it will be covered in white powder if you don’t thin 90% of the planting?  The cost for all this information will be $27, and you may sign up at www.bcae.org.

The Boston University Seminars in Food, Wine and the Arts is sponsoring a free lecture on Friday, February 26 with food historian and James Beard award-winning author Betty Fussell on Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef. The lecture will begin at 6 pm at 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 117, as part of BU’s MLA in Gastronomy Lecture Series in Food Studies.  More information may be obtained by logging on to www.bu.edu/foodandwine.

The Arnold Arboretum is sponsoring a one day seminar with James J. Agabedis, Jr. of Minuteman Landscaping, Inc. on Thursday, March 4, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  Improve your understanding of horticulture and enhance your landscape skills. This all-day class will introduce the basics of horticultural landscape maintenance. James Agabedis is the owner of Minuteman Landscaping, an all-organic land care company. Having worked in the industry since 1986, Jim is a pro at communicating with customers and employees, and brings a solid understanding of current landscape practices to the classroom. He is a Northeast Organic Farming Association-certified Organic Land Care Professional and emphasizes organic techniques in this class. Jim will present the following topics: landscape maintenance practices; soil fertility; plant growth and health; planting and pruning techniques; plant evaluation; equipment safety; and turf care. The class will take place indoors and on the grounds of the Arnold Arboretum. Certificates of attendance will be given to attendees. The fee includes morning coffee and program materials. Bring a lunch and beverage. Register early as this class fills quickly – log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.  Fee $90.

In Roman mythology, Flora was a goddess of flowers and the spring season, while Fauna and Faunus were both gods with close associations to the earth.  Their names are the source of the term referring to all plant and animal life occurring in a particular region or during a specific period of time.  In Flora and Fauna, Childs Gallery invites you to explore wildlife, vegetation, and foliage across both time and geographic location, taking a look at how artists view and interpret the natural world to which the ancient roman gods have lent their names.  The show, on view at 169 Newbury Street now through March 6, is free and open to the public.  For hours, please call 617-266-1108, email info@childsgallery.com, or log on to www.childsgallery.com.  Below is “Plumbago” by Henry W. Rice (image courtesy of Childs Gallery).

The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts presents a Horticulture Morning on Monday, February 22, beginning at 10 a.m. at The Espousal Center, 554 Lexington Street, North Waltham, Massachusetts (off Route I-95/128, Exit 27A Totten Pond Road).  Rita DeLollis, orchid enthusiast and organic gardener, will present At Home with Orchids: Tips for Successful Growing and Use in Designs.  A donation of $5, payable at the door, is suggested.  To call for information on cancellations due to snow or storm, call 781-391-0261.  You may also contact Betsy Williams (betsy@betsywilliams.com) or Rita DeLollis (rdelollis@aol.com) for more information on Horticulture Mornings.

You have a second chance to take this two session program with Kyle Stevens, if you missed the November dates.  The Arnold Arboretum is sponsoring a two session class on Saturday mornings, February 27 and March 5, beginning at 9:30 a.m., with Arborist Kyle Stephens.  This class will provide an overview of the information necessary to identify deciduous trees during their dormant season. Looking at specific character combinations, participants will learn to determine the genus and species of several types of trees in the Boston area. The group will begin indoors with a discussion of basic classification techniques and then go outside to the Arboretum grounds to explore maples, oaks, lindens, buckeyes, hickories, hornbeams and as many other trees as time will allow. This class is recommended for the beginner-to-intermediate tree observer. The first class meets at the Dana Greenhouse Classroom. The second class meets at the Hunnewell Building. Dress warmly for spending the morning outdoors. A hand lens may be helpful, but is not necessary. Fee $65 Arboretum member, $75 nonmember.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Join Franklin Park Coalition and REI for an afternoon of free fun activities and winter sports for all ages.  Enjoy the snow and the winter season in Franklin Park, Boston’s largest park.  Come snowshoe on scenic Scarboro Hill, cross country ski through the Wilderness, sled down the golf course slope, build a snowman, and find evidence of coyotes and rabbits while animal tracking.  Then warm up with hot chocolate in the Golf Clubhouse.  A limited number of snowshoes and sleds provided.  Please bring your own skis.  To pre-register, call 617-442-4141, or email rsvp@franklinparkcoalition.org.

The Arnold Arboretum invites you to a reception with artist Anthony Apesos on Saturday, February 20, from 1 – 3 pm, at the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall in the Arnold Arboretum.  The exhibit, Summer in Winter, will be on view January 9, 2010 through March 3, 2010, and Mr. Apesos will also give an artist talk on Thursday, February 25, from 6:30 to 8 pn.  For more information log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Anthony Apesos has been painting the Arboretum since he moved to Jamaica Plain in the early 1990s. His recent series of paintings shows the Arboretum at the height of summer’s verdant glory. A perfect antidote to winter weather, Apesos depicts the wide-ranging Arboretum landscape in deep summer, from the rugged outcrops of Hemlock Hill to the meadows from which dawn redwoods spring.

Anthony Apesos is a professor of painting and art history at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. His paintings are inspired by such landscape artists as George Inness, John Constable, and Samuel Palmer.

On Saturday, February 13, from 11 am – 12 noon, Ann Marie Pilch will lead a group through Tower Hill Botanic Garden, and you’ll see who lives at Tower Hill in the winter.  Dress in warm layers and boots.  Free with admission to Tower Hill.

Garden Club of the Back Bay member Donna Morrissey created a fabulous arrangement entitled “Victoria Falls, Africa” at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts, as a part of Flora in Winter, a celebration taking place at Tower Hill and at the Worcester Art Museum.  The very labor intensive arrangement includes asparagus fern, asters, freesia, wax flower, babies breath, statice, lisianthus, loosestrife, feather fern, ruscus and bear grass.

Join Allan Mandell, an internationally published photographer with a passion for the gardens of Kyoto, in November, 2010, for a Pacific Horticulture trip timed to take advantage of Kyoto at the height of fall color.  Mr. Mandell has been awarded numerous ‘Garden Globe’ and ‘Quill & Trowel’ awards for photography, and is the sole photographer of Garden to Vase (Timber Press, 2007), Artists in Their Gardens (Sasquatch Books, 2001), Garden Retreats (Chronicle Books, 2000), Naturalistic Gardening (Sasquatch Books, 1998), Gardening from Scratch (Simon & Schuster, 1998) and Tea Gardens (Chronicle Books, 1998).

Once the imperial capitol of Japan, Kyoto is a treasure trove of the traditional arts.  Garden making flourished here.  Experience stroll gardens and small Zen temples, navigating through crowds and quiet back streets, urban density and forested hillsides, all in pursuit of bamboo, maple leaves, imperial elegance, rustic Shinto simplicity, and the quiet within.  Accommodations in a traditional ryokan, with side trips to soak in hot baths, are part of the experience.  Enjoy being lost for a while – lost in color, line, pattern, creativity, and discovery.  Bring open eyes, your gear, and a desire to explore.  This trip is limited to ten guests, so you are advised to contact Sterling Tours at 619-299-3010 as soon as possible.  They may also be found at www.sterlingtours.info/choices.php.

Join Jen Kettell, Horticultural Technologist at the Arnold Arboretum, on Saturday, February 20  at 9:00 a.m. in the Hunnewell Building at the Arboretum for this single session pruning workshop. Jan presented this program earlier in January, and you have a second chance.  With no leaves on the branches to obscure your view, this is the best time of year to study a tree’s structure and shape it for improved air circulation, silhouette, and strength. Jen Kettell, an International Society of Arboriculture-certified arborist and accredited Organic Land Care professional, will explain the reasons for pruning and what to consider when pruning dormant trees, shrubs, and vines. She will demonstrate techniques, give guidelines for determining which plants benefit from winter pruning, and explain how plants heal from pruning wounds, even when dormant. Bring your questions to this classroom discussion and demonstration. Fee $30 Arnold Arboretum member, $35 nonmember.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Instructor Kristin DeSouza leads a class on Thursday, February 11, from 9:30 – 11:30 am, on Designing an Edible Native Plant Garden (co-sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society).  There are over 20,000 species of edible plants in the world, yet fewer than 20 species now provide over 90% of our food.  What are our native edibles and how can we utilize them in the garden?  Have you ever eaten a pawpaw fruit or sauteed oyster mushrooms freshly picked from your garden for your evening’s dinner?  Horticulturalist Kristin DeSouza will illustrate the design and installation process of the new edible native plant garden at Garden in the Woods.  She will weave together historical plant uses, design approaches, horticultural techniques, and culinary applications.  A sampling of native plant edibles will be available as well.  Directions will be sent to registrants ($25 NEWFS members, $29 non members).  Log on to www.slowfoodboston.com for more information.

The transition from hunting and gathering to food production was a seismic shift in human history. With it, we transformed the world. But how and when did this happen, and why is it important to understanding our current human condition? Bruce Smith, curator of North American archaeology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, will discuss his current research on agricultural origins — and how the story is more complicated than you’d expect.  This free lecture will take place at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge, on Thursday, February 11, from 6:00 – 7:00 pm.  For more information, log on to www.hmnh.harvard.edu.

The Medford Garden Club is sponsoring a free lecture on Thursday, February 4, from 7 – 9 pm at the Medford Public Library, 111 High Street in Medford.  Bryan Hamlin, a Medford botanist and a board member of the Friends of the Middlesex Fells, will explain what has changed botanically in the Fells and why.  His illustrated talk will cover the history of the Fells and its past and current habitat.  For more information, email sbcummer@msn.com.  Photo below taken by Sandra Loosemore.

On Thursday, February 11, at 7:00 pm, Historic Newton will present the first in the 2010 Newton History Series programs at the Newton Free Library.  The series is called Roots in Our History.  The opening lecture, entitled Fruits of Their Labors: The Kenrick Nurseries Legacy for Today’s Garden, will be given by award- winning landscape designer and preservationist Lucinda A. Brockway.

In his nursery catalog of 1831, William Kenrick boasted that his family nursery was about 35 years old and “now without doubt, the oldest of note in New England.”  At the time he couldn’t have realized that the nursery would continue beyond his 76 year lifespan (1796-1872).  The Kenrick’s “undeviating principles of accuracy, of honor, and of rectitude” gained them the highest reputation in the plant industry, and many of our most beloved fruit and tree varieties, including many in our gardens today, first came to this country through the Kenrick family nurseries.  In 1796, their passion for plants, which began with “no other motive than the ornament and improvement of a portion of [John Kenrick's] own lands,” launched the family to the heights of horticultural recognition.  Today their Waverley Avenue home in Newton, and the trees shading the streets of Farlow Hill, are fitting tribute to their labors.

Today’s green movement asks us to “buy local.”  What better way to buy locally than to celebrate the fruit and plant cultivars of the Kenrick nurseries in our backyard gardens or on our local grocer’s shelves!  From copper beeches to Belgian pears, there is something in their nursery lists for everyone.  The rich story of this family’s passions makes each juicy bit of a Van Mons pear even sweeter.

Lucinda A. Brockway is principal and owner of Past Designs, a landscape preservation and design firm in Kennebunk, Maine.  Brockway serves a national clientele, including The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Trustees of Reservations, and numerous state and federal preservation agencies.  In addition, she has designed landscapes for private homes which have been featured in Old House Journal, Victoria Magazine, Colonial Homes, and Accent.  She is an instructor for the National Preservation Institute, offering courses in landscape preservation from South Carolina to Hawaii.  Her work has been recognized by the Garden Club of America, The American Society of Landscape Architects, the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and others.  She is the author of three books: A Favorite Place of Resort for Strangers, Taking a Garden Public: Feasibility and Startup, and Gardens of the New Republic.  For more information, call the Newton Free Library at 617-796-1360.  All programs are free and open to the public.  Parking is free, and the Newton Free Library is handicap accessible.