The Garden Club of the Back Bay

This Spring, just as it comes time to plant the garden, NOFA/Mass presents its third annual Statewide Spring Organic Gardening Day. On April 10, there will be organic gardening workshops in every region of the state. The closest workshop to the Back Bay will be held at City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive in Mattapan from 9 – 12, led by Jean-Claude Bourrut, who manages production at Natick Community Organic Farm.  Jean-Claude will cover soil basics, practical organic techniques, and he will share a hands-on seed starting activity to increase your confidence in starting your own seedlings.  Growing our own food is an excellent way to save money, lessen our carbon footprint, improve our health, and connect with neighbors and nature. Isn’t now a good time to learn skills that will help you plant a garden and make it productive throughout the year?

These workshops are all led by experienced gardening educators, and they are intended to meet the tremendous resurgence of energy and action for backyard and community gardening. In addition to explaining and demonstrating some key steps that can empower to you start your own garden, these workshops provide a great opportunity for you to ask questions. Whether you are a complete newcomer to gardening or you just feel that you could use some brushing up on growing skills and concepts, these workshops are for you.

Registration cost is $30, and if you are a member of NOFA you will receive a $5 membership discount.  Early registration is recommended ($5 discount before March 27).  Contact Ben Grosscup at 413-658-5374, or email him at ben.grosscup@nofamass.org – Put April 10 in the subject line.  For a complete list of all ten locations and specific topics  throughout the State, log on to www.nofamass.org/programs/extensionevents/workshopday.php.

Learn the why’s and how’s of pruning – why to prune, if you even need to prune, when to prune, and what cuts to make.  Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Senior Horticulturist Tricia Diggins teaches you to make cutting edge decisions about nearly every pruning job from house plants to large tres.  She explores with you how these general principles relate to specific plants like flowering shrubs, evergreens, older trees, young plants and fruit trees.  Approximately half the class time will be indoors and the remaiinder will be outside in the Hunnewell Arboretum and Alexandra Botanic Gardens, looking at the pruning needs of a variety of trees and shrubs.  The Wellesley College Hunnewell Arboretum can be damp under foot in early spring.  Please dress appropriately for the weather.  Class number HOR 10 080, WCFH members $20, non members $25.  To register, or for directions, log on to www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or email horticulture@wellesley.edu.

Join tour guide Nick Novick on Friday, March 12, from noon – 3, to visit a small orchard and learn the ecological care of fruit trees using a holistic approach. Until fairly recently, producing a reliable fruit crop required the use of a number of synthetic chemicals with troubling health and environmental profiles. By changing the way we think about “pest control” and utilizing innovative approaches along with improved materials, good results are now possible without the use of environmentally damaging chemicals.

You’ll visit a home orchard at 393 Estabrook Road in Concord where you’ll discuss care throughout the year, including pruning, spray materials and timing, and discuss other, practical considerations. The focus will be on apples, but some other fruits will be discussed.

Nick Novick owns and operates Small Planet Landscaping, which, since 1997, has provided environmentally sensitive landscaping services including lawn fertility and weed management, low-impact orchard care, and installations emphasizing native plant communities. He has a B.S. in Environmental Conservation, attended UMass Extension’s Green School, and has served on the Board and edited the newsletter for the Ecological Landscaping Association. His company currently cares for almost 80 trees on six different properties.

Fee is $20 for ELA members, $25 for non-members, and walk-ins are welcome. For more information email ela.info@comcast.net, or call 617-436-5838.

Directions: From the center of Concord, take Lowell Road (heading northwest toward Carlisle) for just over a mile. At the four-way stop/intersection, take right onto Barnes Hill Road. Go 1/2 mile, and take left onto Estabrook Road. Number 393 is the last property on the left. Following the parking signs, proceed through the two, stone pillars, go a few hundred feet, and take a left just past the small, brick house. Someone will point out where to park. Call Nick directly if you have difficulty finding the site: 508-308-4960.

Carol Govan is back at the Wellesley College Botanic Garden on Saturday, April 10, with a class beginning at 9:30 a.m.  Do you love plants and want to understand them better? Enjoy early arrival of spring in the WCBG Greenhouses as Carol Govan introduces botany using basic terminology, direct observations and journaling to explore basic plant morphology (seeds, roots, shoots, flowers and fruit). No previous experience is necessary. Class meets at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Visitor Center.  Fee $50 Arnold Arboretum or WCBG member, $65 nonmember.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

University of Georgia Horticulturist Allan Armitage will present the first American Horticultural Society online seminar this year on Wednesday, April 7 beginning at 1 pm Eastern time.  Join Armitage as he covers Vines and Climbers for American Gardens.  An award winning author of more than a dozen gardening books, Armitage has just completed a new book on vines that will be published this year.  Online registration for this webinar, exclusively for AHS members, will open soon.  Details may be found in the March/April edition of The American Gardener, and on the AHS website, www.ahs.org.  You may also call 703-768-5700.  Membership dues start at $35 per year and include a subscription to The American Gardener.

Bring a bagged lunch to the Berkshire Botanical Gardens on Saturday, March 20 for a fascinating illustrated lecture, beginning at 10:00 am.  Where to begin with hosta and daylilies?  Suitable for both sun and shade gardens, these low maintenance, drought tolerant plants offer much for both the beginner and the advanced gardener.  Learn about these rugged and important garden stalwarts.  Consider varieties, siting, cultivation, health care, diseases, design possibilities and companion plants for these poplular and well loved classics.  Barbara Provest manages the New England Daylily Society Display Garden at Elm Bank in Wellesley, and takes care of 650+ daylilies there.  Her garden is an official American Hemerocallis Society Display Garden with 1,136 cultivars.  Meg and Jim Dalton are avid hosta collectors and members of the Tri-State Hosta, Upstate New York Hosta, and American Hosta Societies.  Members of BBG will be charged $20, non members $25.  For directions, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Patrick Chasse, Landscape Curator of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, enchanted us with his talk at last Fall’s Boston Committee Annual Meeting.  He will speak again on Saturday, March 20, beginning at 1:30 pm, as part of the Landscape Visions Lecture Series at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway in Boston.

Many of the most powerful modern memorials to individuals, groups, and even ideas are landscapes — like Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. The profound connections of humans and their cultures to landscapes forge a timeless link to our memories. Landscape Visions Lecture are made possible by a bequest from Jeanne Muller Ryan. Tickets are $15 General Public, $12 Seniors, $5 Museum Members, and Free for Students.  For more information, or to purchase tickets in advance, call 617-566-1401, or log on to www.gardnermuseum.org.

The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts presents a Horticulture Morning on Monday, March 29, 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 Wollmering, organic gardener and owner of The Herb Farmacy, will speak on Growing Organic Vegetables and Herbs: Great Growing Ideas from a Professional.  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.

Sentinel and specimen trees, allees and boulevards, hedgerows and urban forests – they surround us and are living reminders of our heritage.  In order to honor and help preserve our country’s heritage of trees, The Cultural Landscape Foundation and Garden Design Magazine are teaming up with The Davey Tree Expert Company for the 2010 Landslide: Every Tree Tells a Story.

Since its inception in 2003, the landslide initiative has spotlighted more than 150 significant at-risk parks, gardens, horticultural features, and working landscapes.  The goal of Landslide is to draw immediate and lasting attention to these threatened landscapes and unique features, revealing the value of everyday places and encouraging informed community-based stewardship decisions. Through web features, traveling exhibits, and print publications, Landslide reveals the value of these forgotten places.

An example of an at- risk garden selected by Landslide is The Italian Garden designed by Winthrop Ames at Queset, in North Easton, Massachusetts (pictured below circa 1920). Abandoned for generations, this ruined garden is a silent testament to Edwardian era bon vivants and the Golden Age of American gardens,   This year’s theme calls attention to the places that embody our shared landscape heritage.  Nominate or learn more by visiting www.tclf.org/landslide.  Deadline for nominations is March 31, 2010.

The Gibson House Annual Benefit will be held Thursday, March 25 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at  The Algonquin Club, 217 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.  This year’s event honors Carl R. Nold, President and CEO, Historic New England, and Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., Curator of American Art at the Harvard Art Museum.  Wear your best Victorian jewelry! $125 in advance, $150 at the door. For more information, and to reserve, log on to www.thegibsonhouse.org,  telephone 617-267-6338, or email info@thegibsonhouse.org.

Belle Isle Marsh Reservation on Bennington Street in East Boston is known as one of Massachusetts’ birding hot spots.  Join DCR and Boston Natural Areas Network to look for snipe and waterfowl on Saturday, March 27, beginning at 9:00 am.  Binoculars will be available to borrow.  Boston Natural Areas Network, organized in 1977, works to preserve, expand and improve urban open space through community organizing, acquisition, ownership, programming, development and management of special kinds of urban land – Urban Wilds, Greenways and Community Gardens. In all of its endeavors, BNAN is guided by local citizens advocating for their open spaces and assisting them to preserve and shape their communities.  For more information, log on to www.bostonnatural.org.

TCLF is pleased to announce its spring garden excursion March 26 and March 27,  highlighting the diverse cultural landscapes of Pasadena and Los Angeles, California.  Attendees will have the opportunity to tour several private contemporary and historic gardens, with both the original designers and those who have stewarded the properties.

Events will include a visit to Pasadena’s Thornton Garden (recently featured in Garden Design magazine), a tour of the Norton Simon Museum’s outdoor sculpture garden by designer Nancy Goslee Power, a walking tour of the Garret Eckbo-designed Ambassador College (pictured below), and evening drinks on the terrace of the Greene and Greene-designed Gamble House (subject of a recent exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Day 2 will place the spotlight on modernism and guests will have the opportunity to visit three private, contemporary gardens, punctuated by lunch at a Richard Neutra-designed estate in Los Angeles famed Laurel Canyon.

Transportation for this weekend event will be provided from downtown Santa Monica. We recommend that attendees stay at Hotel Shangri La in Santa Monica, as the bus will depart and return to this location, however, Santa Monica offers a diversity of hotels including the nearby Viceroy.  The price for this unique trip is $450 (hotel extra), and you may register on line at www.tclf.org/event/los-angeles-garden-excursion.

The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay’s 15th Annual Taste of the Back Bay will take place Thursday, April 8, from 6:30 – 9:30 pm at the Prudential Skywalk.  Participating restaurants include Asana at the Mandarin Oriental, Blue Restaurant and Cafe,  Brasserie JO, Cafeteria Boston, City Table, DaVinci Ristorante, Eastern Standard, Haru Sushi, Kashmir Restaurant, L’Espalier, Petit Robert Bistro, Sel de la Terre/Back Bay, Stanhope Grill at the Back Bay Hotel, Top of the Hub & Skywalk, Turner Fisheries, Vlora Mediterranean Restaurant and Wine Bar, and of course, beverages from Bauer Wines, Harpoon Brewery, and DeLuca’s Back Bay Market.  For tickets, and for more information, log on to www.nabbonline.com.

On Saturday, March 20, from 11 – 5, the Boston Natural Areas Network will hold its signature event at the Curry Student Center, Northeastern University, Boston (pictured below).  Join over 300 community and backyard gardeners for plenary sessions, workshops, community gardener awards, information gallery, door prizes, and much more.  Contact Jo Ann Whitehead at joann@bostonnatural.org, or call 617-542-7696, x 15 for more information.  This event is free.  To see a map of the event location, log on to www.bostonnatural.org.

As part of the Globe Corner Bookstores Adventure Lecture Series, author W. John Kress will give an illustrated talk about and read from his latest book The Weeping Goldsmith: Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar.

The Weeping Goldsmith is a remarkable memoir of the over nine years that Dr. Kress spent exploring the wilderness of Myanmar in search of rare and beautiful plants, and how he came to appreciate Myanmar’s unique people and culture. The book contains past explorers’ archival photographs as well as 200 of the author’s color photographs of plants, people, landscapes, and temples. A 10-page portfolio includes photographs of 50 Myanmar plants, with botanical profiles and habitat detail.

W. John Kress prefaces his book by explaining that it “is about the natural landscapes and people of Myanmar as interpreted through the eyes of a modern-day scientist and plant explorer…I surveyed the teak forests, bamboo thickets, timber plantations, rivers, and mangroves to document the plant diversity of this vast unknown land. Myanmar is one of the world’s great biodiversity hot spots in Asia, but because of its social isolation and reputation for political repression it has been off-limits and avoided by many biologists, conservationists, and environmentalists.”

This event will take place Wednesday, March 10 at First Parish Church, 3 Church Street in Cambridge (Harvard Square), and is free and wheelchair accessible.  Reservations are recommended, and you may call 617-649-5700 x 21, or email events@gcb.com.

Before the leaves emerge, challenge yourself to identify a range of native New England shrubs. Even without leaves, shrubs can be identified using a number of macro-characteristics such branching patterns, growth habits, bark, persistent fruit, and catkins. Their habitats provide more clues, as do their smaller features such as buds, leaf and bundle scars.  The program begins with a classroom session, followed by a field session on the property, weather permitting. Look for common native species such as witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and wintergreen (Gautheria procumbens). Bring lunch and a hand lens.  A winter twig key, such as Winter Keys to Woody Plants of Maine (Cambell, Hyland and Campbell, 1975) or Fruit Key and Twig Key to Trees and Shrubs (Harlow, 1946) is highly recommended.  The program will take place Wednesday, March 31, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, at the Delta Institute in Bowdoin, Maine, with instructor Lauren Stockwell.  The New England Wildflower Society member cost is $44, nonmember cost $52, and you may register, or receive more information, at www.newfs.org.

Early spring is an excellent time to prune many woody plants. In this hands-on workshop to be held Saturday, April 10, from 1:30 – 4:30 pm, participants work in small groups for guided practice on woody members of the Garden in the Woods’  shrub collection. Discover ways to enhance a plant’s vigor, health, and appearance and learn which tools to use, when to prune, and how the plant responds. Bring hand-pruners and dress for working outdoors, rain, snow, or shine (feathered hats optional).  You may register on line at www.newfs.org, and the price for members is $33, nonmembers $40.

On March 10, 2010, The Esplanade Association and the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) invite you join us at 6pm at the Boston Public Library, McKim Lower Level Conference Room B,  for Findings and Directions, the second of four Esplanade 2020 community meetings.

The Charles River Esplanade is a park for people, and though it is loved by many, it has the potential to be much more. An initiative of The Esplanade Association, in collaboration with DCR, the Esplanade 2020 project is bringing together community members, public officials, and design professionals to craft a shared vision for the future of the Esplanade. The March 10 Findings and Directions meeting provides the public with an opportunity to review and assess a proposed, increasingly refined direction for Esplanade 2020. Since commencing the visioning project, and based on public comments made at the first community input session in January, the Esplanade 2020 Design Committee has created a framework of principles to guide our shared vision. Moreover, the Design Committee has begun to explore possible solutions to park issues and areas of concern voiced by community members. Findings and Directions will allow the public to evaluate these proposed guidelines and alternatives, and will help The Esplanade Association and DCR steer the vision of Esplanade 2020 in a direction embraced by the community.

Findings and Directions will be moderated by The Esplanade Association, and will include substantial time for public input. A more detailed agenda will be distributed ahead of the meeting. The Esplanade 2020 project is gathering members of the community and asking them to dream big. Broad public participation in the project is invaluable as we work together to realize the full potential of the Charles River Esplanade, and we hope that you will join us. For more information about Esplanade 2020, or to RSVP, please visit www.esplanadeassociation.org or contact Chris Murton at 617.227.0365 or cmurton@esplanadeassociation.org.

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society has put together a full day of programs as part of the Paragon Group’s Boston Flower & Garden Show, opening March 24 and running through March 28 at the Seaport World Trade Center.  On Thursday, March 25, beginning at 11:30, Art Scarpa opens the morning with ‘The Care and Feeding of Houseplants’. Whether we live in a grand house or a one-bedroom apartment, houseplants are an essential part of New England because six months out of the year there’s nothing growing and green outside. This program will deal with houseplant basics: selection, care and maintenance. You will come away with your thumb considerably greener.

At 12:30, MassHort has assembled on stage a virtual encyclopedia of gardening knowledge. Roger Swain, Paul Miskovsky and Kerry Ann Mendez invite everyone to bring their best questions on any topic related to gardening. Swain (pictured below) is the well-know host of PBS’ ‘The Victory Garden’ (he will also speak on the subject of tools on Saturday), who brings a dollop of humor to his broad knowledge of all things botanical. Miskovsky is considered one of the region’s best landscapers. He has installed two gardens on the exhibit floor; one, a 1,080 square foot garden (Falmouth-based Miskovsky Landscaping) and a second one for Heritage Museum and Gardens. Paul creates inspiring gardens for his public and private clients, but he can also tell you how to properly plant a rhododendron. Mendez is a ‘passionate perennialist’, an exceptional gardening speaker and the proprietor of ‘Perennially Yours’ in upstate New York.

At 1:30, Rita Wollmering offers ‘Ready, Set, Grow – Preparing for a Successful Vegetable Garden’. She’ll take you through the practical steps that lead to a more successful vegetable garden. With planning, preparation and smart planting, gardeners can see an increase in both the health and yield of their plots.

At 2:30, Betty Sanders talks on ‘The Green, Organic and Affordable Lawn’. The level of hype and dubious information about ‘organics’ has gotten to a state where someone with a wide body of knowledge, no axe to grind and nothing to sell is needed to sort it all out and answer all questions in a way that listeners understand their options.

At 3:30 p.m., Cathy Felton will talk on ‘Editing the Mature Garden’. What do you do with a yard full of overgrown shrubs and perennials with dead centers? It may be the house you’ve lived in for 40 years or it may be the one you just purchased. Either way, bringing a landscape back to a manageable shape doesn’t always need to be a job for a contractor – or pointlessly expensive. The program will show how incremental steps can undo decades of neglect.

At 5 p.m., Sally Muspratt offers ‘Small is Beautiful: Do-it-Yourself City Landscaping’. Not everyone has five acres, not everyone can hire a designer. The house in the city with 50 feet of street frontage can have just as much appeal as an estate. But where do you begin when you’re starting with some old boxwood and scraggly grass? This talk will take homeowners on a step-by-step process toward achieving a great landscape in a small space, and is especially appropriate for those of us located in the City of Boston.

Tower Hill Botanic Garden, The Trustees of Reservations, and the New England Wild Flower Society invite you to preview the new Boston Flower & Garden Show on Tuesday, March 23, from 7 – 9:30 pm at the Seaport World Trade Center, Boston.  As the season’s first blossoms mix with fresh warm earth, pussy willows, and the gentle ripple of streams, the promise of Spring will greet you like a convivial maitre d’.  (That is the purple prose of the invitation, may we point out)  Proceeds from the evening will be shared by Tower Hill and NEWFS, and you may buy tickets ($75 each) on line at three web sites:  www.newenglandwild.org, www.thetrustees.org, and www.towerhillbg.org.   The Preview Party is sponsored by Paragon Group and Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School.  With each ticket purchased, receive a cooking class certificate, up to a $50 value.  You just can’t lose!