The Garden Club of the Back Bay

The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay invites you to the 14th Annual Taste of the Back Bay, Prudential Skywalk, from 6:30 – 9:30 pm.  Benefit for NABB’s many community programs, with a portion of the proceeds this year donated to Horizons for Homeless Children.  The Taste offers a sampling of the finest food and drink available in Back Bay and the surrounding area, including signature dishes, fine wine, and micro-brewed beer.  Reservations are $75 for NABB members, $85 for nonmembers, and $100 day of the event, if available.  Reservations can be made online through www.nabbonline.com, or by calling 617-247-3961.

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society invites you to the Blooms Benefit Cocktail Party at the Intercontinental Hotel, 510 Atlantic Avenue. Enjoy tapas and the music of the Bo Winiker Orchestra. Tickets are $75 each, and benefit the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which is attempting to bring back the New England Spring Flower Show in 2010.  Cocktail attire.  Call 617-933-4995 to order tickets, or you may order online at www.masshort.org.

Ted Elliman, who works at Garden in the Woods, is a very good botonist on New England flora, and also has travelled in Yunnan Province in China.  This meeting will be held at Garden in the Woods in Framingham and is the monthly meeting of the New England Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society.  Membership is $10 per year for members of NARGS.  For more information, log on to www.nargs.org

Master rosarian Clarence Rhodes will present a program entitled “Anything About Roses”, and if you have ever had the privilege of hearing Clarence talk, you know he can talk about Anything and Everything!  Clarence will regale listeners with tales of his adventures at Weeks Rose Nursery in California, and will be happy to answer all rose related questions. He always has some new gardening implement inventions on his drawing board, so preview what is coming up next.  Coffee and pastries will be served.  Reading Public Library, 64 Middlesex Avenue, Reading, Massachusetts.  Enter the library from the rear of the building.  Handicapped accessible.  The meeting will be held on the second floor.

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society has announced the extension of “Blooms” to three Simon Malls venues, Copley Place, The Mall at Chestnut Hill, and the Atrium Mall, where the public is welcome to experience a variety of landscape and garden exhibits in common areas throughout the malls.  Free and open to the public during regular mall hours.  For more information, log on to www.masshort.org.

Come to the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts for the Flower & Patio Show Charity and Preview Night.  Some items to be auctioned include a rain water harvesting system, a 400 square foot patio, a pondless waterfall, irrigation system, plus cruises, tickets to sporting events, and gift certificates. All proceeds benefit Juvenile Diabetes and the Sterling Community Park.  Live and Silent Auction begins at 7 pm.  Tickets $20.  Call 978-422-0071 to order tickets, or log on to www.sterlinggreenery.com/Events for charity.html

Title: Middlesex Conservation District Spring Plant Sale
Location: 4H Fairgrounds, 51 South Chelmsford Road, Westford, MA
Link out: Click here
Description: Plant sale, including trees and shrubs, perennials, ground covers, and garden supplies.
Start Date: 2009-04-24 (3pm – 6pm)
End Date: 2009-04-25 (8am – noon)

The New Hampshire Orchid Society’s 18th Annual Orchid Show will be open Sunday, February 15,  at the Radisson Hotel, Nashua, New Hampshire, just off US Route 3 at Exit 1.  Exhibits, Workshops and Sales.  Adults $10, Seniors $6, 12 and under free.  For more information log on to www.nhorchids.org/show2009

Mary Dewart chronicles the story of a prominent New England landscape, a turn-of-the-century creation by a visionary couple, Larz and Isabella Anderson. Their estate in Brookline, Massachusetts became Isabella’s gift to the town in 1948. Like many large estates across the country after W.W.II, Larz Anderson Park and its celebrated, world-class gardens underwent a period of dramatic decline. These changes have been followed in recent years by an emerging respect for historic landscapes and a call for renewal. An accompanying slide show illuminates the details of both the history and design of this once famous estate. We all are familiar with Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, but not many of us know that Larz’s wife Isabella was the moving force behind the magnificent landscape which was almost lost to development pressures in the twentieth century. Ms. Dewart, who spoke to our Club last season to much acclaim, will detail the preservation story of this fabulous garden. Mary Dewart has owned her design/build practice for over fifteen years. A certified landscape designer, Mary serves clients throughout New England. She works to integrate beauty and inspiration with practicality in the landscape. A traveler and teacher, she helps clients envision the possibilities of their sites. An optional lunch with our speaker will follow the meeting. 10:00 am, The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston.  Lunch $19.  For more information, contact The Garden Club of the Back Bay.

Meet Joseph Wheelwright and enjoy a tour of his spirited Tree Figures.  Set amid the winter landscape of the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts, discover the intermingling of nature and art.  Joe’s tour will end with a discussion about his career and new book.  Free to members of Fruitlands Museum, $10 general public.  102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard, MA.  For more information or directions, call 978-456-3924, or log on to www.fruitlands.org.

Receive a $5 discount at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses in Waltham, Massachusetts when you purchase a Garden and Landscape membership at the greenhouses during the month of February.  The greenhouses are open Wednesday through Saturday, 9:30 – 4:00 (7:00 pm on Thursdays).  For more information, call 781-891-4882, ext. 244.

Register for the Windowsill Herb Gardening Workshop at the Lyman Estate in Waltham, Massachusetts.  The workshop runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Garden and Landscape members of Historic New England will propogate herbs to be grown at home.  Growing culinary, medicinal, and ornamental herbs is not difficult once you master a few important techniques.  The workshop is followed by a tour of the Historic Lyman Estate Greenhouses and includes lunch.  Admission is $25.  Call 617-227-3957, ext. 264 to register and become a Garden and Landscape member.

Learn about the efforts local birders are making to reduce their “Environmental Footprint” when birding. We will cover several topics including “Green Birdscaping” for birds, “Green Birdfeeders”, and “Green Birding.” If there is interest, and weather permitting, we may step outside to listen for the first American woodcocks of spring. Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center
500 Walk Hill St
Mattapan, MA 02126-3146

The Harvard Museum of Natural History hosts a lecture by Janet Browne at 6:00 pm in the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street.  On February 12, cities and universities around the world celebrate “Darwin Day.” But what is being celebrated, the achievements of a single individual or the acceptance of his controversial theory of evolution?  Ms. Browne is Aramont Professor of the History of Science, and will explore Charles Darwin’s cultural significance and what he has come to represent over time: the idea of scientific progress.  Free and open to the public.  For additional events, log on to www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures-classes-events/darwinyear.html.

New member Mary Louise Mesquita forwarded the link to this beautiful YouTube video – turn on your sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvI90EKY8lg&feature=dir

10:00 – 2:30 pm at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens.  Winter is a great time to identify trees based on their overall structure and twig and bud characteristics. Close observation can also reveal clues to the adaptive strategies of various tree species. You will begin indoors at the Botanic Garden’s Visitor Center, discovering family and genus similarities and examining indicators of the growth cycles of deciduous trees. After lunch Carol Govan will lead you through the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens to identify trees, observing both large- and small-scale details. Bring a lunch and hand lens and dress for cold weather.  $50 members of Arnold Arboretum or Wellesley Friends of Horticulture, $65 non member.  For details call 781-283-3094, x. 4.

The Visitor Education team at the Arnold Arboretum invites you to learn more about a brand new volunteer opportunity: The Arboretum Interpreter.  Log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu/programs/volunteer.html for details, or contact Julie Warsowe, Manager of Visitor Education, at 617-384-5253, or email her at Julie_warsowe@harvard.edu.

New England Grows is one of the largest and most popular green industry events in North America, known for its progressive educational conference and world-class exhibition.  It is an educational partnership between the New England Nursery Association, Associated Landscape Contractors of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Arborists Association, and Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association.  Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.  Wednesday noon to five, Thursday 8 a.m. to 5, and Friday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.  For details log on to www.negrows.org.

The Massachusetts Camellia Society, one of the oldest societies in the United States, will present the 180th Annual Camellia Show at Tower Hill Botanic Garden.  See hundreds of gorgeous camellia flowers at the peak of their display – both on the camellia trees themselves as part of Tower Hill’s own collection, and also in bowls of floating blossoms from private collections.  This is a perfect way to spend a winter day, amid the subtropical greenery of the Orangerie.  For more information, log on to www.towerhillbg.org.