The Garden Club of the Back Bay

You are invited to a free one-hour informational seminar about protecting historic buildings. Preserving an historic structure could benefit the Back Bay and may result in a tax deduction. Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston.  Register today by calling Mory Bahar, a representative of the Trust for Architectural Easements, at 978-352-5615, or by sending an email to mbahar@architecturaltrust.org.  For more information, log on to www.architecturaltrust.org.

Fruitlands Museum, home to the eclectic collection of Native American, Shaker, and American art, celebrates its 95th season with the much-anticipated opening of The Nature of Apples: Art & Memory. This new exhibition of thematic paintings drawn from a private collection, features the enduring beauty of this American icon and its role in the farming economy of Central Massachusetts’ Nashoba Valley. Continuing through November 2009, the exhibit shows artists ranging from Currier & Ives to renowned Provincetown contemporary painter Karl Knaths. A fascinating enhancement to the exhibit, Farmers Voices is a collection of compelling recorded oral histories by local farmers and orchard growers, collected and produced by exhibit cosponsor Freedom’s Way Heritage Association.

Continuing at Fruitlands is sculptor Joseph Wheelright’s astonishing Tree Figures installation, featuring eight monumental, lifelike figures, created from actual trees. With their own distinct personalities the figures are carefully sited throughout the property and greet the visitor in grand style. Wheelwright has exhibited at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA and the Boston Sculptors Gallery. Also on view is Branching Out, a thirty-year retrospective of Wheelwright’s smaller sculptures in the Ell Gallery at Fruitlands Farmhouse.  102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard, Massachusetts. For more information, log on to www.fruitlands.org.

Garden Club of the Back Bay member Marguerite Feind died March 27 at her daughter’s home in Long Valley, New Jersey, at the age of 86.  Marguerite moved to Boston in 2004 and subsequently joined the Garden Club and The College Club.  To view Marguerite’s obituary, log on to www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=125607158.

Come to Elm Bank for the Annual Metro East/Metro West District Meeting. Roxanne Randall and Joan Kiley will present “Less is More: Container Gardening. These two talented ladies from Needham will demonstrate how to create beautiful, unusual container arrangements with an emphasis on economy.  They will offer plenty of container gardening information and advice, interesting container ideas, and suggestions for using containers, with Yankee frugality thrown in.  This program will appeal to any gardener who wants to plant a small space, hide those places where nothing seems to grow, or just spruce up the front steps. Their lively banter and humor will make for a delightful program. Registration starts at 10:30.  Coffee, fruit and cheese during registration. Luncheon with a selection of sandwiches, salad, and assorted desserts will follow.  There will be a raffle and the presentation of Unsung Heroes Awards.  Reservations due by April 20.  Send $25 check made payable to GCFM to Wilma Wetterstrom, 9 Glenley Terrace, Brighton, MA 02135.  For more information call Wilma at 617-787-9844, or email wetterst@fas.harvard.edu.

The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay will hold a Membership Meeting Tuesday, April 28 at 6:30 pm in the Boston Room of the Boston Public Library.  Ann Gleason, Chair, encourages members to attend and be updated on matters afecting the neighborhood. There will be a persentatioon on groundwater in the Back Bay, an update on the status of the groundwater, what has been done and how it impacts Back Bay residents. There will be an opportunity to ask questions.  For more information log on to www.nabbonline.com.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department invite local residents to enjoy an informational Coffee Hour, sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts.The Coffee Hours give residents a unique opportunity to speak directly with Mayor Menino about open space and other needs in their neighborhoods. Through these one-on-one discussions, Mayor Menino looks forward to hearing how the City of Boston can improve upon local parks, public areas, and city services. All participants will enjoy coffee and breakfast treats provided by Dunkin’ Donuts. In addition, each family in attendance will receive a flowering plant grown in the city’s greenhouses as a gift from Mayor Menino. Residents at the event will also be eligible to win a “Day on the Town” raffle prize package including a Dunkin’ Donuts gift basket, Macy’s and Legal Sea Foods gift certificates, Swan Boat rides, and free parking downtown for the day compliments of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.

On April 18 from 9am-12pm at City Natives in Mattapan on 30 Edgewater Drive, the Northeast Organic Farming Association/ Massachusetts Chapter (NOFA/Mass) is holding a workshop on how to start and maintain successful organic gardens The event is part of the Massachusetts Organic Gardening Workshop Day, which is designed to meet the recent resurgence of energy and action for backyard and community gardening. Similar events will be held in 12 other towns and cities throughout the state. Topics that will be covered at the workshop include: starting garden beds, seed starting, organic soil fertility, organic soil amendments, mulches and cover crops, weeds, disease and pests, what to plant when, crop spacing, and succession cropping. Workshop participants are also strongly encouraged to bring their own questions to the workshops. For information on registration, contact Ben Grosscup at 413-658-5374 or email him at ben.grosscup@nofamass.org.

When you garden, you GROW.  Every April communities, organizations and individuals nationwide celebrate gardening during National Garden Month.  Gardeners know, and research confirms, that nurturing plants is good for us: attitudes toward health and nutrition improve, kids perform better at school, and community spirit grows. Join the celebration and help to make America a greener, healthier, more livable place.  For information on 10 ways to be Green this National Garden Month, go to www.nationalgardenmonth.org.

Go WILD! An Evening of Garden Delights & Irresistible Plant Shopping, for the benefit of the New England Wild Flower Society, will include plant sales (including the popular Gardener to Gardener table), both live and silent auctions, music, festive food and beverages, and more.  As an added bonus, spring ephemerals will be in bloom at Garden in the Woods.  Tickets are $50 each or four for $150.  You may order on line at www.newfs.org, or call Heather McDonald at 508-877-7360, x3208. All proceeds will support the Society and its programs.

The Boston Branch of the American Begonia Society and the New England Chapter of the Gesneriad Society will offer choice perennials, houseplants and terrarium plants at their annual combined sale on Saturday, April 25, beginning at 10 a.m.  The sale will take place at The Josiah Smith Barn, 358 Boston Post Road, Weston, MA 02493.  Take Rt. 128 to Route 20 West.  Go one mile, then turn right onto Boston Post Road.  Go 0.03 miles.  The Josiah Smith Barn will be on the left. For more information call Lilya Veneziano at 617-479-3680.

See the 20-foot flowering nasturtium vines adorn the courtyard balconies in one of the year’s most stunning displays – seen nowhere else.  Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.  The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway, Boston.  For more information call 617-566-1401, or log on to www.gardnermuseum.org.

Celebrate Arbor Day at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts.  The first twenty five first time visitors will receive a free tree sapling.  Tree plantings and tours will occur each day at 2 pm.  The Gift Shop will be having a 20% off sale on everything they carry.  On Saturday, at 1 pm, there will be a magnolia lecture, and arborist Joe Biagioni will give pruning demonstrations on Friday and Sunday at 1 pm.  Also there will be a variety of children’s activities.  For more information and directions, log on to www.towerhillbg.org.

The Friends of Clarendon Street Playground will host an egg hunt with coffee and doughnuts, plus a visit from the Easter Bunny, on Saturday April 11 at the Clarendon Street Playground at the corner of Clarendon and Commonwealth Avenue.  The gates will open at 10 a.m.  Volunteers are needed to help set up and hide eggs at 8 a.m.  To help with the event, please contact Sue Baker at baker.sue@comcast.net, or call 617-867-9501

It’s fun and, after a long winter, you will certainly make a difference in our Back Bay neighborhood! Contact Ellen Rooney at parnell3@verizon.net if you can help or for further information.