The Garden Club of the Back Bay

This summer’s Ecological Landscaping Association Roundtable will take place Wednesday, August 12, from 2 – 4:30 pm, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts.  Panalists M.L. Altobelli, Roger Sturgis, and Michael Talbot, who together bring more than 80 years of accumulated experience to ELA’s Roundtable, will discuss Fertilizers and Soil Amendments – What Are Your Favorite Recipes? Learn how to make ecological landscaping work for you.  Understanding fertilizers and soil amendments is fundamental to landscaping and is essential to successful ecological, sustainable, and organic practice.  Please join the discussion.  Email ELA.INFO@COMCAST.NET to pregister.  Walk-ins are welcome.  $20 members of ELA, $25 non-members, includes general admission to Tower Hill Botanic Gardens.  For more information on the Ecological Landscaping Association, now in its 18th year focusing on the education of green industry professionals, concerned citizens, and homeowners, log on to www.ecolandscaping.org.

The Garden Design School is delighted to announce the launch of its US Diploma in Landscape and Garden Design, commencing August 2009. The School aims to bring the very best of UK and US landscape and garden design together in an intensive, exciting, part-time program, the first of its kind in North America. Here is what the School says about the Program:

Several years in planning, our US Diploma has been carefully constructed, from scratch, to meet the specific needs of the American garden design market. We’ve worked with leading academics and many successful US landscape designers to ensure that every aspect of our program is of genuine, practical relevance. We want all of our US students to be competent, confident garden designers, offering a professional landscape and garden design service.

Garden Design School was established in 2002 by two of the UK’s leading garden designers, Robin Templar Williams and Moira Farnham. Both run their own, successful, landscape and garden design companies and they have over 32 years international teaching experience between them.

John DeVore has spent over 35 years in the US garden and landscape design industry and runs a thriving design and build business, DeVore’s Land and Water Gardens Inc.  Jules Bruck is one of the USA’s most respected lecturers in garden design, horticulture and landscape contracting and also a highly accomplished freelance designer. Over 80% of our US Diploma in Landscape and Garden Design is taught by our Program Directors.

Our Diploma is a carefully structured program which teaches all of the key skills you are likely to need to become a professional landscape and garden designer. You’ll receive plenty of individual attention because the class size never exceeds 18 students and in many lecture/studio sessions the tutor:student ratio is as low as 1:6.

Students receive plenty of one-to-one support from our Program Tutors

Our students come from all walks of life and, in previous years, have ranged in age from just 22 to 64. Some have chosen garden design as their first career, others join us having worked in another industry (career-changers) or are perhaps returning to work having raised a family. Whatever your background or previous training, our program will equip you to enter the exciting, expanding world of professional landscape and garden design.

Our US Diploma Program is divided into 8 separate teaching blocks, the first starting in late August 2009 and the last ending in mid-May 2010. Each teaching block (with the exception of the first) lasts for four days: Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday. By incorporating a weekend each time, we hope this structure will help people who have existing work commitments on weekdays.

The dates of our 2009/10 US Diploma are as follows. All classes are taught at our Massachusetts training center (Tower Hill Botanic Garden, details below). Each lecture day runs from 8.30am to 4.30pm, with breaks for lunch and refreshments.

*May be extended to 6 days to compensate for any teaching days lost due to bad weather.

Our US Diploma Program teaches a comprehensive range of skills, in 4 categories. Lecture days at Tower Hill are usually a mixture of lectures and studio work.

Design Principles and Drawing
Principles of design; graphic and drafting skills; printing processes; application of color and rendering; axonometric projection; freehand sketching; plan presentation; single point perspective drawing; fast drawing techniques.

Hard Landscaping
Practical surveying with levels; site analysis; elevations and sections; hard landscape materials; detailing the design of hard landscape; project layout; water in the garden; lighting, irrigation and drainage requirements.

Soft Landscaping
Basic botany; soil science; classification and identification; planting design; horticultural requirements; establishment; site specific planting; planting plans and schedules.

Professional Practice
Running the office; documentation and systems; health and safety; client/designer relationships; contractor/designer relationships; planting specifications and contract management; project costing; business start-up; advertising and promotion.

Independent Study & Assessment
To support and extend learning, beyond the formal lectures and studio sessions attended at Tower Hill, students can expect to spend 24-30 hours per week, between each module block, on independent (home) study. This is necessary to ensure that all subjects are covered, and skills mastered, to a high standard.

Four design projects are undertaken during our program, the final one being a comprehensive scheme, encompassing all of the following elements to produce detailed documentation: survey and site analysis; outline proposals; setting out drawings; visual realization; planting plan and schedule; hard landscape details; planting specification and scope of works. In addition, students compile 2 portfolios throughout the program (hard landscaping and soft landscaping).

Each student’s progress is assessed at regular intervals throughout the program by means of a series of realistic, practical assignments and projects. There are no exams or essays. Our Diploma is taught in the botanic garden’s Stoddard Education & Visitor Center, a modern, purpose-built training facility. Food and drink can be obtained in the on-site Twigs Café, and parking at the botanic garden is free.

Enrollment in the Diploma Program of Garden Design School USA is strictly on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Fees for the 2009/2010 US Diploma Program are $16,995. A deposit of $2000 must accompany your application form to reserve a place on the program. This is non-refundable once The School has written to you confirming acceptance of your application to join the program. Having received this letter of acceptance, your enrollment will not be finalized until you have completed, signed and returned the School’s enrollment contract by the date specified. Once you have received a letter from The School confirming receipt of your enrollment contract, you are obliged to pay the balance of fees to complete your enrollment commitment, whether or not you take up the place accepted.

Please note that the Application Form should be signed and sent, with the deposit payment, by mail, to:

Garden Design School USA
1410 Hogue Road, Hamilton, Ohio 45013, USA.

Checks should be made payable to ‘Garden Design School USA’. We regret that applications sent by fax or e-mail are not acceptable.

For an application form, log on to www.gardendesignschool.com/us_course.htm

Visit the gardens of Heritage Museums & Gardens in the morning and experience one of the most enjoyable times of the day. The Horticulture staff invites members and friends to an informal gardening lecture. Bring questions and take part in the discussion.  In the event of inclement weather, the program will be canceled.  Meet at Ticket Office.
FREE with Museum Admission.  For directions and more information, log on to www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org.

Can gardeners make a difference for the future of biodiversity in our communities? Come to the Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury, Massachusetts for the Annual David H. Smith Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, August 12, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Yes we can! In this talk based on his book, Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens, Douglas Tallamy, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, reveals the importance of the interaction between plants and insects in our own backyards.

Tallamy will illustrate the unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife: when native plants disappear, native insects disappear, impoverishing the food source for birds as well as other animals. Learn how as gardeners we can help sustain this link by planting native species that support our native wildlife population. Book signing after lecture. $10/$5 for PHA members. Begins at 7:30 pm.  Sponsored by SBS: the Grain Store.  For more information contact Karin Stanley at karin@pollyhillarboretum.org, or call her at 508-693-9426.

The Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens needs your help!

The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens needs help identifying select images from its collection that depict locations in Boston. Below is a link to the Smithsonian’s online cataloging system, SIRIS, that includes eight unidentified Boston images from the early twentieth century.

http://collections.si.edu/search/results.jsp?q=%22unidentified+garden+boston%22&view=grid&start=0

Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images. Click on the underlined caption for additional information in the catalog. If you are able to identify any of the properties’ owners and/or street addresses, please contact marieke@bostonhistory.org.

Join the staff at Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, 23 Science Center Road, Holderness, New Hampshire, on Thursday, August 6, from 9 to 10:30 in the morning, to learn about the selection, use, and maintenance of pruning tools (including sharpening of pruners and loppers).  Discover how, when, and why to prune flowers, shrubs, and trees with an opportunity to observe the techniques in Kirkwood Gardens. This workshop will prepare you to make some positive changes in your own garden.  For more information, log on to www.nhnature.org.
Cost: $7/member; $9/non-member

Invasive plants pose a serious threat to the biodiversity and visual character of gardens in Massachusetts.  Join Polly Hill Arboretum Collections Management Intern and certified arborist Matt Lobdell for a presentation covering invasive plant issues.  Learn how to identify and control these menacing plants.  Also, find out how you can become involved in efforts to control and eradicate the invasive plants that are threatening our most treasured natural areas.  Controlling invasive plants is a global concern and a growing field in professional horticulture.  $5 admission (free to PHA members).  For more information contact Karin Stanley at 508-693-9426, or email karin@pollyhillarboretum.org.

On Saturday, September 12th, from 10:00am to 5:00pm, NABB will hold its Annual Fall Street Sale, our local community yard sale, on Dartmouth Street Mall between Newbury Street and Commonwealth Avenue (at Alley 434).  The Garden Club of the Back Bay will be represented with a table, and visitors will be able to pick up Membership Brochures, see displays of some of the many Garden Club of the Back Bay projects we execute and fund, purchase totes, aprons, and bulbs, and pre-order our justly famous Holiday Wreaths.  We will also have pictures and ordering information for the beautiful iron tree fences you see throughout the neighborhood.  If you’d like to arrange for pruning of your front yard tree, we can take that information, too.  Please stop by and say hello.

Through the collaboration of interior designers, landscape architects and other Island trade specialists, the Captain Thomas Mellen House has been transformed into a show case of artistry, craftsmanship and whimsy.  More than 35 Vineyard craftsmen and decorators  transformed each of the rooms to reflect their interpretation of Edgartown’s unique style. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the home and gardens as well as participate in the demonstrations and lectures planned throughout the summer under a tent on the house’s grounds.

The Captain Thomas Mellen House was constructed in 1840 by master builder Ariel Norton and is located in the Historic District of Edgartown. The house features wide board floors and a curving front entrance staircase and was originally configured as a seven-bedroom, two-bath house with more than 2,900 square feet of living space.  The home’s original details have been preserved and enhanced by the creativity of Island designers.

The project is a benefit for Habitat for Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard, which builds affordable houses for Island families using charitable contributions, volunteer labor and donated materials.
Habitat for Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard is the beneficiary of all tickets sales (Tickets are $20 and $25) and a portion of the sale of the furniture, accessories and artwork through out the house. For more information log on to www.marthasvineyardshowhouse.com.

On Thursday, August 6, from 5 – 8 pm, enjoy free admission to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on Fenway Court, and take a magical journey from twilight to moonlight.  Meet and greet Joe the Roving Magician and see what magic happens before your eyes. Take a peek into the past, present and future with tarot card reader Kasey Robinsong.  Enjoy Bass-Line Motion’s presentation of Analog Love in a Digital World featuring Adrienne Hawkins and Larry Roland with Impulse Dance Company.  For directions and more information, log on to www.gardnermuseum.org.

Don’t miss this delightful evening of cocktails and dinner at Tower Hill, 11 French Drive in Boylston, Massachusetts – with open bar, savory hors d’oeuvres, inventive international menu, enjoyable music, and a light-hearted tribute to John W. Trexler, celebrating his twenty five years as Executive Director of Tower Hill Botanic Garden.  In John’s honor, this elegant dinner tribute marks the establishment of a fund endowiing the Executive Director’s Chair at Tower Hill.  Income from this event will support the new fund.  Tickets are $250 per person, and one may also become a Sweetgum Sponsor for $1,000 (includes two dinner tickets), a Tulip Tree Sponsor for $5,000 (includes 4 dinner tickets) or a Silverbell Sponsor for $10,000 (includes a dinner table for 8).  If you are unable to attend, please consider honoring John Trexler with a generous donation to the Executive Director’s Endowment Fund.  Please make checks payable to Tower Hill Botanic Garden or pay securely online at www.towerhillbg.org with your credit card.  Questions may be directed to the Tower Hill Development Office at 508-869-6111, x 114.

Field trips are a long standing tradition of the Connecticut Botanical Society.  They provide an opportunity to learn about plants and habitats from some the area’s most knowledgeable botanists, and an opportunity to share your own knowledge with others.  The trips also add to the bank of knowledge of New England flora.  On each field trip. a list is made of all plant species identified, and this list becomes part of the Society’s records.  The Connecticut Botanical Society encourages the gardening public to participate in the botanizing of Killingworth Bog in Killingworth, Connecticut, led by Penni Sharp, CBS botanist.  This bog is a unique habitat for orchids, sundews, pitcher plants, and other interesting species.  Expect wet feet – boots are recommended.  For field trips, wear sturdy footwear and bring a lunch.  Sunscreen and insect repellant are also recommended.  For plant identification, you may wish to bring a field guide(s), a hand lens, and a small notebook.  Familiarity with plant taxonomy is helpful, but not required.  No pre-registration is required.  Free to CBS members.  Non-members must pay a $15 fee, which includes a one-year membership in CBS, and entitles you to join future trips this season at no additional cost.  For more information and directions, call 203-484-0134, or log on to www.ct-botanical-society.org.

The 75th Anniversary of the Berkshire Botanical Garden will be celebrated at the garden on Saturday, August 8, from 5 – 7:30 pm with a festive summer gala cocktail party honoring the Lenox Garden Club, original founders and patrons of the Garden.  Call 413-298-3926 for details and reservations.  Directions may be found at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

A beautiful and dynamic landscape results from a design responsive to the natural environment, history, and social context of the site, as well as the user’s needs.  Join the Polly Hill Arboretum staff for an illustrated presentation of Vineyard landscapes designed by summer resident and award-winning landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.  From his first Island garden in 1984, to public projects like Ag Hall and the Polly Hill Arboretum parking lot, to a contemporary green roof, Van Valkenburgh will take the audience through a variety of Island landscapes.  Discover how practical issues like soil, micro-climate, and functionality are integrated with cultural history to create successful gardens and landscapes. $10 admission ($5 PHA members). Sponsored by Middletown Nursery.  For more information, call Karin Stanley at 508-693-9426, or email her at karin@pollyhillarboretum.org.

‘Gardens Private and Personal,’  the second program in the Gardens and Art Lecture Series, will be held on Tuesday, August 4, at 5:30 p.m., at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. Author Nancy D’Oench will present an illustrated program based on the Garden Club of America book she helped create. She will also sign copies of the book.

Gardens Private and Personal celebrates 100 years of the Garden Club of America. Nancy D’Oench has written an exquisite book about more than 90 gardens from all around the United States, including Maine. Photographs are by Mick Hales, one of the world’s leading garden photographers; and gardening expert Bonny Martin was the project’s coordinator.

The book is organized according to parts of the garden – entryways, herbaceous borders, water features, hedges, etc. – with exquisite pictures accompanied by insightful commentaries and extended captions. Quotations from the owners, dedicated gardeners all, offer an additional source of inspiration to any garden lover.  Nancy D’Oench of Portland, Connecticut, is a writer, award-winning flower arranger, lecturer, flower-show judge, and longtime member of the Garden Club of America.

The fee for the  presentation is $10 for Maine Botanical Society members or $15 for non-members Pre-registration is suggested, either on-line at www.mainegardens.org, or by calling (207) 633-4333.

Join the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for the 13th Annual Massachusetts Marketplace Festival on Saturday, August 8, from 10 to 4, at Elm Bank Horticulture Center.  The event will feature the finest products from the region’s fields, farms, gardens and kitchens, with over 60 vendors offering new and locally produced food products, crafts, garden ornaments and gifts.  There will also be a plant sale and garden tours.  Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for MassHort members, and $2 for children under 12.  Tickets are available onsite the day of the event.  Massachusetts Marketplace Festival is produced by MassHort with in-kind support from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and the Massachusetts Specialty Food Association.  For more information, log on to www.masshort.org, or call Kathy Thomas at 617-933-4981.

Meet in the courtyard of the Henry Hornblower II Visitor Center to join a lovely walking tour of Plimoth Plantation’s 17th century herb boxes, hosted by staff
horticulturalist Lori Danek. Discover the culinary, medicinal and household uses of herbs in the 1620′s and discuss how to successfully grow these important plants in your own garden. Additionally, receive a 17th-century recipe, to try your hand at herbal cooking at home!  These tours are FREE with museum admission and will happen rain or shine.  For directions and more information, log on to www.plimoth.org.

Join The Esplanade Association and World Rhythms Dance and Fitness this Thursday on the Esplanade in front of the Hatch Shell for FREE dance instruction and open dance. This week’s featured dance style is SWING!

Weekly Dance Program Features:

• Professional dance instructors
• Different dance style each week
• Free dance instruction followed by open dance
• Great for children and adults of all ages

Plimoth Plantation kicks off a one month celebration of gardens. Whether visiting the Wampanoag Homesite, or the English Village this month, guests to Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts will enjoy seeing and learning more about the beauty and functionality of the museum’s vegetable and kitchen gardens.  Ask the interpreters about what’s growing and their various planting methods. Discover how lush August gardens provided reliable sustenance to the Wampanoag and colonists.  For hours and directions, log on to www.plimoth.org.

Travel to the Berkshire Botanical Garden for its annual exhibition of floral design and horticulture, including special children’s classes.  Entries are invited.  Call 413-298-3926 for details, or log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.  Hours are Saturday, 1 – 5 pm, and Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm.