The Garden Club of the Back Bay

Sign up for a series of three hands-on workshops for beginning and intermediate flower arrangers.  The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts is sponsoring the classes, to be held at the Espousal Center, 554 Lexington Street, North Waltham, MA on Tuesdays from 10 am to 12 noon on October 20, April 13, 2010, and May 11, 2010.  This series differs from the series beginning on October 14 because it is truly participatory.  The fee for all three sessions is $105, which includes all materials and instruction.  No refunds are offered if you are unable to attend, but you may designate someone to attend in your place, or ask a friend who is attending to collect your flowers and container at the end of class.  You must supply clippers, a notebook, and a clean up bag.  Please mail your check, made out to GCFM, Inc., to Maureen Marshall, Registrar, 79 Morton Street, Holliston, MA 01746. Include your name, address, Garden Club affiliation, Telephone number, and email.  Space is limited to 90 people, and will be allocated on a first come basis.  You may wish to call first to confirm availability.  Maureen’s number is 508-429-4936, and she may also be reached by email at sweetpeapatch@aol.com.

The Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and the city of North Adams are proud to announce that the 54^th Fall Foliage Festival.  On Saturday, October 3, a Farmer’s Market will be held in the Saint Anthony Municipal Parking Lot  across from MASS MoCA.  The Autumn Arts & Crafts Festival, from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, takes place on the sidewalk on the north side of Main Street. The Parade will be held on Sunday, October 4, 2009, beginning at 1:00 pm.  The Fall Foliage Festival Parade Committee selected “Taste of the Berkshires” as the theme for the 2009 parade.  This theme is an opportunity for the community to experience all of the flavors of Berkshire County.  The 54^th Annual Fall Foliage Festival Parade Grand Marshal will be Carl Jenkins, former director of the Drury High School band, Adjunct Teacher of Oboe, and part-time Coordinator of Fine and Performing Arts for the city of North Adams.  A half century ago, the leadership of the North Adams Chamber of Commerce deemed the advent of the fall foliage season a time for celebration, given that the natural beauty of the surrounding mountain ranges inspired visitors from all over the Eastern United States. For more information, log on to www.fallfoliageparade.com.  The picture below was taken at the North Adams Country Club.

The World Association of Flower Arrangers announces that the United States of America is the host country of WAFA, responsible for  three years of floral activity.  The 10th World Flower Show will culminate in a four day event at the World Trade Center here in Boston, June 15 – June 19, 2011. Join WAFA as it welcomes floral artists from across the globe.  The show will be an extraordinary time for the USA: a chance to see and participate in a collaborative effort by the National Garden Clubs, Inc. and The Garden Club of America’s design study groups.  There are spaces and places available for everyone who wants to be a part of these memorable events.  Sign up and learn more at www.wafausa.org.

Horticulturist Jeremy Dick will present a program at City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive in Mattapan, on Saturday, October 3, from 9 – 11 am.  Learn how to collect, process, and store seeds from your garden and from the wild.  This program will cover the proper handling and preservation of seed to greatly increase your success with germination.  Become a seed saver, grow your favorite plants year to year, and share seeds with friends.  Registration is required, although program is free of charge.  To register, call 617-542-7696, or email info@bostonnatural.org.

We all live in two worlds: the natural and the symbolic. Our expectations, memories, and the reality of death play a significant role in our lives. There is a rich landscape tradition that evokes many natural and symbolic responses to our ephemeral existence, the afterlife, burial customs, and memorialization. In five programs from October 2009 through March 2010, a series entitled “The Landscape of Eternity” explores some of the ideas and expressions of these landscapes of memory. The Landscape Visions Lecture Series is made possible by a bequest from Jeanne Muller Ryan.  The first program, on October 24, in the Tapestry Room of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, will be given by garden designer and historian Marc Peter Keane.

In Heian Japan, Amida Buddha’s Western Paradise was recreated in elaborate estate and temple gardens. Within this symbolic landscape, the image of Amida Buddha was enshrined in a hall set on the shore of a pond. Marc Peter Keane explores several of these gardens and their role as a paradise on earth. Tickets: $15 General Public; $12 Seniors; $5 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Members; FREE for Students.  Tickets may be purchased on line at www.gardnermuseum.org, or by calling 617-566-1401. Image: Scenes from the Tale of Genji (detail), 1677; Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The Friends of the Public Garden presents News of Brewer Fountain Plaza Renovation, Boston Common, on Tuesday, October 20, beginning at 6:00 pm at The Hampshire House, 84 Beacon Street in Boston.  Come hear the plans to revitalize the landscape in this heavily used area of the park, making it a greener, more inviting gateway into the Common and a destination within the park, with a restored Brewer Fountain as its centerpiece.  Also, hear about the plans to celebrate the Friends of the Public Garden’s 40th Anniversary in 2010.  Reception follows.  The event is free but please RSVP and make a reservation, as space is limited.  Email by Thursday, October 15 at fopg@gis.net, or call 617-723-8144.

What would happen if a bonsai tree were planted in the ground? Most of the species seen as bonsai in the Arnold Arboretum’s world-renowned Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection can also be seen in the Arboretum landscape, but they look very different! Explore the history and culture of bonsai and the Arboretum’s long relationship with these fascinating plants. Compare and contrast bonsai with their “unrestricted” counterparts in the landscape. Meet instructor Robbie Apfel, Docent, at the Bonsai House, adjacent to the Dana Greenhouse at 1050 Centre Street.  Free. Advance registration requested.  Log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu to sign up  and for directions.

Join the New England Wild Flower Society on a hike botanizing two different communities formed by two dramatic glacial features:  a double drumlin and a kettlehole, owned by The Trustees of Reservations. We visit Weir Hill Reservation with Frances Clark and walk through 80 acres of field and woodland under fire management.  Oaks, hickories, blueberries, grasses, and sedges, with a variety of fall wildflowers of various colors highlight the mosaic formed by different burning regimes.  Descending from these dry slopes, we enter a wet meadow and visit the Ward Reservation to investigate the classic kettlehole bog, one of the best examples in eastern Massachusetts.   The colors should be spectacular, with many end-of-season fruits and flowers.   This botany hike emphasizes the different ecologies of these very different sites. Walking is on a wide but steep path over the drumlin, moist in the meadow, and easy along the board walk through the bog.  Bring Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Peterson’s Fern Guide, and a hand lens, as well as water and lunch.  Limit 15 participants, fee is $32 for NEWFS or Trustees of Reservations members, $36 for non members.  To register, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human presents a groundbreaking theory of our origins.  Author Richard Wrangham, the Ruth Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University and Curator of Primate Behavioral Biology at the Peabody Museum,  shows that the shift from raw to cooked foods was a key factor in human evolution.  Chef Jody Adams invites you to an intimate salon dinner with the author, Richard Wrangham, on Friday, October 9, beginning at 7 pm.  The three course dinner, paired with wine, is priced at $100, including tax and gratuity. The book will be available for purchase courtesy of the Harvard Bookstore.  “Richard’s thought provoking conversation and infectious charm make him an incredible host” says Ms. Adams. He is also the co-author of Demonic Males (perhaps one of the best book titles in recent memory) and co-editor of Chimpanzee Cultures.  Please call 617-661-5050 to reserve your space.  Rialto Restaurant is located at One Bennett Street in Cambridge, in the Charles Hotel, and you may obtain additional information by logging on to www.rialto-restaurant.com.

Join the Preservation Society of Newport County on Wednesday, October 7 at 11 a.m. at Rosecliff, 548 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island for a lecture by Mack Woodward, Senior Architectural Historian of the Rhode Island  Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission.

Ocean Drive is one of the most significant picturesque landscapes in America.  Recent research has revealed just how important this historic place is in our nation’s landscape history.  This lecture will focus on the layout of the Drive itself, the masterful development of the entire district in the late 19^th century, its comparison with similar picturesque sites, and how critics of the time responded to the planning of the area.

Admission free to Preservation Society members, general admission $5.  Advance registration requested.
Register online, or call (401) 847-1000 ext. 154.

The colorful and often exciting history of Topsfield Fair began in 1818 when the Essex Agricultural Society, the non-profit organization that owns the Topsfield Fair, was officially granted a charter on June 12th of that year.

The goal of the fledgling Society, formed by a group of “practical farmers” who first met on February 16, 1818, was “to promote and improve the agricultural interests of farmers and others in Essex County.”

Now, 186 years later, the Society still strives to do this, “to encourage, promote and preserve Essex County agricultural activities and to educate the general public regarding their importance in an atmosphere of fun and excitement through the medium of the Topsfield Fair.”

Weekday Admission $10 (children under 8 free), Weekends and Holidays $12.  For more information log on to www.topsfieldfair.org

The Boston Gardeners’ Council will hold a workshop on Thursday, October 8, from 6 – 8 pm, at the Southwest Corridor Community Farm, Lamartine St. and Hoffman Street in Jamaica Plain.  Ben Crouch, former director of Earthworks City Fruit program, leads this workshop on planning, planting, tending, and harvesting urban orchards.  Free, but registration is required.  Call Boston Natural Areas Network at 617-542-7696, or email info@bostonnatural.org.

The Berkshires’ longest running and best-known community event will take place during the first weekend in October, October 3 – 4, from 10 – 5, at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens. An old fashioned, family-oriented community festival with something for everyone, including rides, games, food, music, crafts, giant tag sale, and lots more. Parking fee includes admission.  For directions and more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Fall can be one of the most beautiful seasons in the garden. On Saturday, October 3, from 9:30 – noon, Dori Smith, landscape designer of Gardens for Life in Acton, leads this tour of several gardens designed primarily with native plants to please birds and butterflies, as well as her clients. Native shrubs such as fothergilla and cranberry viburnum glow with autumn color. Winterberries are ripening, and twigs of dogwood are turning crimson. Many of the fall flowers are still blooming. The designer shows you “before” photos of these landscapes, as well as photos taken in different seasons. She discusses the unique challenges, goals and methods of each project. Learn ways to use stone and water to enhance the effects of the plantings. You are welcome to tour the Acton Arboretum  before or after the garden tour. The tour is sponsored by The New England Wild Flower Society, and costs $25 if a NEWFS member, and $30 if a nonmember.  Limited to 20 participants.  To register, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc. Southeastern District Design & Horticulture Study Group presents dramatic floral designs, witty artistic crafts, intriguing educational exhibits and lush seasonal horticulture by the region’s most accomplished award-winning designers and horticulturalists inspired by the milestones, history and collection of Heritage Museums & Gardens.  Heritage Museums & Gardens is located at 67 Grove Street (at Pine Street), Sandwich, Massachusetts.  Directions may be obtained at www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org.  Free with museum admission.

Kate Pokorny is a talented young artist living in New York who is, coincidentally, the daughter of Garden Club of the Back Bay Past President Margaret Pokorny.  Kate’s latest project can be followed on her new website, www.yurtalert.com.  In her own words:

“As a longtime felter I didn’t have the space to make the soapy mess required for the process after I moved to New York City in 2006. I experimented with needle felting and came upon crochet, which, to me, seemed like something you could make anything out of. This was further reinforced when I watched Margaret Wertheim’s TED Talk and saw how crochet can be used to represent hyperbolic space and coral reefs.  I became very interested in oversized knit and crochet work by artists like Kwangho Lee, Claudy Jongstra, and Christien Meindertsma.

I started crocheting a lot, and was making many small domes when I realized that the same form could be made much larger into a crocheted yurt. Historically, Mongolian nomads made felt for their yurts via a labor intensive process that still required an internal structure at the end of the day.  My project is to take that design a step further and make a locally-sourced (local to New Hampshire), self-supporting crocheted yurt out of hand-felted cording approximately 1.5 – 2 inches thick.”

You can follow the process on line, leave comments and suggestions, and we can all place bets on when Amy Adams will buy the film rights.

Spend a morning at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts with Betsy Williams, proprietor of The Proper Season in Andover.  Apples, one of our most ancient and useful fruits, have played important parts in fall and winter celebrations for centuries.  Learn the history of this ancient and important fruit.  Make an apple candle to decorate your seasonal table, a spicy apple pomander, fragrant mast balls, apple-cinnamon ornaments, and two quarts of spicy Autumn Apple Potpourri.  Please bring floral scissors and an apron to class – this is a messy class, so be sure to wear old clothes!  Betsy will be giving a separate class in the afternoon (Glorious Autumn Pot), so plan to have lunch at Twigs and spend the day.  Cost of the Apples, Apples, Apples program is $50 for Tower Hill members, $55 for non-members.  Register on-line at www.towerhillbg.org.

Betsy Williams of The Proper Season in Andover will help you plant a pot that captures the glory of autumn in New England during this workshop at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA.  Summer may be over but there are at least two, sometimes three, months of growing season left.  Fill a 12″ pot with brilliant mums, richly colored kales, a miniature evergreen tree, English ivy, and other hardy plant material.  With proper care, your pot will brighten your doorway or patio through November and your evergreen tree will live for many years.  Be sure to bring an apron and floral or garden scissors to class.  Register on-line ($50 for Tower Hill members, $55 for non-members) at www.towerhillbg.org.

The library staff strives to help students and researchers become increasingly independent users of information resources by providing instruction on library research methods that enable them to refine their inquiries, understand the range of tools available, and select the appropriate resources. Join the library staff on Saturday, September 26 at 10:30 a.m. for an information session describing the scope of the collection, including its visual resources and extensive archives. Special emphasis will be given to online reference tools such as electronic journals.  Location: Arnold Arboretum Horticultural Library,125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.  Seating is limited, please rsvp to hortlib@arnarb.harvard.edu.  For directions, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.