The Garden Club of the Back Bay

This is our final “Wreath of the Day” posting for this season, so we leave you with a flowering indoor wreath suitable for a Valentine.  Happy New Year from The Garden Club of the Back Bay.

Katherine Greenberg, Past President, Pacific Horticultural Foundation, will escort a tour to Cuba February 18 – March 2, 2010, under the auspices of Pacific Horticulture Magazine.

Join like minded plant lovers for a long-awaited study tour of Cuba, where you  will visit the highly successful urban gardens of historic Havana, as well as the country’s national parks, important repositories of the island’s native flora. Cuba is the largest, most diverse, and species-rich island in the Caribbean. You’ll also enjoy the country’s cuisine, music, and culture. Meetings with Cubans will highlight the tour. All tour members must qualify to participate.

Pacific Horticulture staff are working with a humanitarian organization, Global Exchange, to provide opportunities for those of you who work in the areas of horticulture, botanic gardens, or the environment to travel to Cuba as members of this information-gathering delegation. You must be a full-time or part-time professional or volunteer professional to qualify. Please contact them to receive an application to be a part of this exciting opportunity.  Global Exchange is a registered Travel Service Provider for Cuba with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department. This trip operates under their General License.

Tour highlights will include visits to the Havana Botanic Garden, the La Terrazas reforestation project and the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve for orchids at the Orquidarium Soroa (pictured below), a trip to Zapata, recognized as the finest wetland in the Caribbean with extraordinary plantlife and wildlife, Cinfuegos, a city on the south coast, the Sierra del Cambray Mountains, the colonial city of Trinidad, and more.  For a detailed itinerary, contact 510-849-1627, or email office@pacifichorticulture.org.

One of our members requested a della Robbia wreath, influenced by the Renaissance artist specializing in fruit garlands.  Co-President Jackie Blombach delivered!

The world renowned Cornell University Department of Horticulture offers hands-on, online courses for gardeners and professionals.  All courses feature practical activities because the faculty believes learning by doing is key to any successful online horticulture course.

Web based instruction is a great way to learn about horticulture, but it is no substitute for acquiring skills by doing.  Dr. Ken Mudge began developing online courses more than 10 years ago for the Department of Horticulture.  You won’t just read about grafting, cutting and related propagation strategies.  Online lectures, virtual field trips, discussions and quizzes are among the activities that will engage you in the history, botanical principles, and horticultural applications.  Class size is limited.  To facilitate online discussion, a different topic is each week’s focus, but you can log on at your convenience anytime during the week.  The only prerequisites are a computer with an Internet connection and a willingness to learn.  Many online students have never taken an online course before.  Cornell provides a tutorial to familiarize you with the instructional web site, and is happy to help you through any technology problems you may encounter.  These courses do not carry academic credit, but upon completion, students receive a Certificate of Completion and qualify for Continuing Education Credit.

A new session begins January 25 and runs through March 15.  Two of the announced courses, Botanical Illustration I: Basic Drawing Techniques, and Botanical Illustration II: Working with Watercolor, each cost $500, and questions on the course may be sent to me14@cornell.edu.  Other proposed courses are Plant Propagation and Organic Gardening, tentatively scheduled for late winter.  To be notified about these two courses, email mw38@cornell.edu.  For complete information on Cornell’s online program, log on to www.cals.cornell.edu/cals/hort/teaching/distance-learning/.

When the light is right, burgundy ribbon can help create a richly elegant wreath.  Try not to put burgundy in a dark place, however, or the impact will be lost.

Hydrangeas are difficult to work with – they shatter, the stems are thin, and their colors sometimes fail to remain vivid once cut.  Designer Marleen Nienhuis, however, shows here how successful they can be when coupled with rose hips, cones, and other dried flowers, along with a luscious burgundy and gold bow.

The City of Boston Department of Public Works will collect and recycle Christmas trees during the first two weeks of January.  You should put your tree out on your regular trash and recycling collection day (in most of Back Bay, that’s Monday and Thursday).  If your building puts trash in a dumpster, trees should be placed next to the dumpster for collection.  If you miss these recycling times, call 617-635-4959 for possible additional date or dates in January.

Remove all ornaments, tinsel, lights, and other non-organic decorative materials.  Flocked trees will often need to be chopped and disposed with regular solid waste.  For more information on tree recycling for other areas of Massachusetts, and indeed nationwide, log on to www.pickyourownchristmastree.org/disposing.php.

You are either a feather person (“please, lots of feathers!”) or you are not a feather person (“please, no feathers!!!).  Member Chris Anderson is a master at handling feathers, as the pictured wreath shows.

Every now and then we will call your attention to a luxurious garden tour opportunity.  We are in no way affiliated with any of these tour providers, so please do your own research, but if you’re looking for unusual, garden related travel, read this:

India, most incredible India … the national fruit is the mango, the national tree is the Ficus bengalensis or the banyan tree and the national flower is the Lotus. Just like the Lotuses, prized for their serene beauty, the Taj Mahal is also prized for its beauty, beauty made as a result of a grief stricken Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his beloved wife Mumtaj Mahal. This is a very special one of a kind garden tour as it will focus on some incredible gardens and sights.Old Delhi – Raj Ghat – resting place of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, Monument of Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Qutub Minar – Victory Tower, Lotus Shaped Bahai Temple, India Gate, Presidents Palace and Parliament House. Visit to Lodhi Garden, Mughal Garden – designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and very rarely open to the public, Humayun’s Tomb – built in 1570, is of particular cultural significance as it was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent. It inspired several major architectural innovations, culminating in the construction of the Taj Mahal.

Agra – Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Taj Garden – Charbagh – In Islamic style of architecture, the garden is not just another feature but has a well-defined meaning and it symbolizes the spirituality.

Bharatpur – the Royal City of Fatehpur Sikri – the city built of red sandstone includes the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India.

Jaipur, the Pink City – Sisodia Rani Ka Bagh Garden – a symbol of love, Amber Palace, tour Pink City and Hawa Mahal for photos, Jantar Mantar – observatory built by the founder in 1728, City Palace Museum.

Jodhpur – Mandore Garden, city tour including Jaswant Thada – Taking pride of place amongst the ornamental gardens and chattris is the fabulous white marble memorial to Jaswant Singh II, built in 1899.

Udaipur, the city of lakes – Evening boat ride on Lake Pichola, visit to Jag Mandir Island, city tour including visits to City Palace, Sahelion-ki-bari – garden of the maidens, Jagdish Temple – built in 1651.

Tour provider Donna Dawson achieved her master gardener certificate in 1995, through the University of Alberta Devonian Botanic Garden. She is a current member of the Royal Horticultural Society as well as the Garden Writers Association, Affiliate Member Canadian Institute of Travel Counsellors and member of the North American Travel Journalists Association.  Donna has been featured in numerous gardening magazines including Homemaker’s, Gardener for the Prairies, Gardens West, Canadian Gardening and Gardening Life, as well as local newspapers and Internet sites such as Familywave.com and iParenting.com where she is currently the expert on gardening. She is part of the expert panel at www.WorldReviewer.com with her specialty in gardens. She has also had the opportunity to provide photographs to European Homes & Gardens, BCAA and Doctor’s Review. Donna is the only outside writer for Tai Pan Travel magazine featuring gardens and plants from around the world and is also a writer for Vivir Bien, a lifestyle magazine out of the Republic of Panama where she talks about plants in tropical areas – in Spanish and English.

Donna has appeared on Canada AM, HGTV’s Indoor Gardener and Calling All Gardeners. She and her husband were one of the few chosen to do a TV special called “the Garden Tourist” on Recreating Eden and while in China on tour, she was a special guest on China TV. She has also been a featured guest speaker at numerous Canadian gardening events including Canada Blooms and Victoria’s Art in Bloom.

Land only cost of this trip $4,995, double occupancy.  For more information call toll free 1-866-642-7120 or email Donna Dawson at donna@icangarden.com.

Some of our designers specialize in floral looks, and the unusual coloration of this wreath was much admired by the purchaser.  This wreath can stay up long after the holidays are over.

This traditional wreath with red bow, made by member Marian Brunck, is our Christmas Day wreath of the day.  May you all have a warm and wonderful holiday.

When member Linda Zukowski brought her granddaughter Sophie in to The First Lutheran Church of Boston to help choose ribbon for the family wreath, little Sophie immediately spotted a glittery green and red polka dot bow.  She also loves birds.  Co-President Jackie Blombach took Sophie’s wreath design very seriously, and the finished product was everything we could have wished for!

Magnolia leaves, some with a dusting of gold paint, set off the beauty of golden pine cones and lotus pods in this fabulous wreath created by Laurie Carter Noble.

Our ribbon selection is extensive, but we must warn you that each year the supply changes, so we can never promise an exact duplicate of a wreath or bow you may see on this web site.  The dark gold pictured here is especially handsome.

We have to admit, we rather dread the matched pair orders.  Getting two (and sometimes three or four) wreaths to coordinate is a challenge.  Is one bow too high?  Did we run out of a certain seed pod?  Is there enough ribbon for all the bows?  Somehow, we do them, and we do them very, very well, as these wreaths designed by former President Margaret Pokorny demonstrate.

Often, wreaths are hung in dimly lit vestibules or hallways, and must be designed with that in mind.  Francine Crawford used lime green ribbon and plenty of gold for this wreath, destined for a shadowed entrance.

Indoor floral arrangements during the winter months are most successful when you incorporate flowers or branches that are interesting to look at. Winter is not the season to focus on bunches of blooming flowers, but rather to create airy, simple, and tasteful arrangements. In this class you will discuss  choices for long-lasting winter arrangements, the use of unusual vases, and which flowers will work best. You’ll practice a variety of floral arrangement styles, using everyday and unusual flowers and branches for tall and thin, or short and subtle looks. You will discuss equipment and reference materials used by florists, how to pair your arrangement with a room, and how to best care for your flowers before, during, and after they have been arranged. Please bring a few vases, a pair of scissors, glue sticks, and a glue gun to class. The instructor will provide the fresh flowers and branches, low-floral dishes, floral tape, and wires. A $50 materials fees is payable to the instructor at the first class.  This series of three classes, to be held Wednesday January 20, January 27, and February 3 at Brookline High School, is sponsored by Brookline Adult Education, and the fee for the three classes is $85.  You may register on line at www.brooklineadulted.org, or by calling 617-730-2700.

Clients often challenge us with special requests.  In this instance, member Laurie Carter Noble interpreted “gold bow, gold and copper accents” in an especially exquisite manner.

We reprint in its entirety a call for designers sent out by Massachusetts Horticultural Society.  For those floral arrangers out there, this is an opportunity to shine:

If you were at Blooms! last March, one of the indelible memories of that event is likely the spectacular floral interpretation of a dragon created by renowned designer Arabella Dane.  Her colorful, imposing dragon seemed to leap out at passersby, hardly the stereotype of a ‘flower arrangement’.  It drew large crowds, many of them drawn by word of mouth from offices above the exhibit space.  “You gotta go down and see this thing,” people told one another.

Ms. Dane’s creation was part of Blooms!, of course, but was mounted within a segment of Blooms! known as ‘Division II’, or MassHort’s ‘Open Class’.  She was responding to a challenge to ‘interpret the gates of Chinatown’.  And interpret them, she did.

For the past quarter century, MassHort has divided its floral design competition into two pieces.  Division I adheres to the rules of National Garden Clubs, Inc., (NGC) and it produces memorable designs.  But near the top of Division I’s rules is a requirement that an exhibitor must be a member in good standing of an NGC-affiliated club.

“MassHort created Division II to encourage amateurs who weren’t members of NGC clubs to participate,” says Joyce Bakshi, chair of Division II for the 2010 edition of Blooms!, which will be held in conjunction with the Boston Flower & Garden Show in March.  “The Society wanted to find a way to be more inclusive.”

Joining a garden club wouldn’t seem to be a huge hurdle to a would-be designer, but not all designers are gardeners or have the time to join a club, and not all garden clubs are affiliates of NGC.  Also, some very good designers – including many professionals – have careers that preclude joining a club that meets on, say, Thursday mornings.

“Your next-door neighbor may be a very talented amateur,” Joyce says.  “This is their opportunity to get a foothold in the very exciting world of floral design.”

Both divisions follow the same general rules.  The chairman or an appointee writes a ‘schedule’ which becomes the law of the show.  The schedule contains a number of ‘classes’, with a minimum of four entries per class.  Division I’s Class 101, for example, is, “‘Romantic Abandon’, a design in the manner of the Victorian Period staged on a pedestal 36 inches high and 14 inches in diameter”.  To a floral designer, ‘Victorian Period’ is all the description needed to understand what kind of arrangement is acceptable… it’s all in that NGC rulebook.

Division II follows the guidelines of Garden Clubs of America, or GCA.  A casual look at floral designs following NGC and GCA rules might not reveal much difference though, to a judge, the variations might be apparent.  The biggest difference is the club joining requirement. The schedule for Division II on the MassHort website (you can find it here) calls it an ‘Open Class’, which means anyone can enter, including that talented neighbor of yours.

Division II allows designers to express their creativity in ways not allowed under NGC rules.  One isn’t better than the other, just different.  Many designers enter both divisions on different years.

The Garden Club of the Back Bay is affiliated with NGC, so our members may exhibit in either Division.  For those of you who follow this site but are not members of a Garden Club, Division II is for you!

Today’s wreath, designed by Susan Juretschke, epitomizes the holiday classic “Silver Bells.”