The Garden Club of the Back Bay

Monday, December 28 – Wednesday, December 30, the docents of Strawbery Banke will enlighten you on the darkest days of winter. These guided 90-minute tours, beginning each day at 10 am,  focus on the evolution of winter traditions over the centuries. Visitors tour five historic houses at Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and experience the widely various decorations, sights, sounds, and smells of holidays and winter days past. Tickes are $12 for adults. Kids 5-12: $10. Kids 4 & under: FREE. Family rate: $30.  For tickets and information, log on to www.strawberybanke.org.

Old South Church’s award-winning gardeners are at it again!

While hundreds of deeply planted tulip bulbs await the spring, the garden will be dressed in a contemporary, winter arrangement of upright stakes.  Stained in the dark hues of Red Osier Dogwoods, hundreds of these stakes will be “planted” by church volunteers on Saturday, December 19 to conjure the image of a drift, to reflect the colors of the season and to complement the decorative Northern Italian Ruskinian architecture of the National Historic Landmark Building.

Old South’s volunteer gardener, Jim Hood, says this about his latest undertaking, “Winter is mostly a time of quiet color, yet in rural areas of the northeast United States fields of snow are often striped with stands of Red Osier Dogwood, a woody shrub that goes little noticed in summer but that comes to visual life in winter. Red Osier Dogwood exposes its brilliant red bark once its foliage falls away offering a sense of warmth amidst the cold.”

Old South’s Associate Minister, Quinn Caldwell, describes the garden as “a labor of love to the city. Besides being a thing of beauty, the stick garden is also a proclamation of our faith: that beauty will spring from barrenness, form out of chaos, life out of death.  Here in the coldest and darkest time of year, we make bold to proclaim that spring and life are on their way.”

In the last 30 years stick gardens (sculptural installations made of color-stained sticks of wood) have been mounted in the U.K. U.S. and Canada – see picture of blue stick garden below.

Old South’s gardens and gardeners are the recipients of the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s Magnolia Award (2009), the Mayor’s Golden Trowel Award (2007), and the Mayor’s Runner Up Award (2008).  For information, and to volunteer with the staking, call (617) 536-1970 ext 222, or email nst@oldsouth.org.

Gold and white bow, pearls, white pine, statice, and a sweeping design, created by one of our newest decorators, Darwin Cordoba.

What could be more traditional than red plaid and pine cones?  Today’s featured wreath accentuates these classic elements with touches of eucalyptus,  baby’s breath, and pearly glass balls.

Take a winter’s day drive to Alfalfa Farm Winery in Topsfield for their annual Customer Appreciation Event, with free wine, cheese, live music, and, here’s the best, the Worst Holiday Sweater Contest. Alfalfa Farm Winery is a family owned and operated vineyard which produces a variety of hand crafted wines and hosts functions and events for many local nonprofit organizations.  For directions and more information, call 978-774-0014, or email alfalfafarm@comcast.net.  You may also visit the web site at www.alfalfafarmwinery.com.

Do you need to give someone a Christmas gift wish list? The Education Department of Tower Hill Botanic Garden is sponsoring a guided tour of the Chelsea Flower Show and English Gardens from Saturday, May 22 through Saturday, May 29.  The Chelsea Flower show is considered to be the world’s pre-eminent horticultural event. Its Show Gardens are created by leading international landscape architects and garden designers. The Great Pavilion is the spectacular centerpiece of the CFS. Nurseries and growers dazzle visitors with displays of color from the world’s finest plant collections. The show also features the continuous Learning section that gives visitors insight into the gardens of the future. The Gardening Matters Marquee hosts talks by gardening experts, covering all aspects of gardening and design and gives the visitor the opportunity to pose questions to the experts. As added incentive, you will enjoy High Tea at a private estate overlooking magnificent gardens.  The price per person is $2,749, double occupancy, with a $585 single supplement.  Contact Tower Hill  at 508-869-6111, ext. 124 for a brochure, itinerary and purchase information.  You may also email registrar@towerhillbg.org.

The Garden Club of the Back Bay decorators don’t always create formal fantasies – sometimes the look is “casual elegant.”

A golden bow, natural accents, light gold touches, and magnificent greenery are the elements of a great wreath.

Explore principles of garden design and develop a plan for a specific area of your yard during this five session class. In this beginner-level design class, you will explore the importance of line, scale, circulation, unity, and repetition as the organizational components of a coherent garden. You’ll also consider finer details such as color, focal point, depth, layering, and connecting indoors to outdoors. Christie Dustman, designer, APLD, will use before-and-after examples of projects she has completed to illustrate the design process. You will be required to draw a base plan for your site and identify your wish list of features. In analyzing your own and your classmates’ base plans and needs, you will practice the process of design and then begin to apply principles to your site plan. Christie will then lead in-class reviews, soliciting solutions from students and suggesting her own. You will leave class with a plan in progress from which to continue your design exploration. This class is primarily about garden space, and, as such, will not include garden design, though some key plant elements may be discussed. Email adulted@arnarb.harvard.edu for a list of materials and instructions on creating your base plan for the first class. To register, and for more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu. All classes are held in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum, and the dates are Thursdays, January 14, 21, 28, February 4, and February 11.  Fee $140 Arboretum member, $168 non-member.

A trip to AG Connect Expo will take you to the forefront of the world’s agriculture markets.  See the newest innovations, hear industry experts, learn proven practices from around the world.  The Expo will take place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from January 13 – January 15.  You may register in advance at www.agconnect.com and save 30% on registration fees.  Advocating for Agriculture Awards which will be given are Ag Woman of the Year, Innovation Award, and the Community Leadership Ag Award.  On Thursday, January 14, there will be a networking night at Universal’s Islands of Adventure.  This event happens only once every two years, so pass the word along and consider a trip to sunny Florida during the dark, cold days of January.

Today’s featured Garden Club of the Back Bay holiday wreath is a glorious example of what can be done with burgundy and gold.

From now through the end of the month we will share snapshots from this year’s successful holiday wreath project.  A special thank you goes out to all our volunteers, who will be singled out in an upcoming BayLeaf newsletter mailed to our membership.  Today’s featured wreath, in blue, silver, and white, honors the Festival of Lights.

Whether you drive a hybrid, pick-up, Hummer, or Smart Car, we all have to renew our license plates every two years. By reserving a Massachusetts specialty agricultural license plate, you will also help ensure a sustainable and vibrant agricultural community for generations to come. Proceeds from the renewal fee go to the Agricultural Trust Fund to fund programs and services to help the agricultural community of Massachusetts remain sustainable and vibrant for future generations. Order the “best-looking-specialty-license-plate-around” Ag Tag today! Contact Anna Waclawiczek at 617.626.1703 or Anna.Waclawiczek@state.ma.us for more information. The clock is ticking as the Agricultural Trust Fund tries to reach its goal of 1500 reservations. Once that goal is reached, the Registry of Motor Vehicles will begin production of the plates.
As of September 2009 they are over halfway there. . As they work towards reaching our number, they thank their “early adopters” for their patience and perseverance. To newcomers they hope you will consider making an investment that says you support “Go locally grown!”

Reserve yours today!

• Help preserve 520,000 acres of open space and the beauty
• Protect 13,545 jobs and the value that local agriculture has on our economy
• Help shrink our carbon footprint by reducing the distance our food travels to market
• Enjoy fresher and better tasting food and the security of knowing where your food comes from

Proceeds from the sale of these plates will go to the Massachusetts Agricultural Trust Fund to support programs and services that help farmers remain on the cutting edge in today’s market i.e. innovative practices, research, improvements in managing resources, marketing, training and education. Proceeds will not be used to subsidize individual farmers or the state’s Department of Agriculture.

It’s easy to sign up. Simply download and fill out the Ag Tag reservation form here [PDF]. Make out a check in the amount of $40 to the Registry of Motor Vehicles; mail both the completed form and check back to the Department of Agricultural Resources, Attn: Anna Waclawiczek, 251 Causeway St., Suite 500, Boston, MA 02114.

Dan Pearson is one of the most important and influential landscape designers working today. At the heart of all his gardens lies an unshakable theme – his reverence for the power and delicacy of nature. In this lecture on Tuesday, January 19, beginning at 7 pm at Trinity Church on Copley Square,  Dan will demonstrate his design process, in which he extrapolates on the spirit of place as it emerges through geography, history, architecture, and native flora. Dan will explain how he believes landscapes—both wild and designed—speak to us, how human interventions in the landscape can animate and inform, and how they can serve to memorialize and to heal.
Fee $20 Arnold Arboretum member, $25 nonmember
Dan Pearson is a landscape designer with an international reputation for design and planting excellence. His key strengths are horticultural expertise, an informed and intuitive approach to the organization of space, and the practice of ecological and sustainable design principles. Dan trained at Wisley, a Royal Horticultural Society garden, and at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He is a weekly gardening columnist for The Observer, before which he was a columnist for The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times. He is co-author of The Essential Garden Book (with Sir Terence Conran) and author of The Garden: A Year at Home Farm. He has presented and appeared in several TV series and has designed five award-winning Chelsea Flower Show gardens. To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

The 9^th annual NOFA Course in Organic Land Care will be held January 13, 14, 15, 19 and 20, 2010 at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, 6 Plum Island Tpke., Newburyport, MA. (pictured below).  This 5-day intensive course trains and accredits professionals to practice organic land care (caring for land without the use of synthetic pesticides or soil amendments). It is recommended for landscapers, designers, municipal and parks employees, horticulturists, master gardeners and entrepreneurs.

$550 Course Course fee includes a delicious, catered lunch daily

• $150 Exam & Accreditation (optional)

Exam & Accreditation may be paid during the course

• NOFA Membership Discounts

Visit www.organiclandcare.net for more information or call Kathy Litchfield at (413) 773-3830 or email: kathy@nofamass.org.

From the Boston Society of Architects Lecture Series: December 16, 6:00 pm at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, Rabb Lecture Hall, hear Patti Moreno speak on Urban Sustainable Living.  Through websites, videos, workshops and unlimited energy, this Roxbury mother, businesswoman and self-proclaimed “Garden Girl” shares her passion for urban garden ing and her message of urban sustainable living. Patti has created a true urban farm in the middle of Roxbury with extensive gardens and several kinds of livestock. Her website, www.gardengirltv.com, has been recommended on this site previously.  Hear Patti in person – admission free.

Across the country there is a burgeoning awareness and concern for the types of food we eat and how it is raised, grown, hunted, and gathered. Our daily food choices have become inextricably linked to issues of personal health, food insecurity, local and global economies, sense of place, climate change, and cultural and environmental sustainability. In short, food has become newly politicized. Given the pervading lack of market information regarding the above elements, how might we envision, support, and engage in a local, sustainable, and just food system and network operating at maximum capacity? From the restaurant and farmers market to the subsistence-modeled and community farms and gardens, the four local leaders for the panel will inform and inspire attendees on current best and potential next practices at the personal, professional, and collective level. A question & answer session will follow the presentations. To RSVP for this event taking place Wednesday, December 16, from 7 – 9 at Worcester Academy Warner Theater (below), Providence Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, please e-mail Michael Carroll, Worcester Academy Director of Sustainability, at mike.carroll@worcesteracademy.org, or call 508-754- 5302 x189. For a complete list of the participating panel members, log on to www.slowfoodboston.com and click on “Local Events.”

The Friends of Hayes Park invite you to “Caroling in the Park” on the corner of Warren Avenue and West Canton Street in the South End on Sunday, December 20, beginning at 4 pm.  There will be hot mulled cider and holiday treats.  Please bring canned goods for SNAP’s Emergency Food Pantry.

Holiday shopping time is upon us.  The Garden Club of the Back Bay, an affiliate member of The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America, encourages members to support the good work of the GCA, and here is an easy way to do just that.  You can order this stunning book, Gardens Private and Personal, on line at www.gcamerica.org.  $52 price includes shipping.

A Virtual Visiting Gardens Tour!

Experience 93 Garden Club of America member gardens through 256 captivating pages and 250 stunning photographs. Gardens Private & Personal is a treasure to own…and the perfect gift!  Your purchases will provide valuable support to The Garden Club of America. Text by Nancy D’Oench, Coordination by Bonny Martin, and Photography by Mick Hales, published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in association with The Garden Club of America.

The goal of Massachusetts Christmas tree growers is to produce a quality “Real Christmas Tree” for the retail and wholesale markets.  While visiting their member farms, they encourage you to enjoy “the experience,” create memories, and develop cherished family holiday traditions. To find a local farm near you, log on to www.christmas-trees.org and click “Find a Local Tree Farm.”  You may also call 978-365-5818, or email info@christmas-trees.org.  All the information—location of farm, how to select and care for your Christmas tree, and the environmental benefits of choosing a “real” tree—is at your fingertips.  Find the nearest spot to cut your own, as well.

Nearly all Massachusetts Christmas trees are grown as a farm crop for the primary purpose of harvest.  Your choice of a fresh-cut tree continues the natural cycle of planting, nurturing, and harvesting trees in our state.

Growing Christmas trees properly can be ecologically beneficial—one acre of Christmas trees provides enough fresh oxygen for 18 people. Young trees actively cleanse the air we breathe and create green belts in urban areas providing clean air for all of us. In addition, Christmas tree plantations preserve open space and provide homes for bird habitat, insects, and wildlife.

1. After the holidays, consider giving your tree a second life as compost, mulch or chips to be used later in a garden or at a landscape project.
2. Clip the branches from the tree and use them as a protective cover on garden plants.
3. Use the tree as a birdfeeder which can also be a cover shelter and a shield from harsh weather.
4. If you prefer, transport your tree to a recycling center.