The Garden Club of the Back Bay

As part of Flora in Winter at the Worcester Art Museum, Garden Club of the Back Bay member Kaye Vosburgh will present a Floral Demonstration on Saturday, January 30, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm (snow date Sunday, January 31, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm) in the Conference Room of the Museum.  Kaye will reveal fresh ideas about Ikebana design.  Don’t miss this world-class design experience.  Reservations are required.  Call 508-799-4406, ext. 3025. $10 WAM members, $25 nonmembers (includes Museum admission).  The picture below was taken during Flora in Winter 2008.

Amateur photographers who enjoy capturing local rural scenes, farm animals and fresh produce are invited to enter the Massachusetts Agriculture Photo Contest sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources(MDAR), the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. Winning photos will be featured in the 2011 Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar.

Twelve photos will be selected, one for each month. Photos will be selected that depict the diversity of agriculture, horticulture, and natural resources on the Commonwealth’s farms throughout the year.  To view last year’s winners, click here.

Winning photographers will be credited in the calendar, will be invited to attend a winner’s ceremony at the Eastern States Exposition (The Big E) in Springfield in September, and will receive copies of the calendar and tickets to the fair.

The Massachusetts Agriculture Calendar will also feature facts and figures about Bay State agriculture, horticulture and conservation, as well as other educational resources. Information about how to order the calendar will be announced on the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ Website in the fall. Calendars will also be available at selected public events.

Deadline for submissions is June 1, 2010. For details and an entry form, visit Photo Contest Rules and regulations: or contact Rick LeBlanc at Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, 617-626-1759 or send an e-mail to him.

Pacific Horticulture Magazine announces yet another of its justly famous educational horticultural programs.  Katherine Greenberg, Past President of the Pacific Horticultural Foundation, will lead a trip to Portugal from June 6 – 17, 2010.  Experience the beautiful gardens and landscapes of Portugal.  Visit exceptional historic and private gardens featuring lovely tiles, water features, and sculptures.  Portugal is rich in garden traditions, since Roman times, with influences from Moorish designs and Portuguese explorations.  The tour begins in the northern city of Porto (known for its port wine), and continues through Bussaco and Lisbon, with an excursion to Sintra.  Along the way, enjoy the best of Portuguese culture and cuisine.  This tour is planned for a small group.  For a detailed itinerary, contact Sterling Tours at 619-299-3010, or log on to www.sterlingtours.info/choices.php.

On Sunday, June 27, Greg Graves, Board Member of Pacific Horticulture Foundation will lead a tour of the Tibetan Plateau which is described as a Journey for Plant Enthusiasts.  The high Tibetan Plateau has for centuries been a place of fascination for Western naturalists and explorers.  Its vast meadows support a wonderfully varied mix of grasses and wildflowers – and some of the richest alpine plant communities in the world. Expansive grasslands in the eastern part nurture those communities, while in the high basins further west, domestic yak and timid herds of wild ungulates like Tibetan gazelle and their predators, the Tibetan wolf and snow leopard, thrive.

The Tibetan highlands form a resplendent tapestry of rolling hills, meadows, lakes surprisingly large and often a sky of deep blue with endless puffy clouds.  Local people still accompany their herds of yak, camping in traditional tents of canvas and felt (www.yurtalert.com).  Birders and plant enthusiasts tend to be well-rewarded for their efforts.

From Chengdu in Sichuan Province, where you will visit the giant panda breeding center,  you travel by coach to Xining, with plenty of botanizing stops along the way, then by train to the historic town of Lhasa, and by bus again from the Lhasa Valley to Namco Lake, where wildflowers abound at 15,000 feet elevation.  For a detailed itinerary, contact Betchart Expeditions, Inc. at 1-800-252-4910, or log on to www.betchartexpeditions.com.  The per person cost of this extraordinary voyage is $4,395 plus air.

Naturalistic whole property designers draw inspiration and shape landscape in response to existing conditions. Learn how to make a property whole by landscaping it expressly for its location considering regional woodlands, fields, meadows, at this illustrated lecture to be held at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens on Saturday, January 30, beginning at 10:00 am. The instructor will illustrate techniques for achieving a beautiful landscape with his 6-acre garden, located in Pawling, NY. Participants will consider their own properties including existing conditions, and regional character as part of a larger context. Instead of reusing garden tradition, learn how to rely on place, practical solutions, and native plants.
Duncan Brine is owner of Horticultural Design Inc., a naturalistic landscape design and installation firm, founded in 1984. He specializes in native plants and whole property gardens from New York to Boston. His garden is often featured on Garden Conservancy tours. Brine is an instructor at the New York Botanical Garden.  The cost to attend is $18 for BBG members, and $24 for nonmembers.  For directions and more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Betsy Williams will conduct a second class on Saturday, February 6 (following her morning class on European Table Gardens), when she examines Tussie-Mussies and the Language of Flowers, in the Great Hall at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, from 1 – 2:30 pm.  A tussie-mussie is a nosegay made with fresh flowers and fragrant herbs.  Each flower and herb carries a special message in the unspoken language of flowers.  Made with roses, border carnations, rosemary, and lavender (plus other herbs), then decorated with ribbons and tulle, tussie-mussies are fragrant, beautiful and easy to make.  A token of love and affection since Elizabethan times, a tussie-mussie is an especially thoughtul gift for Valentine’s Day.  Students will learn the history of the language of flowers as they create their nosegays.  $42 for Tower Hill members, $45 for non-members.  Please register by January 30 at www.towerhillbg.org.

Betsy Williams of The Proper Season will conduct a class at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Saturday, February 6, from 10:00 am – 12:00 noon on the European Table Garden, a concept not well known in this country, but which may be the next big trend in arranging.  European table gardens combine potted plants with fresh cut flowers in a decorative container.  Arranged together, pots of flowering plants, lacy ferns, trailing ivies, and fresh blossoms become a focal point of a table, and with proper care, the plants will last for many months and the fresh flowers may be replaced when desired.  Tower Hill members will pay $60, non-members $65, and the registration deadline is January 30, so contact Tower Hill today at www.towerhillbg.org.

The 17th Annual Rhode Island Spring Flower and Garden Show will take place Thursday, February 18 through Sunday, February 21 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island.  For more information, or to buy tickets on line,  log on to www.flowershow.com.  This year’s theme is “Timeless Gardens”, which will take you all through decades that will remind you of forgotten sights, times, friends and family.  In full bloom, enjoy a garden atmosphere typical of the Roaring Twenties era.  Do the stroll or the twist through a 1950′s garden.

For almost two decades the Flower Show has been the beacon for early Spring fun in Rhode Island.  The Show attracts more than 30,000 attendees annually, showcasing more than 30 garden displays and 250 garden marketplace vendors.  There will be demonstrations and lectures, with an emphasis on organic gardening.  Children under five receive free admission.

Don’t forget to cast your vote in the Special Election to fill the Senatorial seat of the late Senator Edward Kennedy on Tuesday, January 19.  Voter turnout in the Back Bay is very important – our City and State officials do take note of the areas with high voter turnout.  We want our elected representatives to know we pay attention, so please take the time to go to the polls on Tuesday.

Are you just a little bit obsessed with kimchee?  Some of us are, and two upcoming events at the Theodore Parker Unitarian Universalist Church in West Roxbury will satisfy your pickle cravings.  The first, on Sunday January 24 from 1 – 3, is a hands-on workshop led by Alex Lewin, covering vegetable fermentation and kimchi.  You will leave with a jar of kimchi that you have made, and you’ll be ready to compete in the kimchi festival in March.  Fifteen seats are available and there is a $15 fee.

Then, on Sunday, March 21, from 3 – 7 pm, Alex will be on hand at the Theodore Parker Unitarian Universalist Church to judge and organize the Greater Boston Kimchi Festival.  Start experimenting with your kimchi now, so you will be ready to enter it in the contest.  There will be prizes in different categories, including “traditional”, “innovative”, and “audience picks”, plus kimchi demonstrations, live entertainment, door prizes, and more.  All proceeds will benefit the Church, and more information may be found at http://feedmelikeyoumeanit.blogspot.com.  Thank you, Penny and Ed Cherubino of www.BostonZest.com for plugging us into this terrific web site.

The First Parish Church, 3 Church Street in Cambridge will host an Earth Dinner potluck on Saturday, February 6, from 5 – 9 pm, which will feature local foods, with a Slow Foods Boston representative, local farmers, and food producers discussing the local food movement.  For more information, log on to www.slowfoodboston.com, or call the church at 617-876-7772.

The Garden Club of the Back Bay thanks its many volunteers at the annual winter Tea, this year to be held at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Boylston Street in Boston.  Save Tuesday, February 9, from 3 – 5 pm.  Details will be mailed to the membership soon.

Come to the University of Massachusetts Waltham Center, 240 Beaver Street in Waltham, on Tuesday, February 16, beginning at 9:30 am, for a fascinating demonstration of the art of ikebana, and to see a demonstration of furoshiki, which is Japanese Gift Wrapping with Cloth, by Minal Akkad.  For more information, log on to www.ikebanaboston.org.

Take a short course on the principles and practice of making maple syrup, from identifying the maple tree to bottling the syrup.  Practical advice on simple procedures and equipment for each step will prepare you for an enjoyable late winter outdoor experience and a sweet reward.  You will go home with a bucket, lid, spile (you’ll find out), and hook – ready to jump into the upcoming season.  This one session event takes place Saturday, February 6, from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Natick Community Organic Farm, and is sponsored by the Boston Center for Adult Education.  The cost is $40, and you may register on line at www.bcae.org.

Join Tower Hill Botanic Garden Executive Director John Trexler this Saturday, January 16, at 9:00 am, as he continues to improve the trails in the Asian Woods.  Learn basic plant identification, as well as proper pruning techniques – not to mention good, healthy aerobic exercise.  Bring gloves and pruning tools.  Free.  Meet in the Great Hall.  For directions and more information, log on to www.towerhillbg.org.

Great scenery and exercise, who could want more?  A brisk winter walk will help you stay healthy and connected to the Arnold Arboretum at a time when the landscape is pared down to its beautiful bones.  The emphasis is on fitness, with a healthy dose of information on seasonal plants and points of interest.   Join an Arnold Arboretum docent for this free walk, starting at 1 pm on Sunday, January 24 and lasting approximately 45 minutes.  Meet at the Hunnewell Visitor Center.  No registration is necessary.  After the tour, warm up with a cup of tea or hot chocolate in the Visitor Center.  For more information or possible weather cancellations, please call 617-384-5209.  For directions, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Create your own fun and winter memories on Fruitlands Museum’s 200 acre wintery wonderland and catch snowy views of towering Tree Figures.  Enjoy hot chocolate by the bonfire and snacks served by the skating rink.  Enjoy the sled runs and groomed trails.  Bring your own ice skates, sleds, cross country skis, and snowshoes.  Members of Fruitlands Museum (in Harvard, Massachusetts) $5, non members $10 per carload and please bring a non-perishable donation to Loaves & Fishes, combating hunger in Massachusetts.  Severe winter weather cancels the event, so if in doubt, call 978-456-3924.  For directions to 102 Prospect Hill Road in Harvard, log on to www.fruitlands.org.

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.

Here is a two session course you’re really going to love.  Kevin Bell, Director of Community and Cooperative Education at Norfolk County Agricultural High School, will speak on Tuesday, February 9 and Tuesday, February 23, from 6:30 – 8:30 at the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum on a challenging topic for many of us.  You’ve probably heard the phrase “math makes cents,”and now you can put it to good use. This class will cover the basics of horticultural math with topics such as determining the amount of topsoil or mulch for an area, calculating fertilizer and lime applications, figuring how many plants to use in a garden bed or border, and using conversions in the industry. It makes no difference whether you are a hobby gardener or a landscape professional—this refresher math class will increase your productivity and accuracy in planning your gardens and lawns!
Fee $45 Arnold Arboretum member, $55 nonmember. To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Come to the Berkshire Botanical Gardens on Saturday, January 23 from 10 am – 12 noon for an illustrated lecture by Karen Perkins, owner of Garden Vision Epimediums, a mail order nursery offering 160 species and varieties  of epimediums along with other choice perennials.  She lectures frequently at botanical gardens and for garden clubs throughout New England.

This lecture will explore a wide selection of epimediums and focus on some of the exciting new evergreen species from China.  Known by some as the ultimate groundcover for dry shade, the new availability of the “perfect shade perennial” is just being discovered by most gardeners.  Epimedium’s delicate beauty belies their tough, long-lasting nature. Learn about growth habit, cultivation requirements, propagation, sources, and pests and diseases. The instructor will also discuss the collecting trips that epimedium expert Darrell Probst, founder of Garden Vision, has made to China.

The cost to attend this event is $18 for BBG members and $24 for non-members.  You may find more information, and directions, on the Berkshire Botanical Garden’s website, www.berkshirebotanical.org.