The Garden Club of the Back Bay

Enjoy the heat of Salsa – exotic plants and colorful designs, inspired by the fusion of Latin Music and dance, at the 2012 Newport Flower Show at Rosecliff in Newport June 22 – June 24.

All proceeds from the Newport Flower Show are dedicated to the ongoing restoration and maintenance of The Preservation Society of Newport County’s 88 acres of gardens and landscapes. Each day of the 2012 Newport Flower Show offers guests opportunities to enjoy judged horticultural specimens and floral designs, special garden exhibitions, free lectures and demonstrations, as well as wonderful shopping experiences in both the Oceanside Boutiques and the Gardeners’ Marketplace. Tickets are also available for special luncheons, lectures and workshops.

Free parking and shuttle bus service will be provided to the Newport Flower Show from the Newport Grand parking lot on Admiral Kalbfus Boulevard.  Group rates are available for organized groups of at least 20 persons for $14 per person each day of The Newport Flower Show. All must arrive as an organized group. Driver and escort are complimentary. Please contact the Group Tour Office for additional group information. (401) 847-1000 ext. 159 or e-mail: dfryer@newportmansions.org. For a complete schedule of lectures and demonstrations, visit www.NewportFlowerShow.org.

CupcakeCamp is an ad hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and eat cupcakes in an open environment.  Learn more about CupcakeCamps around the globe at www.cupcakecamp.org.  This year the Boston-area event will take place Monday, May 21 from 6 – 9 at The Center for the Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Avenue in Somerville. Purchase your VIP Tickets on line. In past years, if you wanted first pick at the cupcakes, you had to arrive extra early and wait in line. This year, we’re doing things differently. Purchasing a VIP ticket ahead of time will allow you early entry, and the awesome privilege of skipping the line. You’ll have exclusive access to the cupcakes plus some sweet swag from our awesome sponsors, Whole Foods Market and The Great Boston Cupcake Crawl. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit local hunger relief organization, Lovin’ Spoonfuls. Come eat cupcakes and support a great cause!

Learn more and purchase your tickets at http://cupcakecampbos.eventbrite.com

The Rhode Island Dahlia Society will hold its Annual Tuber Auction and Plant Sale on Sunday, May 20, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the North Kingstown Community Center, 30 Beach Street, Wickford (North Kingstown), Rhode Island.  Most of the varieties offered at this sale are exhibition quality dahlias and are not available at your local garden center. The tubers and plants are donated by local growers and society members who come from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut.  There is something for everyone: From giants to miniatures, representatives of the 18 different forms of dahlias in an array of colors will be available.For more information, call Donna at 781-769-3854.

Join your friends and neighbors for the 19th Annual South End Garden Tour on Saturday, June 16, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, rain or shine.  The 2012 Tour will feature private gardens and open spaces from Tremont Street to Berkeley Street, and from Albany Street to East and West Newton Streets.  South End artists will be creating paintings in the Tour gardens and other designated locations within the Tour area.  These paintings will be available for purchase at the reception immediately following the Tour.  For complete ticketing information, visit www.southendgardentour.org. Sponsors include Mahoney’s, Whole Foods Market, The Boston Courant, Rondeau-Tierney Real Estate, Eastern Bank, and William Raveis.

The Garden Conservancy will sponsor an open day tour of Braveboat Harbor Farm, 110 Raynes Neck Road in York, Maine on Saturday, June 2 and Sunday, June 3, from 10 – 4. This garden has been evolving over the last fifty years. It surrounds and complements a Georgian-style stone house. There are formal and informal borders, a vegetable garden, orchards, and collections of various flowering trees and shrubs. Apples and pears are espaliered on the house and along the walls of the formal front garden. Water features include a newly expanded pond in the woodland garden, a farm pond with rustic bridge, and the Atlantic Ocean. This treasure is protected by a sculpted arborvitae hedge on the northwest, a mature stand of hickory on the northeast, and an extensive screen of old lilacs on the south. New projects include expanding the collection of magnolias and rhododendrons, introducing hydrangeas, an espaliered pear fence, a woodland walk, and a summerhouse with views to the pond and the sea.

Directions: Located off Route 103 South and Braveboat Harbor Road to end of Raynes Neck Road. Please park in field below house.  For more information, visit www.gardenconservancy.org.

In her new book, Chasing Venus, Andrea Wulf tells the extraordinary story of the first global scientific collaboration, set amid warring armies, hurricanes, scientific endeavors, and personal tragedy. On June 6, 1761 and June 3, 1769, the planet Venus passed between Earth and Sun – each time visible as a small black dot against the burning face of the Sun for six hours. Transits of Venus always arrive in pairs – eight years apart – but then it takes more than a century before they are seen again. In the 1760s the world’s scientific community was electrified because the transit would allow them for the first time to calculate the distance between the planets in our solar system. This would require triangulated data to be compiled from various exact points around the globe – all taken simultaneously during the short period of the actual Transit. Join us for an intriguing glimpse at the spirit of the Enlightenment and the collaborative race to measure the heavens. Chasing Venus will be published in May 2012 in conjunction of the Transit of Venus on June 5/6, 2012.  Andrea Wulf will speak on Wednesday, May 30, from 7 – 8:30 at the Weld Hill Research Building at the Arnold Arboretum.  Register at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.  Fee $10 sponsor organization member, $20 nonmember.  Offered by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Historical Society.

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is holding a special Observatory Night for viewing the Venus transit. Learn more. In 2004 we were treated to a sunrise view of Venus crossing the disk of the sun. On June 5th, we will enjoy a sunset Venus transit. If you miss this one, you won’t get another chance to see it until 2117 – and that’s a very long time to wait. The Center for Astrophysics will hold a special rooftop viewing of the Venus transit beginning at 6:00 pm. The transit will be visible from 6:03 until the sun sets at 8:19. Viewing is weather-dependent so call 617-495-7461 to check for cancellation.

This Thursday, May 31 Massachusetts Horticultural Society presentation will be a talk and walk through the Bressingham Garden at Elm Bank, which Paul Miskovsky of Paul Miskovsky Landscaping, Inc. helped to build and continues to oversee. Paul’s discussion will focus on using the plants of Bressingham in the home landscape. Learn some key points in artful garden creation by choosing plants that complement and contrast each other in structure, texture, color and season.  Paul Miskovsky is the owner and driving creativity behind Miskovsky Landscaping. Paul is also a Trustee of Mass Hort, and the overseer of the Bressingham Garden at Elm Bank. Register on line at www.masshort.org.

Sogetsu Ikebana is an internationally recognized school of Japanese flower arranging. In this class, you will learn the essentials of this venerable art from Garden Club of the Back Bay member Kaye Vosburgh, who for many years has exhibited and taught Sogetsu Ikebana in Massachusetts, New York, and several other states. Kaye provides the flowers for each class and will have supplies and equipment for purchase by students who wish them. Kaye conducted a very popular program for The Garden Club of the Back Bay in April, and many will want to see and hear Kaye again, this time using blooms from early summer.  Tower Hill member price $31.50, non-members $34.  Kaye will give on more session on Thursday, June 7, also from 9:30 – noon, and when you go on line to register, you may register for either or both sessions.  Visit www.towerhillbg.org.

Talented Bonsai Artists from New England will display their best Bonsai for the weekend at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston. Have you bought or received a bonsai and it died? Did you miss The Garden Club of the Back Bay’s Bonsai program in March?  Come to this informative show and find out why, with bonsai experts to answer your questions. If you can raise a houseplant, you can grow bonsai.

- Featuring beautiful bonsai from all over New England.
- Clubs and individuals compete in this judged show.
- Vendors will sell plant material, pots, and accessories.
- Ongoing lectures and educational opportunities.

Bonsai (Japanese for “tray gardening”) is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees and plants grown in containers. The tree and the pot form a single harmonious unit where the shape, texture and color of one, compliments the other. In Western culture, the word “bonsai” is used as an umbrella term for both Japanese bonsai and Chinese penjing. The Japanese form, “bonsai” is both derived from, and a form of Chinese penjing.  For more information visit www.towerhillbg.org.

Radio 92.9 EarthFest is proud to announce the 19th annual event will return to DCR’s Hatch Memorial Shell in Boston on May 19, 2012. Presented by Whole Foods Market, the free festival is a family-friendly celebration for the Earth, showcasing national and local music acts, environmentally-friendly products and local non-profit environmental organizations produced in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

As the  organizers approach the 20th anniversary of the largest festival for the earth in North America, they’re committed to making this year’s event bigger and greener than ever! In addition to musical performances on the main stage, the event features environmental non-profits from across the country, The Whole Foods Market Vendor Village with free samples from companies that call our attention to being green, and the Kids’ Planet – an expanded interactive family area with environmentally focused learning opportunities, entertainment and exhibits for children. Radio 92.9 EarthFest features and extensive recycling program for the 100,000+ attendees, strict policies and guidelines to ensure all vendors and exhibitors meet our environmentally focused standards, and will again be a Carbon Neutral event through the purchase of Carbon Offset credits.

As part of the Spadefoot Toad Restoration Project, the Massachusetts Audubon Society, in collaboration with the Center for Wetlands and Stream Restoration, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the SFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, will conduct a two day hands on wetland creation workshop in Barnstable on Tuesday, May 22 through Thursday, May 24.

Isolated wetlands provide vital habitat to many species of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Unfortunately, a majority of these ecosystems have been lost due to draining and filling throughout North America. These landscape modifications are now affecting recovery efforts for endangered species, reducing water quality, increasing flooding, and reducing ground water supplies. Fortunately, it’s now possible to construct ponds and wetlands that look and function similar to natural wetlands, with desired hydro-periods, aquatic vegetation, and animal life. While protection and restoration of natural wetlands remain the highest priorities, creation can be an important option where wetland habitats have been lost. This hands-on workshop is designed for individuals interested in learning how to use practical, low cost techniques for building wetlands for wildlife. Participants will see how wetland projects can be planned in forested and open areas, on vast expanses of public land, and even on school grounds to benefit plants, animals, and people. Attendees will discover how to select the best locations for building wetlands, test soils, choose construction techniques, work with heavy equipment operators, and establish native plants. Also, through a series of presentations, participants will learn about conservation efforts using reintroduction, translocation, and habitat restoration techniques and learn about Eastern spadefoot toad conservation efforts on Cape Cod. A field trip to a nearby spadefoot population is included.

Who should attend? Biologists, foresters, hydrologists, engineers, technicians, educators, land trusts, and other non-profit and environmental org professionals.

Cost: $240 which includes lunches on three days, hand-out materials, signed copy of the book Wetland Restoration and Construction – A Technical Guide by Thomas Biebighauser, and more!
Location: 345 Bone Hill Rd. Barnstable, MA .  Please hurry, registration is limited to 30 participants! Visit www.massaudubon.org to download the complete brochure.

Of course you know that Boston’’s beloved boutique district has long had a devoted local and regional following. You’’re aware that its many restaurants and sidewalk cafés add to the appeal. And you’’ve probably noticed that it has acquired a distinctly international accent in recent years, as numerous European retailers have opened branches here. But do you know what made Newbury Street such an attractive spot for shopping, dining and people-watching in the first place? On this Wednesday, May 23rd tour, beginning at 4 pm,  we’’ll explore the historic origins and visual qualities that have led to its present vitality, and which will continue to shape its vibrant future. Tour will be led by William Young, Senior Preservation Planner, Back Bay Architectural Commission (1991-present). Reception to follow at CafeTeria, 279A Newbury Street.

Free and open to the public. As no more than 30 participants may be accommodated, pre-registration is required. Contact megmc@bostonbackbay.com before May 16 to reserve a spot. Meeting place confirmed at time of reservation. Contact William.Young@cityofboston.gov for more information.

Presented by:

Back Bay Association

Newbury Street League

Back Bay Architectural Commission

Conifers are a diverse group of plants, but they have one thing in common: cones. On this Thursday, May 17 walking tour of the Arboretum’s conifer collection with Arnoldia editor Nancy Rose, we’ll take a close-up look at these surprisingly beautiful, seed-bearing structures. We’ll also discuss the landscape attributes of the conifers we visit, plus some easy identification tips. The tour will begin at the Bussey Street Gate at 1 pm.  In case of inclement weather, contact 617.384.5209. Free, but registration requested at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Are you an avid walker/runner/biker who would like to see more of the city’s green spaces connected? Would you like to find a more attractive and easier access route to the Charles River? Are you new to the Back Bay and want to get more involved in your community?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be the perfect candidate to join a working group that will provide feedback to the design team developing a park path link from Beacon Street to the Harvard Bridge and Charles River. This is Phase 1 of the Charlesgate Greenway.

To volunteer and/or for further information, contact Herb Nolan at: 781-431-1440, or e-mail: herbnolan@solomonfund.org

The first public meeting to solicit input from potential users of the path is scheduled for Monday, May 21 from 6-8 p.m. at the Mass. Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street. The meeting will focus on context and site analysis and will include a site walk–a walk and talk!

Green Animals, a small country estate in Portsmouth was purchased in 1872 by Thomas E. Brayton (1844-1939), Treasurer of the Union Cotton Manufacturing Company in Fall River, Massachusetts. It consisted of seven acres of land, a white clapboard summer residence, farm outbuildings, a pasture and a vegetable garden. Gardener Joseph Carreiro, superintendent of the property from 1905 to 1945, and his son-in-law, George Mendonca, superintendent until 1985, were responsible for creating the topiaries. There are more than 80 pieces of topiary throughout the gardens, including animals and birds, geometric figures and ornamental designs, sculpted from California privet, yew, and English boxwood. Green Animals is the oldest and most northern topiary garden in the United States. Mr. Brayton’s daughter Alice gave the estate its name because of the profusion of “green animals.” She made the estate her permanent residence in 1939. Upon her death in 1972, at the age of 94, Miss Brayton left Green Animals to The Preservation Society of Newport County. Today, Green Animals remains as a rare example of a self-sufficient estate combining formal topiaries, vegetable and herb gardens, orchards and a Victorian house overlooking Narragansett Bay. Green Animals is located at 380 Cory’s Lane in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and you may read more and get directions at www.newportmansions.org.  Photo from www.thephotogardenbee.com.

Come to Mayor Menino’s Tomato Give-Away this Saturday, May 12, from 10 – noon in the Back Bay Fens, on the corner of Boylston Street and Park Drive. Collect free tomato plants courtesy of Mahoney’s Garden Centers, plus an appearance from Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill, gardening workshops and tour of the Fenway Victory Gardens, jazz performance from Berklee College of Music, demonstration from Nancy Mangion of the Bee Keeper Warehouse, MassArt’s Artward Bound art and craft activities, face painting, supplies from Boston Public Health Commission, and more. Call 617-635-4505, or visit www.cityofboston.gov/parks.

On Saturday May 19th the Cambridge Entomological Club is co-sponsoring a Spring Hike with the Friends of Wachusett Mountain and the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The hike begins at 1:00 pm and the exact location is yet to be determined. Our role is to help people look for insects along the way. As for our fall walk, this is a catch-and-release program so keep collecting to a minimum if you find something you want to take home. Please bring nets and other collecting equipment if you have them available. Entomological Club member Scott Smyers is the President of the Friends of Wachusett Mountain and has been working to integrate outreach, research and conservation at Wachusett Mountain. There will be an update with the location of the walk. Many of us will be driving from the Boston area so there will be many opportunities for carpooling.

Visit the Friends of Wachusett Mountain website for more information: http://www.friendsofwachusett.org/.

This hike will be a lot of fun and Club President Jessica Walden-Gray is looking forward to seeing what will be found in such an unusual spring. Please invite friends and family and keep your fingers crossed for warm weather!  Picture below, taken at Wachusett Mountain, from www.growingwithplants.com.

Mayor Menino asks residents to RECYCLE MORE! Keep the neighborhood clean, and do something good for the environment. You can put all your recycling in the new Boston Recycling Clear Plastic Bag!  Residents will be receiving a sample of the City of Boston’s new recycling clear plastic bag at their homes in early May.

Neighborhoods with houses densely packed together, have no room to store recycling bins or carts. Therefore, the City has allowed residents in these neighborhoods to put their bottles, cans, paper, and plastic containers in clear plastic bags.  Boston’s new recycling bags are now on sale at neighborhood stores. No bags where you shop?  Please contact WasteZero at 617-299-8012 or www.wastezero.com/boston . WasteZero will contact your store to carry the recycling bags.  Other questions, call the Mayor’s hotline at 617-635-4500 or visit www.cityofboston.gov/publicworks/recycling.

An herb garden is more than just a few plants to augment your kitchen needs. Come to Elm Bank on Thursday, May 24, beginning at 7 pm, to learn everything about the wonderful world of herbs – organic growing conditions (sunlight, soil, fertilizer, and water), harvesting techniques and preserving your herbal bounty (vinegars, oils, honeys, cleaning products and so much more).

Rita Wolmering, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society presenter, is the founder, manager, and grower of the Herb FARMacy in Salisbury, Massachusetts.  Register online at www.masshort.org.

The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program begins the 2012 Northeast season with a tour of the garden of Dr. Nickolas Nickou and Carol Hanby on Sunday, May 20, from 10 – 3, with guided tours at 10:45 and 1 pm. This three-acre garden features many species and varieties of mature rhododendrons and azaleas. In addition, there are many rare trees and shrubs from China and Japan, coupled with woodland flowering plants, ferns, Japanese primulas, and other bog plants.

Directions: To get to 107 Sunset Hill Drive in Branford, From I-95, take Exit 55 and go east on Route 1; if traveling north turn right at end of ramp; south, turn left. Go 0.4 mile and turn right onto Fearbed Lane. Go to end, about 1 mile. Turn left onto Damascus Road and go 200 feet then turn right onto Griffing Pond Road. Go 0.5 mile to driveway on left with yellow fire hydrant at #107. (Griffing Pond goes into Sunset Hill Road in 0.5 mile). Ignore first right after getting on Griffing Pond for Sunset Hill Drive as this is long way around hill to #107. Please park along road. (Note: some paths are rough and steep.)  Complete details may be found at www.gardenconservancy.org.