The Garden Club of the Back Bay

An extraordinary ‘two-fer’ for a great cause. Adrian Bloom is in America with a new book, Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses: Expert Plant Choices and Dramatic Combinations for Year Round Gardens. On the evening of September 23, you can meet and talk with Adrian in the extraordinary Cape Cod garden of Paul Miskovsky. Paul’s garden was recently the subject of a cover article in the Boston Globe’s Sunday magazine and is rarely open to the public.

Tickets are $150 per person for an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvre and conversation. To register, contact the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s  reservation line at 617-933-4995.

In conjunction with the American Horticultural Society’s 17th Annual Gala, taking place this year on Saturday, September 25 from 6 – 10 pm at River Farm in Alexandria, Virginia, the AHS is proud to announce its second annual online auction, “One on One with Great American Gardeners.” This is your chance to bid on an opportunity for you and three friends to spend time as exclusive guests of a prominent American horticulturist, botanic garden director, or landscape designer.  One such local experience will be hosted by Michael Dosmann at the Arnold Arboretum here in Boston. Visit www.ahs.org/auction for a sample of available experience options and more information about the auction.  The deadline to bid is October 25, 2010.

If you are interested in attending the gala, which includes an elegant formal dinner under the stars and silent auction, call Courtney Capstack at 703-768-5700, ex. 127, or email ccapstack@ahs.org.  The gala’s honorary chair is Laura Dowling, celebrated White House florist and owner of Interieurs et Fleurs in Old Town, Alexandria.  Laura and her floral arrangements have been featured on broadcasts on  Home and Garden Television and the Fox network morning news show, and in international publications such as the Journal di Dimanche (Paris).  The event is black tie, advance reservations only.  All proceeds from the gala and online auction benefit the stewardship of River Farm and the American Horticultural Society’s outreach and educational programs.

Growing, Giving, Growing, An Evening to Support Tower Hill, will take place Saturday, September 11, from 6 – 9 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts.  Enjoy the open bar, hors d’oeuvre, summer buffet, and take an active role in the success of Tower Hill by underwriting daily operations, tasks and programs at the Garden.  Steve Fletcher, famed auctioneer and Vice President of Skinner Auctioneers and Appraisers in Marlborough, Massachusetts will be Master of Ceremonies.  He will invite sponsors to keep “Bambi at Bay” with deer repellent, help a child attend the Youth Gardening Program, forge new trails on the garden grounds, move the Camellia collection outdoors, or prune 100 ornamental trees, to mention just a few sponsor opportunities.  Individual tickets are $90 per person, sponsor tickets are $125 per person, and you are asked to respond by September 3, 2010 to Wendy Cehon at 508-869-6111, x 136.  You may also pay securely online at www.towerhillbg.org.

Celebrate the Esplanade’s 100 years of nature, culture and recreation on Saturday, September 25, from 8:30 – midnight, at the Arthur Fiedler Statue, across the Storrow Lagoon.  Enjoy dinner, cocktails, and dancing under the stars from 8:30 pm – midnight.  Gala attire, $125 for TEA members, $150 for non-members.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.esplanadeassociation.org.  To purchase by check, please download an application at the same website address.  Please note this is a separate event from the Esplanade Association Centennial Gala, to be held the same night beginning at 6:30, which is a “big ticket” fundraiser.

The Berkshire Botanical Garden invites you to a benefit event Saturday, August 14, at the home of Honorary Chairs and Benefactors Ann and Dale Fowler.  Enjoy the Fowler Collection of spectacular vintage and classic automobiles, pedal cars, and thousands of toys in their private museum setting.  There will also be an auction of rare and unusual plants, with wine and hors d’oeuvre.  Sponsor tickets – $250 per person; Patron tickets – $150 per person; Supporter tickets – $75 per person.  A special pre-party tour of the car Museum from 5 – 5:30, guided by host and collector Dale Fowler, will be provided to Sponsors and Patrons.  Space is limited for the tour, so please reserve early.  The Museum will be open to all guests for general viewing from 5:30 – 8.  Please call the Garden today at 413-298-3926 to reserve your tickets.  1935 Duesenberg Ssj print below by John Hayes, available through www.fineartamerica.com.

A gardener’s dream: seminar, rare plant sale, gala reception, and tour of exceptional gardens.  Speakers at the Hollister House Garden Weekend, August 27 – 29  include Peter Wirtz, Page Dickey, Margaret Roach, Jill Nokes, Dick Button, Hitch Lyman, and Adam Wheeler. Pre-registration is required.

The art of gardening as a channel of personal as well as cultural expression will be explored in depth in a program of stimulating lectures. The keynote speaker is Peter Wirtz, scion of the renowned Belgian architectural landscape firm Wirtz International, who will speak on Personal Expressions in the Garden, and be joined by other outstanding horticulturists. The weekend gets underway with a gala cocktail supper Friday evening where participants may informally mingle with the speakers and fellow garden enthusiasts in the gardens at historic Hollister House in Litchfield County, Connecticut.

Saturday’s symposium takes place at the nearby Montessori School in comfortable, air-conditioned spaces with up to date lecture facilities. A delicious buffet luncheon, a sale of beautifully written and illustrated garden books and a plant sale featuring a select group of New England’s finest specialty plant growers, plus a ‘show & tell’ plant colloquy are included in Saturday’s all-day agenda.

Other thought-provoking speakers on the roster are:
• Page Dickey, a popular lecturer and prolific garden writer of, among other books, Gardens in the Spirit of Place, the award-winning Breaking Ground: Portraits of Ten Garden Designers, and to be published in the fall of 2010, Embroidered Ground;
• Margaret Roach, a journalist who became a major force at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and is now a garden blogger with a devoted following;
• Jill Nokes, a landscape designer and author whose latest book Yard Art and Handmade Places is about 20 Texans who have been astonishingly creative in transforming and decorating their yards and gardens;
• Dick Button, a former Olympian and figure skating commentator whose North Salem, NY garden is an explosion of color, self-described as “an anything-I-like garden.”

In the afternoon – two outstanding plantsmen – garden designer Hitch Lyman and nurseryman Adam Wheeler of Broken Arrow will debate the merits of the best plants for late season gardens during the “Plant Show and Tell.”

There will also be a Rare Plant Sale with opportunities to purchase choice plants for the late season garden from Broken Arrow Nursery (Hamden, CT), Loomis Creek Nursery (Hudson, NY), Falls Village Flower Farm (Falls Village, CT), O’Brien Nurserymen (Granby, CT), Pergola (New Preston, CT), Opus (Little Compton, RI), Rocky Dale Gardens (Bristol, VT), and Sunny Border Nurseries (Berlin, CT).

Garden books, selected by Washington Depot’s treasured independent bookseller The Hickory Stick, will also be for sale, many authored by the symposium speakers and available for signing.

The weekend’s grand finale is on Sunday when the Garden Conservancy opens six exceptional private gardens in New Preston, Roxbury and Washington as part of its Open Days Program. Four of them — Stiteler Meadow, Muddy Rugs, the garden of Norman Sunshine & Alan Shayne, and the garden of Mrs. Michael Wiener — are on the Open Days circuit for the first time. The two others are the esteemed gardens of Martine and Richard Copeland and Georgia Middlebrook.
Hollister House Garden is also featured on the Sunday tour.

The weekend package includes the Friday, August 27 Gala Cocktail Supper, Saturday, August 28 Continental Breakfast, Seminar, Lunch, Plant & Book Sale.  $230 for members of Garden Conservancy or Hollister House Garden, $240 for non-member.  You may register online at www.hollisterhousegarden.org, or call 860-868-2200.

Join honorary chairs The Honorable Governor Deval L. Patrick and First Lady Diane B. Patrick, and The Honorable mayor Thomas M. Menino and First Lady of Boston Angela F. Menino, and The Esplanade Association on the banks of the Charles River to celebrate the Esplanade’s 100th year of nature, culture and recreation.  A spectacular evening on the Esplanade will support the vital programs and projects of The Esplanade Association, including Children in the Park, Kids Fishing Club, Dancing Under the Stars, Yoga on the Esplanade, Four Season Walking Tours, Esplanade 2020, Community Boating Dock Replacement, Tree Care and Turf Improvement, Park Amenities, Historic Granite Landings Restoration, Esplanade Collection (Tree Adoption, Bench Sponsorship and Flower Planting).

The Arthur Fiedler Achievement Award will honor Maestro Keith Lockhart, Conductor of the famed Boston Pops. Sponsorship opportunities ranging from $25,000 – $3,000 are available, and individual tickets are $750.  For more information, please contact June Mattioli at 617-227-0365, or email jmattioli@esplanadeassociation.org.

Join guests Sally Fallon Morrell, of the Weston A. Price Foundation and Pete Kennedy, of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, in a celebration of local raw dairy, at the Massachusetts Teat Party on Thursday, August 12, at Cook Farm, 1 Hadley Road, Hadley, Massachusetts.  The $50 ticket price includes local food, cheese tastings, and cash ice cream bar. Proceeds benefit the Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts’ Raw Milk Campaign. To RSVP: http://www.nofamass.org/programs/organicdairy/fundraiser.php . For more information, please contact Winton Pitcoff, NOFA/Mass Raw Milk Coordinator at winton@nofamass.org, or call the NOFA/Mass Office: (978) 355-2853.  Image below by John Lund – check out his delightful photos.

The Twilight Pond and Garden Tour will take place Sunday, July 18, beginning at 12 noon, leaving from Roger Williams Park Botanical Gardens in Providence, Rhode Island.  This progressive dinner pond and garden tour benefits Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (www.alexslemonade.org).  Guests will board luxury Conway Buses and tour some of Rhode Island’s and Massachusetts’ most beautiful gardens and ponds.  Throughout the evening guests will enjoy appetizers, wine and cheese tastings, and a wonderful display of foods and desserts back at the Conservatory at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Gardens.  The night will also include a champagne toast and dessert.  Last year’s tour sold out in just four days, space is limited, so call today to reserve your seat and be a part of this magnificent evening.  For more information call Tranquil Water Gardens at 401-658-4547, or email tranquilwater1@cox.net.

The Nantucket Garden Festival is back. Events are located downtown, under the tent at the Dreamland Theater Lot, at the Nantucket Lighthouse School, 1 Rugged Road, and in private island gardens. Complete details and registration opportunities may be found at www.nantucketgardenfestival.com.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

* A guided tour of four different ways to keep chickens
* A hands-on workshop with Amy Pallenberg on late summer container gardening
* Back by popular demand: A tour of three notable but very different vegetable gardens
* A late summer container competition, judged by the Nantucket Garden Club
* Opening Night Preview and Party featuring the many wonderful vendors in our Garden Marketplace !

Friday, July 23, 2010

* Early Bird Garden Marketplace with continental breakfast
* The Garden Marketplace
* An early morning tour of a very special seaside garden, hosted by Stephen Orr
* A talk by Noel Kingsbury on the ‘natural garden’
* A talk by Dean Riddle on context in gardening
* A hands-on Obelisk workshop with Janice Shields of Cut It Out
* A tour of three contemporary West End gardens with marvelous views
* A garden based workshop with Noel Kingsbury, from a rabbit’s point of view
* “Know your Geophytes!”: Russell Stafford’s talk about creative ways to use bulbs
* A Monomoy Garden Tour in the late afternoon with wine and cheese
* Dinner Alfresco and talk with Russ and Marian Morash

Saturday, July 24, 2010

* The Garden Marketplace
* A hands-on Trellis workshop with Janice Shields of Cut It Out
* A composting workshop with Katie Hemingway
* An interactive discussion with David Berry of Nantucket Honey Bee Co. on keeping bees
* Small group tours of island bee hives with David Berry
* Tracy DiSabato-Aust’s luncheon lecture on the Well-Designed Mixed Garden
* A garden tour focused on contrast, ending in a rarely visited garden where guests will linger over wine and cheese

Children’s Workshops:

Friday, July 23, 2010

* Create a Garden Fairy House (Kinderclass teacher Barrie Sanders)
* Make a Garden Mobile with found items (Primary teacher Erin Dancik)

Saturday, July 24, 2010

* Make a Mosaic Flower Pot (Kinderclass teacher Monika Geerling with ceramicist Nell Van Vorst)
* Birds of the Garden: stitch and adorn a colorful bird for your garden (Lighthouse School co-founder, Lizbet Carroll Fuller)

The Friends of the Public Garden is holding a softball game fundraiser recognizing the role of recreation in the Boston Common, beginning with the Essex Base Ball Organization demonstrating a 19th Century ball game.  You may play for $250, sponsor for $100, or come watch free.  The July 13 event, beginning at 5:30 pm, will take place on the Boston Common Ball Field, Charles and Boylston Streets.  For more information, log on to www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org.

Come to the home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street (Rt. 16)  in Wellesley, on Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25, for the Annual Antiques at Elm Bank event, sponsored this year by Gentle Giant Movers.  For hours, and more information, log on to www.neantiqueshows.com.

Put on your tricolour and attend a street fair on Friday, July 9, beginning at 6 pm, with francophone music (you mean that accordion stuff, or are we talking Ravel?) dancing, French food and drink, celebrating freedom, community, cultural diversity and friendship between nations.  The event takes place on Marlborough Street, between Berkeley and Clarendon, and costs $28 in advance, $30 at the “door.”  For more information call 617-876-4275.

Join The Friends of Forest Hills Educational Trust on Thursday, July 15 from 6 – 9 pm (rain date Thursday, July 22) for a moving memorial ceremony inspired by Buddhist rituals. Inscribe a lantern with a personal message to friends or family and float it across Lake Hibiscus at sunset.

In this breathtaking ceremony of remembrance, visitors to this lush, Victorian landscape make paper lanterns and set them afloat on the peaceful waters of a small lake. This ritual is based on the traditional Japanese Bon Festival, a time when a door opens to the world of the ancestors, allowing us to send messages to the other side. People enjoy picnics on the grass and a multi-cultural program of music and dance. They decorate their lanterns with calligraphy and notes to those who have died. At sunset, a candle is lit in each lantern, and the glimmering lanterns are set afloat. Drifting and flickering with the wind, the lanterns symbolize the soul’s journey when life ends.  Admission is free, with a $10 donation per lantern. Parking is $10, and people are encouraged to take the T.  No lighting after dark, so bring a flashlight to assist your departure.  For more information, log on to www.foresthillstrust.org.

A special treat awaits gardening enthusiasts on Saturday, July 10, beginning at 11 am at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum at the corner of Commercial and Bangs Streets in Provincetown.  You will have the chance to meet renowned gardening expert Suzy Bales.

Bales has published thirteen popular books on the topic of gardening and won the Garden Writer of the Year Award from the American Horticultural Society in 1995. She has twice been awarded the Quill and Trowel Award by The Garden Writers of America. Fellow gardeners may recognize Bales from her frequent TV appearances on ABC and NBC as well as her series of garden spots on Good Morning America. She travels and lectures constantly and has been the featured speaker at Epcot, the Williamsburg Garden Symposium and other flower shows across the country including Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, St. Louis and Atlanta. Suzy has twice been a featured speaker at the Disney Institute and was a judge and the headline speaker at the Northwest Garden Show in February 2004. PAAM is pleased to host Bales, who will offer an informative lecture at the museum, followed by a luncheon hosted by Ricki Nenner at her Charles Zehnder modernist house and garden in Truro.  Tickets are $50 ($20 if attending the lecture only), and may be obtained by calling PAAM at 508-487-1750.

Chase Community Giving is giving away $5 million, and you can help decide which 200 local charities receive donations.  The winning charity will receive $250,000, four runners-up receive $100,000 each, and 195 others will receive $20,000.  One of the not for profit organizations in contention is the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc. Voting ends July 12, and winners will be announced July 13.    Access voting on Facebook at http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/

The first Chase Community Giving program, held earlier this year, was the most popular corporate philanthropy “crowdsourcing ” campaign of its type. More than 2 million users on the Facebook platform became fans of the program and helped decide which of more than 500,000 charities should receive a share of $5 million. More than 100 winners from 31 states were selected. Chase Community Giving is back again – and improved. The number of charities eligible to receive awards has doubled and several new tools have been introduced.

Once on the Chase Community Giving Page, search “Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts” and five organizations will come up, with addresses in Sudbury, West Roxbury, Taunton, and Ipswich, as well as the main umbrella organization located in Wellesley Hills.   There is no cost involved in voting, and as a member of The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, the Garden Club of the Back Bay hopes to do its part and spread the word.  Unfortunately, the Federation’s own web site has no information on the contest, but you heard it here first!

Visit lovely Sandwich homes at your leisure on Wednesday, July 14, from 11 – 3.  Light refreshments will be served at Green Briar Nature Center, 6 Discovery Hill Road in East Sandwich. This event is a benefit for The Thornton W. Burgess Society.

The Thornton W. Burgess Society is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1976 to carry on the pioneering conservation work of author/naturalist Thornton W. Burgess (1874 – 1965). Mr. Burgess, who was born and grew up in Sandwich, Massachusetts, went on to achieve national and international recognition for his childrens stories that teach lessons of conservation and love of wildlife.

Over 170 books and 15,000 stories by Burgess chronicle the tales of Peter Rabbit and his animal friends, including Jimmy Skunk, Grandfather Frog, Johnny Chuck, Sammy Jay, Reddy Fox, Hooty Owl and many others. Through these engaging stories, generations of young people have learned about the natural world and have developed an understanding of the importance of conservation of our natural resources.

The Thornton W. Burgess Society operates three facilities. The Thornton W. Burgess Museum on the shores of Shawme Pond on Water Street (Rte 130) in Sandwich village and the Green Briar Nature Center, the Jam Kitchen at 6 Discovery Hill Road (off Rte. 6A) in East Sandwich and the East Sandwich Game Farm.

Tickets are $15 each, in advance or on the day of tour, if available, and may be purchased at Green Briar.    For more information, call 508-888-6870, or log on to www.thorntonburgess.org.

The Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association invites you to Wine & Roses in the Formal Gardens at the Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Route 9, Hyde Park, New York, on Saturday, June 26, from 5 – 7.  Enjoy wine and cheese, music, informal garden tours, floral arranging demonstrations, and door prizes.  Reservations are required. Tickets are $40 per person, $75 per couple.  Call Gail at 845-264-4356, email fwvga@marist.edu, or log on to www.vanderbiltgarden.org before June 22 to secure your place.

Looking for an excuse to wear the dress you bought for your niece’s wedding?  Mrs. Brittain Bardes, Mrs. James B. Gubelmann, Mrs. Norey Dotterer Cullen, and Mrs. Samuel M.V. Hamilton, Honorary Chairs, request the pleasure of your company at The Newport Flower Show Olmsted Benefactor Dinner to honor Marion Oates Charles.  A special presentation to long time supporter and co-founder of The Newport Flower Show will be made during the cocktail reception.  During dinner, Mr. Carter Roberts, President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund, will accept the 2010 Newport Flower Show International Achievement Award.  All this takes place Saturday, June 26, beginning at 7 pm at Marble House, 596 Bellevue Avenue in Newport.  The $650 per person cost will include reserved seating at Marble House with Mr. Carter Roberts, admission to the Friday Opening Night Cocktail Party, free weekend parking at Rosecliff, Preferred Seating at Saturday’s Luncheon/Lecture with Tony Avent, Friday Early Bird Shopping, Special Admission to the Show immediately following judging, a Special Gift, and three day Show Admission.  Please note that all but $175 per ticket is tax deductible.  To secure your place, log on to www.NewportFlowerShow.org.

The Rochester Land Trust will sponsor its second annual Barn & Garden Tour on Sunday, June 27, from 1 – 4 pm.  Check out several of Rochester’s classic barns (Eastover Farm below), and get some tips from a master gardener and from some very knowledgeable farm animal keepers.  Last year’s tour was a smashing success, and the Trust is busy preparing new venues and attractions.  For more information, please call Bunny Magilnicki at 508-763-0088.  Rochester is south of Boston, less than an hour away, adjacent to Marion and Mattapoisett in Buzzard’s Bay.