The Garden Club of the Back Bay

Arthur Dion and Meg White, Directors of Gallery NAGA invite Garden Club of the Back Bay members to an opening reception with photographer Mary Kocol this Friday, September 10, from 6 – 8 at the Gallery, 67 Newbury Street, Boston.  They were struck by the similarity of the titles to our annual fund raising party in June and the September exhibition by the artist, and feel the affinities run even deeper.  The show will be on view through October 2, so all are invited to stop by during the run of the show and see these beautiful photographs.  Complete images can be seen on their website, www.gallerynaga.com.  Below is Conifers, October, Arnold Arboretum, Boston, 2009 archival inkjet photograph (1/10) 23×23″  We thank Arthur and Meg for their hospitality.

The Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts will hold a show and sale at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts on Saturday, September 18, from 12 – 5 pm, and on Sunday, September 19, from 10 – 4.  Since the founding of the group in 1991, the CSSM has participated in the New England Spring Flower Show several times, winning ribbons and other awards.  You will be able to purchase plants as well as learn about care and propagation.  This judged show contains 100 categories of cactus and succulents.  There will be guided tours of the show twice daily, a plant auction of special varieties, and specialty vendors selling both beginning and collector plants.  Also, you will enjoy the kids planting station.  For more information log on to www.ccsma.org or www.towerhillbg.org.

Come to the Boston Children’s Museum, Congress Street, on Saturday, October 2, from 9 am – 6 pm, for the first annual Boston Local Food Festival, put on by the Sustainable Business Network, with support from the USDA in combination with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. This festival will be an outdoor autumn celebration of the many virtues of locally grown and produced food. Held in Boston overlooking the historic Boston Harbor, it will showcase and support a cornucopia of food grown and produced in and around greater Boston and stretching across Massachusetts into other New England states. The festival will also provide opportunities for local food- related businesses, initiatives and nonprofits to share their products, services and programs.  Festival attendees will be able to eat great-tasting local food, learn the benefits of fresh, sustainably grown/produced food, take home food from farmers and vendors, and on top of all this, have a lot of fun. For more information log on to www.sbnboston.org.  (image courtesy of www.treehugger.com)

The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival at Forsters Farm,  60 Chestnut Hill Road in Orange, Massachusetts, to be held this year on Saturday and Sunday, October 2 – 3,  is a celebration of the artistic, agricultural and cultural bounty of the region. The purpose of the festival is to unite North Quabbin people whose livelihoods are connected to the land and the arts, and to invite both local residents and those who do not live in the region to experience the richness of an area that is often overlooked. The festival emphasizes what is homegrown and high quality, as well as what helps preserve and support the environment. The festival is an engaging, fun and educational celebration for all ages. Everyone involved-organizers, vendors, volunteers, performers, attendees, a supportive community-makes the festival what it is and we are grateful and look forward to celebrating the richness of our communities for many years to come.

The Agricultural Vendors at the Festival offer amazing, locally grown and produced products that celebrate the bounty of the North Quabbin and surrounding regions. Through on-going demonstrations and workshops you’ll learn to grow your own garlic, experience live honeybees, make an herbal tincture, or delight in a flower garland or wheat weaving. Celebrate this feast of the land, honor the good work of farmers, and rejoice in the harvest season. Don’t forget your shopping bag!

The food vendors at the festival celebrate the bounty of the harvest through their delicious garlic infused creations. Individuals and restaurants that sell food at the festival are committed to culinary creativity and local agriculture. Some vendors are community organizations that raise funds through this event. Many vendors use organic and local ingredients. There is a ‘no polystyrene’ policy, and highlight biodegradable utensils and plates which are composted after the festival. Compostables from past festivals are now fertile soil rather than filling landfills!

The wood fired oven at the Garlic and Arts Festival was built 3 years ago for use at the festival and for the local community. It is used for baking loaf and flat breads like foccacia and pizza and for preparation of many other types of dishes. It can roast and even grill using the coals from the fire in the oven.

The oven is built to an ancient Italian design fundamentally the same as larger ovens that still exist in the Pompei archeological site. There are many thousands of similar ovens in Italy today where backyard cooking and roasting is very popular. There have been similar ovens in many parts of the world for millenia along with other forms such as the pit and open topped ovens in Central and South Asia.  There will be music on two solar powered stages.

A complete list of demonstrations, games, activities, chef demonstrations, family stage productions, and workshops, along with directions, can be found at www.garlicandarts.org. You may also email deb@seedsofsolidarity.org.

Verrill Farm, 11 Wheeler Road in Concord, is the setting for the annual Farm Day & Barbecue on Sunday, September 12, from noon to 4 pm.  Food served a la carte includes Verrill Farm’s own barbecue pulled pork, chicken, ribs and sides, plus a baked potato bar, live music by Boston Road Blue Grass, farm demonstrations, and hayrides.  Log on to www.verrillfarm.com for directions and information.

The Country Fair at Hancock Shaker Village on Saturday and Sunday, September 25 – 26 from 10 – 5 celebrates the bounty of the harvest with agricultural demonstrations, wagon rides, a fabulous Farmers Market, and huge tents full of the work of the best local and regional crafters and artisans. Come out to the farm and see all the Country Fair has to offer. At the Country Fair, vendors fill the Village with delightful fresh produce, finished farm products, and crafts of all sorts. The Farmers Market tents boast vegetables, flowers, maple sugar treats and hand-made cheeses. Artisans have furniture, Shaker style oval boxes, original paintings, candles and hand-woven textiles available for purchase. Plan plenty of browsing time for this amazing marketplace! Don’t miss the Food Tent with area restaurants and brews! Try your hand as a Shaker Baker in our Country Fair Pie Contest – in 2009, thirteen pies were entered, and this year’s judges include New Yorker writer Susan Orlean, Berkshire Living editor Lesley Ann Beck, Berkshire Eagle executive editor Tim Farkas, and RuralIntelligence.com co-founder Marilyn Bethany.  A display of quilts in the Round Stone Barn ell has become an integral part of the Country Fair each year.  Over 60 antique and newly made quilts are displayed in this juried show, fine examples of craftsmanship and tradition. You can submit a quilt for exhibition.   Adults – $17, Children 13 – 17 – $8, Children under 12 and Hancock Shaker Village Members Free.  For directions and more information, log on to www.hancockshakervillage.org.

New England Wild Flower Society has partnered with New England Garden Ornaments of Sudbury, MA, to present Water Whimsy, a small show of large and small fountains. In addition to the permanent Michael Mazur fountain at the entrance (below) and the Nate McCullin bird baths in the Wildlife Garden, Water Whimsy features nine bubbling, flowing, and standing water installations located at the entrance to the Curtis Path and in the Idea, Edible, Rain, and Patio gardens. Composed of chiseled stones, millstones, staddle stones, stone balls, molded balustrades and caps, granite bowls, and bamboo, these hand-carved and one-of-a-kind fountains bring a special ambiance to their garden settings. Water Whimsy continues in the Garden through September 7. For more information, log on to www.newfs.org.

This year’s Marshfield Fair, August 20 – 29 taking place at 140 Main Street in Marshfield, offers great family entertainment with hundreds of farm animals, daily free shows, free grandstand attractions, arts & crafts, 4 H & Agricultural exhibits, horticultural displays & much more.  Free Grandstand entertainment includes: Demolition Derby’s, Motorcycle Motocross Madness, Empire Pro Wrestling, The North River Blues Festival, truck and tractor pulls, and Battle of the Bands. See web site for dates & times: www.fiestashows.com, or call 617-495-3045.

An 8′ by 38′ hand-woven piece of interactive art, designed by architect Hansy Better Barazza, will be hanging around the Rose Kennedy Greenway now through September 4.  The exact location is Fort Point Channel Parks, North (between Seaport Boulevard and Pearl Street).  Viewing is free.  You may see and read more about the project on the Big Hammock website, www.thebighammock.org.

OK, you can’t get to the Rochester Grange Fair on August 21, but you have a second chance to experience a classic piece of Americana.  The South Middleborough Grange Annual Agricultural Fair will be held on Saturday, August 28, at the SMG Hall, 570 Wareham Street in South Middleborough.  The Fair opens to the public at 1:30 pm, and there will be prize exhibits, a baked goods table, grocery basket, traveling bazaar, and cold drinks for sale all afternoon. Admission to the Fair is free, and there is ample parking.  At 6 pm, a chicken pie dinner will be served, with juice, chicken pie, mashed potatoes, green beans, another fresh vegetable, locally grown tomatoes, rolls and butter, gravy, coffee, punch, and – you’ll love this flash from the past – jello with whipped cream.  Adults may feast for a modest charge of $8, and children will be charged $4.  The Fair auction begins at 7:15, and all are welcome.

The 100th annual agricultural fair of Rochester Grange will be held on Saturday, August 21 at the Rochester Grange Hall, 200 Hartley Road in Rochester (about 50 minutes south of Boston – see map below). Exhibits will be open to the public beginning at 1:30 pm.  The Grange will conduct various raffles, and there are baked goods, handiwork, and cold beverages for sale.  Special musical entertainment will feature Celtic fiddler Tiffany Rozenas.  The traditional ham and bean supper will be served at 6 pm, and will include ham, kidney beans, baked beans, rolls and butter, coffee, punch, potato salad, corn on the cob, and dessert.  The super cost is $7 for adults and $3 for children under 10.  Following the supper, the fair auction will begin at 7:15, and you will have the opportunity to bid on and purchase the prize winning fruits, vegetables, flowers, and baked goods from the fair.

In the fall of 1905 Mr. Allen made rounds of the homes in Rochester with the hope of interesting people in founding a local Grange. He was successful. On February 12th, 1906, the first meeting of Rochester Grange was held in the North Rochester Social Union Hall on Snipatuit Road in North Rochester. The hall was small, lit by oil lamps, with a kitchen and dining hall on the second floor and no running water. Subsequently the Grange Hall on Hartley Road was built. The Grange Fair and the auction are free and open to the public – if you haven’t experienced a Grange Fair, you should try to get to this one, since the Grange members will be pulling out all the stops for the 100th!

The New England Carnivorous Plant Society (www.necps.org) will hold a cookout and show on Saturday, August 14, beginning at 8:30 in the morning with an optional bog walk at the Black Jungle, 370 Avenue A, Turners Falls, Massachusetts 01376.  This annual event is always much anticipated.  You will see all sorts of plants, and there are wonderful discounts for NECPS members.  See the site for information on joining ($20/year for adults), or call Black Jungle Terrarium Supply 413-863-2770 for more information and directions. Below is Drosera capillaris ‘Emerald’s Envy.” Photo by William Joseph Clemens.

Join the artists participating in the Arnold Arboretum’s current exhibit Plein Air in the Arboretum: Paintings by the NHPleinAir Artists for a short presentation and Q&A session on Saturday, August 14, from 1:00–3:00pm.
Since last fall, intrepid painters from NHPleinAir have been making regular pilgrimages to the Arnold Arboretum, braving the elements—and the traffic!—to realize their collective and individual visions. The works in this exhibition feature the trees and landscapes of the Arboretum captured en plein air (“in the open air”) throughout the seasons. The group was founded in 2004 and has over 300 members who paint outside regularly throughout New England.  The show will be in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall from August 7 – September 19, 2010.  For more information, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

The Harvard Museum of Natural History hosts extended hours on the third Thursday of each summer month. Explore the museum and the new Headgear exhibition.

Bring friends to see the world famous exhibit of 3,200 ‘Glass Flowers’, amazingly realistic models of plants, fruits and flowers created by father-son glass artists Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka from 1886-1936. You won’t believe they’re not real.

Explore 12,000 specimens drawn from Harvard’s vast research collections at the University’s most visited museum — dinosaurs, meteorites, gemstones, and hundreds of prehistoric and current-day animals from around the globe. Get close to the world’s only mounted Kronosaurus (below), a 42 ft-long marine reptile; one of the first Triceratops ever discovered; a 1,642 lb. amethyst geode; three huge whale skeletons.

The museum is on the Harvard University campus, just a short, 7-10 minute walk through historic Harvard Yard from the Harvard Square MBTA Red Line ‘T’ station. Open daily, 9 am – 5 pm, 361 days/year. Handicapped accessible. Explore www.hmnh.harvard.edu for changing exhibitions, dozens of lectures, events, classes for all ages, year-round.

Details on the Harvard Museum of Natural History website, http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures_and_special_events/index.php#summer

This year’s festival, on Saturday, August 21 from 11 – 3,  at Allandale Farm, 259 Allandale Street in Brookline will include live music, hayrides, kid’s activities, corn on the grill and, ohhhhh those tomatoes, in every size and color imaginable.  $7 per person, children 12 and under free. Call 617-524-1531 for more information, or log on to www.allandalefarm.com.

The Town of West Stockbridge will hold its 7th Annual West Stockbridge Zucchini Festival on Saturday, August 14, beginning at 10 in the morning, and running until 10 at night.  The location is at the junction of Routes 41 and 102, 1/4 mile west of Exit 1 of the Mass Pike.  Admission is free.  There are activities for kids and adults, including a pet parade, rides and races, including the new Euro Bungi, a zucchini recipe contest, zucchini decorating, a zucchini weigh off contest, zucchini catapult, zucchini car racing, live music by Bootleg, and entertainment, games, food booths, and more.  For additional information, call 413-232-0222.  A parking shuttle will run from 9:30 until 6 from Rt. 102 Town Hall to Card Pond, Rt. 41 near the Mass Pike.  Log on to www.weststockbridgetown.com.

Epicurious, the food website we rely upon to find the Gourmet Magazine recipe we remember we used in 1971  when we hosted our first dinner party, or to look up the timing of a fully stuffed 22 pound turkey, is coming to town this Friday, to the Copley Square Farmer’s Market.  Stop by the Epicurious booth, where you can search for recipes on their new iPad app, sample chocolates, and pick up a free eco-friendly tote, perfect for shopping the market.  And if you can’t make it on Friday, you’ll have a second chance to meet the Epicurious folks on Monday, August 9, at City Hall Farmer’s Market. Check out all the new website features at www.epicurious.com.

Meet people who are passionate about planting – not just pots on the porch, but entire parks, commercial districts, medians and more.  Learn what the best towns in America are doing to enhance their quality of life, beautify their public, commercial and residential spaces, and encourage economic development.  Get easy-to-implement ideas from experts, and enjoy inspiring tours showcasing success stories of the St. Louis area, at this year’s America in Bloom Symposium, taking place September 30 – October 2 in St. Louis, Missouri.  Celebrating the beautification efforts of communities across the nation, the title of this year’s event is “Gateways, Gardens, Grandeur.”  For complete information, log on to www.americainbloom.org, or call 614-487-1117.

On Saturday, September 25th, from 10:00am to 5:00pm, NABB will hold its Annual Fall Street Sale, our local community yard sale, on the Dartmouth Street Mall between Newbury Street and Commonwealth Avenue (at Alley 434).

You may purchase a 10′ x 4′ selling space at the Street Sale for $75. This fee includes one chair. Bring your own table or rent one with your space reservation for an additional $25. Reservations are not transferable according to state revenue restrictions.

NABB arranges the space, procures the permits, and sets the stage. You bring your clean and sale ready household merchandise, books, antiques or other treasures, priced appropriately, and watch them be snapped up by bargain hunters. The proceeds are all yours.

No clothing, please. The City of Boston has notified NABB that no commercial products may be sold at this sale.  For more information, or to procure a table, log on to www.nabbonline.com, or mail a check for $75 (or $100 if you wish to rent a table and chair) made out to NABB to the NABB office at 337 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02115-2710.

A large selection of iris rhizomes grown in the gardens of members of the Iris Society of Massachusetts will be offered for sale on Saturday, July 31, from 10 – 4, at Verrill Farm, located at the corner of Sudbury and Wheeler Roads in Concord, Massachusetts.  The irises are hardy in New England, and some of the member hybridizers are nationally recognized.  Some of their prize irises will be for sale, and there will be demonstrations during the day on dividing and planting irises, plus information sheets on their cultivation.  Contact Barbara Schmieder at 978-369-3383 for additional information, or email dotmac@verizon.net.