The Garden Club of the Back Bay

Powerful Vistas/Powerful Views: New Perspectives in Historic Landscape Preservation, the Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation 2012 Conference, will be held in Victoria, BC, April 25-28, 2012.

The 34th annual gathering of the Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation will discuss new perspectives in historic landscape preservation when it convenes in Victoria, British Columbia in April 2012. Suggested topics for discussion papers include challenges and approaches to the identification, sustainability and protection of historic landscapes and issues of cultural diversity, identity and meaning in landscape preservation. Our vistas will be Canada’s powerful, awe-inspiring West Coast landscape. The First Nations people knew it intimately. Emily Carr lovingly interpreted it in her paintings. Now you can see it for yourself.And Vancouver Island beckons you to engage in this kaleidoscope of ideas. The City of Victoria promotes itself as being “full of life” and we intend to inject as much of that into your conference experience as we can. Centered at the venerable Empress Hotel puts us alongside the Inner Harbour and in the heart of the city both convenient for exploring by foot or as a launching off point for bus tours. Field visits will look at aboriginal, colonial and multicultural engagements with the powerful landscapes of the Canadian west coast.And, as always, while we are not able to accommodate all that the Victoria region has to offer in the short time that we will be together, we’ll provide some ideas about interesting places that you might explore either before/after the conference (including Vancouver across the Georgia Strait or Seattle, if you are coming Stateside).

Learn more about the conference on the Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation website, www.ahlp.org.

Considering the weather we’ve been having lately, this event might not come to pass.  However, just in case, here is the information you need to attend the Franklin Park Snow Festival on Saturday, February 4, from 12 – 3: Sign in at the Franklin Park Golf Clubhouse. Come sled, snowshoe, build snowpeople (politically correct term these days, we guess,) and track animal prints in the snow! If you have cross country skis, a guided tour will begin at 1:30. Warm up with hot chocolate and board games in the clubhouse. Bring a sled if you have one, we’ll have plenty for those without. Wear warm clothes and mittens! RSVP and Questions? www.franklinparkcoalition.org / 617-442-4141.  We just couldn’t resist the picture below, although we can’t determine the original photographer.

Winter in New England need not be a long dreary affair for gardeners. With some thoughtful planning and good plant choices your garden can take on a whole new life during the off season. Many hardy plants provide form, structure and even glorious color during the long dormant season. Join Tower Hill Botanic Garden Executive Director John Trexler for a tour of Tower Hill’s gardens for some first-hand examples of planting for year-round interest. The walk begins at 1:00 pm, and is free with admission. For more information and directions, visit www.towerhillbg.org.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to travel as guests of the Polly Hill Arboretum to the exquisite gardens of Belgium. PHA Board member Philippe deSpoelberch will welcome guests on the first and second day to his private garden and Arboretum, newly opened to the public in 2011! Prices begin at $3000.00 per person (land only). This includes a $1000 tax deductible donation to the PHA to cover staff costs. Note – All prices subject to change based on the currency exchange.

Included in the price

• 5 nights bed and breakfast at the 5-star Le Méridien, Brussels

• Comfortable coaching in Belgium

• Entrance to the National Botanic Garden of Belgium; the arboreta of Kalmthout, Bokrijk, Het Leen (pictured below) and Wespelaar; the private gardens of Herkenrode; and Hemelrijk Garden

• Services of a Brightwater Holidays representative

• Polly Hill Collections Manager Thomas Clark and his wife horticulturist Sandy Clark will be traveling with the group to answer horticultural questions.

Not included (per person)

• Single room supplement $670.00

• Insurance

• Flights

Additional Notes – The schedule is subject to change, a more formal timeline will be presented as details are finalized. Participants will be required to make a $1000.00 deposit (per person) to reserve a spot, by January 30, with final payment due March 15.

Tom Clark is a nationally known plantsman and has been our Collections Manager since 2007 and is always ready to share his knowledge and passion for plants. Tom is thrilled to be traveling with fellow garden enthusiasts to share in these wonderful landscapes.

Questions? Contact karin@pollyhillarboretum.org or call 508-693-9426

If you are interested please let us know as soon as possible since we need to know the level of interest to proceed with travel plans.

Garden Club of the Back Bay featured speaker Rich Pomerantz is teaming up with past Garden Club of the Back Bay member Peggy Connors for a trip to Costa Rica February 18 – 26, with an optional extension February 26 – 29 to Tortuguero.  See and photograph rainforests, cloud forests, beaches, the central market in San Jose, tropical gardens at Dota, the Wilson Botanical Gardens in San Vito, pictured below, and you’ll take a motorboat ride in Golfito.

Rich lectures about photography and teaches photography workshops at the NY Botanical Gardens, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and at Botanical Gardens around the country for trade organizations and private groups, and at his studio.  His photography has appeared in many books and gardening, travel and shelter magazines, including National Geographic for Kids, Traditional Home, Horticulture, Organic Gardening, Travel Holiday, and White Flower Farm catalogues.  His blog on richpomerantz.com was named by Horticulture Magazine as one of 2011′s best gardening blogs.

Peggy Connors has been leading groups to Costa Rica since 1994 when she founded Costa Rica Naturally!  She is the co-founder and past president of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers and founder of Connors Landscape Design, Inc.. a landscape consulting and design firm.

The price per person starts at $2,190, and if you book before December 18 you will receive $100 off – call 800-230-3826, or visit www.costaricanaturally.com for more information.

Caroling, a visit from Santa, a holiday pinata, treats for kids, coffee and hot chocolate, a cookie creation station, and sledding (weather permitting, although considering the weather these days, you might consider sun bathing instead), will all happen on Saturday, December 10 from 2 – 3 at Titus Sparrow Park. The park is located on West Newton St. between Columbus and Huntington Avenues, next to the Southwest Corridor Parkland. Visit www.titussparrowpark.org for details.

Tis the season to be jolly! Don’t miss Heritage Museum & Garden’s annual celebration of lights that finds its buildings and grounds awash in festive lights. They’ll help you get into that holiday spirit. Come stroll the grounds, toast marshmallows at the Magnolia Cafe, take a spin on a carousel, and enjoy holiday music and performances each evening. Old St. Nick will also drop by each night for pictures in our Ford Model T (his sleigh must be in the shop). Free with museum admission.  For directions and more information, visit www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org.

The Gibson House, 137 Beacon Street, Boston, welcomes friends and neighbors through the doors of the Gibson House on December 11 from 1-4 pm. The museum will be decorated for the holidays for you to enjoy. There will also be a special exhibit of contemporary art work by three of Boston University’s most promising recent graduates. We may also have a visit from Charles Dickens to read from “A Christmas Carol”!

No reservations are required, but if you’d like to bring a vintage or homemade ornament for the tree you’ll help us get into the Christmas spirit. If you have questions, please call 617-267-6338.

Enjoy an indoor display of decked-out holiday trees at Queset House, 51 Main Street, North Easton, sponsored by the Easton Garden Club.  Hours are November 25, 6 – 9, November 26 and 27, noon – 9, and weekdays, November 28 – December 2, 4 – 9.  The final day, Saturday, December 3, the Festival will be open from 10 – 9.  There will also be a greens sale at the Railroad Station on Sullivan Avenue in the Village of North Easton.  All trees are donated by individuals, local businesses, organizations, and schools.  Many award-winning Easton Garden Club floral designers will participate, including Gloria Freitas-Steidinger, a past President and GCFMA accredited judge, who also holds the distinction of decorating for the White House.  Admission: $5 adults, kids free.  Tree raffle tickets will be available at the door (a sheet of 26 tickets is $8)  For more information visit www.eastongradenclub.org, or email info@eastongradenclub.org.

This Saturday, November 12, join Polly Hill Arboretum Executive Director Tim Boland for a guided walk through the grounds.  Right now there is much to see, including witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), pictured below, which has begun to bloom.  This Martha’s Vineyard native plant has spidery flowers and a soft fragrance.  The walk begins at 10 am.  This is the first of a winter walk series, which will be held the second Saturday of the month, through March.  Tours run about an hour and begin at the Visitor Center.  Tours are free, although a donation is always appreciated.  For more information, visit www.pollyhillarboretum.org.

Come on a bird walk through the Back Bay Fens , led by Arnold Arboretum’s Marc Devokaitus, on Saturday, November 12, from 8 – 9:30 am, and/or come on a bird walk of Jamaica Pond on Saturday, November 19, from 8 – 10, led by Gerry Wright of Jamaica Pond Boathouse.  Free, but please rsvp to projectassistant@emeraldnecklace.org for information on the assembly site.

The glitter of gold and the sparkle of silver will dazzle you as you tour three magnificent mansions decked out in Yuletide finery. Music, tours, and spectacular decorations highlight the celebration of Christmas at the Newport Mansions. The Preservation Society of Newport County invites you to make holiday memories with your family by visiting The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House this holiday season. For complete information, call 401-847-1000, email info@newportmansions.org, or visit www.newportmansions.org.

Help the staff at Tower Hill Botanic Garden prepare the Youth Gardens for the next year’s season and learn more about the Youth Gardening Program,  Scouts and other volunteer groups are welcome – admission to the graden is free when you volunteer.  Snacks will be provided and everyone will go home with a pumpkin, gourd, or winter squash, and maybe more.  For more information, call 508-869-6111 x 120, or visit www.towerhillbg.org.

Celebrate the New England harvest with apple cider, a special harvest menu in Twigs Cafe, and locally made products for sale at the Shades of Autumn Arts & Crafts Fair: The Family Celebration of the Fall Harvest Season, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, Massachusetts.  The Fair will take place on Columbus Day Weekend, October 8 – 10, from 9 – 5.  Farm animals, displays of garden produce, an arts and crafts market, and taste-testing tours of the heirloom apple orchard will round out the weekend.  Visit www.towerhillbg.org, or call 508-869-6111 for more information.  Photo by Susan Herrmann Lewis, author of Nuts in the Kitchen.

Maples are a great group of plants when it comes to brilliant fall color in shades from gold to orange to fiery red. The Arnold Arboretum is a treasure trove of maples, from common North American species to rare and endangered Asian types. On this walking tour with Nancy Rose, editor of Arnoldia, on Thursday, October 20 from 1 – 2:30, we’ll look at a number of the Arboretum’s special maple accessions in all of their autumn glory.In case of inclement weather, contact 617.384.5209. Meet at the Hunnewell Building. This activity is free, but please sign up at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Fall is one of the most beautiful times of the year to visit the Arnold Arboretum. Explore the less-traveled paths of the Arboretum on a brisk walk with docent Rhoda Kubrick designed for getting fit, on Saturday, October 8, from 10 – 11:30 in the morning. Meet at the Hunnewell Building. Pause to hear about interesting plants while you catch your breath. Please dress appropriately and bring water. In case of inclement weather, contact 617.384.5209. This activity is free, but please sign up at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.  Photo from www.naturehills.com.

Don and Leslie Turpin will take Fruitlands Museum visitors for a walk through the woods and describe how Natives offer prayer and ask forgiveness for taking from their sacred Mother. They will perform a pipe ceremony and use a hand drum to offer traditional ancient songs. They will also bring a powwow drum to explain how they originated and how modern powwows are run. The program begins at 1 pm on Sunday, October 16. For more information and directions, visit www.fruitlands.org.

A ninety minute docent-led guided tour of the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection at the Arnold Arboretum will kick off the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s “Japan Year” programs on Tuesday, October 18 at 10 am. We will view the historic bonsai collection in the lathe house, then see their full grown counterparts in the landscape. The Collection is one of the premier collections of bonsai in the United States and includes a Hinoki cypress over 250 years old.  The Bonsai Pavilion where the trees are housed are part of a complex of buildings known as the Dana Greenhouses.  The Collection is on display from mid-April to the end of October, when they are moved and  held in cold storage at temperatures slightly above freezing throughout the winter. Comfortable shoes are a requirement.  Written notices with car pool information will be mailed to club members.  The tour is limited to twenty participants, so will accept reservations on a first come, first serve basis.  Non-club members may email info@gardenclubbackbay.org to be put on a wait list (non-member charge $15).

Mark you calendar for Thursday, October 18, for the second personal tour of the first wheelchair accessible tree house in Massachusetts, with arborist Carl Brodeur, founder, co-owner, and President of Arborcare with Ropes ‘n Saddles, Inc.  This Ecological Landscaping Association field trip will begin at 10 am at 38 Narrows Road in Assonet, Massachusetts.  Until recently, the joy associated with climbing a tree and seeing the world from a tree house was out of reach for children with mobility impairments.  That changed in 2008 when the Institute for Developmental Disabilities, Inc. opened the first universally-accessible tree house in Massachusetts on its beautiful 45-acre campus.  Children of all ages and ability levels now have the opportunity to visit a beautiful tree house, far away from the limitations of an earthbound perspective.  This storybook-like structure is used for classes, music therapy, and recreation.  Tree preservation is a key component of many landscape projects, but was the critical component of this project.  Carl will take us behind the scenes and describe the tree preservation in the grove from the beginning of the project to the ongoing preservation today,  The presentation will cover the protection of the root zone during construction, soil monitoring for a healthy biological environment for the roots, as well as the monitoring and care since the building of the Tree House.  This site sits on the shore of Assonet Bay and is also the habitat for some interesting and endangered species, particularly the Northern Diamondback Terrapin, which uses this area as a nesting ground.  Register online at www.ecolandscaping.org.  $20 for ELA members, $25 for nonmembers.  You may call 617-436-5838 for more information.  This program is a repeat of one scheduled this past August, which was sold out, so reserve now.

Join professional environmentalist and wild foods enthusiast Russ Cohen, author of Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten, to learn about foraging for wild plants, followed by a walk outside at Wellesley College to see what might be available at this season. Keys to the identification of each species are provided, as well as information about its edible portion(s), season(s) of availability, flavor, and nutritive value, and some tips on preparation. Learn guidelines for safe and environmentally responsible foraging. Tea will be served at 2 pm, followed by the lecture and walk from 2:30 – 4:30. This afternoon is co-sponsored with Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the New England Wild Flower Society, and the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture. $10 for members of the sponsoring organizations, $15 for non-members. Sign up at www.wellesley.edu/WCFH, or call 781-283-3094.