The Garden Club of the Back Bay

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.

Have you noticed a tree as you walked through the city, wanted to name it, but didn’t know where to start? Join Ajay Sequeira, Arnold Arboretum docent, for a walk through the Arboretum landscape on Saturday, October 1, from 1 – 2:30. We will learn how to identify some of the trees commonly found in the Boston area. We will note some of the characteristics common to families of trees and learn about the differences that occur between species. In case of inclement weather, contact 617.384.5209. This activity is free, but please sign up at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Tour six barns this Saturday dating from 1790 to 2009 in Weathersfield, Vermont, with local experts Steven Melanson and Willis Wood. Learn about barn history, timber framing, and other construction techniques. Melanson is an architectural historian, preservation consultant, and preservation carpenter. Wood is a longtime member and past president of the Weathersfield Historical Society. During lunch, join Historic New England’s Preservation Stewardship Manager and Vermont native Caitlin Corkins for a discussion about the state Barn Census and the unique grant program that works with private owners to preserve area barns. Co-sponsored by the Weathersfield Historical Society.

Tour begins at 12:15 p.m.  The fee to attend is $10 for Historic New England and Weathersfield Historical Society members, $15 for non-members. For an additional $10 per person, an optional box lunch is available at 11:15 a.m. Lunch will be held across from parking lot on Center Church Road. Bring chair or blanket for seating. Transportation between barns is by bus. Light refreshments follow the tour.

Despite the damage caused in parts of Vermont by Hurricane Irene, our local partner has confirmed that this program can still take place. Registration is required. Please call 978-744-0440 for more information. Purchase tickets now on line at https://shop.historicnewengland.org/p-7321-anatomy-of-a-vermont-barn.aspx.  Photo by Nanci Nutile-McMenemy.

Located five miles from downtown Boston, Fresh Pond Reservation is a green oasis, an urban wild and protective watershed land covering 363 acres.  Designed by the Olmsted Brothers and Charles Eliot, over the past decade this premier open space has undergone major renovation focused upon water quality protection, habitat enhancement, and aesthetic improvement.  The Northeast Sector Project focused on improving a 30 acre section of the Reservation by closely integrating woodland and edge zone management with innovatively designed features such as a two acre constructed stormwater treatment wetland, butterfly meadow, community garden, soccer field, and new and improved walking paths.  The project received an Honor Award for Reclamation and Restoration from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects.  On Thursday, October 13, from 3 – 5, join project designer and tour guide Thomas Benjamin for an insider tour of the project’s planning and installation.  The tour is sponsored by the Ecological Landscaping Association, and you may register ($20 ELA members, $25 non members) on line at www.ecolandscaping.com, or by calling 617-436-5838.

Join the staff at Waltham Fields Community Farm, 240 Beaver Street in Waltham, on Saturday, September 24, from 2 – 5, for an afternoon of harvest-time fun, including cider pressing, live music, cooking demonstrations, kids’ activities, family friendly volunteering, and more.  For details, visit www.communityfarms.org.

Join Ecological Landscaping Association and URI Research Associate Kate Venturini on Tuesday, September 20, from 10 – 12:30, for a unique insider tour of the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center complex in Providence, Rhode Island, an urban oasis nestled in the heart of the 427-acre park designed by Horace Cleveland in 1878.  Through a partnership between the URI Outreach Center and the Providence Parks Department, the Botanical Center complex is being transformed both inside and out as a model for sustainable urban horticulture.  Located on an island surrounded by man made ponds, the complex features a newly designed and installed rain garden to capture greenhouse roof runoff, Rhode Island’s largest community garden, the future site of a permaculture food forest, extensive outdoor display gardens featuring native and sustainable plants, and the largest public indoor display gardens in New England (approximately 12,000 square feet of greenhouses.)  Join Kate as she shares her insight into the successful planning and management of indoor and outdoor showcases, illustrating the latest and greatest urban horticultural and agricultural practices.  For more information, email ela.info@comcast.net, or call 617-436-5838.  $20 for ELA members, $25 for non-members.  The address of Roger Williams Park is 1000 Elmwood Avenue in Providence.

Watson Farm managers Don and Heather Minto lead a tour of this seaside working farm, located at 455 North Road in Jamestown, Rhode Island, on Sunday, September 25 from 2 – 5.  The evolution of the farm, now a property of Historic New England, is placed in the larger context of the local island community and Rhode Island history.  $3 for HNE members, $8 for non-members.  For more information, visit www.historicnewengland.org, or call 401-423-0005.  Image of Watson Farm from www.en.petitchef.com.

Join Save America’s Treasures on Saturday, November 5th for a scenic bus trip and private tour of Eleanor Roosevelt’s Val-Kill home in Hyde Park, New York. Boxed lunch included in the ticket price of $50. Special remarks by honored guest Silda Wall Spitzer,  Former First Lady of New York. Bus departs from Boston at 8:00am and returns at 7:30pm (times are approximate).   Seating is limited. Please RSVP promptly to Melanie McEvoy or Kristine Bruch at 212-228-7446 x12.

Tickets cover the cost of the trip. Additional tax-deductible contributions are appreciated and will help develop exhibits for Stone Cottage and the restoration of Eleanor Roosevelt’s treasured Sleeping Porch. Honoring Eleanor Roosevelt, an original project of Save America’s Treasures, is a partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It offers a unique opportunity to recognize one of the most important women of the 20th Century and to ensure that her legacy continues to illuminate and inspire future generations.

Honoring Eleanor Roosevelt Executive Committee : Claudine Bacher, Georgie Gatch, Betsy Shure Gross, Carol Hillman, Barbara A. Levy, Bobbie Greene McCarthy.  Save America’s Treasures Founder: The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton.