The Garden Club of the Back Bay

Welcome new members and greet old friends at The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay’s 2012 Member Reception, to be held this year at towne stove and spirits, 900 Boylston Street, on Sunday, January 15, from 4:30 – 6:30.  This event is free to members.  Enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres, with a cash bar.  An rsvp is requested by January 6.  Email names to info@nabbonline.com, or call 617-247-3961.

The Boston Committee of The Garden Club of America invites its member clubs to the Fall Lecture and Luncheon on Thursday, November 17, featuring Carol R. Johnson, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Carol R. Johnson Associates.  Carol will speak on A Life In The Landscape.  Boston-based landscape architect Carol R. Johnson has spent the last four decades transforming urban spaces, campuses, industrial sites, and neglected waterfronts into vital, celebrated parks and public spaces.  In her lecture she will talk about her life, career, design philosophy, and what it means to be a pioneering woman in the field of landscape architecture.  At the Thursday, November 17 meeting, The Boston Committee will also present the 2011 Boston Bowl to Arabella Dane, past President of the American Horticulture Society and the World Association of Flower Arrangers, as well as a Master Judge for National Garden Clubs and the author of several books on horticulture and butterflies.  The Beautification Award will be presented to Boston University in special recognition of its work planting, paving, and enhancing the Commonwealth Avenue landscape.  Registration will begin at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street, at 10:30 pm, with lecture and luncheon to follow.  $50 for lecture and luncheon, $25 lecture only, with checks made payable to The Boston Committee of the GCA and mailed to Mrs. William U. Shipley, 40 Dunster Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.  If you are not a member of a Boston Committee club, contact info@gardenclubbackbay.org for more information.

The Friends of the Public Garden invites all members to a Members Reception on Wednesday, October 5, beginning at 6 pm at the Union Club, 8 Park Street, Boston.  There will be time to socialize and to celebrate Henry Davis, a distinguished arborist who has spent over four decades working with the Friends to care for the trees in our three parks.  Hear Henry’s insights on The Future of Trees in the Public Garden, Boston Common and Commonwealth Avenue Mall.  The event is free to members, but please rsvp, as space is limited.  Email by Friday, September 30 at fopg@gis.net, or call 617-723-8144 for information (or to join, if you have not already done so.)  Membership can be renewed at this event as well.

The National Garden Clubs, Inc. New England Region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) announces the New England Region Annual Meeting and Flower Show Symposium, to be held Monday and Tuesday, October 17 and 18, at the Radisson Hotel in Chelmsford (below.)  Agenda, tours and registration forms will be available at www.gcfm.org, and in upcoming issues of The National Gardener.

Historic New England Gardener Ellen Mackey leads a tour through the beautiful Codman Estate Garden in Lincoln, Massachusetts on Saturday, August 6, from 10 – noon.  Hear about the ongoing restoration project to bring it back to its appearance in the 1930′s.  This program is free and open exclusively to Historic New England members, so if you haven’t joined this wonderful organization, now is the time.  For information, visit www.historicnewengland.org, or call 617-994-5934.

The Friends of Hayes Park will hold their Annual Meeting on Monday, June 6, beginning at 6 pm at the home of Susan Park, 166 West Canton Street, Boston.  Light refreshments will be served.  Please respond at 617-536-5557 if you intend to attend.

You are cordially invited to the 41st Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Public Garden Wednesday, May 4, beginning at 5 pm at First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough Street.  Come have a glass of Madeira to salute Henry Lee’s becoming President Emeritus, and hear about “The Year in Review.”  Rsvp by April 27 to 617-723-8144, or email ellenfopg@gis.net.  If you are not already a member, call the number and inquire about the benefits and rewards of becoming a member of this pivotal and important organization.

The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts’ 2011 Annual Meeting will take placed Thursday, June 2, beginning with registration at 8:30 am, at the Crowne Plaza, 1360 Worcester Road (Route 9), Natick, Massachusetts.  You may choose from two morning workshops, the first being “Historic Landscaping” with John Forti of Strawbery Banke, and the second “Coffee with a Landscape Gardener”, where several Landscape Design Council members will share information and answer landscaping questions.  At 10 am there will be the call to order and business meeting, followed at 10:45 by Julie Moir Messervy, landscape designer, author and lecturer, speaking on “Creating the Landscape of Home.”  The Awards Luncheon at 1 pm will be preceded by Boutique Shopping.  At 2 pm, enjoy the introduction of the Natalie Wolf Design Forum.  To register, please send a check made payable to  GCFM,Inc. to Linda Yuele, 38 Nevins Road, Methuen, MA 01844.  Include your name, address, telephone, email, and Club affiliation.  Costs are $5 for either morning workshop, $15 for the morning session of speaker and awards, and an additional $35 for lunch. Please indicate chicken or fish.  For more information you may email Linda at denlinyuele@comcast.net.

The Boston Committee of The Garden Club of America invites members of its constituent fourteen clubs to its Spring Meeting and Luncheon on Thursday, April 14, beginning with registration at 10:30 am at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street in Brookline.  The featured speaker will be Sheila Brady, a partner at the renowned landscape architecture firm Oehme, van Sweden and Associates, pioneers of the New American style.  Ms. Brady will talk about the new book The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design by James van Sweden and Tom Christopher.  Whether it’s a ten-foot-square city terrace or a ten-acre expanse, the same principles of design apply.  Ms. Brady will discuss the connection between the path in a garden and the horizon of an iconic painting, the syncopation of jazz and the free form of nature, the intrigue of a good novel, and the mystery of a thoughtfully sculpted landscape.  Copies of the book will be available at the meeting by pre-order, at a cost of $35, with proceeds benefiting The Blossom Fund.  The cost of the lecture and luncheon is $50, lecture only $25.  Please make your check payable to The Boston Committee of the GCA and mail to Diane Cullen, 52 Willow Street, Dover, MA 02030 before April 8, 2011, and note on the memo portion of your check your Garden Club affiliation.  All reservations will be held at the door.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive written invitations and a car pool notice in the mail.

The Arnold Arboretum presents an exciting lecture series in 2011: the new Director’s Lecture Series at the Hunnewell Lecture Hall, 125 The Arborway in Boston. The lectures are free but advance registration is required. This particular lecture is for Arnold Arboretum Members Only – you may join online at www.arboretum.harvard.edu/membership, or call 617-384-5767.

On Monday, March 28, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III will speak on Our Constitution’s Intelligent Design. In 2005 Judge John Jones presided over the landmark case of Kitzmiller v. Dover, and thereafter rendered an opinion holding that it is unconstitutional to teach the concept of intelligent design as an alternative to the theory of evolution. In the aftermath of that ruling, Judge Jones, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, was subjected to intense criticism. Judge Jones will highlight some of the lessons he learned from these experiences, including the development of his passion for judicial independence, and a belief in the need for better civics education, particularly related to our three branches of government

Recommended reading related to this talk:

· Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (available online), Monkey Girl by Edward Humes,

· 40 Days and 40 Nights by Matthew Chapman,

· The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything by Gordy Slack

· The Devil in Dover by Lauri Lebo.

Contact Pamela Thompson, 617.384.5277. http://calendar.arboretum.harvard.edu/index.php

Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts Flower Show School Course II will be held Tuesday, April 26 through Thursday, April 28 at the Holiday Inn in Taunton, Massachusetts. Instructors include Mary Huntoon (Design), Dottie Howatt (Horticulture, Daffodils and Broadleaf Evergreens), and Sandi Joyce (Procedure). It is not necessary to have taken Course I, but all members interested in being a Flower Show Judge must eventually take all four courses and get passing grades on all exams on Flower Show Procedure, Horticulture, and Design. Contact local Flower School Show Chairman Hila Lyman for a brochure and more information at 508-548-0841, or email her at hilajeanne@comcast.net.  This class is open to members of any Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts member who has a current subscription to the National Gardener magazine.  Please contact Lillian Cohen for information or applications at 781-721-2888, or email lilandbud@verizon.net.

The Annual Meeting and Fall Luncheon of The Boston Committee of the GCA will take place Thursday, November 18 at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street, Brookline. Registration will begin at 10:30 am, with the meeting and lecture beginning at 11:00 am, followed by luncheon in the dining room.

This year’s guest speaker is Dominique Browning. For over a decade, Dominique Browning brought gardening expertise to readers around the country as editor-in-chief of House & Garden magazine. But one Monday morning in 2007, the magazine folded and she was told to pack up her office. She also packed up the house where she had raised two children and had lovingly tended her own garden. After losing the job that defined her and the garden that inspired her, Browning started to cultivate a new garden, beginning a journey of self-discovery and reinvention. Join Browning, author of Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas, and Found Happiness, as she shares how the spirit of a new garden helped her to love the unexpected, unanticipated life.  The book will be available for purchase for $23 by pre-order only, with proceeds benefiting The Blossom Fund.  Lecture and Luncheon: $45, Lecture only: $20.  To register, make checks payable to The Boston Committee of the GCA and mail to Mrs. William U. Shipley, 40 Dunster Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 no later than November 12.  Reservations will be held at the door.  Please indicate the name of your Garden Club on your check.

Get ready for another exciting and informative weekend, this year in Hull, Massachusetts.  Welcome back some instructors you may have enjoyed before, and meet new ones.  Learn about weather and discuss global warming with a local meteorologist.  Trade in your toxic household products for healthy, non-toxic alternatives.  Explore pollution and develop a value system which respects the interdependence of all nature.  Explore the rain forest and discover new ways to protect endangered plants and wildlife.  Last, but not least, visit Hull’s wind turbines and learn about their development, construction, and how Hull benefits from clean, free energy.  This National Garden Clubs, Inc. program November 6 – 7 is entitled The Living Earth – Air and Related Issues.  The event will be held at the Nantasket Beach Hotel and Conference Center, 45 Hull Shore Drive in Hull, and the course fee is $110. Marc Fournier, Debbie Cook, Marie Stella, Rob Gilman, and Patrick Cannon will speak.  Required text: Living in the Environment by G. Tyler Miller, Jr., 7th Edition or later – Reference only.  For complete information, call Judy Dorner at 781-367-0626, or email her at Kayakflower@verizon.net.

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.

You are cordially invited to attend The Esplanade Association’s Ninth Annual Meeting Tuesday, May 25 at The Hampshire House, 84 Beacon Street in Boston.  The theme of this year’s meeting is “Celebrating the Esplanade’s 100 Years of Nature, Culture and Recreation,” with Keynote Presentation by Tupper Thomas, Administrator of Prospect Park and President of the Prospect Park Alliance, Brooklyn, New York. For those of you who missed Ms. Thomas’s speech at the Boston Committee’s Spring meeting in April, here is another chance to hear a truly inspirational, forward thinking, and down to earth practical leader in her field talk about the challenges faced by parks throughout urban areas.  The General Meeting begins at 5:30, and a Member Reception follows at 6:30.  RSVP to Justin Burke by May 20 at 617-227-0365, or email jburke@esplanadeassociation.org.

The business to be conducted at the meeting includes consideration and voting on amendments to the bylaws of the Association to change the position and title of Board President to Board Chair.

The Friends of the Public Garden cordially invites you to its 40th Anniversary Annual Meeting on Monday, May 3, beginning at 5:00 pm at First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough Street.  The featured speaker will be The Honorable Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of Boston.  Celebrate with The Friends as His Honor declares May 3 Friends of the Public Garden Day in Boston.  RSVP by April 28 to 617-267-7366, or email friends@harronandassociates.com.  Painting below by T.A. Charron, from Copley Society’s Fresh Paint 2006.

Please join President Linda Jean Smith at the 83nd Annual Meeting, “The Green Fields of Summer,” Wednesday, May 26 at The Holiday Inn, 31 Hampshire Street in Mansfield, Massachusetts.  Registration begins at 8:30 am, followed by your choice of one of three workshops:  “Awards, Flower Shows & More”, “The Meeting Will Come to Order, Please” and a Victorian Tussie Mussie Workshop.  Following the 10:00 am Call to Order, there will be the presentation of awards, a Judges Council Flower Show Viewing, a Social Hour and Boutique Shopping, the Awards Luncheon, and a Floral Design Program at 2:15 pm with Gloria Freitas-Steidinger, Master Flower Show Judge and White House and International Designer (See one of her designs pictured below).  The meeting will adjourn at 3:15 pm.  For full registration forms and material, check the most recent Mayflower, or log on to www.gcfm.org.

On Wednesday, April 14, The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America will host the Spring Lecture Luncheon at The Country Club, 191 Clyde Street, Brookline, with guest speaker Tupper Thomas, Administrator of Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, who will speak on “Continuing the Olmsted Legacy.”  Also, the 2010 Boston Bowl will be awarded this year to two outstanding individuals, Betsy Shure Gross and Corliss Knapp Engle.  Registration begins at 10:30 am, with an 11:00 am lecture, followed by lunch.

Appointed in 1980 as the first administrator of Prospect Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Ms. Thomas is responsible to the Commissioner for planning and overseeing the $100 million dollar capital restoration of Prospect Park.

The meeting is open to members of the fourteen member and affiliate member clubs of The Boston Committee: Beacon Hill Garden Club, Garden Club of Buzzards Bay, Cambridge Plant & Garden Club, Chestnut Hill Garden Club, Cohasset Garden Club, Fox Hill Garden Club, Milton Garden Club, Noanett Garden Club, North Shore Garden Club, Piscataqua Garden Club, Garden Club of the Back Bay, Garden Club of Brookline, Junior League of Boston Garden Club, and the Manchester Garden Club, and their guests. The fee to attend is $45 for the lecture and lunch, $20 for the lecture only.  Please make checks payable to “The Boston Committee of the GCA” and mail to Mrs. William U. Shipley, 40 Dunster Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 before April 8.  Please note the name of your Club on your check.  If you have questions, you may email jwshipley@aol.com.

The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts presents its 9th Annual Civic Development Workshop on Wednesday, March 31, from 9 am – 12:30 pm at The Espousal Center, 554 Lexington Street, Waltham, Massachusetts.  Adriana O’Sullivan will speak on Tough Plants for Tough Places: Beautifying Your Community.  Ms. O’Sullivan is a graduate of The Landscape Institute at Harvard University, and former Chairperson of the Gardening Study School, Gardening Consultants Council, and the Landscape Design Council of Massachusetts.  She is the current Director of the South Shore District of GCFMA.  A group design exercise will follow the presentation.  Please bring colored pencils or markets.  Refreshments will be served.  Space is limited, so register early.  Send your check for $11, payable to GCFMA Inc., to Joan Butler, Chairman, Civic Development GCFMA, 76 Bayberry Lane, Holliston, MA 01746.  Include your telephone number, email address, and Garden Club affiliation along with your name and address.

The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts presents a Horticulture Morning on Monday, March 29, beginning at 10 a.m. at The Espousal Center, 554 Lexington Street, North Waltham, Massachusetts (off Route I-95/128, Exit 27A Totten Pond Road).  Rita Wollmering, organic gardener and owner of The Herb Farmacy, will speak on Growing Organic Vegetables and Herbs: Great Growing Ideas from a Professional.  A donation of $5, payable at the door, is suggested.  To call for information on cancellations due to snow or storm, call 781-391-0261.  You may also contact Betsy Williams (betsy@betsywilliams.com) or Rita DeLollis (rdelollis@aol.com) for more information on Horticulture Mornings.