Letter from the President

Member Flower Show Tickets 

are available NOW!

Boston Flower & Garden Show 

March 12-16, 2014

PHOTOGRAPHY AT THE FLOWER SHOW!

Reported by Beth Hume, Chair 

Popular Vote Winner - 2013 Photograph by Paulette LeVasseur of Bay City, Michigan

The Photography Committee is excited about the wonderful entries that have been received for the 2014 judged photography show. More than 200 digital images were received by the January deadline. A panel of photography judges then selected the 36 photos (six in each of six classes) which will be displayed and judged at the Flower Show.

As well the first, second and third place winners in each class and the Mass Hort and GCA award winners, there will be, once again, a Popular Choice winner. Ballots will be available in the Photography Division area and visitors will have the chance to vote for their favorite photograph from all the entries. The hundreds of ballots will be tallied at the end of the show and the winner will be notified by e-mail. The Popular Choice winning photo will be on the Mass Hort website after the show, so that everyone can enjoy it. An interesting fact is that the Popular Choice winner has never been one of the winning photos chosen by the judges.

Do come to the Flower Show and vote for your favorite photograph!

This book concentrates on an interesting character, rather than on horticultural techniques. The first half tells the story of the author's involvement in and breaking away from a utopian commune. Jeanne Nolan's youthful embrace of organic gardening came as a result of reading the kind of classical literature in which nature is treasured and society is seen as in need of transformation. She would start by eschewing the consumerism of mainstream society.

As a small child in the 1970's, she had a clue that there was an alternative universe outside the Chicago suburbs, where the endless lawns were chemically maintained. One day, she wandered into a vegetable garden, inhaled fresh scents, and tasted juicy cucumbers. The difference from her usual fare was startling, and, for years, she longed to relive the experience.

    
After high school, she steeled herself against the tears of her family, and set off for California, following an advertisement for Zendik Farm. Upon arrival, she felt she wanted never to leave. After 17 years, during which she moved with the Farm to Texas and to North Carolina, in which she believed that her life meant growing food that enriched the earth, living among people who truly cared about her, and giving birth to a baby, she had a shock of recognition about the deep-seated authoritarianism of the community. It came when she was pressured to not bond too closely with her baby because such a relationship would run counter to the spirit of community.   She had no choice but to flee with her two year old daughter back to her family in Winnetka, Illinois. During the first week at home, her mother suggested that she put a vegetable garden in their back yard, and again, her life turned.

The second half of the book is more like a standard gardening book in which Ms. Nolan struggled to adapt her knowledge of planting in mild climates to the harsh Illinois conditions. Her successes came almost right away. She reconnected with her family and formed new relationships, mostly among people who were dedicated to the local food movement. She married Verd, a man who adopted the name for himself, because he liked nothing more than a verdant landscape.

Unlike many gardening books, this is not as much about gardening as a healer, but about the gardener as a healer of her surroundings. Ms. Nolan has many admirers, largely made up of people whom she has taught to create beautiful gardens, none more important than the children she has drawn to Lincoln Park in Chicago. The pictures are all black and white, but they are dominated by the happy faces of people enjoying gardens. Although technical advice is not the main purpose of the book, it is abundantly offered.

Both parts of the book come together to present a strong character, and the reader can hope that more writing will flow from her carefully examined life.

Love is in the air at the Boston Flower & Garden Show, where its theme, Romance in the Garden, will provide the backdrop to this year's show, from March 12^th to 16^th.

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society's exhibit, Eden on the Charles, adds to the romance with two love stories that are close to its heart. The first is that of Dr. William and Mrs. Alice Cheney Baltzell, who established a happy home at Elm Bank. Alice was the daughter of Benjamin P. Cheney, who founded the estate in 1875. It was Alice and her husband who transformed the property into the beautiful landscape we enjoy today.

The second story belongs to someone with an equally special connection to the property: Ray Frost, the son of the Baltzell's estate superintendent, Henry Frost. When the Frosts moved to Elm Bank in 1935 from Beverly, MA. Ray and his childhood sweetheart, Betty, decided to continue their courtship long distance. During Betty's frequent visits to the property, the two would embark on canoeing excursions along the Charles. This early romance at Elm Bank blossomed into a marriage that lasted seventy years.

Katherine Macdonald, President of Massachusetts Horticultural Society, was contacted in 2011 by Ray Frost of Beverly. Kathy commented: "Ray called to tell me about his connection to Elm Bank and that he lived here a long time ago with his family. He would often help his father with his work at Elm Bank and in competitions at the New England Spring Flower Show, where Henry would exhibit his skill as a horticulturist. Henry was working for Alice Baltzell in 1938 during the horrendous hurricane that battered New England."

Ray had slides showing the damage to the property and he proposed that he visit Mass Hort to give a presentation to the staff. He was ninety-two at the time and drove down from Beverly to Wellesley to share his treasures. During the presentation, Ray said: "The damage to Elm Bank in 1938 broke Alice Baltzell's heart."

What stood out most about Ray's presentation were the stories about his life as a young man at Elm Bank and his courtship with Betty - from one misadventure getting his car stuck in the mud when trying to drive Betty back home to Beverly, to another watching their canoe float away down the Charles as they sat enjoying a picnic. The staff was moved by his love story; he called Elm Bank, "Eden on Earth". Ray's lifelong sweetheart, Betty, passed away soon after Ray's visit in 2011, and Ray died in November of 2012.

Inspired by Ray and Betty, The Massachusetts Horticultural Society's exhibit concept is "Eden on the Charles", an intimate picnic area on the banks of the Charles River. The exhibit uses plants to evoke both romance and intimacy. Through variations of texture and gradation of hue - white to pink to red - the exhibit creates a mood of romance around the isolated spot on the banks of the river. The exterior pathway mimics the Charles River, and draws the eye through the exhibit to emphasize shapes, unify design elements, and highlight various horticultural features.

Several skilled designers have contributed to Mass Hort's exhibit: Julia Esteves is a Massachusetts Certified Landscape Professional (MCLP) and owner of Juliagarden Landscape Design, a landscape design, build and maintain business in Osterville, MA; Piera Sassaroli, owner of Piera's Landscape Design of Boston, is a designer based out of both Boston and Milan, Italy; Jeff Dube will be returning to The University of Michigan in the fall to complete his Masters of Landscape Architecture; Suzanne Higham is owner of Frog Hollow, a landscape design, installation and maintenance company based in Georgetown, MA; and Bill Cuddy is owner of WJC Services, a full service design, building, and maintenance landscape company in Rowley, MA.

Donations of materials and assistance were provided by Boston Architectural College, the Landscape Institute, Ball Seed, Northeast Nurseries, Inc., Weston Nurseries, Bartlett Tree Experts, Northwoods Canoe Company, Szczechowicz Landscape Services, and Stonewood Products, Inc.

The Boston Flower & Garden Show is at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, March 12-16, 2014.

Founded in 1829, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society is dedicated to encouraging the science and practice of horticulture and to developing the public's enjoyment, appreciation, and understanding of plants and the environment. Massachusetts Horticultural Society is located at 900 Washington Street, Wellesley on 36-acres in the historic Elm Bank Reservation, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information please visit: www.masshort.org. Please visit us at the show!

A colorful harvest from fall 2013

This is looking like the winter that just won't quit.   It may be a snowy, gloomy February, but we are starting to see a rainbow at the Garden To Table Vegetable garden.

In last month's article we gave you some information on how we select bed themes for the year.   Those of you who have visited the garden may remember a large, decoratively shaped bed in the middle of the Home Chef's area.    Its permanent name is HC12, but it gets a new incarnation every year. This bed was the Pizza Garden with the boxwood basil hedge in 2012, and the Salad Bowl with the gorgeous tall edible amaranth in 2013.

For 2014, HC12 is going to become Grow The Rainbow - showcasing the variety of brightly colored, beautiful vegetables we can grow at home.   It also ties in nicely to many of the larger aspects of the Garden to Table program. Some of you may have heard nutritionists encourage us to "Eat The Rainbow", as brightly colored fruits and vegetables are full of phytonutrients that you may know as antioxidants, lycopene,anthocyanin, or more common names like vitamin A, C, or K.

As an added benefit, we think it's going to look lovely!   Bright Lights, Rhubarb, and Oriole Orange Swiss Chard, Rainbow Carrots, Indigo Rose Tomato, Cheddar Orange Cauliflower, Red Kitten spinach, pink and purple eggplants, cooking greens, yellow beets, white cucumbers, Goldie husk cherries...dreaming about this bed is an antidote to the forecasts of another storm on the way.   (You can see all these varieties, and more, at http://www.johnnyseeds.com/).

Once we see what the long range weather forecasts look like in March, we can plan our greenhouse seed starting - and then we will really know that spring is on the way in the vegetable garden.