By Carol Stocker
If you love irises, visit the Iris Society of Massachusetts' spring iris show on Monday, May 28, 2012 (Memorial Day) at the Harvey Wheeler Community Center, 1276 Main St., Concord, MA (see it on Google Maps at this link: http://g.co/maps/bjr2v)

The theme of this year's show is "Hats Off to Irises" with hats decorating the show tables and hat-themed arrangements. The show will be open to the public (for free) from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. There will be arrangements, an exhibit of companion plants, an information table, a popularity poll for visitors to vote for their favorite iris flowers, and potted iris plants and bare-root rhizomes for sale. You might find something unusual.

The competition will include the Horticultural Division (individual stalks of named irises, judged by accredited AIS judges), the Youth Horticulture Division (for exhibitors under 19), the Seedling Division (unintroduced irises of any type), an Educational Exhibit, the Design Division (arrangements featuring irises on hat-related themes in several classes, to be judged by accredited Garden Club Federation judges) or the Companion Plants Division (cut flowers, cut foliage or entire plants, to be judged by popular vote of the visitors). To download the full show schedule (PDF), visit http://www.massirises.org/pdfs/ISMShowSchedule2012.pdf

Entries will be accepted between 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM. Judging is from 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM, at which point the show opens to the public.

By Carol Stocker
This is my favorite annual weekend at the Museum of Fine Arts, whose galleries are transformed through Monday by almost 70 extraordinary arrangements inspired by specific works of art in the museum collection. Volunteer arrangers in many local garden clubs have been assigned wildly differing works of art works to interpret, ranging from mid-century jewelry to early American furniture and ancient Egyptian tombs. The fun of Art in Bloom is to judge for yourself how cleverly or deftly each flower arrangement echoes the art it is paired with. The floral festival is free with regular Museum admission - which itself is free on Monday night from 5-9 p.m. at the end of the show.

One of the best arrangements ever devised for Art in Bloom must be the Boston Junior League Garden Club's large two dimensional installation by Jane Carr and Lucinda Larson, which interprets an entire special exhibit room of fashion illustrations. Their mammoth piece is comprised of five assorted flower arrangements linked together by the classic fashion motif of sinuous curving palm fronds. The witty result is a floral art special exhibit in its own right that mirrors the spacial relationships of the larger display around it.

There is a lot of mirroring. For instance the very effective arrangement that is Dana Roberts' and Jean Ridge's interpretation of a nautical American painting, for the Hull Garden Club, seems to float in its boat-like ceramic vessel. Having the right container can make (or break) a floral arrangement, of course. Stephanie Hartwell and Joan Gallery of the Amateur Gardeners of Milton reflect a cache of Joan Crawford's aquamarine and diamond jewelry with camera ready flowers in a glittering mirror vase gaudy as the trophy ball on TV's "Dancing With The Stars."

The second floor of the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art is a jewel box itself, and is the must-see gallery of this 36th edition of Art in Bloom. Begin with Jessica Pohl and Barbie Cobb's interpretation of "Sinuous," a writhing white sculpture which they deftly recreate with fiddle heads and calla lilies for the Weston Garden Club. The free-wheeling fun continues throughout this wing as flower arranging goes modern.
Maureen Marshall and Catherine Healy do a vibrant interpretation of red toile wallpaper for the Holliston Garden Club.

The Art of Europe Wing is another fun spot. The warm golden heart of Ann Millington's and Cat Malone's outwardly pale roses captures the changing light in the architectural landscape they have interpreted for the Milton Garden Club.

Many of the Professional Designers' arrangements are also worthy of accolades, including Sue Kaplan Flower melting red and black installation and Jolie Lapham Design's playful red and green dragon. New Leaf flores also prompts second looks.

Members' Night is Sunday, April 29, 6–9 pm with members-only viewings with tours, shopping, and dining. Tours continue until 8 pm; galleries are open until 9 pm. The New American Cafe's last seating is at 8 pm; Taste opens until 8:30 pm. The Paula Pryke Book Signing is Monday, April 30, 12:30–1:30 pm

By Carol Stocker
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), will open its doors to spring with its 36th annual festival of flowers, Art in Bloom, this weekend. Local garden clubs and professional floral designers will adorn galleries throughout the Museum with displays inspired by works of art in the MFA’s collection.

This year, designers will pay specific attention to the Museum’s newly opened Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art by creating vibrant floral arrangements with modern twists. British floral designer and Rose Bowl Parade head judge Paula Pryke will make an appearance, and a family day full of activities for children will begin the celebration on Saturday, April 28.

The MFA’s galleries are transformed by almost 70 extraordinary arrangements inspired by specific works of art. Art in Bloom is free with Museum admission; no reservations are required to see the floral arrangements and participate in most of the programs listed below. Plan your visit for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Special Events

Family Day
Saturday, April 28, 11 am–3 pm
Art-making activities, storytelling, and more.

Members' Night
Sunday, April 29, 6–9 pm
A members-only viewing with tours, shopping, and dining. Tours until 8 pm; galleries open until 9 pm. The New American Cafe's last seating at 8 pm; Taste open until 8:30 pm.

Paula Pryke Book Signing
Monday, April 30, 12:30–1:30 pm

Open House
Monday, April 30, 5–9 pm
Museum admission is free.

Daily Events

Art in Bloom Tours
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 10 am–3 pm

Art in Bloom at Home
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 11 am–3 pm

Ikebana Floral Demonstration
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 3–3:45 pm

Flower Cart
Saturday–Monday, April 28–30, 1–4 pm
Flowers and plants for purchase

People always ask me, "Is The Flower Show worth going to this year?" And I always say, "Yes!" I love the Boston Flower & Garden Show. It's one of the classiest and best in the nation (and I've been to a lot of flower shows in other places).

This grand old Boston tradition runs through Sunday at the Seaport World Trade Center. It's a great place to find some spring gardens in full bloom after the teasing unseasonably warm March weather we have enjoyed.

The 137-year old non-profit show met its demise in 2009 for financial reasons but was resurrected the following year by the Paragon Group, event marketers and producers, under the guidance of Carolyn Weston, who directed the old show. The operation has been a success. Thank you, Paragon Group.

The many display gardens by landscape professions showing their wares are designed on the theme: "First Impressions: Adding Wow Factor to Outdoors Spaces." Mahoney's has an entrance exhibit illustrating front yard garden panache and orange tuplips flanked by Jameson Landscape and an outstanding garden by Heimlich Nurseries, which has supported the show for generations with it annual large flowering landscapes. Newer participants include Markus Specimen Tree, Crystal Brinson, Ahronian Landscaping & Medway Garden Center, the Garden Design School, Quintessential Gardens, and Liquid Landscape Designs, which features some unusual rock and glass mashups. Peter Sadeck won the Allen C. Haskell award for his spectacular green archway featuring live parrots. The Newport Flower Show exhibit also had great showmanship.

The clever miniature gardens viewed through a peephole like display window are also enchanting. Gloria Freitas Steidinger of the Easton Garden Club won in this catagory for her miniature creation of "Shangrila." As usual, this feature was organized by Debby Hogan and her husband, noted landscape designer and nurseryman Warren Leach, who will be speaking at 11 a.m. Thursday.

There are dozens of other continuous lectures. I am particularly looking forward to Saturday's 1 p.m. lecture by Mike & Angie Chute on gardening with the new low maintenance roses.

Flower arranging also has a strong presence. Professional florists in one invitational have made living hats from flowers and foliage fashioned after those bizarre forward tilting caps called "fascinators" you saw at Kate and WIll's Royal Wedding last year.

The flower show's Ikabana display is completely serene and inspiring. There are also several competitive amateur flower shows, including two by members of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, and a garden photography competition, all run by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, under the title: Blooms! This also includes a children's education section that will include a scavenger hunt and horticultural activities near the Mass. Hort. desk, trustee Betsy Madsen pointed out.

Mass. Hort. provides many volunteers, and showcases hobby gardeners' plants in its amateur section, including a wonderful cotton plant with bolls of ripe cotton grown by Elaine and Sidney Koretsky of Brookline.

The New England Flower Show, which has employed thousands of local volunteers over its many decades, has deep roots in the community. Two charismatic volunteer leaders who died in the last year were honored among the Mass. Hort. exhibits. Chestnut Hill's wonderful Corliss Knapp Engle, who died in November after a lifetime of horticultural contributions, had a garden photography award named after her, which was won by Debbie Ross of Winnetka, Il., for her photograph of lodge pole pine.

There was also a write-up about the many contributions of long-time Weston resident Susan Beth Emery Dumaine, who died in February in Kentucky where she had retired. She was whip smart, energetic and funny. Among her many local horticultural contributions, Dumaine for many years ran (and policed) nomenclature at the flower show so all plants were correctly labeled. It was painstaking work.

Fittingly, Mass. Hort. Executive director Kathy Macdonald was on hand at the show where she praised a new high tech form of plant labels being used here and at the Elm Bank headquarters. "You scan the plant labels (called hortycodes) with your smart phone and and it tells you about the plant and there's even an audio link with the correct pronunciation." I think Susan Dumaine would have loved it.

For more information about the Flower Show visit http://www.bostonflowershow.com.

In the clutch of winter, two Central Massachusetts
cultural institutions collaborate on an exhibition of fresh floral arrangements
and artistic masterworks that conjure the sights and scents of a warmer climate.
Flora in Winter, on view Thursday through Sunday, January 26-29, features fresh
floral arrangements interpreting works of art at the Worcester Art Museum.

"A Floral Feast" at Tower Hill Botanic Garden (11 French Drive, Boylston) features works by garden club members and floral designers from throughout
Central New England who have volunteered to create the arrangements.

Visitors can enjoy gorgeous arrangements in the Worcester Art Museum's galleries and in the Education & Visitors Center at Tower Hill, as well as floral displays sponsored by area florists to adorn public spaces. Guided tours at each location will be offered several times daily.

Special Events
celebrating Flora in Winter will be held at each institution throughout the period.
At Tower Hill Botanic Garden, celebrate "A Floral Feast" as the inspiration for
arrangements displayed in Tower Hill's Education & Visitors Center, including the
Limonaia opened in the fall of 2010, adjacent to the lush subtropical blooms and
greenery in the Orangerie, with the backdrop of the Winter Garden.

On Friday, January 27 at 7:30 pm, Tower Hill enhances the mood and atmosphere of
Flora in Winter with a Candlelight Concert presented by jazz pianist Dr.
Elliot Steger and friends. Tickets are $30 nonmembers and $25 for members of either
Tower Hill or the Worcester Art Museum. Twigs Café will provide complimentary hors
d'oeuvre. Call Tower Hill at 508.869.6111 ext. 135 for reservations.
Opening Hours for Flora in Winter at Tower Hill Botanic Garden:
9am-5pm daily, reopening at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, January 27 for the Candlelight
Concert.

Tower Hill admission is $12 adults, $9 seniors ages 65 and older, $7 for youth ages
6-18. Admission is free for Tower Hill Members, and children under 6.

Public tours will be held at Tower Hill at 1 and 3 p.m. each day. Tours are included
with the price of admission.
For private tours for groups of 10 or more, please call for more information: 508.869.6111
ext. 125.

Finding materials for holiday arrangements in the winter garden is like a scavenger hunt. Though the garden is shutting down for the year, you can still use it as a backyard larder for holiday decorating staples if you add ingenuity and imagination. Still, decorating with debris can involve trial and error (be prepared to vacuum the rugs). So just collect your foliage, berries, ornamental grasses, lichen-covered branches, and pine cones, and then add some inexpensive and long-lasting carnations or mums for color, and you have a centerpiece for almost nothing, with that homemade, home-grown holiday feeling.

For Thanksgiving, supplement your arrangements with attractive fruits and vegetables from the supermarket.The longest-lasting floral elements are potted flowering plants. Buy 4-inch pots of poinsettias, cyclamen, or narcissus. If you buy kalanchoe when it is just starting to show color, it will bloom the longest of anything. These can be clustered on a tray and heaped with natural materials to hide the pots. But Stephens takes the plants out of their pots (after watering) and tucks the root balls into little bags he makes from heavy-duty, black trash bags, then seals them with a wire garbage bag twist. This gives him more design versatility.

The New England Wild Flower Society in Framingham cautions against harvesting wild plants. Slow-growing princess pine clubmoss (Lycopodium obscurum), often used in garlands, is now listed as threatened. NEWFS also warns that using invasive species might spread them. One of the worst is Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), often collected by arrangers for its cheerful orange and yellow berries, each of which can start a new colony of tree-strangling vines. Purple barberry (Berberis thungergii) and the small, plentiful rosehips of wild Rosa multiflora are others to avoid.

When decorating for the long haul, avoid using produce outdoors or it will quickly rot. Pumpkins, winter squash, and corncobs are exceptions. Though cornstalks are a theme for both Thanksgiving and Kwanzaa (where one ear of corn is displayed for each child in the house), don't hang these on your front door unless you want to turn it into a bird feeder.

2. Decorating for Thanksgiving

For Halloween, it's the jack-o'-lantern. For Christmas, it's the Christmas tree. For Thanksgiving, it's the dining room table that's the focus of holiday spirit.

So how can you decorate a table that will be covered with serving dishes? Is there really going to be any room for even a centerpiece by the time you've laid out the mashed potatoes, Auntie Em's stuffing, and 10 other hot dishes?

Americans' great harvest festival is certainly a paean to plenty. After all, it began in Plymouth in 1621 as a feast to celebrate the survival of the Pilgrims (well, half of them) after a terrible first year of starvation and disease. Today, most of us are more familiar with unwanted weight gain than true hunger. Still, heaping the dining table with comfort foods until its legs buckle remains a cherished Thanksgiving tradition.

In most cases, ornamental arrangements that plan to stay for dinner had better be petite and discreet, or they'll get bumped off the table by the turkey and banished to the sideboard.

One alternative is to make an edible centerpiece. Arrange layers of delectibles on a multi-armed heirloom silver etagere from Shreve Crump & Low, or in a humble wooden bowl. Either way, food is the theme. Centerpieces heaped with fruits and nuts can be deconstructed slowly by reunited family members (or unstoppable conversationalists) who want to linger and commune after the rest of the table has been cleared.

CAROL STOCKER

Floral designer Lisa Ahern of Cedar Grove Gardens in Dorchester will demonstrate holiday decorating with flowers in the farmhouse at the Wakefield Estate in Milton Wednesday, 7-8:30 p.m. Suggested donation $20. Call the Wakefield Estate for reservations.

June 15-19: WAFA The 10th World Flower Show of the World Association of Flower Arrangers is at the Seaport World Trade Center, Boston. This show is a must see for Boston fans of art and design as well as flower arranging. Top floral designers from 30 countries have interpreted dance, weather, fireworks, and birds on a grand scale with 600 giant competing arrangements. Manikins feature clothing made from flowers and leaves. Tickets at the door are $30.This is the first time this giant show has been held in the U.S The next one will be held three years from now in Dublin. For more information, see my article from last Saturday on the HOUSE AND HOME PAGE or visit www.wafausa.org.

June 17-19 NEWPORT SECRET GARDEN TOURS HELP PRESERVE ARTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS A walking tour of the fifteen private gardens of Newport’s colonial Point neighborhood usually closed to the public will be held to benefit local students in the form of grants for arts and music education. Attendees will get a rare glimpse inside the walls and fences of these unique Newport properties on a planned self-guided walking tour.Organized by Myra Duvally, the Secret Garden Tours have raised more than $1.25 million since 1984 for local students who would have otherwise been unable to pursue their artistic or musical dreams. The tours are self-guided to accommodate attendees’ schedules and create a unique experience for each attendee. The event will be June 17th, 18th and 19th, 2011 10AM to 5PM rain or shine.Tickets purchased in advance for the event can be used at anytime throughout the weekend and are available for $20.00 when ordered in advance or $25.00 at the event. The tours start at 10am each day at 33 Washington Street, Newport. For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, visit http://www.secretgardentours.org or call 401-847-0514

June 18: Boston's SOUTH END Garden Tour Features en plein eire artists who will sell pieces at the day's end reception. The self-guide tour includes 20 private and community gardens Saturday, 10-4 p.m. Tour goers start at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St. Tickets are $25 the day of the event. Proceeds benefit the South Ent/Lower Roxbury Open Space and Land Trust, which protects 16 community and pocket parks. Visit southendgardentour.org or call 617-347-0999 for more details.

June 25: QUINCY"S 6th annual Wildflower Festival on Nut Island in Houghs Neck, Quincy, includes a light breakfast, slideshow and guided wildflower garden walking tour of eight neighborhood gardens. For tickets, call Joanne Bythrow, 617-479-9039, of the Houghs Neck Garden Club

June 25 WEST ROXBURY Evening Garden Club presents "We're Flowering in West Roxbury 2011" It will be held on Sat. June 25 from 10am-3pm. The tour is self-guided and is held rain or shine. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 the day of. They may be purchased by calling 617-469-3368 or 617=327-4019 or at Roche Bros. on Centre St. West Roxbury

June 26: TOWER HILL'S 17th Annual City Spaces/Country Places Garden Tour
10 AM - 4 PM
Advance Sales: Tower Hill Members $20, Non-members $25
Patron $75, Sponsor $125
Day of Tour: Tower Hill Members $25, Nonmembers $30
Visit 7 private gardens of distinction on this exclusive self-guided tour. This year's tour features elegant gardens in Worcester and nearby Holden. Ticket also includes admission to Tower Hill, which is hosting a Rose Show on the day of the tour. Become a sponsor or patron to help show your support. All ticket proceeds from the 2011 City Spaces/Country Places Garden tour will support education programs at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. Order tickets online at www.towerhillbg.org, or call 508-869-6111. Tickets on the day of the tour may be purchased at Tower Hill, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Mass.

June 30: HYANNIS PORT - Heritage Museums & Gardens presents Enchanted Gardens Tour in Hyannis Port...—Heritage Museums & Gardens will host the seventh annual Enchanted Gardens Tour on Thursday, June 30 from 9:30am to 3:30pm. This walking tour provides a rare opportunity to explore ten exquisite private cottage gardens, which are normally not open to the public, in historic Hyannis Port on Cape Cod. The tour includes an optional luncheon at the Hyannis Port Club. Participants will have an opportunity to shop at A Garden Boutique, featuring floral jewelry and exclusive gifts for the garden and home inspired by the horticultural collections of Heritage Museums & Gardens, located at the club during the luncheon.The Enchanted Garden Tour will start at the Melody Tent parking lot on Scudder Avenue, off Main Street across from the Conference Center Hotel, in Hyannis. Shuttle buses to the gardens will run at 10-minute intervals from 9:30am to 2:00pm. Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. Proceeds from the Enchanted Garden Tour benefit Heritage Museums & Gardens education programs. Tickets are $50/member, $55/non-member for the tour only and $75/member, $80/non-member for the tour and lunch. To register, contact Arlene Hoxie at ahoxie@heritagemuseums.org or 508.888.3300 ext. 111. On the day of the event, tour registration will be at the Melody Tent parking lot.

The Newport Flower Show will celebrate its 16th year as America’s premier summer flower show on the historic grounds of Rosecliff in Newport, Rhode Island from Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26.

The Show kicks off the Newport social season with the much-anticipated Opening Night Cocktail Party on Friday, June 24 at 6:00 p.m., featuring a cocktail buffet, live music and other exciting surprises, and continues through the weekend with themed floral designs, horticultural exhibits, garden displays, unique shopping and free lectures.

The show will also feature special appearances and lectures by legendary cake artist Sylvia Weinstock and international floral consultant Kevin Ylvisaker.

The Horticulture Division at the 2011 Newport Flower Show will also be offering the general public the chance to bring their favorite plant or prettiest flower to be judged and displayed during the weekend’s festivities. To enter, gardeners are invited to bring their best-cut specimens and finely-planted perennials and annuals to Rosecliff on Thursday, June 23. Experienced horticulturists will be on hand to qualify entries and provide expert advice and gardening tips. For entry guidelines and submission timeframe, please visit www.NewportFlowerShow.org or call 401.847.1000.

All proceeds from the Newport Flower Show benefit the ongoing landscape restoration efforts of The Preservation Society of Newport County, a private non-profit organization accredited by the American Association of Museums and dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area's historic architecture, landscapes and decorative arts.

Hours:

Friday, June 24, 2011 - 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 25, 2011 - 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 26, 2011 - 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Opening Night Party:

Friday, June 24, 2011

6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

For ticket prices and special packages to the 2011 Newport Flower Show, please visit www.NewportFlowerShow.com.

Scroll back to previous postings for more information about June horticultural events.

Each spring, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), celebrates the season with Art in Bloom, a festival of flowers featuring 50 New England garden clubs, along with professional designers, who will create vibrant floral displays throughout the galleries. Running from April 30th through May 2nd, this year's event-now marking its 35th anniversary-will feature arrangements that will draw inspiration from the Museum's masterpieces throughout the Museum, focusing on works the new Art of the Americas Wing, which opened in November 2010. Among the 50 works of art that will be interpreted in flowers are some of America's greatest masters, from Cassatt and Sargent to Homer, Heade, and Copley.

In keeping with the Americas theme, the three-day event will include lectures and demonstrations by Nancy Clarke, the chief floral designer at the White House during six presidencies. Other lively programs include a Members' Night on Sunday, May 1; a free evening Open House on Monday, May 2; and hands-on demonstrations, lectures, master classes, and guided tours. Art in Bloom is presented by the MFA Associates, a volunteer group that contributes more than 40,000 hours each year to the Museum by leading daily gallery tours, creating regional membership outreach programs, and arranging flowers in the MFA's public spaces.

Dale Chihuly who masters in large scale glass art will have an enormous exhibition of his work in the Gund Gallery. He is so prolific that his colorful pieces are spilling out into the Museum's public areas. Two large-scale works, a green icicle tower and a neon wall piece will be on display in the Shapiro Family Courtyard in addition to colorful "Cat Tails" on view outside the Courtyard, visible through the soaring glass walls.

ART IN BLOOM ACTIVITIES

FAMILY DAY-Saturday, April 30, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Nature-oriented activities for families, art-making projects that include chalk sidewalk drawing with Sidewalk Sam, and additional special tours and programs are featured throughout the galleries. Children 17 and under are admitted free.

MEMBERS' NIGHT-Sunday, May 1, 6-8 p.m.
Museum hours are extended for a special viewing of Art in Bloom for MFA members. No tickets are required. To become a member, call 617.369.3395 or email membership@mfa.org.

LECTURE AND MASTER CLASS-Monday, May 2
Tickets are $35 for the demonstration/lecture, $200 for the master class (reservations required for master class; please call 617.369.3169).
Nancy Clarke served as the chief floral designer in the White House through six presidencies and three decades, arranging beautiful creations according to the tastes of the specific presidents and first ladies, from the Carters to the Obamas, before recently stepping down. During the lecture she will provide brief demonstrations. The Master class will include more in-depth demonstrations and hands-on learning.

FREE EVENING OPEN HOUSE-Monday, May 2, 5-9 p.m.
The Museum's evening Open House is from 5 to 9 p.m. on Monday, May 2, when admission is free to the public. Visitors are invited to enjoy a special evening viewing of the beautiful floral arrangements throughout the MFA's galleries. The New American Café and the Bravo restaurant are open for dinner. Performances include:
* Second Wind (an a cappella singing group featuring Peggy Ford)
* Gian Carlo Buscaglia (Latin singer/guitarist)
* Jazzmen (a trio of Jazz musicians)

Art in Bloom at Home--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Alfond Auditorium
Flower arranging workshops are offered for visitors interested in learning how to design their own inspired creations.

Free Spotlight Tours--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
10 a.m. - 3 p.m. (additionally from 5-9 p.m. on Monday during the Open House)
Throughout the galleries
An in-depth look at the floral arrangements and the works of art that inspired them is presented during these ongoing tours.

Flower Cart--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
1 - 4 p.m.
Huntington and Fenway Entrances
Flowers and spring-time products are available for purchase outside the entrances.

An Elegant Tea--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 1
2 and 4 p.m.
Koch Gallery for European Masters
*requires tickets ($25 for adults, $10 for children)
The MFA hosts and elegant Art in Bloom tea in the dramatic Koch Gallery.

HOURS
During Art in Bloom, the MFA is open daily (Saturday through Monday, April 30 - May 2) from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., with the addition of a special free evening Open House on Monday, from 5 to 9 p.m.

TICKETING
Art in Bloom is free with general admission, which includes two visits within a 10-day period:
* Museum members FREE
* Adults $20
* Seniors/Students $18
* Youths 17 and younger FREE
(on school days until 3 p.m., $7.50)

Tickets for Art in Bloom special events are available for purchase by visiting the Museum's website at www.mfa.org, or by visiting or calling the MFA's Remis Auditorium box office at (617.369.3306). For specific questions concerning events, as well as the purchase of master class tickets, please call the Art in Bloom hotline at 617.369.3169.

Wednesday, April 13: 6:30 to 8:30 pm there will be a spring floral decoration demonstration at the historic Wakefield Estate in Milton. Cedar Grove Gardens floral designer Lisa Ahern will show how to create decorations to brighten up a home, doorway or holiday table using spring flowers, bulbs and kitchen garden plants. She will also show how to set up a terrarium and will offer advice about planting and arranging outdoor containers. For more information and to register, please call 617-333-0924. Suggested donation is $15.

By Carol Stocker
Globe Correspondent

So how is The Boston Flower & Garden Show now that it has settled into its second season at the Seaport World Trade Center? It's smaller than its predecessor, which used to cover five acres at the Bayside Expo each March. But it is still big enough that my feet hurt by the time I see everything. Which means it's big enough.

This late winter tonic commands a lot of skill and creativity, especially among the show's more than two dozen major exhibitors. The theme is container gardening. Best in Show goes to Peter R. Sadeck's spooky woodland garden which features a dark cedar swamp and a forest of dead tree trunks serving as "containers" or nurse trees for the next generation of wild woodies. An exquisite life size moss maiden is perched magically atop one of the 12-foot tall ash trunks that suggest a requiem for an old growth forest. Two live owls add to the Gothic atmosphere, along with a giant peregrine-gyrfalcon hybrid. Sadeck's flower show exhibits always make surprising use of live birds, and this might be the best one yet.

Stranger still, while Sedack's wildlife handler Mala Isaac was introducing onlookers to the beautiful barn owl, a center employee came in with a small wild saw-whet owl he had found in a nearby parking lot, where it had perhaps been hit by a car. At first stunned, the owl darted free when it regained its wits. "I guess it can fly after all," said Isaac as it landed on a rafter 40 feet above the exhibit. I hope the hall has a mouse population so the little saw-whet owl can find something to eat at night when they turn the lights out.

The gorgeous garden created by Miskovsky Landscaping of Falmouth and Allen C. Haskell Horticulturalists of New Bedford also has birds, their signature free flying white fantail pigeons who roost in a white dovecote. But the aesthetic highpoint of this exhibit is a lofty tree house by Mike Duffany, with its own window box, staircase and daybed. At ground level shady seating nook is nestled underneath. Talented Paul Miskovsky and David Haskell last teamed up for the 2007 New England Spring Flower Show and its good to have them back for this show.

Nearby, the always entertaining sculptor Jill Nooney of Fine Garden Art in Lee, N.H., has given a transcendent spin to the show's theme of container gardening by using organic containers ranging from emu eggs to lobster shells. A human skull sports a bird's nest and a crown of seaweed.

The 2011 Newport Flower Show has mounted an ambitious exhibit to promoted its own 16-year-old show, which will be held June 24 - 26 on the grounds of the historic Rosecliff mansion in Newport. This display features a large tree hung with candelabras as decorations and a Grand Dame from the Edwardian era dressed in a gown of fresh cut flowers.

Michael C. Jardin Fine Gardens of Lakeville and Earthworks of Leverett both have built wonderful rock formations using native granite and The Magma Design Group of Pawtucket, RI, built a photographic stone moon gate that could be the focal point of any garden. Cape Cod Life, the Mashpee based magazine, landscaped with native plants around a seaside structure to introduce a whiff of summer on the Cape.

The New England Orchid Societies, Mahoney's Garden Centers, Heimlich Nurseries, the Bonsais Study Group, Katsura Gardens of Plymouth and Crystal Brinson of Fairhaven all display impressive plant material while Cass School of Floral Design in Watertown will conduct flower arranging mini-demos every couple of hours. To see some really spectacular formal arrangements, wend your way through the back doorways to Mass Hort's "Blooms!" Floral Design Divisions.

The Miniature Garden Competition, a longtime favorite at the old Flower Shows in Boston, has been resurrected nearby. In 2008 when the New England Spring Flower Show closed its doors for the last time, it was thought that these diminutive Edens were gone forever. But late last year the Massachusetts Horticultural Society asked long time Miniature Gardens exhibitors Debi Hogan and Warren Leach of Seekonk to work with them to bring these popular gardens to the new Boston Flower and Garden Show. (Warren is a co-owner of the very fabulous Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth.)

The Boston Flower Show is owned and produced by Paragon Group, and is managed as a Trade Show. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society partners with Paragon Group to keep horticulture front and center and to also keep some aspects of the traditional New England Spring Flower Show alive, particularly the floral design classes, and potted plants and gardens that have been such part of the old show for more than a century.

The Miniature Gardens have always been a popular part of this Amateur Design Division of the show. Each garden is designed to resemble an actual vista with plants and accessories scaled down to one twelfth size, and is viewed through a small window. The four groups of exhibitors have painted a background for their box, grown the plants, and assembled the final plan at the show. The Holbrow family have made a particularly charming miniature garden based on the spring display of trailing nasturtiums in Isabella Stewart Gardener’s courtyard on the Fenway in Boston. Exhibiting at the Flower Show in Boston is a family tradition that goes back more than a century to Charles E. Holbrow, a Brighton greenhouse grower who won a silver cup from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in the 1890s.

Carolyn Weston has continued doing a fine job as the show's director. Katherine Macdonald, the new executive director of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Wellesley, has also been on hand running "Blooms!" - Mass Hort's show within the show which includes all of Thursday's lectures and programs.

The Boston Flower And Garden Show is open Thursday, March 17, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Friday, March 18, 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 19, 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday, March 20, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Tickets prices are: Adults $20; Seniors (65+) $17; Children 6-17 $10; and Under 6 Free. Massachusetts Horticultural Society members receive free tickets. For more information visit, www.masshort.org/Blooms_and_the_Boston_Flower_&_Garden_Show

The Boston Flower & Garden Show, will return to the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston on Wednesday, March 16 through Sunday, March 20 and focus on the creative possibilities of container gardening. The theme – A Burst of Color: Celebrating the Container Garden— will showcase dozens of ways to add vibrancy, warmth, and drama to any size space – a sunny welcome on a city terrace, a gourmet harvest in a suburban side yard, or a fresh focal point for a mature landscape.

The 2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show will kick off on Tuesday evening, March 15 with a VIP Preview Party, which brings together New England’s best garden designers, hundreds of garden enthusiasts, and Boston glitterati. Proceeds from the annual sneak-peek fundraiser will benefit the Boston Parks and Recreation Department’s Fund for Parks and Recreation in its work to maintain and beautify the City of Boston.

Set to the backdrop of over 25 garden displays by cutting-edge landscape professionals and area nurseries, visitors to the 2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show will also enjoy daily hands-on children’s gardening activities, 200 vendors featuring thousands of plants and hundreds of the newest gardening products, as well as chances to take home exciting giveaways.

Highlights include:

* Gardening & floral arrangement demos: Guests will enjoy 30 gardening demonstrations from leading experts and gardening groups such as the New England Rose Society and the Massachusetts Nursery & Landscape Association; floral arranging demos will be presented by the Massachusetts Professional Florists Association.

Lectures by top garden writers: The Show will feature 28 lectures by garden experts, including authors Charlie Nardozzi, Tovah Martin, Ray Rogers and Ed Smith.

Daily cooking exhibitions from local gurus such as garden chef Carole Murko of Heirloom Meals and the culinary team at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts coordinate colorful competitions amongst the region’s top amateur floral arrangers.

The Marketplace Book Store: Many of the Show’s speakers and lecturers will have their books on sale at the Book Store, where guests will also find hundreds of other titles pertaining to gardening—cookbooks, garden design, containers, pruning.

Preview Party, Tuesday, March 15: A kick-off to New England’s largest horticultural event, proceeds from this exclusive fundraiser and annual sneak-peek to the Show will benefit the Fund for Parks and Recreation, which helps support environmental projects, park beautification projects, and recreation programming in the City of Boston. WCVB’s Randy Price and Bianca de la Garza will Co-Chair this VIP event. Tickets for the Preview Party are available at www.cityofboston.gov/parks/.

The 2011 Boston Flower & Garden Show is produced by Paragon Group, event marketer and producer of major events, including the New England International Auto Show and the National Golf Expo Boston.

Where:

* Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston

When:

* Preview Party: Tuesday, March 15, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
* Wednesday, March 16 through Saturday, March 19, 9 AM – 8 PM
* Sunday, March 20, 9 AM – 6 PM

Admission:

· $20 for adults

· $17 for seniors (65+)

· $10 for children ages 6-17

· Children under age 6 admitted free

· Group rates for 20 or more at $16 per ticket

· Tickets are available at all Roche Brothers stores and at www.TheBostonFlowerShow.com

Each spring, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), celebrates the season with Art in Bloom, a festival of flowers featuring 50 New England garden clubs, along with professional designers, who will create vibrant floral displays throughout the galleries. Running from April 30th through May 2nd, this year's event-now marking its 35th anniversary-will feature arrangements that will draw inspiration from the Museum's masterpieces throughout the Museum, focusing on works the new Art of the Americas Wing, which opened in November 2010. Among the 50 works of art that will be interpreted in flowers are some of America's greatest masters, from Cassatt and Sargent to Homer, Heade, and Copley.

In keeping with the Americas theme, the three-day event will include lectures and demonstrations by Nancy Clarke, the chief floral designer at the White House during six presidencies. Other lively programs include a Members' Night on Sunday, May 1; a free evening Open House on Monday, May 2; and hands-on demonstrations, lectures, master classes, and guided tours. Art in Bloom is presented by the MFA Associates, a volunteer group that contributes more than 40,000 hours each year to the Museum by leading daily gallery tours, creating regional membership outreach programs, and arranging flowers in the MFA's public spaces.

A final American artist will be well represented at the Museum during Art in Bloom. Dale Chihuly who masters in large scale glass art will have an enormous exhibition of his work in the Gund Gallery. He is so prolific that his colorful pieces are spilling out into the Museum's public areas. Two large-scale works, a green icicle tower and a neon wall piece will be on display in the Shapiro Family Courtyard in addition to colorful "Cat Tails" on view outside the Courtyard, visible through the soaring glass walls.

ART IN BLOOM ACTIVITIES

FAMILY DAY-Saturday, April 30, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Nature-oriented activities for families, art-making projects that include chalk sidewalk drawing with Sidewalk Sam, and additional special tours and programs are featured throughout the galleries. Children 17 and under are admitted free.

MEMBERS' NIGHT-Sunday, May 1, 6-8 p.m.
Museum hours are extended for a special viewing of Art in Bloom for MFA members. No tickets are required. To become a member, call 617.369.3395 or email membership@mfa.org.

LECTURE AND MASTER CLASS-Monday, May 2
Tickets are $35 for the demonstration/lecture, $200 for the master class (reservations required for master class; please call 617.369.3169).
Nancy Clarke served as the chief floral designer in the White House through six presidencies and three decades, arranging beautiful creations according to the tastes of the specific presidents and first ladies, from the Carters to the Obamas, before recently stepping down. During the lecture she will provide brief demonstrations. The Master class will include more in-depth demonstrations and hands-on learning.

FREE EVENING OPEN HOUSE-Monday, May 2, 5-9 p.m.
The Museum's evening Open House is from 5 to 9 p.m. on Monday, May 2, when admission is free to the public. Visitors are invited to enjoy a special evening viewing of the beautiful floral arrangements throughout the MFA's galleries. The New American Café and the Bravo restaurant are open for dinner. Performances include:
* Second Wind (an a cappella singing group featuring Peggy Ford)
* Gian Carlo Buscaglia (Latin singer/guitarist)
* Jazzmen (a trio of Jazz musicians)

Art in Bloom at Home--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Alfond Auditorium
Flower arranging workshops are offered for visitors interested in learning how to design their own inspired creations.

Free Spotlight Tours--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
10 a.m. - 3 p.m. (additionally from 5-9 p.m. on Monday during the Open House)
Throughout the galleries
An in-depth look at the floral arrangements and the works of art that inspired them is presented during these ongoing tours.

Flower Cart--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 2
1 - 4 p.m.
Huntington and Fenway Entrances
Flowers and spring-time products are available for purchase outside the entrances.

An Elegant Tea--Saturday through Monday, April 30-May 1
2 and 4 p.m.
Koch Gallery for European Masters
*requires tickets ($25 for adults, $10 for children)
The MFA hosts and elegant Art in Bloom tea in the dramatic Koch Gallery.

HOURS
During Art in Bloom, the MFA is open daily (Saturday through Monday, April 30 - May 2) from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., with the addition of a special free evening Open House on Monday, from 5 to 9 p.m.

TICKETING
Art in Bloom is free with general admission, which includes two visits within a 10-day period:
* Museum members FREE
* Adults $20
* Seniors/Students $18
* Youths 17 and younger FREE
(on school days until 3 p.m., $7.50)

Tickets for Art in Bloom special events are available for purchase by visiting the Museum's website at www.mfa.org, or by visiting or calling the MFA's Remis Auditorium box office at (617.369.3306). For specific questions concerning events, as well as the purchase of master class tickets, please call the Art in Bloom hotline at 617.369.3169.

Stockbridge, MA. . .Classes, lectures, and workshops all geared towards the home gardener are currently open for registration at Berkshire Botanical Garden.

A three-session lecture, The Home Vegetable Garden, provides an opportunity to fine-tune garden plans in an informative and practical program on how to grow food. This introduction to vegetable gardening will include site selection, soil and nutrient management, seed selection, design, crop rotation schemes, seeding and planting, pest management, and specific plant cultivation. Taught by former Extension Vegetable Specialist for the University of Massachusetts John Howell, the lecture meets February 26, March 5, and March 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cost for the series is $108 Members / $135 Nonmembers.

The Wild Side of Gardening, an illustrated lecture/demonstration focusing on growing summer bulbs, is scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Horticulturist Matt Mattus will share his designs, ideas, and inspirations for adding lesser-used summer bulbs to gardens and container plantings. Participants will receive a plant resource list and growing tips to successfully recreate summer bulb gardens at home. Cost: $20 Members / $25 Nonmembers.

Housescaping with Succulents, Orchids, and More is scheduled for Saturday, March 12, 10:00 a.m. to noon. This hands-on demonstration/workshop explores plants from around the world, including agaves, orchids, and other exotics, which can be grown as low maintenance patio plants that double as houseplants during the winter months. Under the direction of garden designer Rob Gennari, students will practice dividing and repotting a variety of specimen plants and take home divisions to incorporate into their collections. Cost: Members $37 / Nonmembers $42.

Growing Under Glass, a lecture/discussion focusing on the practical home greenhouse, will be held Saturday, March 12, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Designed for all levels of growers, topics covered will include assessing and evaluating different greenhouse designs, framing, glazing, ventilation, heating, cooling, and accessory equipment necessary for a successful operation. The program will conclude with a walking tour, led by instructor John Bartock, of the various greenhouses on the grounds of Berkshire Botanical Garden, including an historic Lord & Burnham glass house, a Lexan production greenhouse, a solar pit greenhouse, a poly hoop house, and cold frames. Cost is $20 Members / $25 Nonmembers.

Beginning gardeners and nascent market gardeners can learn how to create a small, highly productive cutting garden Saturday, March 19, 10:00 a.m. – noon at a discussion/workshop, Growing a Cutting Garden. Taught by Anne Hunter, owner of Lastings, a specialty fresh and dried flower farm, the program will include selecting varieties, sowing times and techniques, planting and transplanting, cultivating and preparing for market. Participants will sow seeds and transplant flower seedlings to take home. Fee for the workshop is $25 Members / $30 Nonmembers.

A Plant Press Workshop taught by Berkshire Botanical staff, is scheduled for Saturday, March 26, 10:00 a.m. – noon. This hands-on workshop involves constructing a professional-sized herbarium plant press for preserving flowers, fruits, ferns, and leaves from gardens, fields and forests. The cost is $45 Members / $54 Nonmembers. Following the workshop, participants are invited to join University of Massachusetts herbarium Director Karen Searcy, for a discussion and demonstration, The Art and Science of Pressing Plants. Students will then practice preserving plant material with their newly constructed plant press. Students only interested in the discussion/demonstration by Ms. Searcy can join the program from noon – 1:30 p.m.

The cost is: $22 Members / $27 Nonmembers.

All classes, lectures, and workshops are held at Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Education Center, 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, MA. To register, call the Garden at (413) 298-3926, or visit the web site: www.berkshirebotanical.org Berkshire Botanical Garden offers year-round programs to children and adults wishing to expand their knowledge of gardening and the environment.

As New England’s longest standing and largest flower show, this year’s theme is “Gardening With Heart” and includes a partnership with the American Heart Association (AHA). In addition to 28 romance-themed gardens, guests can take advantage of various tours, lectures, demonstrations and marketplace vendors.

Each garden will highlight a romantic, classic love story such as Casablanca, Gone with the Wind and Sleepless in Seattle. The Rhode Island Hort Society gardens will showcase a “red” motif featuring red flowers and special red dresses designed by students at the Rhode Island School of Design. Corresponding with the overall theme, this year’s signal flower is the bleeding heart (dicentra).

Guest lecturers will include television personalities Gordon Hayward and Donna Ranucci. An American Heart Association component will include lessons on how to lead a heart-healthy lifestyle. The top floor of the RICC will consist of a “de-stressing” center with yoga instructors, massage therapists and educational stations.

Visitors can take advantage of special hotel rates for the weekend with participating hotels including Marriott Providence Downtown, complete with free parking and shuttle service; Hotel Providence; Radisson Hotel Providence Harbor; Hampton Inn & Suites; and Johnson & Wales Inn. Additionally, select local restaurants are offering discounted menus in honor of the event, including Geppetto’s Pizzeria and Walter’s Ristorante d’ Italia.

Participants can take dedicated Floral Tours of the John Brown House, one of America’s grandest mansions, for only $5 per person on February 25 and 26. Group tours are available by appointment. To reserve a tour, call 401-273-7507.

Tickets to the Rhode Island Flower Show are available for $16 in advance for adults or $18 at the door. Admission is free for children five and under and tickets are $7 for children ages 6-12. Additional event and ticket information for the Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show is available at www.flowershow.com or www.goprovidence.com.

"Oriental Bittersweet was once widely used at this time of year for seasonal decorations because of its very colorful berries. Hopefully all wreaths and ornaments made with this species of Bittersweet vine are now relegated to the history books because of the damage this plant does to ecosystems. It is illegal to sell, distribute, or transport it anywhere in Massachusetts," reminded Claudia Thompson, director of Grow Native Cambridge.

Oriental Bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus, is native to eastern Asia (Korea, China, and Japan). Brought to the United States for its ornamental "value," in the mid 1800s, this plant has now invaded the entire northeastern U.S., causing serious ecological damage to woodlands and forests throughout the region. Here in Massachusetts and elsewhere, it establishes relatively quickly and rapidly climbs up over trees and shrubs, monopolizing the tree canopy. The vine, which sometimes grows as large as 4-5" in diameter, twines around tree trunks, effectively strangling them. Reaching the high woodland canopy, Oriental Bittersweet smothers trees, blocking the light and air they need to survive. Both individual trees and larger forests with Bittersweet invasions are highly vulnerable to uprooting and blow-downs during storms.

Oriental Bittersweet is one of over 140 invasive and damaging plants now on the Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List, and it has been illegal to sell, transport, or propagate this plant since January 1, 2006. It means that it is against the law to collect this plant and its berries for use as ornaments or for any other purposes. It means that it is illegal for florists to sell wreaths made with Bittersweet. The objective is to prevent the spread of this plant further, since the berries so readily sprout and start new infestations.

We also highly recommend that you remove any Bittersweet from your property. When young, it looks like an innocent enough woody vine, often growing straight up from the ground because of its strong stem. If the plant is small, you can pull it or dig it with a bit of effort, and you will notice that its roots are quite orange. Plants reproduce vegetatively by suckering, in addition to spreading by seed, quickly becoming tangled masses. If you have large vines or infestations, you will need to cut them. And a responsible application of cut stem herbicide immediately afterward should prevent them from resprouting.

It is common to find infestations within our communities throughout Massachusetts. The good news is that, once identified, Bittersweet is one of the easier invasives to control if we take appropriate action.

And if you have loved Bittersweet for its ornamental value and are feeling blue about losing it for your holiday decorations, get some Ilex verticillata or Winterberry sprigs. Many responsible florists are selling these instead. This wonderful native plant has stems with beautiful red berries that make great wreaths and decorations.

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BOYLSTON, MASS.-Tower Hill Botanic Garden will host the Garden Club Federation
(GCF) of Massachusetts' "A New England Journey" Flower
Show. This floral homage to New England's literary and cultural traditions opens Friday,
October 22, and continues through Sunday, October 24; 10am-5pm each day. The Show is included with regular admission: $10 for Adults, $7 for Seniors, $5 for Youth,
and free for members and children under 6.

Presented by the Central North & South Districts of the GCF of Massachusetts, arrangements reflect New England's social and cultural history since 1620. The main part of the show features displays using a variety of standards, such as a foliage design
on a pedestal, or making use of fruits and or vegetables in a design. The Divisions
include "The Maine Woods," "The China Trade," and "The Road Not Taken."--a reference to poet Robert Frost. Distinctive sections include table settings suitable for "An
Afternoon at Tanglewood," and "Dinner at the Union Oyster House," and "A Tailgate
Party"

A Horticulture division will display cuttings of plants from members' gardens, and also container grown plants for flowers or foliage.This is a bi-annual show.

The Garden is located at 11 French Drive in Boylston, Massachusetts, exit 24 off Route 290. For further information, call 508-869-6111 or sign on to www.towerhillbg.org.

The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc. is the state affiliate of National
Garden Clubs, Inc., a not-for-profit educational organization with its headquarters
in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It is composed of 50 State Garden Clubs and
the National Capital Area, 6,218 member garden clubs and 198,595 members. One of
its purposes is to encourage the establishment and maintenance of botanical gardens,
arboreta and horticultural centers for the advancement of science, enjoyment and
education of the public.