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Ah, magnolias!  
Just had to share a few photos of the trees blooming along Commonwealth Avenue.  High temperatures in mid March pushed open the lush petal cups.  This year the blooms seem even more eye-popping and the sweet aroma intoxicating.  These trees were planted in 1963 through the efforts of the Garden Club of the Back Bay’s  Laura Dwight.  Thank you Laura! 
Up and down the street, people were whipping out camera phones and snapping fancy lenses on more professional cameras to capture the showy blossoms.  Some just stood still, eyes closed, inhaling the scent.   The sight slowed me down and I took a breath with them.
Unfortuntately, the falling temperatures last week shocked the fragile petals and most are now droopy and dappled with brown. Don’t despair!  The trees on the north side of Commonwealth Ave are just now coming into bloom.  It’s well worth a trip in to Boston to see them!  Beyond the magnolias, daffodils, azaleas, pansies, crocuses and tulips are in bloom as well and will vie for your attention. 

Special Note:
The Garden Club of the Back Bay is celebrating its 50th anniversary by sponsoring the sale and planting of 50 ‘Moon Glow’ white magnolia trees. They are available at a special price of $500 per tree and will be planted in the spring of 2013. The club will arrange for an arborist to plant the trees in front gardens with an open site. The club will also subsidize the planting of magnolias in other open sites in the neighborhood. 
I am a member of the Garden Club and wholeheartedly support this effort! 
To read more about the project, and print an order form, click here.

Congratulations to Gail!
Her comments on planting hundreds of bulbs for a sea of spring daffodils wins our contest and two tickets to the Boston Flower Show!

Did you know that daffodils symbolize friendship?  I love their bright yellow color and trumpet-shaped structure!

Thanks to everyone reading this blog and posting comments!  More garden information and advice from area experts coming soon!
For information on the Flower Show, click 2012 Boston Flower Show.  The show runs from  March 14 – 18 at the Seaport World Trade Center.

Here’s an interesting opportunity for Boston urban gardeners raising food crops… 
On Monday, Jan. 30th, you can give your opinion and help envision the future of Boston’s urban agriculture by attending a Kickoff and Visioning meeting from 6 – 8:30pm at Suffolk University. 
The Mayor’s Office of Food Initiatives is launching a new project to update the Boston Zoning Code to support Urban Agriculture (UA) city wide. UA is small scale farming that makes healthy, fresh food more accessible and empowers Bostonians by creating economic opportunity.
Urban farming includes:

•  rooftop greenhouse agriculture
• aquaponics (fish farming)
• community farms
• farm stands (LOVE THESE!)
• composting
• and other fresh food-producing endeavors.

Keynote Speaker:
Will Allen, Founder and CEO of Growing Power Inc., former pro athlete, and 2008 McArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” recipient for his work on urban farming and sustainable food production.

Meeting Specifics:
Monday, January 30, 2012 6-8:30PM
Suffolk University, Downtown Boston, 73 Tremont Street, 9th Floor*
* Must bring I.D. (Drivers license, credit card) to clear security.

To learn more about the BRA’s Rezoning for Urban Agriculture Initiative , go to: http://tinyURL.com/BRARezoneUrbanAgriculture

Hello all!
The run up to Christmas has been crazy!  I’ve still got a long shopping list… Hope you are finding joy in the season! 

If you need a gift for a gardener in your life, perhaps a January class at the New England Wild Flower Society would be a good present.

Below are two suggestions.  Get more information at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn.

Saturday, January 21, 2012, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Winter Botany, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Instructor William Kuriger, Ph.D., includes a classroom lecture on the taxonomic characteristics of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous and evergreen plants in winter, including hands-on identification of twig and plant specimens, followed by a walk around the site to put your classroom knowledge to work. Fee: $82 (Member) / $98 (Nonmember) Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

 Monday, January 23, 2012, 2:00 p.m. tea, 2:30-4:00 p.m. program, Soil: Where Geoscience Meets Botany, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA. Soil has been called “the bridge between life and the inanimate world.” Instructor Janet McDonough helps us gain new appreciation for this backbone of our landscape. From its origins in the glacial era, explore the characteristics of soils in New England and how they affect the plants in our landscape. How is soil made? What are the components of a good soil, and what easy methods can gardeners use to tell what amendments are needed? From geology to biology, get all the dirt on soil. Fee: $10 (Member) / $15 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

When I was young, the driveway to my childhood home – a multi-family in Quincy – was lined with a low stone wall. In the short  bed behind the wall, big, green, leafy hostas grew about every three feet.  I honestly didn’t pay much attention to the plant itself. To me it was something to run at and jump over.  It’s big, bushy mound of leaves were hurdles and I made it my own personal Olympic event.  Needless to say, I always won the gold.  I’m smiling at the memory…
This summer, I discovered the real beauty, variety and usefulness of the hosta.  There are hundreds of species in every shape, size, color and texture.  Choosing a favorite is tough!  Best of all hostas grow in shade and sun!   A rare find for city scapes. So the hosta earns #2 in my 2011 list of Garden Lessons and Finds. 
Hostas are easy to grow and shade tolerant.  They can do well in 3/4 to full sun.  According to the American Hosta Society (yes there is one),  a general rule of thumb is “the greener the leaf, the less sun necessary for the plant to grow well.”   The corollary to this “rule” also seems to work; “the more yellow and white in a leaf, the more sun necessary for sufficient photosynthesis to allow the plant to thrive.” And, some hosta growers have discovered that additional moisture will help a hosta survive in higher light levels!
The plant is native to Japan, Korea, and China and was first imported and grown in Europe in the late 1700’s. By the mid-1800’s, hosta were growing in the United States.  Hostas are available at most garden centers and are worthy additions to any city garden – shady or sunny.    Check out the American Hosta Society for more information.