The Boston Flower and Garden Show: Water, Giant Heads, and Chickens

I stopped by the Boston Flower and Garden Show on Wednesday. Apart from the inherent philosophical difficulty of having a show about plants inside a windowless convention hall, the flower show was pleasing, and sometimes puzzling.

Pleasant Feature #1:  Oh, but it smelled good! We crossed the road on the second floor and rode the escalator down, descending into the show’s perfume. Oh, that was nice.

Pleasant Feature #2: The Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s “Blooms” exhibits are endlessly fascinating. These horticultural competitions are scattered around the show, and take some searching out; the bonsai exhibit is near the entrance, while the clubs’ bay windows are in a hallway near the rear rest rooms, and the flower arranging and individual plants are off in obscure banquet rooms. Take the time to search them out. New England is rife with plant fanatics who, with no outdoor outlet during our six months of winter, do strange and amazing things with materials that may not even look like plants.

Blooms’ stars  include window displays by the New England Carnivorous Plant Society (don’t get too close!), the Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts (which occasioned a discussion with my children on the difference between thorns and spines), and the eye-popping Camellia Growers Group; the Amateur Horticultural competitions’ lithops (plant as pet rock!), rat-tail cactus, forced witch-hazel, and prize-winning cymbidum “Mini Flake”; and the silly, exciting flower arrangements, which this year involve neon-green Slinkies, what appears to be a shell casing, silver spray-painted palm leaves, and a ticking clock worthy of that crocodile that ate Captain Hook.

Pleasant Feature #3: Chickens! The Trustees of Reservations wins the Mr. Green Jeans award for bringing in a coop full of chickens and a bee expert to share with all us plant-worshipers. Staffer Meg Connelly held several suprisingly calm hens up for show-goers to pat very gently, and explained various aspects of their behavior. I think my children spent more time petting the chicken than they did looking at the rest of the show.

And now, the puzzles.

Puzzle #1: Why were there so many giant stone heads on display? Buddha heads, Easter Island-style heads, Egyptian heads–almost every large display had a head in it somewhere, staring with those blank mineral eyes at the dawdling crowds. It was a bit creepy, and made me long for a non-threatening garden gnome.

The most intriguing head, to my mind, was a mosaic Buddha face set into a small boulder by Rock Art Studios of Carlisle.  The proprietor, Jay Bearfield, was on hand to explain how he created his displays. Bearfield has an eye for color, and his Buddha’s serene shadings were fascinating.

Puzzle #2: Does every garden need to have a fountain? Some water-features looked like laundry sinks, some were spreading puddles. I realize that this year’s theme was “A Feast for the Senses,” and that water affects most senses (it makes sounds, you can touch it, it looks pretty). But those senses can be filled by other means as well. I’m not asking for wind chimes, mind you. Perhaps a buffalo? (But not a water buffalo.)

Puzzle #3:  Must we eat cake? The grand innovation for this flower show (apart from the fact that it exists, unlike the 2009 Flower Show that didn’t) was the decorated cake display. It’s pretty. In my book, though, a feast includes more than dessert. Plenty of people are concerned about food and horticulture in Massachusetts. Where’s the rest of the feast?  Where are the Massachusetts agricultural products, the community farms, the Food Project rooftop garden that’s producing thousands of pounds of produce each year?  Sure, the Trustees of Reservations brought a few hens in, but they weren’t even cooked.

Puzzle #4: Where are all the flowers? This is the most confounding conundrum of all. At times, it seemed like this production ought to be called the Boston Foliage Show. There weren’t any of the flashy in-your-face we’re-gonna-MAKE-it-spring displays with a gazillion tulips here. Everything was quite elegant.  Strangely, some displays were oddly lit with red gels that made it harder to see the few colorful flowers that made the cut.

As usual, there was an odd assortment of vendors. If you’ve always longed for an artificial metal palm tree hand-crafted in Andover, Kansas, go to the Flower Show and live your dreams.

The Boston Flower/Golf/Auto Show

After a hiatus of two years (depending on how you count the 2009 “Blooms” hotel and mall beautification project) the New England Flower Show is back!  Or, rather, it’s been retitled “The Boston Flower Show” by its new organizer the Paragon Group, better known for running the New England Auto Show and the National Golf Expo. Last September, Paragon issued a press release stating that the Massachusetts Horticultural Society would actually participate in the Flower Show. It’s a topsy-turvy world when the group that started the Flower Show is a mere invitee.

Once upon a time, there was a wonderful organization called the Massachusetts Horticultural Society which was the center of all plant hobbyists in our fair commonwealth. Founded in 1829, Mass Hort helped found Mount Auburn Cemetery, amassed a library of rare botanical books, championed causes ranging from promoting Concord Grapes to creating “victory gardens” during WWII – and, in 1829, began the first flower exhibits in Boston. Those weekly exhibits gradually morphed into the New England Flower Show in 1871 through 2008.

Then… Mass Hort ran out of money, and the Flower Show was no more. Mass Hort’s decades of mismanagement are detailed in this Boston Magazine piece.

It’s good that it’s back, even though Mass Hort’s exhibits will take up less than 10 percent of the display case.  Even during this relatively snow-free spring, Bostonians long for green.  Of course, if you’re desperate and willing to drive, you can always visit the Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s 4,000 square foot Orangerie, a sort of gigantic greenhouse built by the solvent, successful, Worcester County Horticultural Society in 1997. Someday, perhaps Mass Hort can aspire to imitate its Western neighbors, and learn to build a garden under glass.

Spring, Floods, and Pavement

New England landscapes are being transformed by climate change–but so far, most of that change is due to urbanization, not global temperatures. Over the weekend, I encountered two pieces of evidence that Bostonians need to take to heart; a talk by Richard Primack on the altered ecology of Concord, Massachusetts; and Belmont state representative Will Brownsberger’s web page on the Flood of 2010.

Primack studies spring! Well, really, he studies phenology, the timing of biological events, to answer the question; is New England getting warmer? In spring’s early days, Primack and his students spy red-winged blackbirds as they alight on reeds in the Great Meadows; in May, they search for bluets softly opening their sky-eyes amid venerable cemetery lawns.

Most of the year, though, Primack looks for records other people have made of when flowers, trees, birds and insects emerge from winter’s grasp. His work in Concord is based on notes taken by Henry David Thoreau and a Concord physician named Alfred Hosmer. Thoreau tracked local flora from 1851-1858; Hosmer, from 1888-1902. Primack has also used evidence ranging from Memorial Day photographs of cemeteries to dated herbarium specimens to bird-banding records figure out what was around when.

Primack’s conclusion? Spring is starting earlier, and plants that haven’t adapted to the warming weather are disappearing. Primack estimates that the temperatures around Boston have risen two degrees Fahrenheit since Thoreau started tracking wildflower blooms, but Primack says two-thirds of that rise is due to the “heat island effect.” In short, buildings make places hotter. Pavement, roofs, and walls heat up faster than vegetated ground, and don’t retain water that could evaporate and cool the area on hot days. Although 60% of Concord’s land is still open space and farms, enough of that town and the surrounding Boston suburbs have been developed that 63% of the species Thoreau observed are either extinct or very rare in Concord.

Now, about all that water that isn’t retained by roads and roofs; I’m sure many of you have had intimate contact with storm water over the last week. Conveniently, it may have visited you in your own basement. And you can expect more visits in years to come.

When water falls on soil that’s covered by grass, trees, or crops, it falls on a giant sponge. The water sinks in and gradually seeps down into the ground water. That’s why rivers flow even when it isn’t raining; the water, also called recharge, is gradually traveling through the ground.

Cover the earth with pavement, and instead of pouring water on a sponge, you’re pouring water on a plate. The storm water becomes run-off–carrying whatever motor oil, gas, and tire fragments were sitting on the road with it– and rushes into storm drains. Instead of staying in the local ecosystem, providing moisture to plants and evaporating in the summer to cool the air, the water flushes out to Boston Harbor.

According to Will Brownsberger’s site, the average daily flow of the Aberjona River in Winchester is 10 cubic feet of water per second. On Monday, March 15, it was 1420 cubic feet per second. That number is impressive–140 times the normal flow!–but it’s even more startling to think that fifty years ago, water numbers that high simply didn’t exist.

Hydrologists use the word “100 year storm” to mean storms that have a 1% chance of happening in a year. In the 1950’s, the 100 year storm flow for the Aberjona river was estimated at 500 cubic feet/second. In 2006, that number had increased to 1500 cubic feet/second. And Tufts University hydrologist Richard Vogel estimates that that 100 year flow level may be as high as 2700 cubic feet per second, all due to buildings and pavement. That’s more than five times as much water as came down the river during the worst floods fifty years ago! No wonder all the basements are leaking… yet come summer, we may find that the soil is dry, because our groundwater has swept out to sea.

Development in Concord, Winchester, and other Boston-area towns is making the local climate hotter and promoting floods–before global climate change takes full effect. If you want a dry basement and purple fringed orchids in your parks, think about how keep more water in the ground in your town.

Scout Future Red Sox Stars in Pawtucket and Portland

One of the best dates on the annual Boston sports calendar—Opening Day for the Red Sox—is only a few weeks away. But good luck getting a ticket, at least without taking out a second mortgage on your home.

Red Sox tickets are as scarce and pricey as ever, with a consecutive sellout streak that dates back to 2003, but a great alternative to Fenway are the minor league affiliates of the Red Sox, all within easy driving distance of metropolitan Boston. The Single A Lowell Spinners don’t take the field until June, but the Double A Portland Sea Dogs and Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox swing into action in early April. Minor league baseball provides affordable and family-friendly entertainment, and you can scout some of the future Red Sox stars on the road to Fenway.

The Red Sox Triple A affiliate plays only 45 miles away from Boston, tantalizingly close for players who want to graduate to the big leagues. Many Red Sox greats have played for Pawtucket over the years, from Fisk to Boggs to Clemens to Garciaparra. The PawSox, as the team is affectionately known, play in 10,000-seat McCoy Stadium, which was built as part of the WPA program. Although the stadium is nearly 70 years old, it does have modern amenities. New this year is an LED videoboard in the outfield that is among the largest in minor league baseball.

Tickets are $5 for seniors and kids, $7 for general admission, and $11 for box seats. An added bonus if you are bringing your young sluggers to the games: kids 12 and under who have a box seat will get a coupon for a free hot dog, chips, and Pepsi for designated home games on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday through June 15. Opening Night is April 8 at 7:05 against the Rochester Red Wings. For tickets, click here or call 401-724-7300.

Baseball fans north of Boston can make the short drive up to Portland, Maine, to catch the Sea Dogs, which are as popular as lobster and lighthouses. The Sea Dogs are among the leaders in attendance in Double A baseball, and fans flock to games even in nippy spring weather, eating Sea Dog Biscuit ice cream sandwiches and enjoying local microbrews.

The Sea Dogs play in Hadlock Field, which has more than 7,000 seats. The “Maine Monster,” a replica of Fenway’s Green Monster, dominates left field, but the 10-foot-high L.L. Bean boot in right field and the lighthouse that rises up beyond the center-field fence after every Portland home run or victory is pure Maine local color.

The Sea Dogs have their home opener at 6:05 PM on April 15 against Trenton. Tickets for seniors and children range from $4 to $8, while adult tickets are between $7 and $9. For tickets, click here or call 207-879-9500.

Win a Pair of Celtics Tickets!

 Are you a die-hard Boston sports fan? Does your routine revolve around Boston sports? Or are you close to someone who would do anything for a pair of Celtics tickets?  Here’s your chance…

 

 

Boston Celtics vs. Washington Wizards

 April 9, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Loge Tickets, Section 10

Retail value of each ticket: $110.00

 

Simply follow these three steps and you’ll be entered to win!
1) Submit your name, email address, and favorite Boston sports team to contest@unionparkpress.com.
2) Become a friend of Read Local Boston on Facebook.
3) Become a Facebook fan of Union Park Press.

 

Drawing will be held on April 2, 2010 by Union Park Press. Winners will be notified by email. Only one entry per person. You MUST complete all three steps to qualify.

Read Local! Go Boston!

Will We Ever Get the Greenway Right?

With the abandonment of plans for the New Center for Arts and Culture, the Rose Kennedy Greenway has claimed yet another victim. For those of you who are counting, that’s four different nonprofits that have tried to build structures on the Greenway only to see their plans wilt in the face of difficult fund-raising and engineering issues. The New Center joins the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s very dead, Garden Under Glass, the still-struggling Downtown YMCA, and the not-quite-dead-yet Boston Museum.

In the meantime, the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, a private non-profit group, has proposed building a pavilion on Parcel 21 – which could involve tearing out one of the gardens planted in 2008 by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society with thousands of hours of volunteer labor. Apparently, we need even less greenery in a site the current issue of Landscape Architecture calls “The Rose Kennedy Paveway,” thanks to the preponderance of hardscape.

There are also rumors that the planned redevelopment of the Dainty Dot building into a 261-foot condo tower will impinge on the Chinatown Park, widely recognized as the most successful landscape in the entire greenway.

The city can’t seem to support nonprofit institutions on the Greenway, the Boston Globe publishes articles criticizing the Greenway for not attracting enough people on a semiannual basis, developers want to construct skyscrapers that will shade the plants out, and even the group charged with maintaining the Greenway wants to tear out gardens. What is poor Boston to do?

Wait.

We lived with a highway overpass there for nearly five decades; we can live with an open green space for another year or two. In that time, the hundreds of saplings on the Greenway will grow and start shading the parks. The Conservancy’s pilot project to add food vendors and tables and chairs to several parks will get underway.

Those two changes alone may be enough to start attracting the crowds to these parks. They may look like “oversized median strips,” now, but they aren’t any narrower than Post Office Square, an extraordinarily busy park

which is also surrounded by busy streets. What the place lacks is trees.

To attract Post-Office-Square size lunchtime crowds of people (there are already plenty of bees snacking on the Greenway’s native plants,) the Greenway needs a sense of enclosure, of protected space–a feeling that you are separate from the city. When the trees mature on Parcels 19-21 the feel of the place will completely change… if they’re not bulldozed for a pavilion, or a restaurant, or an ice rink, or a skate park, or some other quick-fix building. For Gaia’s sake, the old Combat Zone attracted plenty of people; does that mean we should build a peep show on the Greenway?

Let the Greenway grow.

Come With us to the Regent Theatre Family Show March 13th

Union Park Press is honored that Boston Baby will be part of the Regent Theatre’s 25th Anniversary Celebration of Hugh Hanley’s career. Kim Foley MacKinnon will be at the theater before and after the Regent’s Family Fun show, signing books and talking with local parents about what makes Boston such a family-friendly city. This is a fun family Saturday activity that is not to be missed!

Saturday March 13, 10AM, 7 Medford Street, Arlington, MA 02474

(Doors open at 10am; show begins at 10:30AM)

More on Hugh Hanley from the Regent Theatre:

To celebrate a quarter century of entertaining and educating preschool children with his “Circle of Songs,” Hanley will be presenting a series of three family concerts to benefit organizations that he has been connected with over the years. The first concert on March 13 will be at the Regent Theatre in his hometown of Arlington, Massachusetts, as part of its acclaimed Family Fun Saturdays series. “The Regent is a marvelous resource in our community,” says Hanley, “and this is a way to thank them for contributing so much to the cultural life of our town and many communities beyond.”

Boston Restaurant Week (with Kids!)

I like to go out to eat. A lot. Given a choice, most times I’d choose a restaurant over a home-cooked meal–even with a kid in tow. I’ve always been like that. I just like the scene, the new dishes, the adventure of dining somewhere new. My daughter has been dining out since she was two weeks old and 11 years later, she’s as comfortable in a restaurant as most adults (and sometimes even better behaved!). I know, however, I am often in the minority of people who think it’s a good idea, or fun at all, to bring kids along.

If you’re nervous about introducing your child to fine dining or new foods or even restaurants, a low cost test-run opportunity is right around the corner: Boston Restaurant Week (which is actually two weeks, March 14-19 and 21-27). It offers a bonanza of budget dining at both lunch and dinner at top notch spots around town. There are 228 restaurants participating as of this posting. There must be one or two you’ve been tempted to bring your kid to.

Prices are $15.10 for a two-course lunch; $20.10 for a three-course lunch; and $33.10 for a three-course dinner. Not every place offers all three options, so visit www.bostonusa.com/visit/restaurantweek to check out who’s doing what. Foodie website BostonChefs.com offers the Insider’s Guide to Boston Restaurant Week at www.restaurantweekboston.com, with advice, tips, menus and more.

Some other perks this year include partnerships with various hotels, a few parking garages, and ArtsBoston, which are all offering discounts and package deals related to Restaurant Week. (ArtsBoston and BosTix.org are offering half price tickets to The Dinosaur Musical at the Stoneham Theatre.) 

March is always a tease –warm one day, cold the next, winter and spring vying for supremacy. At least if you make a reservation at a great restaurant, you know what to expect.

One last thing; as a server in my former life, I always tip servers on discounted meals for what they would have cost without the discount. So, if your $33.10 dinner really would have cost $75, tip accordingly. Especially if your little epicurean is still working on his table manners!

Visit www.opentable.com to make your reservations!