Galleries throughout the art, history and science museums will be in bloom, with more than 50 museum objects being interpreted in floral design.
The Festival of Flowers helps return spring to the Springfield Museums, from April 3 through 6. Galleries throughout the art, history and science museums will be in bloom, with more than 50 museum objects being interpreted by area florists, designers and garden club members.
Works of inspiration will include French paintings, American contemporary art, Chinese cloisonné, Islamic rugs, the rainforest and Indian Motorcycles. There will be a talk by garden blogger and author Margaret Roach on April 5 at 1 p.m. at the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts.
Roach’s lecture, “Nonstop Plants: A Garden for 365 Days”, will introduce the plants and the philosophy on how to make that happen, delivered with a dose of "horticultural how-to and woo-woo." Her talk and book signing are free with museum admission.
Roach writes the nationally-acclaimed blog, "A Way to Garden," and is author of the 2011 corporate-dropout memoir, "And I Shall Have Some Peace There," about walking away from success for a quieter life lived closer to nature after spending 15 years at Martha Stewart Living and a decade each at Newsday and The New York Times.
Her third book, "The Backyard Parables," blends both garden memoir and how-to advice.
“It’s good to know how deep to plant a tulip or when to prune your azalea, but gardening has a sort of spiritual and emotional dimension. 'The Backyard Parables' are messages or stories with those two layers of meaning, the obvious and the not so obvious. That’s the deeper window that the garden is for me, that two-layer experience,” Roach said
A weekend gardener until she moved to Copake, N.Y, just 20 minutes west of Great Barrington in the Berkshires, Roach realized that she missed much of what happened in her garden year-round.
“Anybody can do spring, meaning all you have to do is drive to the garden center and buy what’s in the parking lot on display in May and June. Everyone is so relieved after the winter to have spring that anything looks good,” said Roach.
“We have to learn to plant differently and see differently, so not only have we done the work to make sure the things outside are visually interesting every day of the year, but that we’ve also made the connection in the garden so that it pleases our hearts,” she said.
The festival, which last year attracted more than 2,000 visitors, will kick-off on with a Culture & Cocktails event on April 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. Models with wearable flower hats will take part in a 5:30 p.m. fashion show at the D’Amour Museum. At 7 p.m., the much-anticipated return of the Floral Design Challenge competition, starring area florists, takes place at the Wood Museum of Springfield History.
“The floral fashion show and surprise design challenge will combine the efforts of over 20 professional florists, garden club members and freelance florists, all of whom have arrangements on display in the museums,” said Larissa Murray, director of museum education.
Admission to the evening event includes a walk-about to view the arrangements in all four museums while enjoying live music, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Free for members and $20 for nonmembers. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 413.263.6800, ext. 266, or visiting springfieldmuseums.org.
Landscape historian Laurie Ellen Pazzano will tell the hidden horticultural secrets and presidential history of the garden at John and Abigail Adams’ house and library in her Museums à la Carte Lecture “Abigail’s Garden: The History of a New England Garden." The April 3 lecture begins at 12:15 p.m.at the D’Amour Museum and admission is $2 for members and $4 for nonmembers.
“For 2014, we have expanded our Museum School course offerings, in conjunction with the event, and also added docent tours of the art museums. We’re very excited to give visitors the opportunity to learn a bit more about the artwork being interpreted, as well as the florist’s methods,” Murray said.
Tours will take place at 11 a.m. and noon on April 4 through 6.
The Museum School classes include Watercolor Painting Flowers Workshop, with Nancy Howard, on April 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A supply list is provided with registration. Cost is $34 for members, and $40 for nonmembers.
Florist Bob Whitney, of Springfield Florist Supply, will teach Floral Design: Spring Flowers on April 5, from 10 a.m. to noon. Students will create a spring arrangement. Cost is $60 for members, and $70 for nonmembers.
The Springfield Museums are located at 21 Edwards St. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and college students, $8 for children ages 3 to17, and free for children under three and museum members. Springfield residents receive free general admission with proof of address.
For more information about Margaret Roach, visit awaytogarden.com. To learn more about the Festival of Flowers, call (413) 263-6800 or visit springfieldmuseums.org.