While small towns all over New England were hanging out flags and marching to a band’s om-pah last Monday, Back Bay was hung with flowers instead and proceeded pretty quietly, even on Newbury Street.
That is strange. Usually we are the place with all the bustle. But most of the students who usually ply Newbury Street have gone for the summer, and the summer school kids have yet to show up. Many Back Bay residents were at their second homes or visiting friends at the beach, a lake or in the mountains. They weren’t around.
It’s a complex holiday, maybe one that skeptical Back Bayers find inappropriate to the straightforwardness that characterizes the neighborhood’s long streets and defined uses. Memorial Day mourns as it glorifies. Its boisterous festivity contradicts its serious message. With so many residents of the Back Bay coming from elsewhere, they may have no graves close by to personally decorate. Then, of course, local residents might think more about how a parade will disrupt their movements than how to put on a good Memorial Day observance. Finally, certain leaders of our country use holidays like Memorial Day to pressure citizens into a show of patriotism, with the unexpressed notion that a patriot supports all wars, even unpopular ones. Given the political leanings of most of Back Bay’s residents, one might conclude that residents decided that any show of observance of the holiday could be a sign they had been co-opted by the scoundrels for whom patriotism is the last refuge. With so many conflicting forces, it must have been easier for residents to forget the whole thing.
Summer begins
Summer, which Memorial Day officially if not astronomically begins, is different from the usual season. Here, with fewer students and some folks off at those second homes, there are more places to park. On some weekends you may have to fight with tourists to find room in your favorite shop or a seat at your favorite restaurant, but your chances are still better of getting what you want. The streets and sidewalks are cleaner since the trash is no longer laminated to icy surfaces. Life outdoors is easy. It is a pleasant to anticipate reading the newspaper outdoors on Newbury Street with a cup of good coffee on a cool, sunny morning or enjoying a dinner with friends in soft twilight in a satisfying restaurant with an outdoor terrace, such as Panificio on Mass. Ave. or 29 Newbury. The long hours of daylight make it seem as if each day contains twice the number of hours to enjoy. Although it may not be true, summer just seems less hectic. It’s a good antidote to winter.
The Back Bay’s attraction
For the past decade and more, empty nesters have been moving into the Back Bay. According to real estate experts and general gossip, it is the most attractive neighborhood in the city for such a group. The homes, single family or condominiums, are larger than in the North End and Beacon Hill. While parking isn’t ideal, its alleys provide more room for cars than most other downtown neighborhoods. There are no hills to climb, as there are in Charlestown and on Beacon Hill. Of course, it is only about a 20- to 30-minute walk from the Back Bay to most areas of the city. We read the dailies and their contradictory articles about real estate pricing and sales. One day the story is that prices are down, but the next day the story is that in some places the prices are up. The number of sales is either up or down, depending on how or where someone is measuring.
It really doesn’t matter what daily shifts there are. Back Bay will always be attractive. Its housing is beautiful and accommodating. Its convenience is unparalleled. Its residents are committed to the neighborhood and the whole city, and work constantly to make things better. It’s a good place to live.
Tunnel project means loss of trees by Suzanne Besser
Depending on which option is chosen, between 15 and 92 trees will have to be removed from the Esplanade to fix the Storrow Drive Tunnel, according to a study recently completed at the request of the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
For the Esplanade Association, whose goal is to preserve every tree, that news was bad news. And the figures do not include all 52 trees on Back Street, which must be cut down to make way for the construction of a temporary roadway to keep traffic moving during the anticipated one to four years of construction.
Harry Fuller of Carol R. Johnson Associates, landscape architects and environmental planners, presented the tree survey findings at last week’s joint meeting of the Storrow Drive Tunnel Project’s landscape and transportation advisory committees. CRJA inventoried all 168 trees on the Esplanade from Dartmouth to Mount Vernon streets and all 52 on Back Street, recording their position and categorizing them according to their species, size, canopy or crown density, prevalence of deadwood, vigor, condition of root system, visible damage and disease. They also noted how each would be impacted by the four options now being considered for reconstruction.
Fuller said the study assumed the tree removal zone would be 20 feet wide adjacent to the tunnel removal and/or the new construction. While all options would necessitate removing the 52 Back Street trees, the impact of each on the Esplanade varied. Option A, which would rehabilitate the existing tunnels, would necessitate the removal of 15 trees, while option B, which would recreate an at-grade surface parkway, would take 11. Option C, which calls for a new westbound tunnel with an at-grade eastbound parkway, would take 35 trees, and Option D, new tunnels east and westbound with at-grade local traffic, would require 92 trees to be removed.
Other factors that could cause even more tree loss include the replacement of both the Arthur Fiedler and Dartmouth footbridges, which would be extended to make them handicapped accessible. In addition, a construction staging area is planned on the Esplanade between Clarendon and Berkeley streets, a use found unacceptable by the Esplanade Association’s Executive Director Patrice Todisco. Because it is an historic park, she wants them to come up with other sites and suggested it be moved east, closer to the state police barracks.
DCR was reluctant to do so. “There is no open space in the Back Bay where we could find ¼ acre for a staging area,” said Project Manager Michael McCall. “Having a far-flung one is not workable.”
Losing that many trees is a hard thing for the Esplanade Association to accept. “People [on the advisory committees] have gravitated to Option B and D,” Todisco said. “But Option D can lose up to 100 trees in the five years of construction. Then it will take a long time to restore it, and in the meantime we’ll lose the benefits of the trees, which provide noise reduction and barriers from the road.”
Stressed out about the kids? Had enough of the never-ending battle to get them to eat, sleep and behave just like you thought they would before you had them?
Then, you’re just who ABC’s hit reality series Supernanny is searching for. Casting producer John Magennis is now roaming Beacon Hill and Back Bay looking for families who can offer Jo Frost, America’s number one nanny, the challenge of wrestling their unruly kids into shape and returning harmony to the classic brick or brownstone household.
But besides getting help for downtown Boston’s tiny tyrants and tired parents, Magennis has another idea up his sleeve. A former resident of Beacon Hill himself, he likes the look of the place. “Back Bay and Beacon Hill would be visually great for television,” he said, noting that most of the episodes during the show’s first three seasons were filmed in suburbia. “It has a different feel to it here. Plus the challenges of raising families here are different. And, typically, parents rely on help from nannies.”
Which brings up a whole new and exciting story line for the show: Supernanny working with other apparently less than super nannies. Magennis has it all in his mind: “Supernanny comes in and works with the family and the nanny to get things in order again.”
Johnnie Raines, who oversees casting from his office in Los Angeles, said the biggest challenge in casting for the show is finding families courageous enough to say they need help and than ask for it. “The families must agree to open their lives up to the public like they never have before,” he said, estimating that ten million people, mostly women, watch the Monday night show each week. “People must be willing to devote three weeks to Supernanny, who during that time moves in and out of their family life. They must be ready to change. And, after their time is up, they all say they gained a lot of insight. We have not had one family say they were not pleased with the outcome.”
Those interested in being considered should first watch the show to see what it involves. Monday, ABC kicked off a summer series by featuring a New England family whose life, it appears, is spiraling out of control. Mom and Dad are at odds on how to raise their three children, age 6 and under. Mom is overwhelmed by the headstrong kids, Dad defuses tantrums by giving in to them, Mom feels undermined, the 3-year-old bites and keeps her dad wrapped around her finger, big brother gets attention by acting out and talking back, and no one remembers the middle child.
Sound like home? Anyone interested in getting some professional, free and public advice from Supernanny should call 1-877-626-6984, check out www.supernanny.com or email supernanny@ricochettelevision to apply. That done, Magennis will conduct a phone interview and then drop by the house to observe family life as it unfolds. “I try to be with them for 8-12 hours so I can observe and film a whole day’s activities, everything from morning routines to trips to sporting events.”
He then takes his reel of film back to Los Angeles edits it to a five-minute clip, shows it to his executive producer, pitches the family’s issues and the story line, and then, just maybe, you and your terrible toddlers will be the next on the show and the next to be transformed.
Garden tour takes lots of preparation by Kimberly Abruzzo
CAPTION: Gardens on the tour are always surprising. Some look as if they are in another place than the middle of the city. Others look as if they come from another time.
This coming Tuesday, June 5, the Garden Club of Back Bay will hold its annual tour of 14 of the most beautiful gardens in the neighborhood. Though many residents are familiar with the tour itself, many may not know what goes into preparing for such an event. This week Susan Juretschke, longtime gardener and horticultural co-chair of the garden club, talked The Back Bay Sun through the process.
The Garden Club of Back Bay begins scouting for potential gardens to showcase on the tour in the summer of the previous year. After months of looking over fences and out of windows in search of hidden beauty, garden club members contact home owners to see if they would be interested in showing off their garden to the public. According to Juretschke, many residents see the garden tour as an opportunity to get their garden into shape.
Juretschke said she begins working with owners a year ahead of time to get the gardens in optimal condition for public viewing. She meets extensively with them, making sure that the colors and textures in the garden match their personal style. There is plenty of variation. Some owners will add blooming annuals for color, while others prefer a non-traditional garden. One home on the tour this year features a traditional Japanese garden, and another will be comprised mostly of wildflowers.
Before additional foliage and blooms are decided upon, Juretschke inspects the garden space to make large changes such as adding shrubs or perennials to solidify a base. It is important to see which plants have survived the winter, since some will need to be replanted. This year was especially difficult. Major temperature fluxes and freezes killed off ground cover, and Juretschke was forced to re-do many structural elements in the gardens she was preparing. These kinds of problems are par for the course in maintaining a garden for the tour.
It is important to make the gardens look like they have always been in optimal condition. To facilitate this, Juretschke analyzes the sun and shade in the garden to see what plants will last. To troubleshoot problems before they start, Juretschke works on the soil to make it fertile for future plantings. “Without good soil, there are no good plants,” she said. “You must analyze the micro-environment to get the right plants for any given space.”
The best way owners can make sure that their gardens survive, however, is to keep close watch on its conditions. “A good garden has to be loved and cared for like it is a child – and it shows – you have to notice if something isn’t going well or if there are insects like aphids on the leaves.” Juretschke said.
The tour takes place between spring and summer so it can be a challenge to find perennials that are in their optimal state. Because of this, Juretschke likes to plant “bridge” or transition plants such as columbines, true geraniums and Canadian wild anemone. To add color, popular annuals like impatiens are added for shady gardens, and begonias, browallia and hostas which come in a wide array of colors and sizes.
Juretschke is well suited to the task of helping Back Bay gardeners. She began her career as a gardener and horticulturalist more than twenty years ago when she enrolled at the Landscape Institute, then at Radcliffe. Soon after, she met Back Bay icon Stella Trafford and began maintaining her gardens.
Juretschke now oversees approximately 30 gardens citywide, but says those in Back Bay are closest to her heart. “In the Back Bay, people really pay attention to the difference that flowers can make,” she said. “There are many front yard gardens. Anybody going up or down the street can enjoy the view. The variety is just great.”
The Back Bay Garden Club’s tour, “Through Back Bay Gates and Doors,” runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5, rain or shine.
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