erinfrost.com

How to Make a Homemade Grill Video

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:03:43 +0000

Homemade Grills from Cultivating Life on Vimeo.

Small Space Vegetable Garden Video

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:00:46 +0000

Small Space Gardening from Cultivating Life on Vimeo.

Solar Bird Fountain Video

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:57:56 +0000

Solar Bird Fountain from Cultivating Life on Vimeo.

Concrete Planter Video

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:06:23 +0000

Concrete Planters from Cultivating Life on Vimeo.

volunteer, Boston Public Garden

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 01:03:47 +0000

I began when my son was just an infant. I would park the stroller near the beds and help until he fussed. He grew bigger and less willing to indulge my gardening activities. Who wants to be strapped in a stroller when you are surrounded by places to run and explore? So my attendance was sporadic those in-between years. But this year, I am returning to my regular Tuesday night date with the Rose Ladies in Boston’s Public Garden.

“The four rose beds in the historic Public Garden are cared for by the Rose Brigade, a volunteer initiative of the Friends of the Public Garden, in collaboration with the Boston Department of Parks and Recreation. The Brigade is made up of men and women of all ages. Newcomers are happily welcomed, also occasional or one-day helpers. Gloves, tools, and instructions are supplied.

During the high season of roses, June through September, the Brigade gathers every Tuesday in a time window 5-7 pm. As the days grow shorter in October we meet earlier. Ad hoc projects occur in April, May and December. There is a colorful flag to help everyone find where we are working. We always begin with the two larger beds, first going to “Tiffany” in the quadrant bounded by Arlington and Boylston Streets. Next: “Ether” in the Arlington/Beacon Street quadrant. We conclude near the center Charles Street entrance, at the smaller twin rose beds, “Mr Hale” and “Mr Lincoln,” near Edward Everett Hale’s statue (the one with the hat). Brigade leader China Altman (since 1988) says: “Try it… see if it makes you happy… no guilt… no meetings… one party once a year. I’ve always found it a particular privilege to take care of the roses here. We garden in the middle of a great city, rewarded by talking with passersby and greeted constantly by beautiful roses as they bloom throughout the summer in their own way, unique in the world.”

More information contact China Altman at 617-933-9926 or email china.altman@verizon.net. Or, Friends of the Public Garden, 617-723-8144.”

board member, coop preschool

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 01:03:30 +0000

Harbor City Preschool grew out of several neighborhood parents’ desire to keep their young children in (East) Boston while exposing them to a quality educational experience. The parents came together last summer, forming a board of directors that consisted of five local mothers. They loved the community in (East) Boston, but early childhood opportunities were a little bit limited, they felt, and so they took the bull by the horns and started developing what they thought was their dream school.

We joined the school in August for the first class at Harbor City School. Our little school quickly grew from 10 families to 20. It has been an incredible experience. I was asked to join the board (now six mothers and one community representative) in October. For more information about Harbor City School, visit http://www.harborcitykids.org/.

church garden, coordinator

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 01:01:53 +0000

We are members of the Arlington Street Church located at the corner of Arlington and Boylston Streets in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. It is directly across from the Boston Public Garden. The building is really special.

Arlington Street Church was the first public building in Boston’s Back Bay, a tidal basin of the Charles River that was filled in for building during the 1850s. Work began on Arlington Street Church in September, 1859. In May 1860 the cornerstone was laid at the southeast corner of the building. The 190 foot high spire was finished and the weathervane fixed in place on September 11, 1861. The building was dedicated on December 11, 1861.
The church has a set of 16 steeple bells that was given by Deacon Jonathan Phillips, a friend of the Reverend William Ellery Channing. The bells were restored in 1960 and played on Christmas Eve for the first time in many years. They are always played by hand.
Arlington Street Church was listed in the National and State Registers of Historic Places in 1973 and designated a landmark in 1978 by the Boston Landmarks Commission.
The Tiffany windows in Arlington Street Church are famous for their beauty of design and execution and are believed to be the largest collection of Tiffany windows in any one church. They follow a general plan adopted in 1898 and were installed between 1898 and 1933.

Despite all of this, they have never had a church garden that was much to brag about. So we are beginning to plan a garden that better reflects the church’s community. It may inch its way across the lawn as beds expand or it may happen overnight. I seem to be leading this effort, designing, organizing a garden committee and doing whatever else it takes. Stay tuned …

tv segment producer

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:57:29 +0000

A sampling of produced tv segments and appearances.

“Erin is a can-do kind of gal. Erin started producing segments for Season 4 and is eager to start filming Season 5. Her specialties are garden and nature segments but she is very qualified in the world of crafts as well. She does all of this while raising her handsome son, Grady, who is a staff favorite. -Sean Conway”

book author

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:52:14 +0000

Sanctuary, Gardening for the Soul by Erin Fournier (maiden name), Lauri Brunton, and Dency Kane. Michael Friedman Publishing, NY, NY. 1999. (Released in oversized paperback in 2000.)

*This is not a subject or style that I would have chosen for my own project. A colleague and I were contacted (at work) and offered the opportunity to write the text with an extremely tight deadline (6 weeks). Although I am tremendously grateful for the experience, this “bumpy” introduction into book publishing was a real eye opener. Fortunately, Dency Kane’s photography is truly gorgeous and deserves all the credit for the book’s success.

“Each chapter is devoted to a particular aspect of a sanctuary garden: peace, change, passion, mystery, and contemplation….The photographs are glorious.”—The American Gardener.

“This book won the Quill and Trowel Award of Excellence for Photography given by the Garden Writers Association of America for the Year 2000, tantamount to the Academy Awards for Garden Writers! The photography is truly exceptional.” —Amazon.com

blogger, a city life

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:48:41 +0000

My husband and I are very passionate about urban living. We feel that families are an essential part of the urban demographic. But we seem to be in opposition of the typical migratory pattern to the suburbs. We moved into the city to raise our family, we believe urban living has tremendous benefits for a family.

Although there are hundreds of blogs to read about family living, and stylish family living. I have not found many that speak directly to the experience of raising a family in the city. So I started acitylife.com in 2012 to connect with other urban families and to better explore the topic of city family living.