Daily Archives: January 30, 2011

Saturday, February 12, 10:30 am – 12:00 noon – Magnificent Magnolias for Northern Gardens

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Magnolias are without doubt the most spectacular flowering trees that can be grown in temperate climates. Luckily for gardeners, the genus Magnolia is going through a “golden age” of new plant development. The result is rapidly expanding options for cold-climate gardens. Come to  the Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, February 12 from 10:30 – noon and see some of these gorgeous new hybrids, some old favorites that still deserve planting, and see what beauty may result if you try growing your own magnolias from seed. Your garden (and your life) may never be the same!

Stefan Cover works at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology where he studies North American ants. He moonlights as a botanist/gardener with special interest in ornamental woody plants, especially magnolias. He runs the international seed exchange for the Magnolia Society and cultivates many of these lovely trees in his Zone 5B frost-pocket garden in Stow, Mass. $20 BBG members, $25 non members. To register, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Saturday, February 12, 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm – Hardy Cactus Gardening for New England Gardens

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We normally associate cacti with desert landscapes and Hollywood westerns, but did you know there are many cacti you can grow in southern and central New England? This talk illustrates what will grow here, where to get the plants, and what you need to do to have a successful cactus garden in Massachusetts — all illustrated by the speaker’s USDA Zone 5B cactus garden in Stow, MA. Who says gardening has to be about making sense!

Stefan Cover works at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology where he studies North American ants. He moonlights as a botanist/gardener with special interest in ornamental woody plants, especially magnolias. He runs the international seed exchange for the Magnolia Society and cultivates many of these lovely trees in his Zone 5B frost-pocket garden in Stow, Mass. $20 for BBG members, $25 for non members. To register, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.