Daily Archives: May 24, 2019

Sunday, June 2, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Totally Terrific Tomatoes

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Terrific tomatoes can be the centerpiece of your summer garden and table with a few simple considerations! Join Senior Horticulturist Hannah Traggis at The Gardens at Elm Bank on June 2 from 10 – noon as she demonstrates how to handle, transplant, and care for tomato seedlings early after transplanting to ensure season-long success. Discussion will surround suitable varieties and types, trellising, pruning, and mulching. You will go home with an assortment of 6 healthy tomato plants.

Hannah Traggis, our senior horticulturist, manages Mass Hort’s edible gardens throughout The Gardens at Elm Bank. She oversees the Seed to Table vegetable garden which produces more than 4,000 pounds of produce each year to support our educational mission and local food pantries.

$25 Mass Hort members, $35 nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org. Image from www.bestfoodfacts.org.

Saturday, June 8, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm -Fête des Fleurs

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Berkshire Botanical Garden’s annual Fête des Fleurs on June 8 is THE garden party of the season, and this year the Garden celebrates the opening of Lucy’s Garden, donated last autumn by Lucy and Nat Day, and considered one of the finest collections of topiaries in North America.

Be prepared for photo ops galore as you enter the magical garden space and encounter topiary animals, each representing a different country and decked out in their party best, along with ‘live’ furnishings including a wing chair, table, urn, floor lamp, umbrellas and more. Meet Jumbo the elephant with his spouting trunk and personal attendant who will assist guests in climbing aboard his howdah while a caricature artist creates a drawing to mark the moment. 

An adjoining tent decorated with whimsical whirligigs and lanterns will feature music by Boston-based swing band The Late Risers. A topiary inspired meal will be catered by Main Street Hospitality, and a signature cocktail, “Rites of Spring Punch,” served by the staff of U.K.- based Tenure Vodka will be featured at the bar. Our friends from Tenure will also staff their signature “Royal Mail” station, where guests snap a photo using an instant camera, write a note to a loved one on a beautiful notecard, and mail it off using an old fashioned, Tenure-branded wax sealer.

Tickets start at $150 for BBG members, $175 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/f%C3%AAte-des-fleurs

Saturday, June 1, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm (Tower Hill Members 9:00 am – 11:00 am) – Tower Hill Plant Sale

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The Spring Tower Hill Botanic Garden Plant Sale on June 1, the region’s largest, most diverse plant sale, will feature pollinator-friendly, neonic-free plants. Find inspiration among the hundreds of annuals, perennials, vegetables, trees, shrubs, and more. Shop from the northeast’s most distinguished specialty nurseries, plant societies, and garden artisans. Tower Hill members save 10% on the Garden’s own offerings.


Only named member card-holders will have access to the Plant Sale before 11 am. However, other guests are welcome to visit the gardens and the Garden Shop’s Members Appreciation Event, and enter the Plant Sale at 11 am. Due to our current limited parking capacity, we encourage you to consider car-pooling.

MEMBERS-ONLY / 9am–11am
Members receive free admission. Must show your valid Tower Hill Membership Card. The Garden gate will open at 8 am for vehicle entry. By order of the Boylston Police Department, cars will not be allowed to queue on French Drive waiting for the gate to open.

  • Access to the very finest selection from 9am–11am before the general public.
  • 10% discount at Tower Hill tables (sorry, no discount at vendor tables). Not a member? Please join now.

GENERAL PUBLIC / 11am–2pm
Included with General Admission: Adults $16, Seniors (65+) $11, Youths (6-18) $6, Children (5 and under) Free. The Garden will open at 10 am for vehicle entry. By order of the Boylston Police Department, cars will not be allowed to queue on French Drive waiting for the gate to open.

There will be plenty of fantastic plant selections available for sale, plus you can enjoy our beautiful gardens, visit the Garden Shop, and savor lunch at Farmer and the Fork café. The Plant Sale will end at 2 pm, but the Garden will remain open until 5 pm.

Saturday, June 1, 9:00 am – 2:30 pm – Grow Native Plant Sale

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Grow Native Massachusetts’ sale at the UMass Waltham Field Station, 240 Beaver Street in Waltham om June 1 from 9:00 – 2:30, is now in its fifth year! Native plants are the foundation of our local food webs. Help support birds, pollinators, and other beneficial insects by adding more natives to your landscape.

  • Perennials for sun, shade, part-shade, and all types of soil conditions. 
  • A large selection of ferns, both evergreen and deciduous.
  • Grasses and sedges, for cool season and warm season interest. 
  • Trees and shrubs, at small sizes you can take home in your car. Remember that native trees and shrubs do the most to increase biodiversity and to enhance the wildlife value of your landscapes.
  • This year we will have three previously unavailable species—sweet goldenrod, bluestem goldenrod, and spotted beebalm—custom grown just for our sale.  

All of our plants are native to the eastern United States, and the majority are indigenous to New England.

Our friendly native plant and landscaping Experts will be available all day to answer your questions and give advice on plant selection. All sale proceeds support our programs. For complete information, and to download a pdf of the flyer, visit https://www.grownativemass.org/programs/plantsale