Daily Archives: March 29, 2023


Monday, April 8, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Spring Pruning of Woody Ornamentals

Spring is a great time to assess woody shrubs for shape, structure and winter damage. This Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop will focus on learning by doing. Ron and Kieran Yaple, owners of Race Mountain Tree Services in Sheffield, Mass., will demonstrate how to renovate, rejuvenate and shape shrubs and small ornamental trees for structure, health and optimal growth. Plants covered will include viburnums, lilacs, witch hazels, deciduous azaleas, sweetshrubs, crabapples, and ornamental cherries. Participants should dress for the weather, bring pruners, work gloves, and a lunch.
 

Ron Yaple has developed a regional reputation as a premier arborist and dedicated and knowledgeable teacher of arboriculture. Kieran Yaple is a Massachusetts certified arborist and an International Society of Arboriculture certified arborist. He is also a Certified Tree Safety Professional and is pesticide-licensed in Massachusetts. He recently joined the board of directors of the Massachusetts Arborists Association. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org $35 BBG members, $45 nonmembers.

Crape Myrtle (not hardy in Massachusetts)

Tuesday, April 18, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Eastern – “Everything in Balance”: Planning and its Role in Protecting Historic Gardens, Online

Andrew Croft, Director, CBA Studios, a landscape, environmental and heritage practice, will present an online talk on Tuesday, April 18 entitled “Everything in Balance”: Planning and its Role in Protecting Historic Gardens, with particular reference to the royal Botanic Gardens, Kew World Heritage Site The program is sponsored by London Historic Parks & Gardens Trust.

The talk is an overview of how the English planning system treats historic designed landscapes in terms of development within and around them. He will explore how change can harm or affect designed landscapes, particularly in terms of change around a site, and how the balance between potential harm and potential benefit is addressed in the planning system. This will highlight key considerations for people looking to influence development in and around historic gardens, supporting individuals and groups who wish to encourage appropriate consideration of designed landscapes by developers and local planning authorities.  He will draw on a range of case studies, but with a particular focus on recent developments and proposals around Kew Gardens.

Andrew is consultant with extensive experience working on high profile conservation, destination and development projects. He has served as an expert witness at a number of planning inquiries relating to development around heritage sites, including parks and gardens. He has particular expertise in delivering complex projects for highly sensitive and significant places including many World Heritage Sites in the UK and internationally. Five pound fee. Register at londongardenstrust.org