Visit Newton’s oldest burying ground, East Parish Burying Ground, on November 2 from 1 – 2 with Historic Newton to explore a significant collection of colonial-era headstones and learn about funerary customs in New England. We will discuss the evolution of gravestone art, along with changing attitudes toward death and remembrance, from the pre-Revolutionary era through the Early Republic.
This is the first of a two-part walking tour series set in Newton’s burying grounds and cemeteries, with the second tour taking place Sunday, November 9, at Newton Cemetery. Click here to register and for info on both tours.
The Gibson House Museum, in collaboration with Queer History Boston, will explore the Queer history of floral symbolism and Charlie Gibson’s love of horticulture. The evening will end with a floral tea tasting. Tickets are on sale at https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/
Rooted in Place will take place on Sunday, November 9 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Berkshire Waldorf High School in Stockbridge. This year the dynamic symposium invites nature lovers, gardeners, farmers, educators, and environmental stewards to explore the intersection of culture and biodiversity — and how stories, seeds and land connect us all. Lunch is included.
Keynote Speaker: Abra Lee — Cultivating the Untold Stories of Black Gardeners and Growers Horticulturalist, author, and storyteller Abra Lee will headline the symposium with a keynote address that brings to life the often-overlooked history of Black Americans in horticulture. Drawing on her forthcoming book, Conquer the Soil: Black America and the Untold Stories of Our Country’s Gardeners, Farmers, and Growers (Timber Press), Lee will share riveting narratives — from one of the first Black plant shop owners of the Roaring Twenties to a true tale of espionage with roots in the Harlem Renaissance. Lee, a Georgia native with a degree in ornamental horticulture from Auburn University, has made it her mission to unearth and amplify these hidden histories, connecting cultural heritage to ecological legacy.
Other featured speakers and presenters are K Greene of Hudson Valley Seed Company, Kevin West, whose latest book The Cook’s Garden (Knopf) celebrates the edible joys of homegrown abundance, Sandrine Harris of Emergent Nature, and a screening of Farming While Black,.
Handmade for the Holidays is back at Gore Place, 52 Gore Street in Waltham. Join your fellow shoppers in our Tent and Carriage House for a crafts fair of local, handmade goods.
The market is free and open to the public. You can get your holiday shopping done early and feel good about supporting local artisans. And while you’re here, you can stroll the grounds of our beautiful 19th-century estate and visit the heritage breed sheep.
Join Dare Bottleshop & Provisions and fellow wine lovers for an intimate evening at Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Center House as we celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau Day — historically celebrated on the third Thursday of November — with a deep dive into one of France’s most charming and expressive wine regions: Beaujolais. This engaging seminar will take guests on a journey through the rolling hills of Beaujolais via their wine glasses, showcasing a dynamic range of styles — from the fresh, fruity energy of Nouveau to the structured elegance of Cru-level wines. Along the way, we’ll explore the region’s unique grapes, winemaking traditions, and its evolving place in today’s wine world. A cheese and charcuterie board will be provided to complement the tasting, and special event sale pricing will be available on all featured wines, courtesy of Dare. This event will take place on Thursday, November 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Established in 2021, Dare Bottleshop & Provisions is a family-owned business located at 11 Housatonic St., in Lenox, Massachusetts, in the heart of Berkshire County. The shop specializes in championing small-batch, artisanal wine, craft beverages, and specialty foods. BBG members $60, nonmembers $80. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/beauty-beaujolais-beaujolais-nouveau-day-celebration
Hundreds of mushrooms hide beneath the Arboretum’s canopies, silently blossoming into unique forms then withering away again just as quickly. Join local mushroom enthusiast Maria Pinto on November 9 at noon at the Bussey Street Gate to search for these fascinating organisms on the Arboretum grounds, both edible and poisonous alike. Along the way you will learn what mushrooms to look for in different habitats and seasons, how they move through ecosystems, and what the Arboretum’s unique collections affect what mushrooms you might find here.
Accessibility: Participants will need to navigate woodchip, gravel, and dirt paths, and climb moderate hills (Hemlock Hill, specifically).
Audience: This program is geared towards adults.
Inclement weather policy: Participants will be notified via email at least one day in advance if a program needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather, and will be notified by phone if a program must be cancelled with less one day’s notice. Click here to view our full inclement weather policy. If you have questions about the status of a program, please email publicprograms@arnarb.harvard.edu (inbox monitored on weekdays) or call the Visitor Center desk between 10:00am and 4:00pm at (617) 384-5209. Register at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/
On this unique Royal Oak Foundation tour May 21 – 26, 2026, we will explore beautiful gardens around the handsome historic city of Avignon. These range from a formal Italianate park, to the gardens of a privately owned abbey, an 18th-century hunting pavilion and a winery. Gracious chateau owners will host us for lunch on two occasions. During our stay we will also appreciate how contemporary designers have transformed the garden scene, often combining traditional terracing with plantings of scented, drought-resistant native shrubs and herbs. View the brochure at https://www.royal-oak.org//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Royal-Oak-Gardens-of-Provence-2026-Brochure-sm.pdf
The 18th century landscape is viewed by many as being the pinnacle of English garden design. From its early Arcadian experiments and passion for all things classical, through to the vast and minimal landscapes of Capability Brown and his contemporaries, the gardening century was brought to a close with conflicting appeals for rugged wildness and domestic prettiness.
In a new five part series sponsored by the Gardens Trust, Dr Laura Mayer will explore some of the themes and trends that emerged during the century, with a particular focus on the role of art, antiquity and architecture in shaping 18th landscape designs. The series is designed to pick up on themes and ideas not covered in any depth in last year’s introductory course on the History of Gardens – and so may appeal whether or not you joined us for the earlier series. The ticket for the entire series costs £35 for the 5 sessions, or you may purchase a ticket for individual sessions, costing £8. [Gardens Trust members £26.25 or £6 each]. To register through Eventbrite, click HERE. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk (If you do not receive this link, please contact us), and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks.
Week Four on November 11 will focus on The Architectural Aspirations of Capability Brown and Humphry Repton, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and Humphry Repton are famous for being the century’s most prolific landscape gardeners, and yet both men harboured strong architectural ambitions. Significantly, Brown even referred to himself as a ‘place-maker’, a term specifically chosen to encompass his abilities as both landscaper and architect.
In 1771, Brown formed a resourceful partnership with Henry Holland, a successful builder and architect. In 1796, Repton entered into a formal partnership with the architect John Nash, having previously worked alongside William Wilkins and Samuel and James Wyatt. In 1773, Holland married Brown’s daughter Bridget, whilst Repton’s sons, George Stanley and John Adey, were pre-destined for a career in architecture and apprenticed from a young age to Nash.
This lecture explores the lesser-known, architectural side of Brown and Repton’s careers. It considers how they involved themselves – both directly and indirectly through their sons and business partners – with the broader design of country estates. This included ambitious architectural design, the building of garden temples within the landscape and even interior decorative schemes, all intended to seamlessly integrate a house with its setting.
Bring your garden designs to life through rendering — a vital drawing skill that adds depth, detail and visual impact to your work. This four-week Berkshire Botanical Garden hands-on course, on Saturdays, Nov. 1 to 22, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., is ideal for garden designers ready to move beyond basic drafting. Taught by Tom Smith of Springfield Technical Community College, the class focuses on developing lifelike visual representations that help communicate design concepts clearly and persuasively. With the class structured as a studio workshop, students will explore the artistic side of landscape design using B-range pencils and techniques like illustrative rendering, including sections, elevations, and plan obliques. Whether you’re a budding designer or a creative gardener, this class will sharpen your visual communication skills. Completion of Drafting for Garden Design or equivalent coursework is a prerequisite. BBG members $215, nonmembers $240. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/rendering-0
Long before anyone dreamed of this landscape becoming the Arnold Arboretum, a white oak grew quietly on the slope of today’s Peters Hill. Years passed and Arboretum staff eventually incorporated this very old tree into the collections, making it possibly the oldest accessioned tree in the landscape. Join Assistant Curator Miles Sax for a Tree Mob on November 15 at 10 am to learn about this oak, what the landscape looked like before it was an Arboretum, the science of tree age, and how the Arboretum manages those trees that we never chose to plant but which are a treasured part of our collections nonetheless. This is a members-only event, so sign up now at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/support/
