The New England Botanical Society will sponsor a field trip to Stacy Mountain Preserve in Gill on August 17. The Leader is Peter Grima, co-author of Flora of Franklin County, Massachusetts. The Nature Conservancy’s Stacy Mountain is a botanical hotspot that continues to turn up new records of rare and interesting plants. In a relatively short distance, we will explore rich vernal pools, cliffs of sedimentary bedrock, and a dry power line riddled with legumes and interesting grasses. Hickory-hop hornbeam woodlands and a rich, cold swamp are also nearby. The terrain is difficult, and the event is limited to twelve participants. Register here so Peter may be in touch with you about this trip.
Learn to create sensational garden-style floral arrangements using locally grown flowers in this Hollister House hands-on workshop on August 24 from 11 – 1:30. Flower farmer Elisabeth Cary will share ideas for growing your own cutting flowers and will discuss tips and techniques for cutting, conditioning, container selection and the mechanics of flower arranging. Then watch as Elisabeth demonstrates basic floral design principles. From low, lush table arrangements to stately vertical focal displays, she will show you imaginative ways to create loose, informal arrangements. In the second part of the workshop, it is your turn to be creative. Using flowers and foliage freshly sourced from Cooper Hill Flower Farm, design and assemble your own dazzling floral arrangement to take home. The cost of flowers is included in the registration fee. Students should bring their own ceramic or glass container (no plastic or metal) that is maximum of 8-inches in height. Class size limited to 16. Early registration advised.
Elisabeth Cary is the founder and owner of Cooper Hill Flower Farm, a micro flower farm in Sheffield, Massachusetts. At the farm she grows a variety of annuals and perennials specifically for cutting and making beautiful and natural arrangements. Elisabeth started her business six years ago after a 20-year career as the director of education at Berkshire Botanical Garden. She was elected to the Hollister House Garden Board of Directors in 2022.
Welcome to the world of caterpillars! The Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Caterpillar Lab provides the opportunity for visitors to follow the ever-changing lives of these wondrous creatures. The Lab’s professional education staff can teach you about caterpillar biology and help you safely touch (and maybe even hold!) a caterpillar. Participants will witness the enormous diversity of native caterpillars as they explore the multitude of sizes, colors and forms displayed in this exhibit. Behold the process of metamorphosis in real time, explore microscopic stories of hidden insect lives within leaves, and discuss the nested ecological connections between caterpillars, their host plants, their predators and parasitoids. Stop by to chat about gardening for native pollinators, meet a big, bubbly caterpillar, discuss ongoing ecology research, or just marvel at the magic of the natural world! Installed concurrent with “The Lost Birds Project” exhibition and outdoor sculptures, the Lab promotes the importance of birds and caterpillars, encouraging visitors to support our host environment. Free with Garden Admission, Aug. 9, 10, 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Hop on the Berkshire Botanical Garden van for a field trip to two working cut flower farms in Sheffield, Mass., and Salisbury, Conn., on Wednesday, July 31, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
We will join Elisabeth Cary, BBG’s former education director, for a walk through her micro-flower farm in Sheffield, MA, where she will share lessons learned over her seven-year journey turning her six-acre property and garden into a small productive flower farm.
Next stop will be White Hart Inn Provisions for you to get your own lunch (ordering on the way), followed by a visit to Pom Shillingford’s flower garden, English Garden Grown in Salisbury, Conn., where she grows a host of perennials, tulips and dahlias, as well as forced winter bulbs for event work, florists and seasonal subscribers.
Capture the graceful, large blossoms of Hemerocallis, Latin for “Beauty for a Day.” In this one day Hollister House step-by-step workshop on July 26 from 10 – 3:30 the focus will be on portraying the colorful blossoms using a variety of watercolor techniques including layering washes of vibrant color. Queen of the summer garden, the daylily dazzles with colors ranging from soft and nuanced to bright and bold.
All levels welcome. Limited to 12 participants. A materials list will be emailed with your registration confirmation.
Please bring a bag lunch – water, soft drinks and snacks will be provided.
The watercolor workshops at Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road in Washington, Connecticut are taught by Betsy Rogers-Knox. Betsy received a Certificate in Botanical Illustration from NYBG in 2006. Her work has been widely exhibited in the United States and at the Royal Horticultural Botanical Art Show in London where she was awarded the Silver Gilt Award.
Join Russ Cohen at River Walk, a project of Great Barrington Land Conservancy, on Saturday, July 13, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. for a walk focusing on edible native plant species, including species that you might like to plant in your yard. Russ will share some samples of foraged treats, made from wild edible plants, to taste at the beginning or end of the walk. River Walk project is a remarkable, community-driven transformation of a rubble and invasive plant-dominated Housatonic riverbank eyesore to the predominantly native-plant showpiece it is today, with an expertly designed and constructed footpath running through it.
No transportation will be provided for this class. Please meet at River Walk, 7 Cottage Street, Great Barrington.
Russ Cohen has recently completed his 50th year of leading walks and talks about wild edibles. His foraging book, “Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten,” came out in June of 2004, and is now in its eighth printing. Since his retirement in June 2015, while continuing to offer walks and talks on foraging for wild edibles, Russ now plays the role of Johnny Appleseed for native edible species. River Walk is one of Russ’ sowing sites, and we are likely to encounter several species from his nursery that were planted there.
Join gardening expert Ron Kujawski in his teaching garden in West Stockbridge on Saturday, June 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., as he demonstrates his home garden tips and tricks! Learn first-hand about the different planting strategies for crops using raised beds, mounding and vertical space. We will explore in-garden composting and pest management and how to adapt to no-till gardening.
Ron starts seeds in the basement where he’s set up benches, heating mats and fluorescent lights. Then he moves the seedlings of cool-season vegetables to his unheated greenhouse while the warm-season vegetables are placed on benches in south-facing windows in his house. As the weather improves, he sets them out on the deck before moving them to the garden under row covers.
Ron Kujawski spent his formative years working on his family’s onion farm in Florida, N.Y. From there he went on to earn his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in biological sciences from the State University of New York at Albany. After five years of developing and directing the Environmental Studies program at Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington, Mass., he moved on to the University of Massachusetts Extension Service as a specialist in landscape, nursery and urban forestry. Now retired, he spends time as a horticultural consultant, author, writer, and lecturer, that is, when he is not tending to his vegetable garden. Ron also chairs the Horticultural Advisory Committee at the Berkshire Botanic Garden and writes a column for their weekly online newsletter. He and his daughter, Jennifer, have co-authored the book Week by Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook.
Join Dan Kittredge for an overview of the principles and practices of biological farming at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, June 15, from 10 a.m. to noon. Build your knowledge and experience to find ways to increase the health of your soil. Participation-based with questions and answers, the workshop is designed for growers and gardeners. Participants will grasp and apply innovative, reliable principles and practices for producing healthier, better-tasting food.
Dan Kittredge is the executive director of the Bionutrient Food Association, is the son of prominent leaders in the organic movement and has been an organic farmer since childhood. Dan is passionate about raising the quality of nutrition in our food supply through collaboration with committed individuals, businesses, and organizations that support the value of people growing and eating good food.
Join The Mount for an enchanted evening in celebration of The Mount’s historic beauty and bright future. At 4:30, begin with cocktails and jazz in the garden, followed at 6 by dinner in the forecourt. Seating is limited. Individual ticket pricing begins at $500. Details may be found at https://www.edithwharton.org/calendar/gala-2024/
Join Berkshire Botanical Garden for a unique opportunity to tour Church House, Page Dickey and Bosco Schell’s gardens and surrounding 17 acres of fields and woods located in Falls Village, Conn. Ideally situated with a view of the Berkshire Hills, it is a gardener’s classroom with groves of shadblow (Amelanchier), a saltwater pool accented by hydrangeas and flowering shrubs, and a small cottage garden surrounding the house. Meadow paths rich in native flowers lead to a lime rock-strewn woodland and ravine with a vernal pool. $45 members, $55 nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/cocktails-great-gardens-june-19
