Boston Flora

Category: Berkshires

  • Friday, February 13, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Flora/Fauna/Form Opening Reception

    The Guild of Berkshire Artists Juried Member Show, ‘Flora/Fauna/Form’ will run February 13 – 29 at The Berkshire Botanical Garden, and the opening reception is scheduled for February 13 from 4 – 6. In this juried exhibition in the Leonhardt Galleries, artists explore the myriad ways flora and fauna take shape and inspire creativity. From delicate textures to bold palettes, from nature’s subtle elegance to its raw power, each piece reflects a unique perspective on the natural world. Is it the fragility of life or the complexity of ecosystems that captivates the artist? Through drawing, painting, sculpture, mixed media, photography, textiles, glass, and ceramics, these works celebrate both the beauty and the mystery of the living world. The result is a vibrant, diverse collection that invites viewers to see nature anew.

  • Saturdays, January 24 – February 28, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Eastern – Sustainable Garden Care & Maintenance, Online

    Learn about the maintenance considerations that should be integrated into the design process. Students’ horticultural knowledge will expand to factor sustainable maintenance concerns with cost effectiveness into plant selection. Learn procedures for perennials, woody plants, and lawns, including transplanting, staking, fertilizing, winterizing, mulching, plant pathology, and pest control with an emphasis on deer control. Classes will take place on six successive Saturdays from January 24 – February 28 from 11:00 am – 1:00 am Eastern, online, and is $215 for BBG members, $240 for nonmembers. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

    Instructor Daryl Beyers is the author of The New Gardener’s Handbook: Everything you Need to Know to Grow a Beautiful and Bountiful Garden, available from Timber Press. As gardening certificate program coordinator at the New York Botanical Garden, he helps guide the program’s curriculum and teaches popular gardening classes. Daryl has more than twenty-five years of professional landscaping experience, specializing in residential garden design and development. As a staff writer, photographer and editor for Fine Gardening magazine, he authored two special issues on garden design and served as a contributing garden editor for Martha Stewart Living. His articles on gardening and garden design have also appeared in Horticulture and HGTV Magazine. His next book, The New Garden Designer will be published in June 2026.

  • Saturday, December 6, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Herbal Holiday Gift Workshop

    Making a gift for someone is an opportunity for you to create something unique and beautiful, something truly useful and practical, and express love from your heart for that special person.

    The Herbal Holiday Gifts Workshop at Berkshire Botanical Garden on December 6 from 2 – 4 is an opportunity to make rich and diverse herbal gifts for the holidays, or other occasions, feel connected with the gift giving process, and nourish another person by crafting something special for them from the Earth.You are offering your loved one the opportunity to dip into that vibrant, natural health by giving them a handmade herbal gift that will support their well-being. These gifts are so much more special than what you can find in a store. They are novel, enticing, fresh, and low-cost once you have the skills.

    Workshop leader Nicole Irene holds a master’s degree in fine art and two herbal certifications from Dandelion Herbal Center and Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary. She is a Reiki-trained ordained minister and has a love for local farms and sustainable, organic agriculture. She enjoys cooking nourishing meals and experimenting with her own herbal preparations at her home in Stockbridge. She has a deep passion for helping to grow the relationships we hold with our food, Mother Earth and the cosmos. Learn more about Nicole Irene at NicoleIreneArt.com and TheEnchantedAltar.com

    Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/herbal-holiday-gifts-workshop $70 for BBG members, $90 for nonmembers.

  • Friday, December 5, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm, and Saturday & Sunday, December 6 & 7, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Holiday Marketplace

    An eagerly awaited tradition continues at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday, December 5 – 8, with Holiday Marketplace featuring the legendary Gallery of Wreaths.

    The festivities begin Friday evening, December 5, with the Holiday Wreath Preview Party 5 to 7 p.m. The party includes early wreath-buying opportunities, live music, hors d’oeuvre, libations, and merriment! This is a pre-registered event. Members: $75/Non-Members: $100. The Marketplace runs Saturday and Sunday, December 6 and 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org

    Select from a collection of 100 unique, one-of-a-kind designer wreaths as well as an assortment of holiday-blooming amaryllis and paperwhites in decorative and clay containers, succulent arrangements, garlands, hanging terrariums and gift items presented by regional artisan vendors. Picture courtesy of the Berkshire Edge.

  • Friday, November 21, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Thanksgiving Centerpiece Workshop

    Kick off the holiday season at Berkshire Botanical Garden with a night of creativity, connection and seasonal beauty. In this hands-on workshop on Friday, Nov. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. Hilary Collingwood of Moonflower Farm will guide you step-by-step in designing a stunning Thanksgiving centerpiece. Whether you’re hosting dinner or simply want to bring a little autumn magic into your home, you’ll leave with a one-of-a-kind arrangement — and the skills to make more. All vessels and plant materials are provided. $90 for BBG members, $110 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/thanksgiving-centerpiece-workshop

  • Saturday, November 22 or Sunday, November 23, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Crafting a Holiday Wreath from Fresh and Dried Botanicals

    If you have visited the legendary Gallery of Wreaths at the Berkshire Botanical Garden Holiday Marketplace, you may have wondered how wreath designers create their botanical masterpieces and whether you can craft your own. This three-hour program on your choice of Saturday, Nov. 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., or Sunday, Nov. 23, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will combine a classroom introduction with guided hands-on practice using 14-inch balsam wreath forms, after which you will take home your own decorated holiday wreath. Chris Ferrero will lead this class, starting with a slide program introducing principles, techniques and creative ideas. Then participants will be assigned workstations in the same studio used by BBG’s wreath designers, several of whom will be on hand to help you select materials and practice optimal construction skills. Experience with a hot glue gun is recommended. The wreath below is a creation of The Garden Club of the Back Bay, and if you can’t participate in the BBG workshop you may wish to order one at https://bostonflora.com/

    Please register here for Saturday, Nov. 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

    Please register here for Sunday, Nov. 23, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

  • Sunday, November 9, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm – Rooted in Place

    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,.

    BBG members $85, nonmembers $100. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/rooted-place

  • Saturday, November 1 – Saturday, November 22, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Rendering

    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

  • Friday, October 24, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Opening Reception – Flock: Watercolor Paintings by Robin Crofut-Brittingham

    Flock, the Berkshire Botanical Garden exhibition running October 18 – November 30 at the Leonhardt Gallery in Stockbridge, will feature all of the paintings from The Illuminated Book of Birds (Timber Press), a new book written and illustrated by Robin Crofut-Brittingham, alongside a selection of works from her ongoing fine art practice. Crofut-Brittingham’s work is grounded in a long-standing interest in natural history. What began as quiet notes in sketchbooks — observations, scribbled bird facts, myth fragments, and found images — has grown into a visual archive that now takes the form of a richly illustrated book featuring birds from around the world and interesting factoids about each one.

    Each painting in The Illuminated Book of Birds is a page of research made visible: a conversation between science and story, observation and imagination. The book is both part of and a natural extension of the artist’s broader practice. Come and see the original paintings from the book, featuring over 300 hand-painted birds from around the world. For more information visit https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/leonhardt-galleries-2025

  • Saturday, October 11, & Sunday, October12, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Berkshire Botanical Garden Harvest Festival

    Saturday, October 11, & Sunday, October12, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – Berkshire Botanical Garden Harvest Festival

    Mark your calendars for the Berkshire Botanical Garden’s annual Harvest Festival, October 11 and 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

    During these two days, the 24-acre Garden undergoes a remarkable transformation into a vibrant hub for the celebration of community, the natural world and our agricultural heritage. Offering an array of family-friendly activities, live music and a wide selection of regional artisan food and crafts vendors, the Harvest Festival has been a beloved tradition in the Berkshires for generations.

    Children’s activities include pony rides; a haunted house; the ever-popular obstacle course; a hay maze, hay jump and hay rides; face painting; a cider press and photo op; plus roving entertainment including interactive music with Robie Bones.

    The event is also a prime shopping opportunity with 50 craft vendors, a giant tag sale and the “Accessorize” pop-up shop, offering gently used clothing, jewelry, hats, scarves, and housewares. The Horticulture Tent will offer garden books and tools, bulbs, mums, pumpkins, and other plants for sale.

    Admission to the Harvest Festival is $15 for adults; children under 12 are admitted free. https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/harvest-festival-2025. There is no charge for parking in the Garden’s adjacent fields. Dogs (with the exception of registered service dogs) are not permitted. ATMs will be available on-site.