Boston Flora

Category: Berkshires

  • Saturday, May 17, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Spring Botanical Spa Day

    Treat yourself to a beautiful afternoon of fun and pampering inspired by May’s flower moon and discover the world of herbal skin care on Saturday, May 17, from 1 to 4 p.m at Berkshire Botanical Garden. In this workshop, led by Nicole Irene, we will go through a full, plant-based facial routine after creating products that you will take with you to continue your spa day in the comfort of your own home. Our day will start with creating an aromatherapy candle, bath salt, salve, and infused oil that you will take home with you after we cleanse, exfoliate, steam, mask/treat, moisturize, and massage our faces step by step together using everyday ingredients infused with herbs and essential oils while enjoying herbal tea and infused detox water. Please arrive with a freshly washed face and no makeup products. You will leave glowing and refreshed! BBG members $60, nonmembers $75. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/spring-botanical-spa-day

  • Friday, May 23, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Planting and Stewarding Native Meadows: An Intensive One Day Workshop with Larry Weaner

    Join Berkshire Botanical Garden on Friday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for a day of planting and stewarding meadows with Larry Weaner. Demand for native meadows, particularly as an alternative to lawn, is increasing dramatically. That said, few planting types are more misunderstood. Many failures are a result of inadequate planning and management, as well as the use of plants that are poorly adapted to the site and unable to survive in a highly competitive meadow environment. Far better results can be obtained when the plants and processes used reflect the ecological character of our native meadow communities. More than “one-year wonders,” meadows modeled on these ecosystems can provide long-term, easily managed landscapes that harbor a myriad of wildlife and provide color and texture throughout the year. The program will begin with landscape designer Larry Weaner discussing the design, implementation and management of native meadows on a variety of scales and in residential and public settings. The remainder of the day will include viewing on-property meadows including a meadow-in-progress and an area of BBG with high potential for a future meadow planting. BBG members $200, nonmembers $230. Complete information on the sessions and registration can be found at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/planting-and-stewarding-native-meadows-intensive-one-day-workshop-larry-weaner-0

  • Friday, April 25, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Lucid Illusions, Richard James Opening Reception

    Lucid Illusions is “the space between reality and dreams,” says fine-art photographer Richard James about his upcoming exhibition at the Leonhardt Galleries at Berkshire Botanical Gardens, which will be on view through June 1. For the better part of 15 years, James has traveled the United States and Europe in search of perfect, real-world florals and landscapes to playfully, almost romantically, blend with his unique imagination and creativity. “Lucid Illusions is where reality softens and dreams take shape,” says internationally acclaimed fine-art photographer Richard James. “For me, this collection is about inviting viewers to linger in that delicate space between what is and what might be. Each image begins in the real world — an untouched landscape, a perfect bloom—but then imagination takes over, weaving the familiar into something quietly surreal. I want people to feel a sense of wonder, of possibility, as if they’ve stumbled into a memory they can’t quite place, but don’t want to leave.”

    “What drew us to Richard James’s work is the way he blurs the line between the seen and the imagined,” says Berkshire Botanical Garden Executive Director Mike Beck. “There’s an intimacy to his photographs that makes you pause and look closer — what appears simple at first glance reveals layers of meaning and emotion. ‘Lucid Illusions’ captures that elusive space where reality becomes something more lyrical, more personal. We’re honored to host this exhibition and offer our visitors the chance to experience Richard’s extraordinary vision firsthand.”

    Opening reception is Friday, April 25, from 5 to 7 p.m.

  • Friday, April 25, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm & Saturday, May 2, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Tree Giveaway: Earth Day Celebration

    Berkshire Botanical Garden is celebrating Earth Day!

    Join BBG’s Ron Kujawski on Friday, April 25, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Stockbridge Library, and receive a bare root tree with instructions on how to plant it in celebration of Earth Day/Arbor Day! Can’t make it on April 25? An additional supply will be available at BBG on Friday, May 2, from 4 to 6 p.m. outside the Education Center at BBG. Trees planted throughout the Berkshires will benefit the earth, our people and our pollinators!

    White Oak, Eastern Pine, Silky Dogwood (below) and Sugar Maple trees, all native to our region, will be available for you to take home and plant. For more information visit https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/tree-giveaway-earth-day-celebration

  • Saturday, April 26, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Top 40 Plants for the Naturalistic Garden

    Many gardeners are experimenting with the more natural style of planting popularized by the “Dutch Wave” and New York City’s High Line, but most of the plants that work best for these designs aren’t as familiar as our classic border perennials. Join plantsman Robert Clyde Anderson as he guides you through his best recommendations, a list distilled from over 20 years of nursery and planting experience. This three-hour session on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. will include an illustrated lecture, handouts, an on-site walkabout on the Berkshire Botanical Garden grounds, and time for questions and shared experiences. BBG members $50, nonmembers $70. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/top-40-plants-naturalistic-garden

    Robert Clyde Anderson is a garden designer, consultant and writer who found his way to the Hudson Valley after a New York City career in illustration and book design. A native of Louisiana and a lifelong gardener, he has designed and maintained gardens in COlumbia County as well as working in area nurseries, most recently at Pondside Nursery in Hudson, N.Y., for five years, and before that at Loomis Creek Nursery in Claverack, N.Y., for eight years. Robert makes his home in Stuyvesant, N.Y., where he maintains a two-acre “laboratory” garden that includes shrub borders, a sunny terraced xeric garden, a shady wooded streamside area, a moist meadow planting, a kitchen garden, and a small flock of chickens. He writes about plants and gardening on his personal blog, Sempervivum, at www.robertclydeanderson.com.

  • Thursdays through Sundays, April 18 – May 11 – Naumkeag Daffodil & Tulip Festival

    The Daffodil & Tulip Festival at Naumkeag returns for its 6th year on Thursdays through Sundays, April 18 – May ll. Stroll through the 8 acres of the Trustees’ world-renowned gardens artfully decorated with daffodil, tulip and minor bulbs as we celebrate the return of Spring to the Berkshires. The 48 acre estate in the heart of Stockbridge will come to life with the colors and spirit of spring. There will be a plant sale, food, and refreshements for sale on site. Advanced purchase of timed tickets is required – tickets will not be sold on site. Member adults $15, nonmembers $25, children FREE. To learn more, reserve tickets, and for more information on parking and weather cancellations visit https://thetrustees.org/event/427419/

  • Friday & Saturday, June 27 & 28 – Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife: Recalling the Revolution in New England

    The Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife (founded in 1976) is pleased to announce the subject of its 2025 gathering, Recalling the Revolution in New England, to be held June 27–28 at Historic Deerfield. The conference keynote will be provided by Dr. Zara Anishanslin of the University of Delaware, author of the forthcoming book The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists who Championed the American Revolution.

    On September 11, 1765, political leaders in Boston attached a plaque to a majestic elm and named it “Liberty Tree” to honor its role in an anti-Stamp Act protest the previous month. New Englanders thus started to commemorate the events of the American Revolution even before they had any idea there would be such a revolution. Over the following centuries, people from New England shaped the national memory of that era through schoolbooks, popular poetry, civic celebrations, monuments, and more.

    On the 250th anniversary of the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775, the Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife will address the broad range of ways the people of New England have looked back on the nation’s founding—and what they forgot, or chose to forget, in the process.

    The annual Dublin Seminar is a meeting place where scholars of all kinds—academics, students, museum and library professionals, artisans and craftspeople, educators, preservationists, and committed avocational researchers—join in deep conversation around a focused theme in New England history, pooling their knowledge and exchanging ideas, sources, and methods in a thought-provoking forum.

    For registration and details, visit https://dublin-seminar.org/our-2025-conference-recalling-the-revolution-in-new-england/ Image: “Tercentenary, Paul Revere’s ride.” September 15, 1930. Boston Public Library.

  • Saturday, March 8, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Introduction to Succulents

    In this interactive talk at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, March 8, from 1 to 3 p.m., Rob Gennari of Glendale Botanicals will include considerations such as seasonal water needs, temperature ranges, air movement from dry to wet periods, growing mediums, sun exposure, flowering and fruiting patterns, and succulent enemies: insects, bacteria, fungi, animals, and others. Learn how these considerations relate to your succulents and their overall growing environment. Members $30, nonmembers $45. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/introduction-succulents

    Rob Gennari has been the owner of Glendale Botanicals since 1994, and has designed, installed and maintained unique and choice landscapes using his wide variety of rare and uncommon plants.

  • First Fridays, March 7 – June 6, 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm – First Friday Passport Kitchen with After Hours’ Kevin Kelly

    Led by After Hours founder Kevin Kelly, this four-session Berkshire Botanical Garden series, held on the first Friday of the month from March 7 to June 6 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., is designed to bring excitement and invite curiosity about the culinary world. Through hands-on, experiential learning, we’ll cover the basic techniques and flavor affinities from across the globe. In each of the four sessions, we will work with local and seasonal produce to explore internationally-influenced cuisine. Each session will focus on two to three curated dishes and will conclude with a family-style meal for all participants. The series will cover cuisines from the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East that we will bring to life with locally sourced ingredients.

    Kevin Kelly is the founder and owner/operator of After Hours. Growing up in Great Barrington, and having lineage to the Southern Berkshires going back more than 10 generations, Kevin has grown with a unique opportunity to experience and understand business dynamics in the Berkshires. Initially starting his restaurant career at Allium Restaurant and Bar in Great Barrington, he was quickly hooked on the upbeat and lively atmosphere of the food industry. Over the next 10 years, he would hold nearly every position in the restaurant industry, notably cooking in some of Boston’s most highly awarded kitchens. After his stint in Boston and graduating from business school at Babson College, Kevin was left searching for his next steps in life. What originated as an idea to travel the world and immerse in global culinary experiences quickly transitioned to a homeward journey in attempting to open a restaurant in his hometown.

    Can’t do the entire series? Sign up for individual classes. Members: $100/Non-Members: $120. Links are below.

    March 7, 5 to 7:30 p.m.

    April 4, 5 to 7:30 p.m.

    May 2, 5 to 7:30 p.m.

    June 6, 5 to 7:30 p.m.

  • Friday, February 21, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon – The Superpowers of Winter Birds

    Come to Berkshire Botanical Garden for a Winter Family Friday where you will enjoy MASS Audubon’s The Superpowers of Winter Birds on Friday, February 21, from 11 a.m. to noon. $10. Register HERE

    Have you seen any birds around you that never flew south for the winter? From tiny chickadees to massive hawks, these hardy animals have special ways to find their own food and shelter in the bitter cold. At this indoor program with Mass Audubon, get to know your feathered neighbors: which birds stay, why they don’t migrate, and their amazing strategies (or clever tricks) to brave the cold. A mix of short, interactive presentations and hands-on family activities will inspire you to look for wild birds in your backyard or beyond.

    Nicaela Haig is a teacher-naturalist with Mass Audubon’s Berkshire Wildlife Sanctuaries. Having connected people to wildlife as an environmental educator for over a decade, she currently coordinates public programs year-round in the Berkshires while supporting programming for adults and families throughout western Massachusetts. She has a lifelong fascination with the ways that people and wildlife interact.