Whether covering our local bogs or garnishing our cocktails, cranberries have held an ever-present role in Cape Cod life for generations. Come to Heritage Museums and Gardens beginning April 25 to explore the rise of this humble berry through Cape Cod’s history, from its historic use by the Wampanoag people to its modern sale worldwide by companies like Ocean Spray. This exhibition continues the debut of Heritage’s new cranberry collection, the largest museum collection of cranberry history in the country.
Help out while having fun at Mass Audubon’s annual Statewide Volunteer Day on April 25, with opportunities to give back across the state—from the Berkshires to Martha’s Vineyard.
Spend a spring day caring for the wildlife sanctuaries that you love by working on community clean-up projects. Refresh the gravel on one of our accessible All Persons Trails, pull invasive plants and cutback overgrowth to restore habitat, clean up trash and debris from a salt marsh, build and maintain pollinator gardens, and more.
At Statewide Volunteer Day, there’s something for everyone! Find the project that fits your life, with accessible, accommodating, and inclusive opportunities for volunteers with a broad range of abilities:
Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Easthampton Blue Hills Trailside Museum, Milton Boston Nature Center, Mattapan Brewster’s Woods Wildlife Sanctuary, Concord Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Worcester Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary, Natick Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, Lincoln Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, Edgartown Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, Belmont Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, Topsfield Joppa Flats Education Center, Newburyport Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary, Barnstable Magazine Beach Park Nature Center, Cambridge MABA Education Center & Wildlife Sanctuary, Canton North River Wildlife Sanctuary, Marshfield Pawtucket Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, Lowell Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Lenox Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Norfolk Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, South Wellfleet
Gardens Illustrated is today’s most popular gardening periodical, thanks to its lavishly photographed features on contemporary, forward-thinking gardens that focus on irresistible plants and clever designs. In The New Beautiful, the editors at Gardens Illustrated highlight over fifty of their favorite gardens in a mix of scales and in a variety of climates t appeal to garden enthusiasts from the United States, United Kingdom, and around the world. Join this talk to explore a range of garden scales, from small city spaces aiming to bring biodiversity deep into the built environment, to country estates photographed with a new lens on ecology and sustainability that were created by today’s top garden designers.
Stephanie Mahon is Editor of Gardens Illustrated. She is a multi-award-winning garden editor, writer, and author. This lecture was presented by the Garden Conservancy and was thought to be one of the most interesting online talks of last year. Register for this American Horticultural Society opportunity to hear Stephanie on February 27 at 2 pm. $15 for AHS members, $20 for nonmembers.
Reserve your tickets today for one of the February 21 sessions at Mount Auburn Cemetery on Owls of New England because this event sells out every year! Join us in Story Chapel for a special presentation by teacher naturalist Marcia Wilson and wildlife photographer Mark Wilson. Marcia and Mark will introduce visitors to the owls of New England and beyond. Learn the field marks, signs, and naturalist’s skills that you can use to find owls without disturbing them, then meet some live owls up close!
Three sessions are being offered on Saturday, Feb 21 at 10:30am, 1:00pm, and 3:30pm. Space is limited. Reserve at https://mountauburn.org/
Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural expert Keith Tomlinson leads a series of virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens in settings as varied as Singapore, the Arizona desert, and the American Midwest. In vibrant visuals he explores how each garden has taken a unique approach to design and interpretation as they all celebrate plant collections, conservation, education, and the distinctive environments and landscapes in which they bloom.
Tomlinson has worked as a naturalist and public garden administrator for 25 years, visiting wilderness areas and botanical gardens around the world. He is the author of numerous articles on plant conservation, botanical garden travel, and environmental education.
Session One on February 8 from 4 – 5:30 Eastern covers Gardens by the Bay in Singapore (pictured below). Among the most significant garden projects of the 21st century, Gardens by the Bay is a dazzling blend of horticulture, technology, and futuristic design. The Supertree Grove soars above the skyline, capturing solar power and channeling rainwater. Tomlinson explores how Singapore transformed its vision of a “City in a Garden” into a world-class horticultural wonder that unites sustainability, spectacle, and science.
Session Two focuses on Boyce Thompson Arboretum and the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona. Nestled in the Sonoran Desert near Phoenix, Boyce Thompson Arboretum is Arizona’s oldest and largest botanical institution. Nearby, the renowned Desert Botanical Garden showcases iconic desert landscapes and research-driven conservation efforts. Together, these sites form a living library of adaptation, resilience, and biodiversity. Stroll virtually among towering saguaros, rare arid flora, and global drought-tolerant plantings while learning how these gardens serve as scientific resources and conservation refuges in a changing climate.
The Final session starts the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Established in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden is the oldest continuously operating botanical garden in the United States and a cultural landmark of St. Louis, founded during its era as the “Gateway to the West.” Its landscapes span time and style—from the Victorian-era Linnean House to the futuristic Climatron geodesic dome—while its global research and conservation programs continue to shape botanical science today
Each session is $25 for Smithsonian members, $35 for nonmembers, but there is a discount for registering for all three. Visit smithsonian.org
Immerse in a weekend of curated films and one-of-a-kind Grace Farms site experiences in New Canaan, Connecticut on January 30 – 31, designed to honor the pivotal moment when one person commits to designing and building for the benefit of humankind and the Earth. Watch stories of bold, genius dreamers who put seemingly impossible ideas into action in the fields of architecture and design, and enjoy moments to reflect on your own journey through food, music, yoga, and guided walks.
Opening night of the film festival on January 30 will feature an evening film and conversation with inspiring themes that will echo throughout the next day. Grace Farms Members are invited to a casual reception on Friday to meet the directors and connect with fellow members.
Spend the day at Grace Farms on Saturday, January 31, with films and Q&As spread among three spaces in the River building and Barns, and food available for purchase. Throughout the day there will be additional opportunities to join a guided winter walk organized with New York Botanical Garden, Yoga and Movement with Pilin Anice, and a design session with Slade Architecture.
This year’s films have been curated by co-Festival Directors Kyle Bergman and Toshihiro Oki. The special partnership between the two organizations is grounded in the spirit of bringing the worlds of films, architecture and community together in a setting for creating new discussions and outcomes.
Special thanks to New York Botanical Garden. For tickets and complete schedule visit www.gracefarms.org
Use collage, a highly versatile and accessible art form, to bring the bright nature of spring into your artwork. Sketch birds and nature, then combine your drawings with paint and paper, adding textures to create mixed-media art. Construct your narrative as you alter your work with a range of materials and techniques including photo transfers, layered drawings and paintings, and found objects. All skill levels are welcome. This online Smithsonian Associates class runs from February 11 – March 4, 1:30 – 4 Eastern.
The instructor is Marcie Wolf-Hubbard.
This program includes 4 sessions, 2.5 hours each.
This studio arts program is a Zoom Meeting to allow for patron and instructor interaction online.
All Studio Arts programs require an online registration for each participant so that the instructor can provide individual attention to every student registered for the online program.
This program will be recorded. Please see our FAQ on registration page for recording terms and conditions.
Please refer to the "Materials for this program" section for any applicable supply list information and/or special documents for this program. $145 for Smithsonian members, $160 for nonmembers. Register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/programs/birds-and-nature-in-collage
Join Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester this Holiday Season for a special Holiday Cookie Workshop. Get ready to kick off the holiday season with our Family Holiday Cookie Workshop! Gather your loved ones and join us on the farm for a delightful experience filled with the warmth of family & friends, the aroma of freshly baked cookies, and the joy of holiday festivities. Tickets cost is $60 per table, up to 6 people per table. Sunday 12/14 Workshops
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
Garden history often assumes that landowners looked to London for their horticultural needs until the early 19th century. This Yorkshire Gardens Trust online presentation on October 1 shows that this was not necessarily the case and that Yorkshire nurseries transformed landscapes from the late 17th to early 19th centuries by fulfilling orders for and planting thousands of trees that, in places, are still evident on the ground.
Archival evidence about large Yorkshire nurseries, garden histories researched by Yorkshire Gardens Trust members, and contemporary maps demonstrate how nurseries contributed to the radical reworking of northern estates. Modern maps and satellite images show the plantation footprints that still exist, evidencing the lasting impact of the nurseries and the landowners who bought from them and the economic interdependence of early nurseries, enclosure and plantations.
Since retiring from a career in social policy research, Gillian Parker has been studying garden and landscape history. She completed a PGDip in Garden and Landscape History in 2020 (Institute of Historical Research, University of London). Between 2021 and 2024 she was a part-time PGR student in the Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Sheffield, supervised by Dr Jan Woudstra, and is continuing in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, supervised by Professor Jonathan Finch. Her research explores the social, economic and horticultural history of the Backhouse Nursery of York. She is a Trustee of the Yorkshire Gardens Trust, a member of its Research and Recording group and a volunteer at the George Dillistone Garden – Goddards – in York. This ticket costs £8. Sign up through Eventbrite HERE.Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks
