The Trustees are excited to present Andrew Keys Pepper, live and in person, on July 17 at 4 pm at Long Hill, 572 Essex Street in Beverly. Why plant the same old thing as the neighbors? Long Hill features dozens of exceptionally beautiful but inexplicably underused plants, many of which you can grow. Join Andrew Keys Pepper, author of Growing the Northeast Garden, for a presentation on old favorites at the garden and elsewhere that have fallen out of fashion, as well as newer introductions that deserve your attention.
Andrew Keys Pepper is an artist, writer, plantsman, and lifelong gardener. He is the author of two books published by Timber Press: Growing the Northeast Garden (2015) and Why Grow That When You Can Grow This?: 255 Extraordinary Alternatives to Everyday Problem Plants (2012). He received a Master of Fine Arts from San Francisco Art Institute in 2019, focusing on sculpture and photography. Prior to that, he also served as web manager at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
Andrew produces and hosts the podcast Artists Looking At Animals, and created podcasts for both Fine Gardening and Horticulture magazines. His written work has appeared in This Old House magazine, Fine Gardening, and others. Though he lives outside Boston, Andrew grew up in the American South, in a family of cotton farmers, gardeners, and outdoorsmen. Andrew is trained as an organic land care professional through the Northeast Organic Farming Association.
Space is limited; pre-registration required by clicking HERE. Trustee Member: $24 Nonmember: $30
New England’s dramatic explosion of color each autumn is truly a sight to behold. The brilliantly colored maple trees attract visitors from around the world. From traveling on a country road to walking through the woods, any outing is certain to be spectacular.
The Berkshires of Massachusetts is noted as a center for the visual and performing arts and is home to an impressive collection of cultural and historic sights. The region was a summer retreat for the newly rich during the Gilded Age. It was also a peaceful, inspiring haven for literary artists such as Herman Melville and Edith Wharton and America’s foremost sculptor of public monuments, Daniel Chester French.
Come along and discover this historic, scenic and inspiring region in Northwestern Massachusetts. Learn from the masters, savor local flavors and let your own creativity come to the surface.
Day One, Sunday, September 12:
Plan to arrive early afternoon at the Albany International Airport. Board your private coach and travel a short distance across the border into Massachusetts. For those not from upstate New York, contact the tour organizer to determine where to meet the group in Stockbridge. Immediately upon the early afternoon arrival in Stockbridge, you’ll feel the vibes of creative energy for which this region is renowned. Your soul will be soothed by the pristine beauty and warmed by the charm that seeps in around every corner. Welcome to the Berkshires! Your first visit is at the Norman Rockwell Museum. The museum is dedicated to the enjoyment and study of Rockwell’s work and his contributions to society, popular culture and social commentary. The Museum is the most popular year-round cultural attraction in the Berkshires and houses the world’s largest and most significant collection of Rockwell’s work, including 998 original paintings and drawings. The exhibit traces the origins and legacy of the Four Freedoms from the Great Depression and World War II to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.
Depart the Museum late afternoon and travel just down the road to the historic Red Lion Inn, your full-service home for 4 nights. The Inn is an iconic landmark whose warmth and character express timeless tradition while its vibrant personality brings the best of the Berkshires to life.
It is one of the few American Inns that have operated continuously since before 1800. Among noted guests are five presidents: Cleveland, McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge and Franklin Roosevelt. Other guests have included Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Thornton Wilder and more modern legends from John Wayne to Bob Dylan.
Accommodations offer a wide variety of individually decorated rooms each with its own character and charm. Upon arrival, watch for Norman, their feline lobby ambassador. He’s usually hanging out in the side parlor, people watching and soaking up rays.
Once you have checked in, there will be time to enjoy a refreshing beverage served on the expansive veranda or in Widow Bingham’s Tavern.
Gather in the lovely dining room for an included welcome dinner. Surrounded by soft candlelight, crystal chandeliers, antique china and colonial pewter, dining in the Main Dining Room is like taking a step back in history to the Gilded Age. The menu features a blend of traditional favorites and contemporary interpretations of classic New England cuisine.
Day Two, Monday, September 13:
Following breakfast at the Inn, board the coach and set out for a day immersed in art, history and natural beauty. Your first stop is at Chesterwood, the summer home, studio and gardens of America’s foremost public sculptor, Daniel Chester French, sculptor of the Minuteman Statue and the Lincoln Memorial. Explore this hidden Berkshire gem on a tour of the nine-bedroom residence and wander through the trails studded with his fabulous sculptures throughout this 122-acre estate.
Completed in 1901, the nine-bedroom residence incorporates several architectural styles and contains antique furnishings that were either family heirlooms or bought by the sculptor at local antique auctions.
The Chesterwood landscape perfectly reflects Daniel Chester French and his interests; it is a combination of New England agricultural heritage and the influence of classical European ideals and culture.
The Studio Garden, designed in 1898, was created to be an integral part of the French family’s social and recreational life at Chesterwood. Here the Frenches held tableaux vivants, costume balls and parties at which the artist might display a work-in-progress.
French developed the Woodland Walk designed as a classroom of nature, instilling a love of the outdoors in his young daughter. Contrasting with the charming order of the garden, the woodland trails were the sculptor’s celebration of the estate’s wild beauty.
Your visit includes tours of the buildings, grounds and collections. You will also witness final works in bronze and marble. There will be time to visit the gift shop at the end of your visit.
Depart Chesterwood and travel back into downtown Stockbridge. Have lunch on your own at one of the local eateries.
Board the coach and travel along a scenic country road to the Ashintully Gardens, a 120-acre estate. The gardens blend several natural features into an ordered arrangement with both formal and informal beauty. Garden features include the Fountain Pond, Pine Park, Rams Head Terrace, Bowling Green, Regency Bridge and Trellis Triptych. Urns, columns and statuary provide ornamentation. Footpaths, bridges, stone stairs and grassy terraces connect various parts of the garden.
Ashintully Gardens came about through the efforts of two men: Robb de Peyster Tytus and John S. McLennan Jr. In the early 20th century, Tutus built a white, Georgian-style mansion that came to be known as the Marble Palace. The mansion’s main façade featured four Doric columns and was spanned by thirteen bay windows. Though the Marble Palace was destroyed by fire in 1952, the front terrace, foundation and four Doric columns remain today.
A year after Tytus’ death, his widow married John Stewart McLennan and she gave birth to John McLennan Jr. He later moved into the farmhouse at the bottom of the hill, and renovated the nearby barn into a music studio. McLennan was an accomplished composer of contemporary classical music and he designed the elegant gardens as a parallel creative effort to his musical work,
During your visit you will follow a woodland trail to the ruins of the Marble Palace. Find a moment of serenity amidst the natural features and stunning constructed elements like urns, columns and statuary.
“I love nature, I love the landscape, because it is so sincere. It never cheats me. It never jests. It is cheerfully, musically earnest.” Henry David Thoreau, 1850.
Your last stop of the day is at Naumkeag, an architectural masterpiece built by Joseph Choate, a leading 19th-century attorney. Caroline Choate was a trained artist interested in women’s education, co-founding Barnard College.
Their daughter, Mabel Choate, inherited Naumkeag in 1929, and for the next 30 years worked with landscape architect Fletcher Steele to create the magnificent gardens for which Naumkeag is now known, including the world-famous Blue Steps.
The 44-room “cottage,” is filled with original furniture, ceramics and artwork. The entire estate was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 2007. Its designation was made for the architecture and content of the house, which are well-preserved examples of a Gilded Age country estate, and for the innovative landscape design work of Fletcher Steele. Your visit includes a guided tour of the house and gardens.
Return to the Inn late afternoon. There will be time to relax and refresh. Dinner is on your own. Stroll down Main Street and find your new favorite local restaurant or gather at the Inn’s casual Widow Bingham’s Tavern or Lion’s Den Pub.
Day Three, Tuesday, September 14:
Today’s adventure takes you deep into the Berkshires as you travel north to Pittsfield, the largest city in Berkshire County. The City of Pittsfield was chosen to receive a Commonwealth Award, Massachusetts’ highest award in the arts, humanities and sciences.
Your first stop is at the Hebert Arboretum at Springside Park. This new arboretum, established in 1999, displays a diverse collection of trees and other plants in formal landscapes in a natural setting. It is a living laboratory with diverse habitats of rolling hills, meadows, woodlands, streams, marshes and ponds. It is home for over 50 species of native trees, 338 species of plant life and a tremendous wildflower variety of over 135 species.
The Arboretum is host to a migratory bird ‘migration funnel’ where migrating warblers, vireos and songbirds come for sanctuary and rest. As you will visit the Arboretum during the fall migration, you are certain to witness a variety of feathered friends.
Depart the Park and continue north to Williamstown, home of Williams College. Williams is a private, liberal arts college, and one of the best, non-ivy league colleges in the nation.
Upon arrival, visit the Clark Art Institute, home to the world-renowned Sterling and Francine Clark collection of American and European Art. The Clark is one of only a handful of institutions globally with a dual mission as an art museum and a distinguished center for research and higher education.
Embark on a one-hour, docent-led tour of this extensive collection, followed by time to explore on your own and to visit the gift shop. Most notably, witness the French Impressionist masterworks by artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renior, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot and Camille Pissarro.
Depart the Clark and head into “downtown” Williamstown. Enjoy time on your own for lunch and to visit the charming shops and boutiques.
Following lunch, arrive at Williams College and embark on a student-led tour. Williams College was founded in 1791 when Colonel Ephraim Williams, a colonel in the French and Indian War, bequeathed $9,297.00 to Massachusetts to start a free school to educate the sons of farmers. He had three stipulations: 1) the school had to be in Massachusetts, 2) the school had to be named after him, and 3) the town that the school was in had to be named after him. At the time Harvard was the only other institution of higher learning in Massachusetts.
During your tour, you will learn of the college’s rich past and witness historic buildings such as the Sloan House, Sage Hall, Williams Hall and Hopkins Hall.
Depart Williamstown mid afternoon and travel back to Stockbridge. The remainder of the afternoon is yours to experience at your leisure. Climb into one of the substantial rockers on the Inn’s veranda and watch the small-town-world pass you by. Browse through the locally owned shops or stop for a refreshing beverage at a “locals’ hangout.”
Gather in the lobby and walk just around the corner to your dinner destination. Your included dinner will be served at a quaint, casual eatery offering classic American dishes.
Day Four Wednesday, September 15:
Today’s outing features travel along scenic roads that lead to extraordinary experiences. Board the coach after breakfast at the Inn and travel north to Lenox, home of Edith Wharton’s home, The Mount. Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was born into a tightly controlled society at a time when women were discouraged from achieving anything beyond a proper marriage. Wharton broke through these strictures to become one of America’s greatest writers. Author of The Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome and The House of Mirth, she wrote over 40 books in 40 years, including authoritative works on architecture, gardens, interior design and travel. She was the first woman awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Yale University and a full membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Edith Wharton designed this spacious turn-of-the century home that was built in 1902. It is a National Landmark and a cultural center that celebrates her intellectual, artistic and humanitarian legacy.
Upon arrival, embark on a docent-lead tour of this magnificent home and learn of Edith’s achievements and her literary legacy. A guided garden tour follows. The tour recounts the history of the estate’s structures and plantings, and reflects Wharton’s passion for gardens and beauty.
Following the tours, gather for an included lunch served at the Terrace Café and visit the gift shop and bookstore.
Depart The Mount and travel a short distance to Pittsfield where you will arrive at The Herman Melville House, a historic house museum. It was here, between 1850 and 1863, that Melville wrote some of his major work: the novels Moby-Dick, Pierre (dedicated to nearby Mount Greylock), The Confidence-Man, Israel Potter and The Piazza Tales (a short story collection named for Arrowhead’s porch).
The house was built in the 1780’s as a farmhouse and inn and was sold to Melville in 1850. Melville called his new home Arrowhead because of the arrowheads that were dug up around the property during planting season.
“I rise at eight—thereabouts—& go to my barn—say good-morning to the horse, & give him his breakfast. (It goes to my heart to give him a cold one, but it can’t be helped.) Then, pay a visit to my cow—cut up a pumpkin or two for her, & stand by to see her eat it—for it’s a pleasant sight to see a cow move her jaws—she does it so mildly and with such a sanctity.” Herman Melville
It was at Arrowhead that Melville finished his novel, Moby-Dick; though the work was not recognized during the author’s lifetime, it has since become known as one of the greatest American literary masterpieces.
Your visit includes a guided tour of the house, barn and grounds. After the tour you may watch Moby-Dick or another film, visit exhibits in the historic barn or stroll on the nature trail.
Depart Arrowhead and travel back in time to a much simpler and unadorned way of life at the Hancock Shaker Village. This living history museum, with 20 authentic Shaker buildings, brings the Shaker story to life and preserves it for future generations.
The Shakers are one of the most intriguing religious movements in American history and considered among the most successful utopian societies ever to have flourished in this country. A religious order whose members believe in pacifism, celibacy and communal living, Shaker religious expression took the form of singing and ecstatic dance, which is why they were called the “Shaking Quakers,” or “Shakers.” The Shakers have made important contributions to American culture in their art, architecture, craftsmanship, music, government, agriculture and commerce. They are renowned today for their plain architecture and furniture.
Hancock Shaker Village began in the late 1780s, when nearly 100 Believers consolidated a community on land donated by local farmers who had converted to the Shaker movement. The Hancock Shakers erected communal dwelling houses, barns, workshops and other buildings, and developed a large and successful farm. Today they operate a vibrant working farm that continues the Shaker tradition by practicing a distinctive kind of farming, based in both historic Shaker farming principles and modern regenerative agriculture.
The Shakers were avid gardeners who saved the best seeds to cultivate the following year. They followed the path of the Shaker Seed Company including distributing, packaging and cataloging seeds, all of which changed the horticultural business model forever.
Upon arrival, you will be joined by a local guide and head out on a Historic Shaker Garden Tour. The Shakers invested great thought, time and labor in their gardens. They were the first to package seeds and well known for their fine herbal remedies, as the tour reveals.
After the tour, you will have time to visit the buildings, exhibits and amazing the Shaker Mercantile.
For the ideal ending to your day in the Village, gather for a Shaker Supper and Song.
They make you “kindly welcome” in true Shaker fashion with this unique dining experience. Begin with a cider and cheese reception, followed by a bountiful four-course Shaker-inspired supper. Dinner begins with the singing of a Shaker grace and closes with music that illuminates Shaker beliefs and spirituality.
Day Five, Thursday, September 16:
Check out of your rooms after breakfast at the Inn. Before you say goodbye to the Berkshires, there is one more destination that you simply can’t miss.
Within minutes from the Inn, sits the Berkshire Botanical Garden, one of New England’s oldest public gardens. A showcase of horticulture and garden design and a “museum of living things,” Berkshire Botanical Garden features dozens of display areas that are educational, functional and highly ornamental, with plant collections emphasizing plants that are native to the Northeast. The gardens have evolved and expanded over the years in breadth and variety, with its newest, “Lucy’s Garden,” featuring topiary animals and other ‘live’ sculptures.
Embark on a self-guided tour and make certain to save time to visit Center House Art Gallery.
Board the coach mid morning and travel to the Albany International Airport for your early afternoon flight home, or depart in your own car. A souvenir gift will remind you of the days when you “fell in love with the Berkshires.”
Your Package Includes:
4 Nights accommodation at the historic Red Lion Inn
4 Breakfasts
1 Lunch
3 Dinners-including Shaker Supper and Song dinner
Admission to the Norman Rockwell Museum
Guided house and garden tour at Chesterwood
Visit to Ashintully Gardens
Guided house and garden tour at Naumkeag
Time to explore the Arboretum at Springside Park.
Docent-led tour of the Clark Art Institute
Student-guided tour of Williams College
Free time in Stockbridge
Guided house and garden tour of The Mount
Docent-let tour of Arrowhead
Admission to the Hancock Shaker Village
Guided garden tour at Hancock Shaker Village
Admission to the Berkshire Botanical Garden
Baggage handling for one piece of luggage per traveler
Full-time tour manager and knowledgeable horticulturist
Private motor coach service round trip Albany International Airport
Accommodations, admissions, group meals and baggage for the coach driver
Taxes and gratuities (NOTE: Gratuities for the tour manager, coach driver and local guides are not included and are at your discretion based on service.)
Note: This trip is for small groups of a maximum of 22 travelers.
Pricing Information:
Per person double occupancy: 1,649.00
Per person triple occupancy: 1,534.00
Per person quad occupancy: 1,477.00
Per person single occupancy: 2,132.00
Prices and itinerary are subject to change. Custom quotes are available upon request. Call 802-850-7601.
Join London Drawing Group on July 15 at 1:30 Eastern time as we step inside the magical world of BOTANY for a summer-term special exploring the history of the heroic women artists, explorers and scientists that helped forge the way that we see the world around us!
Drawing from both the rich history of female presence Botanical Art, as well as the inspiring stories of women botanical explorers through the ages, this class will be an incredible opportunity to immerse yourself in the work of artists such as Maria Sybilla Merian, Marianne North, Rachel Ruysch (painting pictured below) and others!
The session will comprise a short visual lecture during which you will be able to make quick sketches if you choose from your own collections of plants or found leaves and flowers, then students will be led in some basic watercolour techniques and exercises to help you create your own Botanical Paintings!
This will truly be a totally unique class and we are very excited to get drawing with you all! This lecture and all our classes are now ‘pay what you can’ so that we can reach those of you who are financially struggling during CV19. We suggest a donation of £15 but if you can’t afford that, we get it! Register HERE through Eventbrite. (Eventbrite will do the dollar conversion.)
YOU WILL NEED A variety of plants, flowers, leaves or dried flowers to work from! You don’t need too many, just enough to make an interesting arrangement, but if you’re really caught short, just one or two houseplants or whatever you can collect from outside will be absolutely fine.
WATERCOLORS OR GOUACHE, A VARIETY OF BRUSHES, FROM MOP HEADED TO THIN DETAIL BRUSHES, and WATERCOLOR PAPER
Join garden historian and author Dr. Toby Musgrave online on a ‘Grand Tour’ showcasing America’s great and inspiring gardens, revealing their diversity and richness, and exploring their contribution to global garden art.
We’ll explore a variety of gardens in a variety of locations and climates around the United States, each of which is open to the public and can be visited and experienced in person. From the eastern seaboard to the west coast; the cold, high Rockies to the tropical southeast; balmy California to hot, dry deserts; the warm, wet Pacific northwest to the Prairies and the cool northeast create the full spectrum of garden design possibilities. Ranging across historical periods and styles, we will visit well known (and lesser well-known) gardens around the country to reveal in broad terms the evolution of American garden design over time. Beginning with early Colonial gardens on the East Coast and Mission gardens in California, we will move on to English Landscape-style gardens and French Baroque influenced antebellum plantation gardens. As we move chronologically ahead, we will also study the opulence of the Beaux-Arts-inspired Country Place Era and how it evolved into the innovative “homegrown” styles such as Prairie Gardens. We will conclude with a look at modern and contemporary American garden design.
Gardens featured include: Colonial Williamsburg, San Diego Mission, Mount Vernon, Monticello, Middleton Place, Rosedown Plantation, Biltmore, Dumbarton Oaks, Filoli, Innisfree, Longwood, Naumkeag, the Huntington Library, Untermeyer, Wave Hill, Longue Vue, Casa del Herro, J Irwin House and Garden, El Novillero, Lotusland, Sunnylands, Chanticleer, Chase Garden, Getty Centre, Hollister House and Windcliff.
Led by an expert on gardens and garden history, Dr Toby Musgrave, this Context interactive seminar will showcase and celebrate America’s great and inspiring gardens. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased knowledge and understanding of America’s great garden heritage. $36.50. Register at www.contextlearning.com
Dumbarton Oaks (Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Melissa Pace is an award-winning horticulturalist who competes in numerous garden and flower shows, from Philadelphia Flower Show to the Bolton Fair. She has been a University of Rhode Island Master Gardener since 2003. Melissa has been a presenter for numerous garden clubs and civic organizations throughout New England since 1995. Melissa holds a master’s degree in teaching from Bridgewater University, is an artist and art teacher. On July 15 at 7 pm, Melissa will conduct a flower arranging workshop at The Gardens at Elm Bank. Do you throw away prunings from your woody trees and shrubs? Learn how to put them to work in bold indoor and outdoor arrangements! Participants will leave with their own beautiful, seasonal arrangement. Materials provided will be a decorative pot or container, fresh greens, interesting woody materials, seasonal accent materials such as berries, foliage, etc., a list of ideal woody arrangement materials, and a pruning trimmer, although feel free to bring your own if you have one. $48 for Mass Hort members, $70 for nonmembers. Register at www.masshort.org
Kick off Eastie Week with a fun, family-friendly event uplifting the work of Eastie environmental justice organizations. The event takes place July 11 from 4 – 6 at the Joe Ciampa Community Garden, 124 Marginal Street in East Boston. Free and open to all, including free elote for the first 75 people from the Veronica Robles Cultural Center’s Elotes Locos–a bike-powered, youth-run elote cart. Plus music, gardening activities for all ages, a mindfulness class in Piers Park, an “ask a garden expert” session, and opportunities to get involved with green space and food access work in the neighborhood.
The Trustees Boston Community Gardens team is proud to partner with Eastie Farm, GreenRoots, and the Veronica Robles Cultural Center for this event. We’re grateful for TD Bank’s support of this and many other events in our gardens this summer. You may register HERE.
The traits typically used to describe trees—leaves, twigs, and buds—are often hard to see or seasonally absent. Join Michael Wojtech online on July 14 from 5:30 – 8 for an exploration of bark, which is always visible, in any season. As you hone your perceptive abilities you will learn about a system for identifying tree species by their bark, and discover why such a variety of bark characteristics exist. Why do some species have smooth bark, while on others it is thick and broken? Why does bark peel? This program is being offered as an online webinar with the ability to sign up for a field session on Saturday. Please note, the field session is limited to 15 people. If you are interested in signing up for the field session, click this link to register for both the webinar and the field session.
Michael Wojtech is the author of Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. As a naturalist and educator, Michael strives to share the science and wonder of trees in an accessible and compelling fashion. He writes, photographs, illustrates, and presents programs about the structure, growth processes, and ecology of trees-including their bark, buds, leaves, roots, and wood-for audiences at all levels of experience. He is especially interested in the process of discovery and engagement, and draws his greatest inspiration from sharing the sense of wonder, awe, and the recognition of beauty that result from these investigations.
Webinar only, $15 for Tower Hill members, $20 for nonmembers. Register for webinar only by clicking HERE.
Welcome! It is with great excitement and pleasure that the Southwest Michigan Hosta Society and the West Michigan Hosta Society are partnering to bring you the first ever Virtual 2021 American Hosta Society National Convention.
Register early to reserve your gift plant: Hosta Silly String. Registrants will also receive exclusive online access to: Speakers, Workshops, Clinics, on-demand, professionally recorded virtual garden tours, Ed Elslagar Seedling Competition, Hosta leaf show photo contest (unsanctioned), and more! Be sure to check back often at https://ahs2021.org/ for updated details on events.
On Thursday, July 15, Rob Mortko will talk about The Hot Hostas of Tomorrow. Following the recent demise of both Shady Oaks and Q&Z tissue-culture labs, fewer and fewer new hostas are finding their way to market. Made in the Shade started up their own TC lab ten years ago and is attempting to fill this void. Working with both hybridizers and other growers, a number of exciting new introductions are making their way to market to become the hot hostas of tomorrow. Get ready to add some new entries to your hosta wish list. For 20 years, Rob operated Made in the Shade Gardens – a retail and mail order hosta specialty nursery. Rob is now devoted full time to Made in the Shade Tissue Culture – a plant tissue culture laboratory specializing in hosta propagation.
In 2000, Rob registered and introduced his first hosta cultivar named ‘Heart and Soul’. His other hosta introductions include ‘Stitch in Time’, ‘Mouse Capades’, ‘Rising Star’, and ‘Carry On’. In 2019, ‘Stitch in Time’ was awarded Honorable Mention in its first year of competition toward the AHS Benedict Garden Performance Medal.
On Friday, July 16, Bob Iiames will speak on Cohesion vs Chaos: Creating Design in the Collector’s Garden. Do you love to buy hostas and plants in general? Do you get home and wonder, “How am I going to plant these so they don’t look like soldiers in a row?” Join Bob for a look at some gardens and gardeners who have solved the collector’s garden dilemma. See how they have created a cohesive look in their gardens through the use of color, texture, shape and form. We will talk about how to put it all together so you CAN have one of everything and still have a beautiful and harmonious garden. Bob Iiames is a groundskeeper at the 173-acre Lange Estate in Ludlow Falls, Ohio. He is a member of the American Conifer Society, Ohio Valley North American Rock Garden Society, and is past president of the Miami Valley Hosta Society.
The keynote speaker is Hans Hansen, who will deliver his talk on July 17 at 8 pm Central Time. Hansen currently holds over 179 U.S. Plant Patents and has registered 90 of his remarkable hosta originations. Furthermore, Hansen has contributed several additions to the Shadowland® series in the Proven Winners® program. Some introductions from his time at Walters Gardens include ‘Diamond Lake’, ‘Age of Gold’, and ‘Joy Ride’, as well as the action-packed convention plant, ‘Silly String’. We are pleased that Hans is telling us about his own interest in hybridizing the “friendship plant” with his presentation titled, “My Journey with Hostas.” From a very young age, Hans Hansen has been living and breathing plants. Raised on a dairy farm in SW Minnesota where he had a keen interest in plants, his early passion was lilies, peonies, and iris. Today, he is employed at Walters Gardens, Inc. where he is head of the hybridizing department. In a nutshell, Hansen is one of the premier plant breeders for all sorts of plants.
The 12th Annual Nantucket Garden Festival highlights the unique and beautiful garden ecosystems on Nantucket and focuses on the importance of sustainability, conservation and gardening ethics for the long-term health of the island. Scheduled for July 13th-15th, the festival celebrates gardening through creative in-person and virtual lectures and workshops, exquisite garden tours, and children’s activities.
NGF21 Presenters include Keynote Presenter Stephen Orr. Stephen Orr is the Editor-In-Chief of Better Homes and Gardens and Author of The New American Herbaland Tomorrow’s Garden. Orr will be joining us to explore the versatility of herbs in all their beauty and variety.
Orr has been a regularly featured gardening expert on “The CBS Early Show,” “The Martha Stewart Show,” and “The Today Show.” In addition he was a segment producer for the PBS television series “Cultivating Life” and edited two cookbooks by British author Sarah Raven for Rizzoli.
Orr is a featured speaker across the country for organizations such as The Garden Conservancy, The Garden Club of America, the Garden Writers Association, and a variety of national programs.
Also presenting will by Craig LeHoullier. Craig lives and gardens in Raleigh, North Carolina. A Rhode Island native, he caught the gardening passion from his grandfather, Walter, and dad, Wilfred. Craig achieved his PhD in chemistry at Dartmouth College, which resulted in a 25 year career in pharmaceuticals that ended in 2008.
Craig’s gardening obsession, which started the year he and Susan were married (and their first garden, in 1981), is passing through several stages. His love of heirloom tomatoes began with his joining the Seed Savers Exchange, an organization for which he continues to serve as adviser for tomatoes, in 1986. He is responsible for naming and popularizing many well known tomatoes, such as Cherokee Purple.
In 2005 he added amateur tomato breeding to his garden resume, and continues to co-lead the Dwarf Tomato Breeding project, responsible for creating 90 (and counting) new compact growing varieties for space-challenged gardeners. His writing career kicked off with a 2012 request from Storey Publishing to write a book on tomatoes, resulting in Epic Tomatoes(2015). His second book, Growing Vegetables in Straw Bales, soon followed (2016).
Craig is a popular lecturer across the country at major gardening events, as well as a frequent guest on podcasts and radio shows. His upcoming projects include a third book, which will focus upon the story of the Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project, and a webinar series & online courses in which he will share his gardening knowledge.
The star quality continues with Peggy Cornett. Peggy is the Historic Gardener and Curator of Plants at Monticello and received the SGHS Flora Ann Bynum Medal for exemplary service in the garden history field and the Garden Club of America’s Zone VII Horticultural Commendation for Horticultural Expertise.
In addition to managing the historic plant collection, Cornett oversees educational programs at Monticello including the Garden and Grounds tour and the Garden Tasting Tours as well as natural history walks, lectures, and horticultural workshops throughout the year. She is the co-director of the Historic Landscape Institute, a unique one-week educational experience in the theory and practice of historic landscape hosted at Monticello.
Cornett also shares her knowledge in horticulture as a frequent guest on NPR and PBS. She also writes articles and lectures nationwide on vegetable gardens and historic plants.
Another Keynote Presenter, Christin Geall, is a Canadian floral designer, writer, gardener, photographer, and author of the book Cultivated: Elements of Floral Style(Princeton Architectural Press, 2020). Trained in horticultural at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, she completed a BA in Environmental Studies & Anthropology and a MFA in nonfiction before becoming a gardening columnist for Gardenista, a professor, and designer. Through her company, Cultivated, she teaches floral design in the UK, US, and Canada. Her writing and floral work focuses on the intersections of nature, culture, and horticulture.
Lastly, Jennifer Jewell, the creator/host of Cultivating Place, an award-winning public radio program & podcast on natural history and the human impulse to garden, will round out the speakers list. Her first book, The Earth In Her Hands, 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants, centering on women transforming horticulture around the world, is published by Timber Press.
Jewell’s writing and photography have been featured in publications including Gardens Illustrated, House & Garden, and Pacific Horticulture. From 2008 – 2016 Jewell created, wrote and hosted the weekly, regionally-focused In a North State Garden on North State Public Radio. From 2010 -2017 she worked as the curatorial assistant to the director and the curator of the native plant garden at Gateway Science Museum on the campus of CSU, Chico in Chico, CA.
Registration is now open at https://www.ackgardenfestival.org/ You may also sign up for garden tours, fairy garden workshops, tea parties, and book signings. The Nantucket Lighthouse School is the beneficiary of all NGF events.
