Boston Flora

Tag: Bbg

  • Saturday, August 22, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Cooking with Tomatoes

    tI’s tomato season, the most anticipated harvest of the year. In this hands-on Berkshire Botanical Garden class, held on Saturday, August 22, from 3 to 5 p.m., and led by Miriam Rubin, we’ll begin with a tomato tasting, exploring varieties, textures, and flavor, along with a look at the growing season. Each participant will make a personal tomato galette with a choice of toppings on pre-rolled dough. While the galettes bake, we’ll cover an easy method for peeling and seeding tomatoes for sauce or freezing, then prepare Ginger Tomatoes and a Tomato and Peach Salad from Rubin’s book, Tomatoes. $90 for BBG members, $110 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/cooking-tomatoes-hands-workshop

    Miriam Rubin was the first woman to work in the kitchens of New York City’s famed Four Seasons Restaurant. A food writer and gardener, she wrote the Miriam’s Garden column for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for many years and her work has appeared in many other publications, including Organic Gardening and Rural Intelligence. She and her husband, the artist David J. Lesako, live in Ghent, N.Y. Find out more at her website, MiriamRubin.com, and Instagram @Miriam Rubin.

  • Friday, April 3, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Groundbreaking: Art From the Roots Up Opening Reception

    Come see the Berkshire Botanical Garden through the eyes of our talented students. This exhibition, running through April 19 at the Leonhardt Gallery, showcases artwork inspired by BBG art classes, celebrating the colors, forms and spirit of the natural world. From striking landscapes to playful, imaginative pieces, each work celebrates the joy of exploring nature through art.

    Opening reception is Friday, April 3, 5 to 7 p.m. Exhibition hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m, Tuesdays through Sundays. The Gallery is closed on Mondays. Thank you to Floret Flowers for the image below.

  • Thursdays, February 26 – March 19, 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Container Garden Design

    Acquire knowledge of the skills required for beautiful and successful container gardens with Jenna O’Brien, owner of Viridissima Horticulture and Design. Get to know the plants that thrive in containers and how to care for them. This three session class at Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge will cover practical aspects of gardening with style in containers throughout the New England garden season. Considerations will include container selection, siting, planting, growing, controlling pests, and maintaining moveable gardens. The course will be held Thursdays, February 26 – March 19, from 5:30 – 8:30. BBG members $215, nonmembers $240. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/container-garden-design

    Jenna O’Brien has been working in Berkshire gardens for over 20 years. She is also a member of the BBG Horticulture Advisory Committee and the Education Committee. Jenna specializes in container gardening, perennial garden design and care, country estate garden management, and Berkshire Garden Style.

  • Saturday, September 13, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Create a Butterfly Garden

    Attracting butterflies to your yard with native plants is a rewarding way to support local wildlife, increase the ecological value of your property and connect with the natural world. Led by Duncan Himmelman on Saturday, September 13, from 10 a.m. to noon, learn how to design a butterfly garden and discover plants that provide nectar for adult butterflies and foliage for their caterpillars. Leave with two simple garden plans that create beautiful sanctuaries for these colorful pollinators.

    Duncan Himmelman earned his doctorate at Cornell University and taught horticultural science at the college level for 24 years. He recently retired as the education manager at Mt. Cuba Center, a public garden in Delaware devoted to native plant advocacy. He enjoys teaching, designing landscapes and promoting ecologically focused gardening practices. Photo from Troy’s Tropics.

    $25 for BBG members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/create-butterfly-garden

  • Saturday, June 22, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm – The Veggie Specialist’s Garden

    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.

    No transportation will be provided. Garden location will be shared upon class registration. This Berkshire Botanical Garden course is $25 for BBG members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/veggie-specialists-garden

    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. 

  • Friday & Saturday, May 10 & 11 – Berkshire Botanical Garden 47th Annual Plants and Answers Sale

    Friday & Saturday, May 10 & 11 – Berkshire Botanical Garden 47th Annual Plants and Answers Sale

    Curated by BBG’s horticulture staff, this year’s Plant Sale features hundreds of perennials, annuals and vegetables with a focus on diversity and nature-based landscaping, a trend toward gardens that are exuberant and alive, out of the uniform and into something comfortable, and welcoming to birds, bees and butterflies.

    As always, the popular “Ask Me” staff and volunteers will be on hand to provide expert advice. All proceeds from the Plant Sale support the Garden’s horticulture and education programs. Garden members receive early buying privileges and a discount on BBG plant purchases. Free admission and free parking.

    Traditionally held on Mother’s Day weekend, the Plants-and-Answers Plant Sale began in 1977 as BBG’s harbinger of spring for gardeners in the Berkshires and beyond. This year’s sale carries on the tradition of supplying the very best robust plants for landscape and container gardens, along with a wide selection of organic vegetable and herb plants. Featured are a selection of plants which attract bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, moths and other pollinators. The Garden’s signature cone-shaped hanging container arrangements will also be available. 

    Thank you to the following businesses who have donated to the Plant Sale:

    Andrews Greenhouse
    Broken Arrow
    Callanders Nursery & Landscape
    Campo de Fiori
    Garden Magic d/b/a Country Caretaker
    Glendale
    Monrovia
    The Plant Group
    Randall’s Farm
    Sixteen Acres Garden Center
    Ward’s
    Whalen Nursery
    Zema’s Nursery

    Early buying for BBG members – Friday, May 10, 9 – 11 am. General Public, Friday, May 10, 11 – 5, Saturday, May 11, 9 – 4 Admission and parking are free.

  • Saturday, April 27, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Mindful Beekeeping

    Beekeeper and founder of Bee Resonance Project Asher Silverwolff takes participants on a grounding and calming journey into the inner world of bees on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to noon at Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge. Participants will experience meditation, show and tell, touch and feel and lots of time for Q&A. Asher will share stories of his relationship with bees, how it helps him relax and stay focused, what the year ahead looks like, and explore together as a group how the Bee Resonance Project might support those interested in taking up the mantle of beekeeping or already keeping bees.

    Bee Resonance Project is an organization focused on connecting people to themselves and nature by tuning into bees. They manage beehives on behalf of farms, educational organizations and private clients. They also host educational experiences and training for schools, companies and community organizations. $25 for BBG members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/mindful-beekeeping

  • Sunday, November 19, 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm – Film and Wine at the Garden

    Join Berkshire International Film Festival and Berkshire Botanical Garden for an afternoon of film and wine on November 19, 4 to 6:30 p.m. We will present a screening of Living Wine, directed by Lori Miller, followed by a wine tasting of organic and biodynamic wines. Ticket sales will help support both Berkshire International Film Festival and Berkshire Botanical Garden.

    Merging sweeping wine country footage with insightful interviews, filmmaker Lori Miller’s film showcases the dynamic natural wine movement that is transforming a growing number of northern California vineyards. BBG members $35, nonmembers $40. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/film-wine-garden

  • Sunday, August 20, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Dog Days of Summer

    In partnership with the Berkshire Humane Society, Berkshire Botanical Garden’s beloved event, Dog Days of Summer, is returning on Sunday, August 20, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Dog Days brings families and their furry friends together for a full day of canine fun in the Garden. Dog Days offers activities for both canines and their families, including dog-related workshops, vendors, demonstrations, and a dog pool party! 

    Admission is $18 for Non-Members and free for BBG members. An additional $5 per dog will be donated to the Berkshire Humane Society. The first 100 dogs to be admitted into the Garden will receive a Tito’s bandana provided by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, non-retractable leashes provided by Benson’s Pet Center,  and waste bags, and natural biscuits provided by Chez Pet. Fresh hot dogs from Stylin’ Franks will be available for purchase and refreshments will be provided by BBG. All dogs must be registered, up to date on vaccinations, and kept on a non-retractable leash.

  • Wednesdays, January 18 – February 1, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm – Organic Vegetable Gardening, Online

    Led by Bridgette Stone, Director of Education at Berkshire Botanical Garden, this class is designed for those starting or caring for a vegetable garden. This Berkshire Botanical Garden online course will include discussion of seed selection, seeding schedules, bed preparation and successful planting practice. During the first two sessions, students will learn about these practices, as well as what different vegetable families need to be successful. For the third class, students will demonstrate their learning by completing a vegetable garden design to be implemented at their own homes. Classes are January 18- February 1, from 5 – 6:30. $55 for BBG members, $65 for nonmembers. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org

    Courtesy of Mother Earth News