Boston Flora

Tag: Berkshire Botanical Gardens

  • Saturday, November 7 – Saturday, November 14 – Great Houses and Gardens of South Africa

    Join Berkshire Botanical Garden on an exceptional journey to South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, where one of the world’s great centers of biodiversity has inspired centuries of garden design. South Africa is recognized as a global hotspot for plant diversity, with a rich garden history shaped by indigenous flora, colonial influence and evolving horticultural traditions spanning more than 300 years.

    This carefully curated tour explores how that legacy unfolded, from early Dutch East India Company gardens to today’s celebrated estates. Highlghts include the world-renowned Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, internationally admired for its focus on indigenous plants, as well as extraordinary private and historic gardens at Babylonstoren, Vergelegen, Morgenster, Rustenberg, Stellenberg, and the celebrated rose garden at Fresh Woods.

    Art and architecture enrich the journey with visits to the Michaelis Collection, Koopmans-de Wet House, Groote Schuur, the Irma Stern Museum, and Groot Constantia, South Africa’s oldest wine estate.

    Guests enjoy four nights at the iconic Mount Nelson Hotel beneath Table Mountain, followed by three nights in the heart of Stellenbosch’s wine country on a garden-surrounded estate. Visits to private wine estates, Table Mountain National Park and the famous Penguin Beach complete a journey shaped by history, horticulture and extraordinary landscapes.

    Discover a living landscape where history, horticulture and beauty meet.

    For details and registration, email Olivia@ClassicalExcursions.com or call 413-446-8728 or visit Classical Excursions.

  • Wednesday, March 15 – Saturday, March 18 – Great Gardens of Houston

    Join Berkshire Botanical Garden and Classical Excursions as we explore the great gardens of the Houston Texas. Sample itinerary is forthcoming. All registrations are processed by Classical Excursions. Please contact lani@classicalexcursions.com or bstone@berkshirebotanical.org for more information. The trip will begin Wednesday, March 15 and continue through Saturday, March 18.

    Shangri-La Gardens, Beaumont, TX

  • Sunday, April 5, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Cultivating Mushrooms at Home: Winecaps, Oysters, and Shiitakes – Postponed

    Explore growing your own mushrooms in a class at Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge on Sunday, April 5 from 1 – 3, with Willy Crosby. Willie Crosby is the owner of Fungi Ally, a mushroom company located in Montague, MA, focusing on mushroom research, education, and spawn production. Willie has received 6 research and education grants over the last 5 years to study and educate the public on mushrooms. Willie aims to create a world of balance and connection through revealing the power of mushrooms.

    Learn the lifecycle of mushrooms and the important ecological role that fungi fill. Focus on several methods of cultivating mushrooms.  Participants will leave with the tools and knowledge to start cultivating mushrooms at home and will be given their own inoculated mushroom log.

    This program is currently accepting names for a wait list.  Call 413-298-3926.  Image from www.ruralaction.org.

  • Saturday, November 16, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Heritage New England Cooking

    Cast your mind back to the time when Farm-to-Table meals were from your farm and on your table. You would be familiar with terroir because it was all over the knees of your britches. Come to Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Teaching Kitchen on November 16 at 10 am to learn the simple but tasty approach to farmhouse cuisine of 150 or more years ago. Participants will experience such dishes as stewed soup, Johnnie Cake, herbed farmers’ cheese and more. Learn the secrets of selecting and caring for cast iron cookware and its health benefits. Hands-on participation is encouraged so bring a sense of curiosity and adventure and be willing to help with the process. Local ingredients will be sourced. History can definitely be fun, when you eat it!

    Instructor Dennis Picard has 42 years’ experience in Public History at such museums as Old Sturbridge Village and Hancock Shaker Village. He has taught fireplace and cast iron cooking for many years and is the author of three cookbooks. He is also president of the Board of Directors of the Pioneer Valley History Network and a member of the editorial board of the Country School Journal and grants committee of the Country School Association of America.

    Cooking classes are sponsored by Guido’s Fresh Marketplace. BBG members $55, nonmembers $65. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/heritage-new-england-cooking

  • Friday, November 15, 5:30 pm – Gardens, Houses, and Castles of Scotland Trip Information Session

    Consider combining your next vacation with garden inspiration! Berkshire Botanical Garden’s popular Garden tours are expertly arranged by BBG staff and expert travel organizer, Lani Summerville of Classical Excursions. They have included some of the most extraordinary gardens in the US and around the globe, with each trip led by horticultural-savvy guides who plan unforgettable itineraries including both well-known public and rarely accessible private gardens in their region. Please join us for our information session on our upcoming excursions to Scotland gardens near Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders on May 21 – 28, 2020.

    Gardens, Houses, and Castles of Scotland Information Session on Friday, November 15, 5:30pm in the Center House.

    For further information, including registering, contact Classical Excursions at contact@classicalexcursions.com or (860) 926-4895. You may also contact Chris Wellens at cwellens@berkshirebotanical.org or (413) 357-4657 to speak to a Berkshire Botanical Garden representative.

  • Wednesdays, July 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2:00 pm – Pop Up Gold Leaf Workshop

    This Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop is complementary to BBG’s current exhibition, Shimmering Flowers: Nancy Lorenz’s Bronze and Lacquer Landscapes. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the artistic medium of gold leafing and deepen their understanding by creating their very own gold leaf jar. Facilitated by BBG’s art education intern Mariah Baca. This workshop begins at 2 in the Center House Leonhardt Galleries, 5 West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge, and is open to all ages and is free with Garden admission. Come learn by creating! For more information visit www.berkshirebotanical.org. Workshops will take place weekly through July 24.

  • Saturday, October 27, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Delicious and Nutritious Seasonal Salads

    In this Berkshire Botanical Garden class on Saturday, October 27 from 1 – 4 taught by Anna Gershenson, we will focus on a variety of seasonal salads you can easily throw together. We will start with what you need to have on hand in your pantry and refrigerator, which utensils should be in your kitchen, and how to use grains, beans and local produce. We will also learn how to use herbs and spices to flavor your salads and how to dress them.

    Anna Gershenson is a professional cook and television personality. She has run a successful catering business since 1980, and has coined her own style of cooking, healthy gourmet, which focuses on creating delicious meals using seasonal ingredients and healthy preparations. Anna has developed a strong connection with the local farms in the Berkshires, where she lives, and where she hosts The Natural Cook with Anna Gershenson on Pittsfield Community Television, often featuring local farmers and food producers on her show. Her recipes have been published in the Boston Globe and on Food52.

    Kitchen classes are sponsored by Guido’s Fresh Marketplace. $45 for BBG members, $55 for nonmembers. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

    Image result for Anna Gershenson The Natural Cook

  • Saturday, March 24, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Container Gardening

    Jenna O’Brien, owner of Viridissima Horticulture and Design, uses containers in the landscape to enhance and extend seasonal beauty, produce food and create an authentic sense of place. Learn how Jenna carries out her container designs from functional and conceptual design to pot, plant and soil selection while viewing a slideshow of her latest designs followed by a hands-on demonstration. The March 24 class will be held at Berkshire Botanical Garden from 10 – 4, and is $25 for BBG members, $35 for nonmembers. Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

    Jenna O’Brien, owner and founder of Viridissima Horticulture & Design since 2003, has been working in Berkshire gardens for over 20 years. Jenna specializes in container gardening, perennial garden design and care, and estate garden and conservatory management.  Advance registration is highly recommended, but walk-ins are always welcome, space permitting.

    Image result for Jenna O'Brien Viridissima

  • Saturday, October 1, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Combining Perennials

    The whole can be more than the sum of the parts when you garden skillfully. A flowering perennial that is pretty by itself may be spectacular when contrasted with the right neighbor. And one plant can make up for the deficiencies of another when properly paired; a compact partner can hide the stems of a leggy beauty, another pairing can share their glory simultaneously or hold their own in two different seasons when artfully chosen. Garden writer and horticulturist Thomas Christopher, who recently authored Essential Perennials with Ruth Rogers Clausen, will share some of his favorite combinations and pass along tips that will set you on the road to creating many more of your own. The lecture will take place Saturday, October 1 beginning at 10 am at Berkshire Botanical Gardens in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. BBG members $20, nonmembers $25. Register online at https://berkshirebotanical.org/education/lectures-and-workshops/

    A graduate of the New York Botanical Garden School of Professional Horticulture, Thomas Christopher has written for numerous publications, including the New York Times and Better Homes and Gardens, and has served as a contributing editor to Martha Stewart Living. He is the co-author with Ruth Rogers Clausen of Essential Perennials, a complete reference to 2,700 perennials for the home garden.

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  • Saturday, October 25, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Magical Mixes

    Join Jacqueline van der Kloet at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens on Saturday, October 25, from 10 – 12, for a talk on plant combinations in her garden designs. She will focus on how she combines bulbs, perennials, flowering shrubs and trees in a naturalistic garden style. Using a case-study approach, she will suggest perennials and spring flowering bulbs and how to use them in all kinds of situations: private gardens small and large, estates, public parks and exhibitions. The program will include her inspirational lecture, a short break and time devoted to the technical “how to” aspects of her designs. She will answer all of your bulb questions and suggest solutions.

    Jacqueline van der Kloet is an internationally known garden designer based in Weesp, Holland. She is known for her artistic combinations of bulbs, perennials and flowering shrubs and trees. Her designs for public, private and corporate clients are found throughout Europe. She designed displays, both in 2002 and 2012, for Floriade, the international exhibition of flowers and gardening, held every ten years in the Netherlands. She renovated the bulb plantings at the famous Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, Netherlands, and has worked extensively with “New Wave” garden designer Piet Oudolf to create bulb planting schemes for three of America’s newest and most exciting public spaces: Millennial Park and the Lurie Garden in Chicago, Battery Park in New York City and the Seasonal Walk at the New York Botanical Garden. She has designed planting schemes at private gardens, including the Linden Allee at Martha Stewart’s Bedford, NY, estate.

    BBG member price $30, nonmembers $35. Register at http://www.berkshirebotanical.org/ai1ec_event/dutch-garden-designer-jacqueline-van-der-kloet-magical-mixes/?instance_id=2602, or call 413-298-3926, x 15.