Boston Flora

Tag: Kyoto School of Art and Design

  • Sunday, October 16, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm – Seed Saving

    Have you ever wanted to collect seed from the garden to create more plants? This Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop on October 16, led by garden writers and horticulturists Lee Buttala and Shanyn Siegel, teaches gardeners everything they need to know in order to harvest and collect seed that they can then sow in the seasons ahead. This half-day workshop begins inside with a presentation on the rudiments of how plants create seed. (Plants set seed all on their own; the gardener only needs to facilitate this process and learn to identify the right moment to collect seed.) The workshop will include a review of basic collecting and cleaning practices for dry- and wet-fruited plants. After the presentation, attendees will head out into the garden to identify and collect ripe seed. The class then heads back inside where attendees will “get seedy” and learn to thresh and winnow dry-fruited species and how to clean and prepare wet-fruited seeds for future use. Participants will walk away from the class not only with seeds in hand, but with a knowledge of how to isolate, identify and collect seed of some of their favorite species and varieties of plants.

    Shanyn Siegel, the co-editor of The Seed Garden who has a nursery focused on growing locally collected ecotypes of native plants in Connecticut. Lee Buttala is the former executive director of Seed Savers Exchange, an heirloom vegetable gene bank that is the only non-governmental organization storing seed at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. He has also worked for BBG and the Garden Conservancy, and currently serves as chair of the Historic Landscapes Committee of the APGA. Lee won an Emmy award for his role as a garden television producer for “Martha Stewart Living” and was the creator of PBS’s “Cultivating Life.” He is the editor of the award-winning book, The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Saving Seed, writes a weekly garden column for The Berkshire Edge and serves on the board of Hollister House Garden in Washington, Conn. Lee studied garden design at the Chelsea Physic Garden, the New York Botanical Garden and the Kyoto School of Art and Design. He lives in Ashley Falls, Mass.

    $20 for BBG members, $25 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/seed-saving-1

  • Saturday, September 24, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – The Art of Planting Bulbs

    For many gardeners, nothing is more fulfilling than planting bulbs in the fall for spring bloom. In this Berkshire Botanical Garden class on September 24 from 10 – noon, garden writer and horticulturist Lee Buttala plumbs the depths of the geophyte kingdom, highlighting major and minor bulbs, from snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils to species tulips, hyacinths and fritillaria, that bring the spring garden into full focus. This class explores not only the classic techniques for using bulbs in the garden, but it also shows new approaches that pair bulbs with perennials and other plantings that complement them or that take the main stage as the bulb show comes to an end. This class will explore planting methods, post-bloom care for bulbs and how to select varieties best suited to naturalizing.

    Lee Buttala is the former executive director of Seed Savers Exchange, an heirloom vegetable genebank that is the only non-governmental organization storing seed at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. He has also worked for BBG and the Garden Conservancy, and currently serves as chair of the Historic Landscapes Committee of the APGA. Lee won an Emmy award for his role as a garden television producer for “Martha Stewart Living” and was the creator of PBS’s “Cultivating Life.” He is the editor of the award-winning book The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Saving Seed, writes a weekly garden column for The Berkshire Edge and serves on the board of Hollister House Garden in Washington, Conn. Lee studied garden design at the Chelsea Physic Garden, the New York Botanical Garden and the Kyoto School of Art and Design. He lives in Ashley Falls, Mass.

    Courtesy Garden Design

  • Sunday, November 11, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Rooted in Place: 3rd Annual Ecological Gardening Symposium

    This full-day program on November 11 at the Berkshire School in Sheffield focuses on managing the landscape sustainably, led by Neil Diboll, Jeff Lowenfels, Lee Buttala, and Dr. Robert J. Gegear. Please join us as we hear from the experts on topics relevant to all gardeners and growers.

    Neil Diboll: The American Garden: A Life or Death Situation

    Our gardens and landscapes are becoming increasingly important refuges for pollinators, birds, butterflies and other creatures as their former habitats disappear. Diboll will focus on the evolution of the American garden from solely a creation for enjoyment of the owners to becoming a biodiverse refuge for native plants and animals. He will share a step-by-step approach that will provide you with “tried and true” methods to convert a small area to a prairie garden or a large acreage to a beautiful meadow.

    A pioneer in the native plant industry and recognized internationally as an expert in native plant community ecology, Neil Diboll has guided the growth of Prairie Nursery for 30 years. He has dedicated his life to the propagation of native plants and their promotion as uniquely beautiful, ecologically beneficial and sustainable solutions for landscapes and gardens. In 2013 Neil was the recipient of the Great American Gardeners Award from the American Horticultural Society.

    Jeff Lowenfels: Teaming With Microbes and Fungi: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web

    No one ever fertilizes the Redwoods. How did these trees live over 500 years and grow to 380 feet without Miracle-Gro or other chemicals? In an extremely humorous and entertaining presentation, Jeff Lowenfels will tell you and show you how to successfully use the very same natural principles to maintain your yard and grow your gardens. No more chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other nasty chemicals and a lot less work as Jeff shows you how to team with the microbes in your soil! After just one extremely painless and entertaining hour even the ‘reluctant spouse’ will never use chemicals again. As more and more professionals in all aspects of horticulture are learning about the benefits of mycorrhizal fungi, these symbiotic fungi are becoming readily available to the public as a whole. All gardeners and growers need to learn about mycorrhizal fungi and how to use them as they make a huge, beneficial difference in so many ways. This talk gives you all you need to know, plus a few laughs. Jeff Lowenfels is the author of a trilogy of award winning books on plants and soil, and he is the longest running garden columnist in North America. Lowenfels is a national lecturer as well as a fellow, hall of fame member, and former president of the Garden Writers of America.

    Lee Buttala: The Return of the Species

    In a horticultural and agricultural universe where hybrids and vegetative propagation have become commonplace, the biodiversity of many species is being bottlenecked even by those with the best of intentions. In this talk about how to maintain the genetic breadth of species and varieties that allow them to adapt and evolve to local conditions and weather change, Lee Buttala advocates for the importance and ease of growing many of these plants from open-pollinated seed. Citing examples he has learned from writing about seed saving in relation to his work on the preservation of heirloom vegetables at Seed Savers Exchange, Buttala sets forward a simple approach to how we can all contribute to biodiversity in our own backyards, whether we are growing natives, vegetables or ornamental plants, in a manner which is economically and environmentally sound and satisfying, not to mention cost-effective and fun. Learn to preserve the biodiversity of the plant kingdom, one seed at a time.

    Lee Buttala is the Executive Director of Seed Savers Exchange, a seed bank dedicated to the sharing and saving of seeds that define America’s food and garden heritage, and the only non-governmental organization storing seed at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Formerly the director of marketing communications for BBG and the Preservation Manager for the Garden Conservancy, he is also the Chair of the Historic Landscapes Committee of the APGA. He was the Emmy-Award winning garden television producer for Martha Stewart Living, the creator of PBS’s Cultivating Life and editor of the award-winning book: The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Saving Seed. He also writes a weekly garden column for the Berkshire Edge and sits on the board of Hollister House Garden in Washington, CT. He studied garden design at the Chelsea Physick Garden, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Kyoto School of Art and Design.

    Dr. Robert J. Gegear: Humming a Different Tune: An Ecological Approach to Native Pollinator Conservation
    Pollinators are declining at an unprecedented rate worldwide due to human-induced rapid environmental change. These declines pose a significant threat to our food supply and consequently, there has been major focus on the development and implementation of conservation strategies to maintain pollination services to crop plants. However, the overwhelming majority of current strategies do not consider the keystone role that pollinators play in natural ecosystems, making them an ineffective tool for maintaining and restoring biodiversity. Dr. Robert Gegear of WPI Department of Biology and Biotechnology, and Director of the New England Bee-cology Project, researches and presents on the importance of developing an ecologically-focused approach to developing and maintaining your garden, citing examples from his ongoing field research in Massachusetts. Dr. Robert J. Gegear is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology and Biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the Director of the New England Bee-cology Project. Dr. Gegear’s current research focuses on Pollinator neuroecology and conservation, with particular focus on bumblebees native to Massachusetts.

    Sponsored by the Berkshire Botanical Garden, Red Lion Inn, Berkshire School, and the Seed Savers Exchange

    Tuition ($95 for BBG members, $105 for nonmembers) includes lunch. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org.

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