Boston Flora

Tag: Martha Stewart Living

  • 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

  • Saturday, March 12, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – The New Naturalism in Garden Design, Online

    In this era of purposeful and thoughtful gardening, planting is a powerful verb. Planting gardens inspired by nature promotes authentic connections with land, environment and humanity. Why not make a garden that works and looks good doing it? Landscapes at home and in the public realm can be beautiful and ecologically functional if we deepen our understanding of plants and place. In this lecture especially tailored to garden enthusiasts with eye-catching examples for every garden, plantsman and author Kelly D. Norris challenges audiences to plant the world a more beautiful, functional place.

    This Mt. Cuba Center program is part of its Winter Lecture Series and takes place online Saturday, March 12 at 11 am. $25. Register at https://mtcubacenter.org/event/the-new-naturalism-in-garden-design-online/

    About the Instructor:
    Kelly D. Norris is one of the leading horticulturists of his generation. An award-winning author and plantsman, Kelly’s work in gardens has been featured in The New York Times, Organic Gardening, Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, Fine Gardening, and Garden Design and in numerous local and regional media appearances. His passion for planting at the intersections of horticulture and ecology has culminated in the book New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden which debuted in 2021. Kelly also presents plants for Cottage Farms Direct on QVC and lectures widely to consumer and industry audiences.

  • Thursdays, August 26 – September 2, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Houseplant Design Workshop, Online

    Do you prefer simple and clean or wild and lush? Whatever your preference, learn to use basic principles of repetition, symmetry, and color theory to blend your beloved collection of houseplants into a unified design. In this New York Botanical Garden online course, we will discuss a broad palette of plants, how to mix and match them, and how to select the best pots or shelves to complement your decor. Daryl Beyers is the instructor, and the two session class begins August 26 and ends September 2, from 6 – 8. $85. Register HERE. Registered students will receive log in instructions.

    NYBG’s Gardening Program Coordinator, Daryl Beyers, brings over 20 years’ experience designing residential gardens and private estates to NYBG. Daryl has gone from the self-described “the guy pushing the wheelbarrow” to the owner of his own design business and an accomplished garden writer. He’s a former editor at Fine Gardening, and his articles have been featured in HGTV Magazine and in Martha Stewart Living, where he also served as Contributing Editor.

  • Thursday, February 25, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon – Leslie Bennett: Gardens of Sanctuary, Online

    Founder and owner of Pine House Edible Gardens, Leslie Bennett designs, builds, and maintains edible and culturally resonant landscapes that are beautiful and productive. The gardens she creates provide visual, physical, and cultural inspiration-along with nourishing organic harvests of food, flowers and medicinal herbs. With degrees from Harvard, Columbia Law School, and University College London in the fields of environmental law,cultural property, and social justice, Bennett brings a rare and important perspective to her landscape designs and her business practices. One effort of Pine House Edible Gardens is the Oakland, CA-based Black Sanctuary Gardens project, founded by Bennett in 2018, which actively works to create garden spaces of refuge and beauty in collaboration with Black women and communities.

    Recently, Leslie Bennett received the American Horticultural Society’s 2020 Great American Gardeners Landscape Design Award. She is co-author of The Beautiful Edible Garden, and has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, and Garden Design. Joining Bennett in conversation will be Jennifer Jewell, creator and host of the award-winning public radio program and podcast Cultivating Place.

    This February 25 online program is sponsored by the New York Botanical Garden as part of its Winter Lecture Series, and begins at 11 am Eastern time. To register, or for more information, visit www.nybg.org.

  • Thursday, September 24, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Dan Hinkley, Windcliff, On Line

    Enjoy an online lecture and Q&A session with author, gardener and nurseryman Dan Hinkley, whose new book, Windcliff, is available for purchase through the BBG online shop. In this part memoir/part hands-on gardening book, Dan Hinkley takes the reader from his formative years as a young lad in northern Michigan through his first garden-making experience at Heronswood Nursery in Kingston, WA, to his current private garden, Windcliff, in Indianola, WA. Through observations of the evolution of his garden, he reflects on its failures as well as its successes, the design principles he has garnered during 50-plus years of cultivating plants and the people he has interacted with along the way. It is the story of a journey virtually all of us take as gardeners, seen through the lens of someone with a lifelong obsession with plants and an awe for the perfection and majesty of the natural world. Our Author Series is presented in collaboration with Tower Hill Botanic Garden and Timber Press. The virtual event will take place Thursday, September 24 at 6:30, and registration (BBG and Tower Hill members $10, nonmembers $15) may be accomplished at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/author-series-dan-hinkley-windcliff

    Dan Hinkley was born in the highlands of North Central Michigan. He received a BS in ornamental horticulture and horticulture education from Michigan State University and an MS in urban horticulture from the University of Washington. While teaching horticulture at Edmonds Community College, he and his partner, Robert L. Jones, began Heronswood Nursery, near Kingston, WA. Devoted to introducing rare and unusual plants to North American gardeners, this endeavor led Hinkley to spend years exploring the world’s wilds. He has written for a number of periodicals, is a contributing editor to Horticulture Magazine and has appeared often on Martha Stewart Living television as a gardening correspondent, as well as on PBS NOVA. He has authored several books, including The Explorers Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials and The Explorers Garden: Shrubs and Vines from the Four Corners of the World, both of which received Book of the Year Awards from the American Horticultural Society. He has received numerous awards, most recently the Perennial Plant Association Award of Merit for contributions to the advancement of the perennials plant industry.

  • Thursday, July 9, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – The New Gardener’s Handbook, Online

    On July 9 at 6:30 pm, enjoy an online Berkshire Botanical Garden lecture and Q&A session with author Daryl Beyers about his new book, The New Gardener’s Handbook, available for purchase through the BBG online shop. Novice or experienced, all gardeners learn something new every time they step into a garden to check on a plant, dig in the soil or harvest the fruits of their labor. Daryl Beyers, author of The New Gardener’s Handbook, shares the why-dos of the how-tos that help gardeners grow beautiful and bountiful gardens. Daryl will discuss the fundamentals of how plants grow, the importance of soil, how to sow seeds, watering and weeding. New gardeners will come away with a foundation to help their gardens flourish, and accomplished gardeners will learn expert insights and some new tips and tricks. Our Summer Author Series is presented in collaboration with Tower Hill Botanic Garden and Timber Press.    $10 for members of sponsoring organizations, $15 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/summer-author-series-daryl-beyers-new-gardeners-handbook-online

    Daryl Beyers is author of The New Gardener’s Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Grow a Beautiful and Bountiful Garden, available from Timber Press. As gardening certificate program coordinator at the New York Botanical Garden, Daryl helps guide the program’s curriculum and teaches the popular Fundamentals of Gardening course and courses on container gardening and garden design. He has more than 25 years of professional landscaping experience, specializing in residential garden design and development. As a staff writer, photographer and editor for Fine Gardening magazine, Daryl authored two special issues on garden design, and he served as contributing garden editor for Martha Stewart Living. His articles on gardening and garden design have also appeared in Horticulture and HGTV Magazine. 

  • Wednesday, June 5, 1:30 pm – Garden Herbs: Their Cultivation, Cookery, Cures, and Caveats

    Many medicinal plants brought to the New World escaped dooryard gardens and naturalized in our local flora, which now includes many plants with legitimate or presumed curative properties. A number of these same medicinal herbs were used in cookery and food preservation, revealing the ethnobotanical wisdom of herbal antibiotic properties. On June 5 at 1:30 pm, Judith Sumner, a specialist in ethnobotany, flowering plants, plant adaptations, and garden history,  will present an intriguing overview of medicinal and culinary plants—from ancient traditions to gourmet cookery, military history, and modern medicine.

    Sought after as a speaker, Sumner has been  guest on the “Martha Stewart Living” TV show, the PBS program “Cultivating Life,” and various other PBS and educational programs. She lectures widely at botanical gardens, universities, and various symposia. The talk will be held at the Lexington Depot, followed by a tour of the Lexington Historical Society’s Hancock-Clarke House herb gardens and refreshments in Hancock-Clarke Barn.  Tickets available at https://www.lexingtonhistory.org/events.html

    An optional private tour of the Hancock-Clarke House is available after the presentation at 4:30 PM. LHS/LFGC members free, $10 for non-members. This add-on is available at the ticket link above.
    ​This tour is limited to 30 people.

  • Thursday, May 23, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Seasonal Flower Arranging: Fill Your Home with Blooms, Branches, and Foraged Materials All Year Round

    Meet Ariella Chezar, one of the most sought after and highly regarded floral designers in the world, and the author of the recently released book Seasonal Flower Arranging: Fill Your Home with Blooms, Branches, and Foraged Materials All Year Round. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, this lavishly photographed book provides step-by-step instructions for 39 seasonal floral arrangements and projects that celebrate the splendor of flowers, the bounty of the changing seasons, and the wild beauty of nature in your home. This May 23 Berkshire Botanical Garden talk and book signing is co-presented with Berkshire Magazine.

    Ariella Chezar is the author of The Flower Workshop and Flowers for the Table and a master floral designer who has appeared in numerous magazines, including O, Martha Stewart Living, and Real Simple. She is an instructor and artistic director at FlowerSchool New York, and has designed flower arrangements for the White House.

    $10 for BBG members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/seasonal-flower-arranging-talk-and-book-signing-ariella-chezar$10 for BBG members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events/seasonal-flower-arranging-talk-and-book-signing-ariella-chezar

  • Wednesday, August 9, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Harvest: Unexpected Projects Using Extraordinary Garden Plants

    In their beautifully photographed guide to growing, harvesting, and utilizing 47 unexpected plants, Harvest, Stefani Bittner and Alethea Harampolis encourage gardeners to discover the surprising usefulness of petals and leaves, roots, seeds, and fruit. Turn turmeric root into a natural dye and calamintha into lip balm. Make anise hyssop into a refreshing iced tea and turn apricots into a facial mask. Crabapple branches can be used to create stunning floral arrangements, oregano flowers to infuse vinegar, and edible chrysanthemum to liven up a salad. With the remarkable, multi-purpose plants in Harvest, there is always something for gardeners to harvest from one growing season to the next. Stefani will appear at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Wednesday, August 9 for a talk beginning at 7 pm, followed by a book signing. Free with admission to the gardens.

    Stefani Bittner and Alethea Harampolis are the co-founders of Homestead Design Collective, a San Francisco Bay Area landscape design firm focused on creating beautiful gardens that provide harvest. Stefani is the co-author of The Beautiful Edible Garden (Ten Speed Press, 2013) and Alethea is the co-author of the best selling books, The Flower Recipe Book and The Wreath Recipe Book (Artisan 2013 and 2014). Stefani and Alethea’s latest collaboration, Harvest, was released by Ten Speed Press in February 2017. Stefani and Alethea’s work has been featured in San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset Magazine, C Magazine, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Vogue, Food and Wine, and Gardenista.com.

  • Saturday, February 4, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – In Bloom: Creating and Living with Flowers

    Inspiring new ways to connect with the beauty of flowers in everyday life. Like the author’s exquisite first book, Bringing Nature Home, this much-awaited follow-up title, In Bloom, presents stunning arrangements and ideas for interiors inspired by the beauty of flowers. Ngoc Minh Ngo has recorded the work of artists, designers, and tastemakers who demonstrate the many ways that flowers can enhance our homes and work spaces. Each chapter focuses on a unique way to incorporate floral designs into interiors, from flower arrangements made from foraged greenery to wall painting evoking Monet’s water lilies to paper flowers that never lose their vibrancy. Renowned photographer Oberto Gili fills his house in Italy with treasures from his bountiful garden that inspire his work, and landscape designer Miranda Brooks puts to use her passion for all things botanical in the decoration of her beautiful Brooklyn home. With exceptional photography that captures the beauty of these flower-inspired homes and text that shares how these imaginative artists and designers achieved their botanical creations, this is an irresistible book for flower lovers, decorators, and homeowners.

    Ngoc Minh Ngo, the author and photographer of Bringing Nature Home, is a self-taught photographer whose work explores the intrinsic beauty of plants and nature. Her images have been published in international publications such as T Magazine, House & Garden UK, Martha Stewart Living, and Garden Design. The talk and book signing is free with admission but pre-registration is requested at www.towerhillbg.org.