Naumkeag

Fridays – Sundays through December 30, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Winterlights

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NEW: This holiday season, the gardens at two of The Trustees’ most popular historic homes, Naumkeag in Stockbridge and The Stevens-Coolidge Place in North Andover, will sparkle with thousands of shimmering holiday lights. Each weekend features performances and activities for the whole family, from the young to the young at heart. See something new throughout the season. Don your coats, pull on your boots and join us for a new family tradition!

Select a date online at http://www.thetrustees.org/things-to-do/special-events/winter-lights.html to purchase your tickets. Entrance to the gardens is ticketed in 15-minute increments between 5-8PM. Upon selecting a date, you will be prompted to select an arrival time. Please be prepared to arrive 10 minutes prior to your ticketed entrance time to help expedite the check-in process.

Trustees Members: $12
Nonmembers: $17
Children 12 and under: FREE

Questions about Winterlights? Email naumkeag@thetrustees.org (Naumkeag) or andover@thetrustees.org (The Stevens-Coolidge Place).

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Saturday, August 11, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm, and Sunday, August 12, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm – The Grow Show

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The Berkshire Botanical Garden will host the 48th Annual The Grow Show on Saturday, August 11 from 1 – 5, and Sunday, August 23, from 10 – 5, at The Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge.  Entry to the show is free with admission.  Take in the talents of regional gardeners, flower designers, and photographers. The event shares the Garden’s season-long ART/GARDEN theme, where both the floral design and photography divisions take inspiration from notable works of art at regional museums including The Clark, Norman Rockwell, Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio, Berkshire Botanical Garden, and the Berkshire Museum. The Grow Show’s Horticulture division spotlights regional backyard gardeners when their summer harvest is at its peak.  Nearly 80 horticulture classes are open for registration, representing divisions including annuals, perennials, biennials, vegetables, fruits and berries, container grown plants and dish gardens, among others. There is no charge to enter the Grow Show. For complete information visit https://berkshirebotanical.org/grow-show

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Saturday, May 19, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – The Art of the Garden

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The Trustees 5th Annual “Home Sweet Home” Historic Open House Day will take place on Saturday, May 19th from 10AM to 4PM. This year’s theme, The Art of the Garden: Inspiration Grows Here, will celebrate The Trustees’ public gardens, a living documentary of Massachusetts horticulture and design traditions. Many of these gardens are part of the landscapes of Trustees historic sites, the former homes of historical figures, literati, titans of industry, political leaders, artists and more and span a 300-year timeline from the Colonial Era to the Modern Movement. Come experience all the beauty, history, and unique stories contained within each home, as well as the exquisitely designed gardens and stunning natural landscapes. The ten sites open free of charge are Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich, the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate in Canton, the Stevens-Coolidge Place in North Andover, The Old Manse in Concord, The Ashley House in Sheffield, Naumkeag House & Gardens in Stockbridge, the Mission House in Stockbridge, The Folly at Field Farm in Williamstown (pictured)  and the William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington. Special tours, gardening and family-friendly activities and refreshments will be offered. Visit http://thetrustees.org/homesweethome for details.

Wednesday, August 16, 8:00 am – 6:30 pm – Trip to Naumkeag & Chesterwood: Gardens, Art & Architecture in the Berkshires

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The summer estate of Daniel Chester French (1850-1931), sculptor of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial, is one of the hidden gems of the Berkshires. After a guided tour of French’s newly rehabilitated studio and nine-bedroom residence, we’ll enjoy a buffet lunch and free time to explore the formal gardens and woodland walks, plus an outdoor sculpture exhibition of works by 15 contemporary artists.

The afternoon will feature a guided tour of the house and gardens at Naumkeag. With its gracious house, magnificently restored gardens, and panoramic views, Naumkeag is a quintessential country estate of the Gilded Age. Joseph Choate, a leading 19th-century attorney, hired the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, & White to design the 44-room “cottage” which would serve as a summer retreat for three generations of Choates. With its views of Monument Mountain, its stunning collection of gardens created by Joseph Choates’s daughter, Miss Mabel Choate, and famed landscape architect Fletcher Steele, its original artwork, and its shingle-style house, Naumkeag creates an unforgettable experience for visitors. Garden highlights include the Blue Steps, a series of deep blue fountain pools, flanked by four flights of stairs and a grove of white birches; the Afternoon Garden; Tree Peony Terrace; Rose Garden; Evergreen Garden; and Chinese Garden.

Please wear comfortable walking shoes and be prepared for climbing stairs and walking on uneven ground. There are no elevators at Naumkeag.
Wednesday, August 16, Leave Tower Hill at 8am, return at 6:30pm. Tower Hill Member $150, Non-member $175, including transportation, guided tours and buffet lunch. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

Wednesday, August 17, 10:00 am – 11:00 am – The Art of Cut Flowers

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Come to the cutting garden at Naumkeag in Stockbridge, Massachusetts on Wednesday, August 17 at 10 am to learn about the flowers growing in season, and how to cut, care for and grow them in your own garden. Participants will leave with their own flower bouquet. Led by Naumkeag horticulturist Eric Ruquist, the program, run by The Trustees, is $9 for TTR members, $15 for nonmembers. Register by calling 413-298-3239, x 3013, or email cpetrikhuff@thetrustees.org.  Image from www.photosjoy.com.

Friday, April 25 – New England Landscape Design & History Association Annual Reception

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NELDHA’s Annual Reception and Lecture will take place on Friday, April 25, 2014 at the beautiful MIT Endicott House in Dedham, Massachusetts. The featured speaker will be Lucinda Brockway, Director for Cultural Resources for the The Trustees of Reservations, where she guides the wonderful restoration of the historic gardens at Castle Hill in Ipswich and Naumkeag in Stockbridge. She was an award-winning landscape designer and preservationist, serving a national clientele for twenty-five years before coming to the trustees.

Through her firm, Past Designs in Kennebunk, Maine, Lucinda’s work included such well-known projects as Fort Ticonderoga’s Jardin du Roi, Newport’s Bellevue Avenue estates, the Battle Green (Lexington, Massachusetts), Villa Finale in San Antonio ,Texas, the Camden Amphitheatre in Maine and several other projects for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Her private residential designs won recognition throughout the country. She specialized in designing period-inspired landscapes and gardens featuring both historic and indigenous plants. She is the author of two books, A Favorite Place of Resort for Strangers and Gardens of the New Republic.

Times and ticketing information will be available at www.neldha.org.

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Monday, September 16, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm – Rolling Ridge Preservation Round Table and Workshop

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Rolling Ridge and the New England Landscape Design and History Association are excited and pleased to invite you to a Preservation Round Table and Workshop on the Fountains and Gardens of renowned landscape architect Fletcher Steele at Rolling Ridge, North Andover, Massachusetts on Monday, September 16, from 9:30- 3 pm.

They are gathering some of the experts to help put Fletcher Steele and Rolling Ridge on the Massachusetts garden history map. As a destination place with a hidden gem up to this point, but it can be a showplace of the genius of one the nation’s great landscape architects. Two of Steele’s designs are designated National Historic Landmarks: Naumkeag in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and the Amphitheatre in Camden, Maine.

Of the 500 plus gardens Fletcher Steele designed, Rolling Ridge ranks in the top three according to Robin Karson, author of Fletcher Steele, Landscape Architect. The garden rooms, the fountains and the layout reflect the genius of Steele in one of his earliest designs. Yet years of New England weather have deteriorated the concrete and stopped the water flow. Five presentations from Steele experts will illuminate Steele at Rolling Ridge, lead us on a tour the garden and fountains and tell of plans for restoration.

Come see this historic gem, view the plans and ideas for restoration and share in the conversation on the future of this significant landscape. Register online at www.rollingridge.org.  The $75 fee includes a delicious lunch, presentations and tour. Rain or shine.  Garden Club of the Back Bay members enjoyed a memorable tour and lunch last spring at Rolling Ridge, and everyone attending saw the need for an influx of money, time and expertise to put Rolling Ridge back on the map.  The Club enthusiastically endorses this effort.

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Saturday, September 21, 8:00 am – Sunday, September 22, 5:00 pm – What’s Out There Weekend in the Berkshires

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The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s What’s Out There Weekend, scheduled for September 21 and 22, features free, expert-led tours at more than two-dozen significant examples of cultural landscapes in the Berkshires region, including important historical sites along the African American Heritage Trail, historic farmsteads and town commons, and iconic landscape design at places like Naumkeag and the Mount. The weekend also highlights the Berkshires’ golf history, with tee times at significant courses all over the region. The tours offer people opportunities to learn about landscape architecture and the design and cultural history of places they may pass every day but don’t necessarily know about. This event is coming to the Berkshires through a collaborative effort with Berkshire Synergy Project (BSP).

Complete details can be found at http://tclf.org/event/wotw-berkshires, but below are a few of the optional tours scheduled to take place. Each participant is limited to five tours:

Freight Yard Historic District

NORTH BERKSHIRES/NORTH ADAMS
Saturday, Sept. 21, 10:30am to Noon
Guide: Judy Grinnell; Robert Campanile; Paul Marino; Justyna Carlson; Gene Carlson
Meet: Western Gateway Heritage State Park, Building 5A, State Street, North Adams

Bascom Lodge & Mt. Greylock

N. BERKSHIRES/LANESBOROUGH
Saturday, Sept. 21, 1:00 to 2pm
Guide: Alec Gillman; Paul Dudek
Meet: Summit of Mt. Greylock
In front of Bascom Lodge, 30 Rockwell Road, Lanesborough

Pittsfield Park Square

NORTH BERKSHIRES/PITTSFIELD
Saturday, Sept. 21, 10:00 to 11:30am
Guide: Pittsfield Guide
Meet: The Athenaeum Public Library
1 Wendell Ave, Pittsfield

Wahconah Ball Park

NORTH BERKSHIRES/PITTSFIELD
Saturday, Sept. 21, Noon to 1:00pm
Guide: Jim McGrath
Meet: 105 Wahconah Street, Pittsfield

Hebert Arboretum, Springside Park

NORTH BERKSHIRES/PITTSFIELD
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2:00 to 3:30pm
Guide: Bob Presutti
Meet: Elmhurst Parking Lot
874 North Street, Pittsfield

Hancock Shaker Village (Tour I)

NORTH BERKSHIRES/PITTSFIELD
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2:00 to 3:00pm
Guide: Todd Burdick; Lesley Herzberg
Meet: Ticket Desk, 34 Lebanon Mountain Road, Pittsfield

Ventfort Hall

CENTRAL BERKSHIRES/LENOX
Saturday, Sept. 21, 10:00 to 11:00am
Guide: Tsaja Sprague
Meet: Covered Driveway, 104 Walker Street, Lenox

Tanglewood

CENTRAL BERKSHIRES/LENOX
Saturday, Sept. 21, 11:30am to 12:30pm
Guide: Tanglewood Staff
Meet: Main Gate at Tanglewood, 297 West St, Lenox

Tub Parade

CENTRAL BERKSHIRES/LENOX
Saturday, Sept. 21, 1:15 to 2:15pm
Guide: N/A
Meet: Main Street, Lenox

Ice Glen (pictured below)

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/STOCKBRIDGE
Saturday, Sept. 21, 8:30 to 9:30am
Guide: Jess Toro; Jim Murray
Meet: End of Park Street, by the bridge

Berkshire Botanical Garden

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/STOCKBRIDGE
Saturday, Sept. 21, 10:00 to 11:00am
Guide: Berkshire Botanical Garden Guides
Meet: Visitor Center, 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge

Naumkeag (Tour I)

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/STOCKBRIDGE
Saturday, Sept. 21, 11:00am to Noon
Guide: Naumkeag Staff
Meet: Main Entrance, 5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge

Chesterwood

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/STOCKBRIDGE
Saturday, Sept. 21, 12:30 to 1:30pm
Guide: Anne Cathcart
Meet: Barn Gallery, Chesterwood
4 Williamsville Road, Stockbridge

Bartholomew’s Cobble (Hawk Watch)

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/SHEFFIELD
Saturday, Sept. 21, 11:00am to 1:00pm
Guide: Rene Wendell
Meet: Main Entrance, 105 Weatogue Rd
Ashley Falls, Sheffield

Bidwell House

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/MONTEREY
Saturday, Sept. 21, 1:00 to 2:30pm
Guide: Rob Hoogs
Meet: 100 Art School Road, Monterey

Ashintully Gardens (Tour I)

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/TYRINGHAM
Saturday, Sept. 21, 3:00 to 4:00pm
Guide: Ashintully Staff
Meet: Main Entrance, Sodom Road, Tyringham

Housatonic River Walk

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/GREAT BARRINGTON
Saturday, Sept. 21, 3:00 to 4:00pm
Guide: Rachel Fletcher; Will Conkin
Meet: Du Bois River Garden Park
Church & River Streets, Great Barrington

W.E.B. Du Bois Historic Site

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/GREAT BARRINGTON
Saturday, Sept. 21, 4:00 to 5:00pm
Guide: Emily Oswald; Wray Gunn
Meet: Parking Lot, 612 South Egremont Road, Great Barrington

Hancock Shaker Village (Tour II)

NORTH BERKSHIRES/PITTSFIELD
Sunday, Sept. 22, 2:00 to 3:00pm
Guide: Todd Burdick; Lesley Herzberg
Meet: Ticket Desk, 34 Lebanon Mountain Road, Pittsfield

Jacob’s Pillow Dance

CENTRAL BERKSHIRES/BECKET
Sunday, Sept. 22, 10:00 to 11:00am
Guide: Jacob’s Pillow Staff
Meet: Welcome Center, 358 George Carter Road, Becket

Lee Town Park and Main Street

CENTRAL BERKSHIRES/LEE
Sunday, Sept. 22, 1:00 to 2:30pm
Guide: Craig Okerstrom-Lang
Meet: Lee Town Hall, 32 Main Street, Lee

The Mount

CENTRAL BERKSHIRES/LENOX
Sunday, Sept. 22, 3:00 to 4:30pm
Guide: Tom Ingersoll
Meet: Entry Court, The Mount
2 Plunkett Street, Lenox

Stockbridge Main Street

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/STOCKBRIDGE
Sunday, Sept. 22, 10:00 to 11:00am
Guide: Tom Daly
Meet: Children’s Chimes Tower
Village Green, Stockbridge

Naumkeag (Tour II)

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/STOCKBRIDGE
Sunday, Sept. 22, 11:00am to Noon
Guide: Naumkeag Staff
Meet: Main Entrance, 5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge

Laurel Hill & Mary Flynn Trail-1

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/STOCKBRIDGE
Sunday, Sept. 22, 1:00 to 2:30pm
Guide: Patricia Flinn
Meet: Stockbridge Town Offices
6 East Main Street, Stockbridge

Lime Kiln Farm Wildlife Sanctuary

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/SHEFFIELD
Sunday, Sept. 22, 10:00am to Noon
Guide: Rene Laubach
Meet: Public Parking Area, Silver Street, Sheffield

Bartholomew’s Cobble (Hike)

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/SHEFFIELD
Sunday, Sept. 22, 11:00am to 1:00pm
Guide: Bartholomew’s Cobble Staff
Meet: Main Entrance, 105 Weatogue Road, Ashley Falls, Sheffield

Ashintully Gardens (Tour II)

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/TYRINGHAM
Sunday, Sept. 22, 11:00am to Noon
Guide: Ashintully Staff
Meet: Main Entrance, Sodom Road, Tyringham

Gould Farm

SOUTH BERKSHIRES/SHEFFIELD
Sunday, Sept. 22, 1:00 to 3:00pm
Guide: Robert Rausch
Meet: Harvest Barn, 54 Gould Road, Monterey

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Thursday, September 20, 10:00 am – Great Gardens of the Northeast

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The Garden Club of the Back Bay opens its 2012/2013 program year focused on Gardens of America on Thursday, September 20, beginning at 10 am at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue. Join Adriana O’Sullivan for a spectacular armchair garden tour from Washington, DC to Mount Desert Island in Maine. This one-hour presentation focuses on some of the finest gardens the Northeast has to offer. Dumbarton Oaks in Washington D.C., designed by Beatrix Farrand between 1921 and 1941, Wave Hill Botanic Garden in The Bronx, Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate in Sleepy Hollow, NY (pictured below), the magnificent gardens at Old Westbury on Long Island, Edith Wharton’s estate ‘The Mount’, and Naumkeag in the Berkshire hills. In New Hampshire we visit the home and studio of Augustus Saint Gaudens and on Mount Desert Island in Maine we will see the Thuya Gardens, the Asticou Azalea Garden and the famous Abby Aldridge Rockefeller Garden. All gardens are a feast for the eye and all are open to the public.  GC members will receive written notification.  The public is invited, with a requested $5 donation, and may rsvp at info@gardenclubbackbay.org.

Friday, July 31, 6 – 9 pm – Garden Party at Naumkeag

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Delight in a festive evening amongst the gardens of Naumkeag – a National Historic Landmark and one of the most beautiful views in New England! Stroll through the world-famous gardens sparkling with fireflies. Feast on hors d’oeuvres and sip on cocktails while watching the sun set behind the Berkshire Hills. Bid on the best of the Berkshires at the silent and live auctions. All proceeds support restoration of Naumkeag’s historic kitchen.

Naumkeag was the summer “cottage” of the Choate family who began summering in Berkshire County in the 1870s. Designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1885, this forty-four-room, shingle-style house is filled with original furniture, ceramics, and artwork collected from America, Europe, and the Far East. Joseph Hodges Choate (1832-1917) was a prominent New York attorney. Between 1899 and 1905, he served in England as U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James.

Naumkeag is famous for its eight acres of terraced gardens and landscaped grounds surrounded by forty acres of woodland, meadow, and pasture that stretch to the Housatonic River Valley. The gardens and landscaped grounds, first designed in the late 1880s by Nathan Barrett, were transformed and expanded between 1926 and 1956 by Fletcher Steele and Mabel Choate. Separate garden “rooms” include the Afternoon Garden, Tree Peony Terrace, Rose Garden, Evergreen Garden, Chinese Garden, Arborvitae Walk, and Linden Walk. Perhaps the most famous feature of the landscape is Steele’s Blue Steps, a series of deep blue fountain pools flanked by four flights of stairs climbing up a gentle hillside and overhung by birch trees.

Fees: $100 per ticket for members, $140 non-members (includes one year individual membership); $250 for a non-member couple (includes one year family membership)
Notes: Call for event details and reservation information. Tickets must be purchased in advance.
Telephone: 413-298-3239 x3000
E-mail: westregion@ttor.org