Boston Flora

Tag: Wild about Perennials

  • Saturday, March 18, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Wild About Perennials

    Noel Kingsbury, the author of Planting: A New Perspective shares his understanding of the naturalistic approach to planting design of landscape designers such as Piet Oudolf, Cassian Schmidt, Thomas Rainer, and Sarah Price. This Saturday, March 18 introduction to the naturalistic style explains the basic philosophy behind the practice of selecting plants for the ecology of the site and gives us lessons on how to create a landscape that looks natural and responsive to site, while also having the long season of interest that gardeners desire. Using his own extraordinary photographs, Kingsbury will illustrate the techniques used in creating these planting designs, with examples of his own work and that of the renowned Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf.

    Noel Kingsbury is an internationally known writer about plants, gardens, and the environment. Best-known for his promotion of what is broadly called an ecological or naturalistic approach to planting design, he has written some 20 books on various aspects of plants and gardens, 3 of them in collaboration with Dutch designer and plantsman Piet Oudolf. Over the years he has written for Gardens Illustrated, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Garden, Hortus, The New York Times, and many other publications. He also teaches and is a garden/planting designer and horticultural consultant.

    Advance registration is highly recommended, but walk-ins are always welcome, space permitting. BBG members $30, nonmembers $35. Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org. The lecture takes place at Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, Massachusetts from 1 – 2:30 pm.

  • Saturday, March 18, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – The Rabbit’s Eye View: Long-Term Plant Performance with Noel Kingsbury

    This half-day Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop on Saturday, March 18 from 9 – noon aims to encourage participants to observe garden and landscape plants, focusing on their growth through the season and over the years, looking at how they compete with each other, and assessing prospects for their longevity and their suitability for a variety of garden locations. Noel Kingsbury addresses questions about how the garden will evolve: How long will plants live? How far will they spread? How will a newly planted border look in five years, or ten years?Gardeners and designers can then use this knowledge to maximize garden interest while minimizing maintenance. This workshop teaches participants about how plants are linked to their natural habitats and ecology, and how this connects to the way gardeners can use such plants in the garden to best effect. Students will walk away with a rabbit’s eye view—a perspective that will enable them, through close observation of growing habits and life cycles of various plants, to be better gardeners and designers, and to more deeply appreciate the traits of the plants that they grow.

    The price ($75 BBG members, $85 nonmembers) of this workshop includes admission to the 1pm lecture, Wild about Perennials with Noel Kingsbury, on the same day. The workshop is limited in size and is likely to sell out. Reservations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. A bagged lunch can be ordered separately for an additional fee. Please call 413-298-3926 to order lunch.