Summer/Fall 2021

B E R K S H I R E B OTA N I C A L G A R D E N

SUMMER/FALL 2021

SUMMER/FALL 2021

OCT

9-10 87th Annual Harvest Festival BBG’s legendary Harvest Festival returns over Columbus Day weekend with a full line-up of entertainment, regional food, craft vendors and autumn activities.

THROUGH SEPT 20

THROUGH OCT 31

AUG 28

Music Mondays

Taking Flight

A Photographic Walk at BBG

Join us in Lucy’s Topiary Garden for live music and explore BBG’s groundsafter hours.

A sculpture exhibition inspired by flight and curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody.

Hone your smartphone or DSLR skills with a community of garden photographers.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

S TA F F

Matt Larkin, Chair Madeline Hooper, Vice Chair Janet Laudenslager, Secretary John Spellman, Treasurer

James Atwell Director of Operations

Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo Mary Copeland Adaline Frelinghuysen Lauretta Harris Nancy Hickey Ian Hooper Tom Ingersoll Jane Iredale Daniel Kasper Linda O’Connell Wendy Philbrick Ramelle Pulitzer Elizabeth Roberts Mark Walker Rob Williams Suzanne Yale KK Zutter

Michael Beck Executive Director

Trustees Emeriti

Robin Parow Director of Marketing Communications

Dana Audia Director of Special Events

Amy Butterworth Membership Director Christine Caccamo Senior Gardener Ryan Campbell Gardener Duke Douillet Senior Gardener Rachel Durgin Camp Director Kevin Johnson Gardener Kessa McEwen Education Coordinator

Jeannene Booher David Carls Cathy Clark Craig Okerstrom-Lang Wendy Linscott Gloria McMahon Jo Dare Mitchell Judie Owens Martha Piper Jean Rousseau Gail Shaw Jack Sprano Ingrid Taylor On the cover: Maple and Cherry, 1994, Canaan Mountain, Connecticut.

Gelatin silver print by Tom Zetterstrom from Portraits of American Trees on exhibit September 17 through October 31.

This page: High summer in the New Wave Garden Photo by Robin Parow

Kristine Romano Visitor Center Manager John Ryan Gardener Bridgette Stone Director of Education Thaddeus Thompson Interim Executive Director Elizabeth Veraldi Office Manager

CUTTINGS Robin Parow, Editor Julie Hammill, Hammill Design, Design

SEPT 7

SEPT 18

OCT 23–24

Herbaceous Plants

Vegetable Fermentation Workshop

Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Fine Woodwork Show

Explore the world of herbaceous plants in a foursession intensive course.

Learn to preserve and enhance the taste of seasonal produce from your garden.

Featuring designs by professional woodworkers from the Berkshires, New York and Connecticut.

BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN

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Cuttings For advertising opportunities, please call 413-298-3926.

1815 N. Main St, Rte 7, Sheffield, MA 413.528.1857 Open Daily 10-5 www.campodefiori.com

Sculptor Daniel Chester French’s home, studio and gardens www.chesterwood.org

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DIRECTOR’S CORNER MICHAEL BECK

London Calling What do Sissinghurst Castle, Highgrove Gardens, and Great Dixter all have in common? Yes, they are among the most famous, and most stunningly beautiful, of English garden destinations. All three were also prominently featured on BBG’s exciting garden trip back in 2018, when twenty of us spent more than a week touring England’s South and West under the expert guidance of British designer Anthony Archer-Wills, BBG’s own Dorthe Hviid, and Lani Summerville of Classical Excursions. And lastly, all three of these amazing estates have literally come to BBG by way of their head gardeners: Alexis Datta, Debs Goodenough, and Fergus Garrett, who were featured speakers at various of our Winter and Fall lectures over the years; all of them veritable rock stars of the gardening world. BBG’s educational programming takes its inspiration from gardens and designers from many parts of the world, but we can perhaps all agree that the United Kingdom has done more than most places to influence and inspire horticulture and garden design in the United States since colonial times. I therefore consider myself truly lucky to be heading to London for a two year stay that was born out of my husband’s work engagement there. I plan to make the most of my time in England. After all, there are more than 500 homes managed by the National Trust alone. So many historic gardens to see, so many innovative and talented gardeners to meet. A place where snowdrops appear in January, and roses last until Christmas. A gardener’s nirvana.

From the time our relocation plans took shape late last year, I have been working closely with BBG’s board of trustees to ensure an orderly transition of leadership responsibilities, and I felt humbled and honored when the board not only wished me well on my English adventure, but also asked me to return to my current role once our assignment across the pond ends. So the search was on for an Interim Executive Director to whom we could temporarily hand over management of this amazing organization. Today I’m happy to announce that Thaddeus Thompson will be stepping into that role in September. Thaddeus has deep roots in the public horticulture world, having worked as Director of Institutional Advancement at Tower Hill Botanic Garden and serving as a board member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. By now, Thaddeus has met most of the BBG team, attended our Fête des Fleurs as well as art openings, and he looks forward to working with everyone on day-to-day operations as well as long-term strategic projects. He is a people person if I ever met one. I know the Garden will be in great hands.

With my move now firmly in view, I am doing my best to take part in everything that summer in the Berkshires has to offer. Here at BBG, our beautiful art exhibit, Taking Flight, continues both inside the Center House Leonhardt Galleries and out on the grounds. Our gardens are as lush as I can ever remember them being (the current record rainfall is playing its role of course), providing a suitably beautiful backdrop for our many outdoor programs taking place while the weather is warm.

But we all know that summer is fleeting in our region, and soon enough BBG’s iconic Harvest Festival will return, with pumpkins, hay rides, and all, just in time for Columbus Day weekend. I will do my best to find a glass of cider (no need to say “hard” when in England…) when the time comes, and toast BBG from some far away pub. Perhaps I will have made a new gardening friend by then, someone who manages a ridiculously beautiful estate, whom I can entice over to BBG for a future Winter Lecture. I will keep you all posted!

Apple Blossom, 1995

REVOLUTION Dreamcatcher 2021, oil on linen by Marc Dennis Jesse Winter, photographer

Portraits of American Trees

The Photographic Journey of Tom Zetterstrom

By Gillian Culff

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Tom Zetterstrom has spent a lifetime communing with trees. As a child growing up on sixty acres of woodland in Canaan, Connecticut, he was surrounded by them. “We had two beautiful sugar maples in the yard that were very climbable trees,” he says; he and his sister Ingrid could often be found exploring their branches. Their father, an arborist, had planted many of the trees that still stand on the land. As a teenager, Tom went to work for his father, climbing, and pruning out diseased limbs. It was during this time that he “got well into the habit of looking at trees in the same way my father was always evaluating them.”

That inclination for observation would come to serve him well in his career as a photographer. Zetterstrom’s Portraits of American Trees will be featured in BBG’s Leonhardt Galleries from September 17 through October 31. These black and white silver gelatin prints often feature a single tree isolated from its background in portrait style.

Each print reflects hours or often days of effort: scouting the site, finding the tree that calls to him, waiting for just the right light, and afterward, hours in the darkroom using manual techniques to enhance or diminish certain details of the print. Describing some of the numerous variables, Zetterstrom explains, “There’s the choice of the film, the negative developer and choice of the paper. In all of those I tend toward softer, warmer tones.”

Indeed, softness is a hallmark of his tree photos—so much so that some resemble graphite drawings.

In the photo titled “Horse Cove Ridge,” tall, dark trunks in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest of North Carolina stand out against the diminishing light of dusk.

The long exposure evokes a breeze the viewer can almost feel. In many of the shots, fog, snow or mist set off the tree in an ethereal, dreamlike landscape. “Fog and snow are friends to the photographer,” says Zetterstrom. “They tend to isolate the subject and reduce background noise and 4

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Horse Cove Ridge, Joyce Kilmer Forest, NC 1994

competing elements. A snow event is a reason to get out and shoot.”

Zetterstrom shoots with a medium format camera, which produces 6 x 9 cm negatives. With this type of camera, he uses four different viewfinders paired with four fixed lenses of different focal lengths. “I’m doing the framing in the field, and not in the darkroom. It’s a kind of practice of self-awareness when shooting. You want to get it right.” Nowadays, most photographers have moved over to

digital, which is something Zetterstrom uses for lectures. But his art is done with print film and darkroom processing.

“Shooting film tends to discipline you,” he says, referring to the limitation of eight shots per roll of film. “You have to be more selective.”

“I’m looking for older trees that are well defined; I’m noticing, is something rising above the forest canopy? I’m drawn to a commanding presence of the tree in the environment, one that presents itself vividly. You have to search

Left: Photographer and Elm Watch founder Tom Zetterstrom with “the elm that started it all,” the Baldwin Hill Elm. His photographs of the tree in four seasons were acquired by the Library of Congress. The elm was adopted by the Haupt Tree Company, and the farm was preserved by the Berkshire Natural Resources Council. Photo by Lisa Vollmer Photography, 2011.

Below: American Elm, Fall 1996

for them, and when you spot them, they kind of step out.”

One such tree is called “Apple Blossom.”

In it, a wild apple tree fills the foreground with spectacular white blossoms that burst against the feathery leaves of the trees behind. The overall effect is a softness in the blossoms and foliage—a hallmark of Zetterstrom’s technique. He spotted the tree on a hike in the Berkshires. “I’m standing on Monument Mountain,” he recalls, “and I see an apple tree in the distance, across the valley.” Wowed by its blossoms, he kept his eye on the tree as he made his way toward it. “I came down the mountain and wound my way until I found the tree.” He displays the photo, seemingly still awestruck by the beauty of the tree and his success in capturing it, saying, “You don’t see wild apple trees anymore.”

Zetterstrom’s interest in photography traces back to a Brownie camera he used to earn his photography merit badge in Boy Scouts, mostly photographing nature.

Later, in high school, he won an award in the camera club’s exhibition for a photo titled “White Pine in Snow.” When he went off to Colorado College, he didn’t at first study art—he thought he’d major in botany—until, as he puts it, he was “seduced into the art department.” After studying sculpture and graduating as an art major, he went on to pursue graduate

studies at Pratt Institute. Subsequently, he was offered an opportunity to teach photography in the “inner-city” of Washington, DC as his Alternative Service. For two years he became a street photographer. Fifty years later, the Smithsonian Institution acquired that body of work for its Washington, DC museum in Anacostia, where it was installed from 2018-2020.

After his DC interlude, Zetterstrom returned home to Connecticut, moving into a cabin his father had built with logs from a pine forest he’d thinned. He lived there for the better part of ten years, during which time he had his first exhibition of

“I’m drawn to a commanding presence of the tree in the environment, one that presents itself vividly.

You have to search for them, and when you spot them, they kind of step out.”

—TOM ZETTERSTROM

BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN

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Portraits of Trees, in Washington DC in 1979. Since then he has had 40 solo shows, over 40 group shows and his photographs have since been acquired by 43 museums nationally.

During those years, Zetterstrom was stirred by the growing force of environmentalism that was “sweeping the nation.”

He began working as an environmental activist opposing the creation of the divided Super 7 highway through western New England. His slide lectures from Connecticut to Vermont helped defeat the proposal and indirectly spawned the creation of his other fine art landscape series, called the Moving Point of View. “There was a convergence,” he says, referring to environmental activism and his increasing interest in photographing trees and landscapes.

Zetterstrom photographed Egremont’s Baldwin Hill Elm through the 1990’s. His photographs of the elm in four seasons were acquired by the Library of Congress and the Boston Public Library. As he describes the course of events, “Thus the images of the tree were preserved. It then became obvious that the elm itself should be preserved.” In partnership with Tim Abbott of The Nature Conservancy, Zetterstrom founded Elm Watch with its “Adopt an Elm” program to protect elms from Dutch elm disease. Elm Watch, as a community forestry program, engaged 22 towns in the protection of their heritage elms, the state tree of Massachusetts. The National Arbor Day Foundation presented their Public Awareness of Trees Award to him in 2011 for his tree photography and his work as a tree preservationist, and in 2013 he received the Connecticut Urban Forest Council’s Award for Meritorious Service for his “efforts to educate and promote positive change regarding trees and plants.”

In conjunction with his gallery show, Zetterstrom will give three gallery talks and four environmental lectures under the heading, Whose Woods These Are. Tom adds, “Portraits of American Trees celebrates the beauty of trees, while embracing their wildness. Along with the talks, the show can deepen our reverence and may even teach us to become better stewards.”

Please join us for these gallery talks led by Tom Zetterstrom.

Portraits of American Trees Notes on art, horticulture and forest habitat Sunday, September 19, 1 – 2 p.m.

Sunday, October 10, 11 – 12 p.m.

Sunday, October 24, 11 – 12 p.m.

Since the 1970’s Tom Zetterstrom has photographed trees throughout the Northeast and from coast to coast.

Learn more about seeing trees in black and white, and the art of tree photography. __________________________________________

Whose Woods These Are Environmental lectures Tom Zetterstrom’s photographic record from the preinvasive era and his long perspective on northeast woodlands reveals a changing landscape impacted by species decline, alien plant invasion and forest collapse.

In these talks he will describe projects in Connecticut and Massachusetts that have affected positive change to protect trees in natural and community forests.

See education listings starting on page 18 for detailed information.

Defeating Japanese Knotweed on the Wild and Scenic Housatonic September 25, 10 – 11:00 a.m., Center House Classroom ___________________________

History and Preservation of the American Elm in New England October 2, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m., Center House Classroom. ___________________________

Protecting Specimen Trees and Standing Forests from Asiatic Bittersweet October 9, 11:00 a.m. lecture in the Center House classroom followed by an invasive identification and management workshop at noon. ___________________________

Pruning Young Elms: Crown Structure Training to Promote Longevity

Come visit and see what makes Bay State special!

October 30, 10:00 a.m. – noon, lecture and pruning workshop, Education Center Classroom

See more information on page 23.

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“All Things,” 2021, oil on linen, by Marc Dennis

This Season in the Leonhardt Galleries The Anna and Frederick Henry Leonhardt Galleries are home to year-round exhibitions of artwork inspired by the natural world.

Throughout the year, expect to see a variety of exhibits recognizing the important work of regional artists as well as exhibitions featuring world-renowned artists—all displayed in three intimate gallery rooms located in the original section of the Garden’s restored and renovated historic 18th century Center House.

Exhibitions in the Galleries this season have been exceptionally noteworthy, following the Garden’s “Taking Flight” theme. The season

began with Flights of Fancy, a stunning fairytale exhibition of fine jewelry created by Mindy Lam. It was followed by Fireflies, an eerily beautiful collection of black and white photographs by Gregory Crewdson, displayed in a cinematic style in darkened galleries. On display through September 6 is REVOLUTION, a collection of hyperrealistic, strikingly detailed paintings by Marc Dennis, followed by photographer Tom Zetterstrom’s legendary Portraits of American Trees from September 17 through October 31. The Galleries are free with Garden admission. Gallery hours are daily, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN

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Immi Storrs Bird on a Nest, 2006 Bronze Photos by Donna DeMari

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Peter D. Gerakaris, Spotted Owl Mosaic, 2021, Glass Mosaic on stucco wall

TAKING FLIGHT IN THE GARDEN: A COLLABORATIVE VISION

By Laura Dvorkin

It is with Taking Flight that we premiere an ongoing collaboration with celebrated collector and curator, Beth Rudin DeWoody. For over five decades, DeWoody has been collecting art in various media including painting, drawing, sculpture, and video. She began with acquiring Beatles memorabilia and her very first artwork in 1969, a drawing by her then-teacher at the New School, artist Benny Andrews.

Andrews would continue his undoubtedly substantial career and social justice contributions to the arts during the civil rights movement. DeWoody would go on to be one of the greatest supporters the art world has ever seen.

DeWoody’s expansive collection includes works by today’s leading contemporary artists, as well as significant holdings in

iconic furniture, ephemera, and artists’ books. Her continuous commitment to collecting has also given emerging and under-recognized artists a national platform through exhibitions at her private art space, The Bunker, West Palm Beach, and in public institutions across the country. Her vision is known throughout the art world to be a unique perspective — what she acquires is always daring, playful, and inspiring. At times traveling in the matter of minutes from an Upper East Side gallery to an artist’s studio in Brooklyn, her tenacity holds no bounds. She is an egalitarian and true art lover.

DeWoody has curated several exhibitions, including I Won’t Grow Up at Cheim & Read, New York; Think Pink at Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach; Inspired at Steven

Kasher Gallery, New York; Bad For You at Shizaru Gallery, London; Please Enter at Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York; Really? at Wilding Cran Gallery, Los Angeles; and Go Figure! at Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton.

At Berkshire Botanical Garden, it is in her endless passion of collecting and curating that DeWoody dives deep into the Taking Flight theme, by including atypical and thought-provoking examples. In many ways, the artists in the exhibition challenge the idea of public sculpture and the monument, while the rest of the world now does the same. DeWoody’s approach aligns so succinctly with the mission of BBG, delivering engaging programming and continuously expanding the language for conversation. The Taking Flight sculptural BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN

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captions

exhibition not only alludes to birds, but also reemergence, the return to life after the pandemic. It’s with great enthusiasm that we finally have our wings back.

Entering the garden, guests are greeted

by Singing Bird, one of three marble sculptures by Ian L.C. Swordy. Swordy, an artist who for much of his career has worked in assemblage, in recent years continues to deepen his practice through marble and an intensive stone-carving practice. Singing Bird acts as a peaceful guardian and alternative symbiosis between cat and bird, a predator and prey in repose.

Swordy additionally sees this relationship in the idea of a garden. A once wild and natural space, with human intervention, the landscape is transformed to protect nature while preserving its beauty. Swordy’s other sculptures, two marble animal adorned bird baths, can be seen as other welcomed interventions in the garden.

Beyond the Visitor Center on an expanse 10

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of lawn, a large, solemn, raven made of rubber and steel emerges from the greenery.

Addressing issues of fragility, Rachel Owens’ Groundswell debuted at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York almost 15 years ago, and, as the discussion around climate change crescendos, is even more relevant today.

The title refers to the extensive societal conversations around our planet and the complex underground infrastructure beneath New York City’s surface.

Captivating and mysterious, the piece offers a post-apocalyptic lens to view the world around us. A fountain, usually thriving and a symbol of life, is reimagined into a trickle ending in an oil bin. Our friend, the raven, an allusion to both wisdom and death, is perched atop a severed pipe that spouts from the earth like a tree.

Outside of the Center House, we discover a wood-carved sparrow lying on a pedestal, its eyes painted humanlike to reference Egyptian statue making.

Left: Ian L.C. Swordy, Singing Bird, 2021 Mixed marbles Right: Rachel Owens, Groundswell, 2007 Steel, rubber, wood, pump, water

Concha Martinez Barreto’s body of work, that usually evokes a melancholic beauty, is centered around memories and the exploration of how we as people form them. Akin to Owens, Martinez Barreto uses birds in her work to signify fragility. In mood and posture, she also alludes to Catholic sculptural tradition and more specifically the iconic Pietà.

Bird is not about life or death, but rather the feeling of being alive and dead at the same time. It represents both vulnerability and resilience.

Celebrated British artist Tracey Emin has been featured in numerous exhibitions curated by DeWoody. Serving as a symbol of

hope, faith, and spirituality, Roman Standard subverts the idea of traditional public sculpture that is often seen as a symbol of power, which the artist finds oppressive. “I wanted something that had a magic and an alchemy, something which would appear and disappear and not dominate.” The elevation of the bird, a small but dynamic creature, denotes a quiet strength, as it watches the world from above.

Through her practice, Immi Storrs reaches across sculptural traditions to get to the core of her muses, finding their figurative, and at times, literal bones. Her subjects, mainly animals, such as horses, sheep and birds, are at times portrayed in a playful and stylized manner (Dark Bird), each emulating a unique tone. These animals are sometimes deconstructed or fused together (Three Birds), with elements that are surrealist in nature (Bird on Nest). The three sculptures installed throughout the garden invite us to consider the essence of each creature

OCT

31 Taking Flight will be on display through October 31 and is free with Garden admission. Garden hours are daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

while challenging the perceptions that we already have about them.

Taking Flight is complete with Peter D. Gerakaris’s Spotted Owl Mosaic, a site-specific work commissioned by the Berkshire Botanical Garden for this exhibition. It’s in turning the corner that the viewer comes upon a vibrant slab of seeming antiquity, set in the stage of a garden. The endangered owl

is revered and rendered as a gilded, NeoByzantine, contemporary mosaic. The fragments of glass assembled to form the image represent the ongoing mending of society’s fractured relationship with the environment. The sculpture will continue to transform throughout the exhibition as the garden begins to grow around it, reclaiming the space and contributing to the integration of nature and art.

Laura Dvorkin is the co-curator of the The Bunker Artspace: Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody in West Palm Beach. She has worked with the Collection for over twelve years, managing large presentations of the Collection at institutions and the exhibitions that DeWoody curates, in addition to being part of a larger team overseeing the Collection.

Dvorkin is also the co-curator of 53 West 53, the Residential MoMA Expansion Tower designed

by Jean Nouvel, and 1228 Madison Avenue, designed by Robert A.M. Stern.

!

E V TE S A DA E

TH

Holiday Marketplace

An ecological landscape company

December 4–5

Watch for details on our website and weekly enews!

berkshirebotanical.org

Landscape Design & Construction | Stonework | Fine Gardening Organic Lawn Care | Food Systems | Natives & Restoration

www.natureworkslandcare.com | 413-325-1101 BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN

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Music Mondays Meet Berkshire Picnics!

Music Mondays continue through September 20, featuring favorite performers from the Berkshires as well as headliners from metro Boston. Staged in Lucy’s Topiary Garden surrounded by 21 “live” sculptures, this event provides the perfect opportunity to stroll the Garden after hours and dance under the trees. Big Elm Brewing of Sheffield is on site for all concerts, and cheese platters prepared by BBG’s pop-up tea room, Thyme for Tea, are available for purchase.

Music Mondays are now even better with Berkshire Picnics, who provide luxury picnics throughout the Berkshires. Each Music Monday, they will host up to five bookings at BBG, curating custom prepared, delicious meals delivered right to the Garden in time for the music to begin. Reserve at berkshirepicnics.com.

Admission to Music Mondays is $10 for members and $15 for non-members, and advanced ticketing is suggested. Visit berkshirebotanical.org for more information and to reserve!

Dogs / animals (other than service animals) are not allowed on property or in the gardens.

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Upcoming concerts: AUGUST 23 Berkshire Big Band 30 Lost Wages SEPTEMBER 6 The BTU’s 13 The Church Ladies 20 Afternoon Tea Dance

with DJ BFG

berkshire international film festival sept 9-13, 2021

great barrington // pittsfield // virtual

celebrating 15 years of independent film in the berkshires tickets visit biffma.org call 413.528.8030

#biffteen

become a REEL Friend to enjoy year-round events // join today at biffma.org

By Jessica Provenz

Directed By Julianne Boyd

By Alec Wilkinson Directed by Richard Hamburger WORLD PREMIERE PLAY

WORLD PREMIERE PLAY

BSC PRODUCTION CENTER TENT 34 Laurel St, Pittsfield, MA

BOYD-QUINSON STAGE 30 Union St, Pittsfield, MA

JULY 30–AUGUST 29

AUGUST 13–29

BARRINGTONSTAGECO.ORG 413.236.8888

BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN

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Contributors The following constituents made contributions of $150 or more during BBG’s 2020 fiscal year from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. Contributions include membership dues, unrestricted contributions to the Annual Fund, donations to designated funds, as well as grants and sponsorships.

$50,000 + Lucy and Nathaniel Day The Dorothea L. Leonhardt Foundation Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo $25,000 – $49,999 Communities Foundation of Texas Elizabeth Ford Sayman $10,000 – $24,999 The Estate of Carole H. Armstrong Maria and David Carls Fairfield County’s Community Foundation The Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick Trust Hugh Freund and Sandra Wijnberg Madeline and Ian Hooper The Non Nobis Solum Foundation, Inc. The Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust Tania and Mark Walker Kathleen and John Zutter $2,500 – $9.999 Paul and Carol Collins Mary Copeland and Jose Gonzalez, Jr. Adaline Frelinghuysen and Titus Ogilvie-Laing The Frelinghuysen Foundation Nancy Hickey The Janey Fund Charitable Trust Sherry and Daniel Kasper Nancy Lukitsh The Massachusetts Cultural Council Cindy McCollum and John Spellman The Estate of Maud Merton Kate and Hans Morris Caitlin and Mitchell Nash Linda O’Connell Ramelle and Michael Pulitzer Anna and Starbuck Smith Gay Tucker The Marcia Brady Tucker Foundation Suzanne Yale $1,000 – $2,499 Michael Beck and Beau Buffier Candace and Frederick Beinecke Jeannene Booher Kathi Cafiero James and Mary Cooper Gordon Dinsmore, Jr. and Susan Dumont Michele Dodge Greater Worcester Community Foundation Christopher Greendale Ellen and Scott Hand Lauretta Harris and Louis Cohen Elise and Carl Hartman Donna and James Hurley Tom Ingersoll and Melissa LeVangie

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Jane Iredale and Robert Montgomery Lydia Irwin Patti Klein Matt Larkin and Lainie Grant Wendy Linscott Betsey McKearnan Peter Metz Barbara Kahn Moller Nic Osborn Wendy Philbrick and Edward Baptiste Rodney Pleasants and Steve Godwin Donna Raftery and Vincent Inconiglios Elizabeth Roberts Georgeanne and Jean Rousseau Anastasia Smith Maureen and Jack Sprano Katie and James Stewart Ingrid and Richard Taylor Margot and Kip Towl Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association Harriet Wetstone Gregory and Lillian Whitehead Carol and Robert Williams Susan Wolf $250 – $999 Margaret Abbott and Theresa Johnson Richard and Laura Allen Jane Angelini Rimvydas and Ruta Baranauskas Maria and John Bartlett Steven Bellofatto and Charlotte Fairweather Ricky Bernstein and Elisabeth Cary Paul Bernstein and Jane Magee Catherine and David Bohrman Stephanie and Carl Bradford Anne Brewster Jytte and John Brooks Robert Bujalski and Loretta Scheel Timothy and Patty Burch Lauren and Katherine Chapdelaine Anthony Chojnowski and Joe Goodwin Rodney Day Maria D’Ambrosio Michael and Marilyn Dee Jacqueline Del Rossi and Lewis Friedman Susan and JW Dunlaevy Carol and James Edelman Fred and Nancy Fagelman Mary Ann Fernandez and Richard Pierce Chris Ferrero Marcia and Jonathan Feuer Susan and Henry Flint Meghan Ford and Carter Taylor Fort Orange Garden Club Alice and George Frelinghuysen

Benno Friedman and Stephanie Blumenthal Steven Gambrel and James Anderson Carolyn and David Gambrel Garden Magic Inc. dba Country Caretaker Sherry Donovan and John Gelb Marion G.H. Gilliam Mary Michelle Gilligan and Lester Ettlinger Mary Gilligan Susan Ginns Robert and Pam Goergen Gregory Greene Linda Greenhouse and Eugene Fidell Callie Herzog and Frank Walton Peter Hineman Sarah Horowitz and David Verarde Richard and Marianne Jaffe Kristina and Gary Kahn Richard Kalb and Karl Laird Judy Kaminstein Holly Kempner and Warren White Francis Kendrick Diane Kern Scott Lambert Benjamin Liptzin William Loutrel and Thomas Fynan Teresa Manns Barbara and Christopher May Patricia McCormack and Lisa Goudey Leonard and Barbara McCue Ellen McTigue and Robert Harris Brian Mikesell and John Weinstein Ann and Donald Morrison Anjani and Barbara Nelson Jim Panichella Carol Parrish and Paul Clark Frank Peterson and Roger D. Mitchell Barbara and Michael Polemis Ellen Richman Patrick Riordan Lori Robbins Adele Rodbell Christopher Schiavone and Rome Bautista Mitchell Schlansky Erik Sebesta Alfred Selnick Carol and Richard Seltzer Sally Set Peter and Lynn Shaffer Rosemarie Siegel Mark Smith and John O’Keefe Barbara Snyder and Leonard Sigal Lenore and Paul Sundberg Sheila and Randy Thunfors Joseph Tralongo and George Ford III Katherine Tremblay Joyce Vandemark and Alan Zablonski Ed and Judy Warren

Jeanne Weller and Marcey Bemiss Mary Young Marianne and Howard Zimberg $150 – $249 The Academy Garden Club of Lenox Mary Ann Aiello Richard and Mimi Alford The Alford Garden Club Paula Angerstein and Paul Grosso Christine and Mark Baldridge Maureen Barton Chris and Lisa Beede Lesa Bennett Laura Benson Marotta and Joe Marotta David and Cindy Berger Barbara and Robert Blank Penelope Borax Robert and Nancy Bott Christine and Keith Brisebois Susan and Robert Buchanan Samuel Budish Carolyn Butler Patricia Callahan and David Dee Mary and Thomas Caraccioli Dennis & Wendy Carlton Kristin and Patrick Carnahan David Carpenter Linda and David Cass Neil and Kathleen Chrisman Linda Conway Gary and Deborah Crakes Helen and John Davies Paul and Christina del Balso Susan Dempsey Susan Diamond and Henry Michaelis Anita and Nicholas Diller Constance Eagan The Egremont Garden Club Denis Farina Eric and Wendy Federer Deborah Fenster and Edward Seliga Diane and Alan Fergurson Peter and Elizabeth Finn Bonnie Flynn Christine Fontana Fort Orange Garden Club Robert Fried Steve Gabel and Deborah Garry Meg Gage and Stephen King Miriam and Christopher Galligan Beth and Bruce Gamble Debbie Gangemi John and Leslie Garwood Ellen Gendler and James Salik Steven and Barbara Glicksman Pamela Goguen and Peter Conzett Miriam Gold Jennifer and Rob Goldwasser I. Michael Goodman and Judith Uman Carol and Joseph Green Randy and Allison Grimmett Jane and William Havemeyer Nathan and Marilyn Hayward

David and Natalie Hosford Sharon Hughes Janet and John Hutchison Leslie and Stephen Jerome Sylwia and Brian Ketchen Judith Kittredge David Klimczak Sara Koffman Carla Krasnick Ilana Krishnamurti Roxana Laughlin Mary and Will Leland Elizabeth Leonard Suzy Leon Burt Levering Richard and Jeanne Lieb Patricia and Mark Lusted Adam and Beth Man Richard Matturro and Mary Trev Thomas Diane McAveeney and Candace Palangi Colleen McGuinness-Clarke and Charles Clarke Donna and Peter Meixner Eric Meltzer Enid Michelman Deborah and Stuart Minton Jo Dare and Bob Mitchell Susan Mitrano Gladys Montgomery John and Charnell Moore Elizabeth and James Murray Marc and Phyllis Newman Ditte Nielsen and Mark Greenberg Linda and Robert Noonan Sandra Northrup and Dean Walton Charles Pardoe and Mariet Westermann Diane and John Parks Thomas Doane Perry and Karen Carmean Katherine Pichard Raymond Pieczarka and Mandy Victor-Pieczarka Steven Porter and Douglas Stroup Marie Raftery William and Janine Reid Eleanor Rochman Carol Saginaw and Joachim Frank Irene Samuels and David Gonsalves Kim Saul and Jim Schantz Dale Scalise-Smith Harvey and Justine Schussler David and Susan Shapiro Honey Sharp and David Lippman Gail Shaw Jane and Terrence Shea Earle and Jeanne Shumway Roberta Silman Tom and Paula Skinner Michelle Slater and Dmitri Sinenko Jane Smith and Jules Anderson Ashley and Deborah Smith Carol and Irving Smokler Alison Sneider Nick Stagliano Ann and Austin Starkey Ginnie Styles Margaret Sutherland and Ann Ghublikian

Ann and Eugene Suzedell Rose Tannenbaum Richard Tatara Thomas Taylor and Karen Erickson Theresa Terry Michney and Gerard Michney Robin Tost Ann Trudnak and John Ackerson Randy Tryon and Daniel DeBerardinis Aimee Van Dyne and Steven Tillem Reinout VanWagtendonk and Kristine Huffman Edward and Linda Wacks Elizabeth Waksman Ellen and Wade Walbrun Alison Walter Ranne Warner Robert and Brigitte Weible Vicki Weiner Michael Wolkowitz Lynn Wood and Pam Hayden Memorial Contributions In Memory of Barbara Brouker Linda Beaudreau Joseph and Catherine Carchedi Donna and Bernard Drew Dorothy Lambert Diane and Ed Wetzel Marilyn Wiley In Memory of Jennie Burdick Lana Bennett Valerie Bluhm Sheryl Davies Deborah Kellogg Erin McNamara Rhonda Pastori In Memory of Freida Caplan Elise and Carl Hartman In Memory of Allen Cox Elise and Carl Hartman In Memory of Lucy Day Mary Ballinger Margaret Bragg Dennis & Wendy Carlton Rodney Day Catherine and Harold Finn Robert and Pam Goergen Dennis Ladd Laura and Frederick Rhodes Ellen Richman Ann and Austin Starkey Katie and James Stewart In Memory of Elizabeth Fontaine Raymond Pieczarka and Mandy Victor-Pieczarka In Memory of Georgia Green Michelle Green and Katherine Lyons In Memory of Elodie Osborne Nic Osborn In Memory of Nancy Nirenberg Allison Forsman

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RO OT E D I N P L AC E 6TH ANNUAL ECOLOGICAL GARDENING SYMPOSIUM

GROWING RESILIENCE: THE CLIMATE CRISIS, OUR GARDENS AND COMMUNITIES SU NDAY, NOV E M B E R 14, 10 A M – 4 PM In-person at the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington, MA Members: $95; Non-members: $115; Students: $55 (Scholarships Available) Jennifer Jewell is the host of the national, award-winning weekly public radio program and podcast Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History and the Human Impulse to Garden. She is the author of award-winning The Earth in Her Hands, 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants (Timber Press in 2020), and Under Western Skies, Visionary Gardens from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast. Her greatest passion is elevating the way we think and talk about gardening, the empowerment of gardeners, and the possibility inherent in the intersections between our places, our cultures, and our gardens. Jennifer will explore how gardens/gardeners are powerful spaces and agents for potentially positive change in our world and help to address challenges as wide ranging as climate change, resource use, habitat and biodiversity loss, cultural polarization/marginalization, and individual and communal health.

Pete Grima is a Service Forester with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation covering northern Berkshire County, where he helps landowners make informed decisions about their forests. He is also an avid botanist responsible for many new and novel botanical discoveries in the Berkshires, and he is a co-author of the recently published Vascular Flora of Franklin County, Massachusetts. Using a recent landowner interaction from his Service Forestry work as a case study, Pete’s presentation will describe the process of envisioning a future forest to be planted in an old field, with a mind towards carbon storage and climate resilience.

Sam Hoadley is the Horticultural Research Manager at Mt. Cuba Center, Hockessin, Deleware, and received a degree in Sustainable Landscape Horticulture from the University of Vermont. His work includes evaluating native plant species, old and new cultivars, as well as hybrids in Mt. Cuba’s Trial Garden. Using data collected and analyzed over a three-year period, a research report is published outlining top-performing plants for the Mid-Atlantic region.

This information is designed to inform consumers and home gardeners as well as professionals in the horticultural and nursery industries about the ecological benefits and attributes of the native plants in our trials. His presentation will focus on knockout native species and cultivars researched at the Mt. Cuba Center.

Rebecca McMackin is an ecologically obsessed horticulturist. She is Director of Horticulture at Brooklyn Bridge Park where she oversees 85 acres of diverse parkland. These meadows, forests, salt marshes and freshwater wetlands are managed with the dual purposes of cultivating, beautifying and encouraging biodiversity, all within the largest city in the country. In her imaginary free time, Rebecca lectures, writes, and designs the occasional garden. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, the Landscape Institute, and the Ecological Landscape Alliance. Her presentation will focus on the many ecological strategies employed by Brooklyn Bridge Park’s staff to develop and cultivate biodiversity, including pragmatic strategies for encouraging ecologically beneficial landscapes.

Please visit berkshirebotanical.org for additional information and to register. Registration deadline: November 10, 2021

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AUGUST – DECEMBER 2021

Education

OCT

2

Goldenrod and Asters Field Study Observe and identify asters and goldenrods growing in meadows, woodlands and wetlands in this offsite class led by Ted Elliman.

Learn more on page 22.

As summer descends on the Garden, BBG’s Education Department is planning our classes six months in advance, preoccupied with thoughts of early winter. It is a unique phenology: as the first cosmos open, our thoughts turn to wreath making... a cycle all its own. By the time this makes its way into your hands, the cosmos will just be starting to fade, and the chill of fall will not seem so far off. Our fall and winter offerings listed on the following pages allow us to drink in the abundance of the garden, inviting us to learn how to be better stewards of the land. We hope this season’s classes will offer you new skills and new ideas, all while enjoying the Garden and the community that has grown around it.

For more information on classes and events happening at the Garden, visit our website at berkshirebotanical.org.

We are a COVID compliant facility.

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EDUCATION Kitchen classes are sponsored by Guido’s Fresh Marketplace with stores located in Great Barrington and Pittsfield.

Classes, Lectures and Workshops ONLINE Classes Our online classes are offered over Zoom.

Students receive class login information and materials lists, when applicable, once they’ve registered.

IN-PERSON Classes at BBG These classes are offered on-site at BBG. Check the information kiosk for classroom location.

HYBRID Classes These classes are held both online and in person. They feature the lecture portion of class online and a hands-on component in-person.

OFF-SITE Classes These classes are offered by BBG, offsite. Exact locations are shared upon registration.

Bats of the Berkshires

AU GU ST Ikebana Workshop Series IN-PERSON AT BBG

Third Saturday of Every Month beginning August 21 – November 20, 10 am – 12 pm Members: $85/Non-members: $100 Ikebana is a Japanese traditional style of flower arrangement.

The Sogetsu school of Ikebana which informs this series is over 100 years old, and yet it is newer and more unfettered than any other school of Ikebana. It can be created anytime, anywhere, by anyone in any part of the world, with any kind of material.

Experience the joy of expressing yourself with plants. Look at the plants carefully, discover their beauty and the pleasure of self-expression through your own arrangement. This four-session program is for those interested in cultivating an Ikebana practice.

No previous experience is necessary. Class dates: 8/21, 9/25, 10/16, 11/20. Taught by Miri Matsufuji.

IN-PERSON AT BBG

Friday, August 27, 7:30 – 8 pm Members: $12/Non-members: $18 Discover the mysterious world of bats. This program, including a slideshow and evening walk, will introduce you to the bats that live around us and what we can do to be better neighbors to these intriguing, winged mammals. Pre-registration is required. Presented in cooperation with Mass Audubon.

A Photographic Walk at Berkshire Botanical Garden IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, August 28, 2 – 5 pm BBG Members: $35/Non-members: $45 Join local fine art photographer Thad Kubis for a magical three-hour workshop and walk at Berkshire Botanical Garden. The adventure will begin with a review of Smartphone and DSLR, camera tools, techniques and controls. This review will allow those registered to get the most out of the walk. Next, the group will walk the gardens creating photographs while experimenting with exposure, aperture, shutter speed, filters and angles, documenting a personal point of view and dynamic, exciting photographs. Upon completion of a garden walk, the group will review some of the images and discuss and explain editing, post-production, and provide positive comments on the compositions submitted.

H This symbol denotes HORTICULTURE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM classes, workshops, and lectures open to both students seeking credit towards one of BBG’s five acclaimed horticulture certificates as well as the general public. Please visit berkshirebotanical.org or call 413-357-4657 for additional information.

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Weaving with Natural Materials IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, August 28, 10:30 am – 1:30 pm Members: $55/Non-members: $65 Join fiber artist Jamie Goldenberg of Hart Textiles in Housatonic, MA, to explore the art of weaving. Create a small basket using foraged natural materials. Build the foundational knowledge you’ll need to begin creating vessels and sculptural pieces on your own.

The cost of this course includes materials.

SEPTEMBER Plein-Air Watercolor Painting in the Garden IN-PERSON AT BBG

Wednesdays, September 1 – 15, 10 am – 1 pm Members: $75/Non-members: $100 Explore the Garden through the pleasure of watercolor painting with artist Ann Kremers. The class will work outdoors translating the vistas and details of the Garden into paintings. Each session will begin with discussion of student work, demonstration, and a helpful assignment. Ann offers encouragement and suggestions throughout the painting sessions to help each person find their way to express the Garden. Beginners and experienced painters are welcome.

Additional information can be found on our website.

Enjoy thE BEnEfits of your mEmBErship whilE Earning gardEn rEwards ask in-storE for morE information on how to join

Ward’s Nursery & Garden Center - 600 Main Street Great Barrington MA - Open Daily 8am-5pm - Closed Labor Day

413-528-0166

www.wardsnursery.com

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Off-site Field Study with Robert Clyde Anderson IN-PERSON OFF-SITE

Friday, September 3, 5 – 6:30pm Members: $55/Non-members: $60 This on-site field study explores the gardens of designer Robert Clyde Anderson and Kuan Chan, of Stuyvesant NY. The garden is a two-acre remnant of a larger farm, located in the hamlet of Stuyvesant Landing, a quarter-mile from the Hudson River. The core of the house is a typical Hudson Valley farmhouse built in 1869, with many accretions accumulated over generations. Despite the house being an architectural Frankenstein’s Monster, the property has retained many interesting and useful outbuildings and features that enhance its appeal: a vintage barn, summer kitchen, large poultry house, and fenced kitchen garden. A seasonal stream borders the property to the south, and two majestic silver maples grace the deep front lawn. The garden has been in development for ten years. Robert considers it his laboratory for experimentation with various ideas and fancies that have percolated over his fifty-plus years as an active gardener. It has grown to include screening shrub borders, a sunny terraced xeric garden, a shady wooded streamside area, a themed annual/tropical planting, and a moist meadow area, designed on the principles of naturalistic gardening and matrix planting, that reaches a climax of interest in late summer/early fall.

Serving the greater Berkshire area since 1992; providing cross disciplinary expertise in design, horticulture, arboriculture, irrigation and excavation for both residential and commercial clients.

Countrysidelandscape.net 413.458.5586

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Herbaceous Plants

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IN-PERSON AT BBG

Northeast Ethnobotany

H

IN-PERSON AT BBG

Tuesdays, September 7 – 28, 5:30 – 8:30 pm Members: $185/Non-members: $210

Thursdays September 16 and 23, 5:30 – 8:30 pm Members: $145/ Non-Members: $160

This intensive four-session class led by Lee Buttala explores the world of herbaceous plants, from their identification, selection and use in the garden through their basic botany, life cycle, and propagation. Participants are asked to create a final project highlighting a genus or plant family related to the curriculum.

A part of the Level 1 horticulture core curriculum, this class is essential for the committed gardener and includes lectures, hands-on activities and field study, and group discussion. The class will give participants a deeper understanding of annuals, perennials, and ornamental vegetables and their role in the garden. Students should dress for outdoor field study.

Plants shape our lives in many ways: they provide food, fiber and medicine, among other uses. This two-part class, led by ethnobotanist and ecologist Drew Monthie, will explore some of the Indigenous and European ethnobotanical practices of the Northeastern US and their historical context. The phytochemistry of plants (their chemical constituents) and their use as medicine will also be a topic of exploration, along with the ethics of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Students will complete a short research project with a focus on one of the ethnobotanical topics mentioned above.

Field Survey of Grassland Meadows

H

IN-PERSON OFF-SITE

Saturday, September 18, 9 am – 2 pm Members: $55/Non-members: $65 This field class led by Ted Elliman will explore the colorful variety of meadow flora that comes into its own in late summer and early fall.

In the field we will observe and identify late-season grasses (which include such species as little bluestem, purple lovegrass, Indian grass, and switchgrass) and fall-blooming wildflowers such as asters, goldenrods, Joe-Pye weeds, and many others. Our explorations will include both upland and wetland meadow communities.

Birding in the Garden IN-PERSON AT BBG

Thursday, September 9, 5:30 – 7 pm Members: $10/Non-members: $15 Our September bird walk with Mass Audubon. Birding around the Botanical Garden is offered the second Thursday of every month throughout the year. This bird walk will celebrate the amazing birds that live amongst the trees, grasses and flowers. Bring binoculars and clothing appropriate for the weather. Pre-registration is required.

Overwintering Your Plants IN-PERSON AT BBG

Serving the Berkshires since 1981

Saturday, September 18, 11 am – 1 pm Members: $25/Non-member: $35 At the end of the summer, what do you do with all those special patio plants that you have fussed over for the summer months? This class will give gardeners tricks of the trade to protect their tender perennials, house plants, woody potted specimens and succulent collections and encourage them to thrive during the winter season.

Taught by Jenna O’Brien, topics of this class will include cultivation, fertilizing, watering and healthcare. Learn by doing and take home some plant companions.

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Vegetable Fermentation Workshop IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, September 18, 12 – 2 pm Members: $30/Non-members: $45 Vegetable fermentation is a practical, safe, and effective method for preserving and enhancing the taste of seasonal produce from your garden, farm, or grocery store. This workshop, taught by Mark Phillips, will provide an in-depth overview of the process for fermenting vegetables at home. It will include a demonstration of how to properly prepare and set up a fermentation vessel, as well as provide principles and practices for successfully managing and storing your ferment. The techniques and knowledge in this workshop can be used for sauerkraut, kimchi, cucumber pickles, hot sauce, dilly beans, and more.

Ornamental Tree and Shrub ID and Insect Walk IN-PERSON AT BBG

Wednesday, September 22, 2 – 4 pm (See registration information below through UMass) Studying for the MCH, MCLP, or MCA exam? Want some hands-on experience identifying significant landscape plants and their insect pests? This program will be helpful for participants looking to either prepare for one of the exams or to expand offerings to clients. Join Dr. Mandy Bayer, Extension Assistant Professor at UMass Amherst, and Tawny Simisky, UMass Extension Entomologist, for a walk around the UMass Amherst grounds, focusing on trees and shrubs with particular seasonal interest as well as insect pests that are active and suggestions for management. Dress for walking; held outdoors rain or shine. Preregistration required as space is limited; the cost is $50, $45 per person for three or more registrations from the same company (10% discount). Presented by UMass Amherst Extension in partnership with BBG, registration will soon be available at: https:// ag.umass.edu/landscape/upcoming-events

Rendering: The Next Step in Landscape Design

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IN-PERSON AT BBG

Thursdays, September 23 - October 21, 5:30 – 7:30 pm Members: $210 /Non-members:$230 Rendering is a drawing skill necessary for communicating garden designs to clients. This course, led by David Dew Bruner, A.S.L.A, is the next step for gardening designers. Structured as a studio class, students will learn the softer side of drawing for design using the B range pencils, and practice illustrative rendering such as sections, elevations and plan obliques. This course will enable designers to better communicate their designs to clients. Non-professional gardeners and artists are encouraged to join this class. Rendering will cover soft/presentation drawings for plans, elevations and sections. Additionally how to draw a plan oblique drawing which emulates a perspective drawing without the pain of doing a perspective drawing. For materials list and approximate cost, visit this classes listing on berkshirebotanical.org

race mt tree services, inc.

Since 1977 Certified Arborists in MA, CT & NY

(413) 229-2728 support@racemttree.com • www.racemttree.com #racemttree

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O C TO B E R Peony Propagation IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, October 2, 2 – 3:30 pm Members: $25/Non-members $35 Join Dan Furman of Cricket Hill Garden for an in-depth presentation and demonstration on all aspects of peony propagation. The workshop will begin with a slide talk giving an overview of the world of peonies, followed by a demonstration of dividing an herbaceous peony as well as grafting a tree peony. Growing peonies from seed will also be discussed and demonstrated. Participants will be given a pack of peony seeds to sow in their own gardens. This is a workshop for all who love peonies and want to learn how to make more!

Botanical Cyanotype Workshop IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, October 2, 10 am – 1 pm Members: $35/Non-members: $50 Cyanotypes are a compelling and simple way to capture botanical forms and create compelling pieces of art. Learn about the history of the cyanotype process and the work of botanist Anna Atkins, who created the first photographic book Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions in 1853. Led by Madge Evers, students will observe the mixing of the lightsensitive emulsion used to create cyanotype and its application to paper. Students will create their own cyanotype prints to bring home. Pressed plants will be provided but participants may also bring their own.

Goldenrod and Asters Field Study

H

OFF-SITE

Saturday, October 2, 9 am – 3 pm Members: $85/Non-members: $95 In late summer and early fall, asters and goldenrods come into their own. In this class taught by Ted Elliman, a morning discussion will include a presentation of many of Berkshire County’s asters and goldenrods, focusing on their identification features and discussing their characteristic habitats. In the afternoon, we’ll explore nearby natural areas to observe and identify the asters and goldenrods growing in meadows, woodlands and wetlands, examining the differences that characterize these species. A hand lens is recommended. We will travel by BBG’s passenger van. Please dress for the weather and bring a bagged lunch.

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WHOSE WOODS THESE ARE ENVIRONMENTAL LECTURES PRESENTED BY TOM ZETTERSTROM Exhibiting artist Tom Zetterstrom’s photographic record from the pre-invasive era and his long perspective on northeast woodlands reveals a changing landscape impacted by species decline, alien plant invasion and forest collapse. In these talks, he will describe projects in Connecticut and Massachusetts that have effected positive change to protect trees in natural and community forests.

Defeating Japanese Knotweed on the Wild and Scenic Housatonic River

Protecting Specimen Trees and Standing Forests from Asiatic Bittersweet

IN-PERSON AT BBG

IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, September 25, 10 am – 11 am Free Event

Saturday, October 9, 11 am – 1 pm Members: $10/Non-members: $15

This lecture illustrates cooperative efforts by the Housatonic Valley Association, Housatonic River Commission, and the Knotweed Network, to eradicate highly invasive knotweed thickets, and restore the rich diversity of native riparian ecosystems along the wild and scenic Housatonic in Northwest Connecticut.

Bittersweet, the tree-killing vine, can undo a century of forest succession in a generation by encapsulating and collapsing trees, resulting in dramatic reduction of carbon sequestration and ecosystem services. Learn how land trusts, parks and campuses are efficiently and effectively defeating invasive vines and shrubs, and restoring inherent beauty and balance to natural areas. The lecture will be followed by a hands-on field demonstration of cut-and-treat as well as additional control methods.

History and Preservation of the American Elm in New England IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, October 2, 3:30 – 5 pm Members: $10/Non-members: $15

Pruning Young Elms: Crown Structure Training to Promote Longevity

In this talk, Tom Zetterstrom presents emblematic elms that defined New England villages and cities including the historic Pittsfield Elm, The Sheffield Elm, Canaan’s Famous Elm, the Elm City of New Haven, and the contemporary Lanesborough Elm, Great Barrington Elm, Baldwin Hill Elm, etc. Since the advent of Dutch elm disease, efforts have evolved to preserve such surviving and notable trees. Tom’s photos illustrate Elm Watch’s efforts to preserve the Lanesborough Elm, Great Barrington Elm and Baldwin Hill Elm.

IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, October 30, 2021 10 am – 12 pm Members: $20/Non-members: $35 Tom Zetterstrom was a major contributor of photographs and text for the widely respected Pruning Young Elms manual published by the University of Minnesota in 2009. He has lectured on elm pruning throughout the Northeast. This lecture and pruning workshop is designed for arborists, tree wardens, arboretum directors and staff and nursery and landscape professionals, and will provide Continuing Education Units. A hands-on pruning workshop by arborist Kieran Yaple of Race Mountain Tree Services, will follow the talk. Kieran will prune the Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Princeton American elm, which was planted in 2003.

Tom Zetterstrom, Coast Oak, 1991

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Understanding Woody Plants

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Botanical Names for the Fearful

IN-PERSON AT BBG

ONLINE

Tuesdays, Oct 5 - 26, 5:30 – 8:30 pm Members: $185/Non-members: $210

Wednesdays, October 13 – 20, 5:30 - 7 pm Members: $30/Non-members: $45

Taught by Jenna O’Brien, this four-session course will focus on the bones of the garden with a survey of ornamental woody plants for residential landscape design. It will cover ornamental shrubs, small flowering trees, shade trees and broadleaf and needle evergreens.

Students will become familiar with the many garden-worthy woody plants that thrive in Zone 5. The course covers plant ID, selection, siting, cultivation and possible design uses.

In this two-session course offered on Zoom and led by Judith Sumner, we will begin with a tour of the plant kingdom with attention to plant names and their history. We’ll explore the work of Linnaeus and the origin of botanical binomials — the naming system in place since 1753 — and decode the Latin and Greek roots that occur commonly in plant names. Illustrated lectures will weave botanical nomenclature with science, exploration, history, and the state of modern plant names, from the ancient Doctrine of Signatures to modern DNA analysis.

We’ll also discuss why names sometimes change (Hint: not to vex gardeners!). Visuals will include both familiar plants and some that are quite rare, accompanied by explanation and decoding of their botanical names. An opportunity to gain confidence in dealing with scientific plant names, we will examine several techniques for learning names with ease, and the course will conclude with a collaborative “quiz” to pool our collective knowledge. Participants will receive two recent articles written by Judith Sumner on Linnaean history and the useful details of botanical nomenclature.

Cultivating Mushrooms at Home: Winecaps, Oysters and Shiitakes IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, October 16, 10 am – 12 pm Members: $45/Non-members: $60

A Berkshire Harvest in Watercolor IN-PERSON AT BBG

Wednesdays, October 13 – November 3, 9:30 am – 12 pm Members $100/Non-members $120 Paint the glorious colors of autumn in this four-week watercolor class held onsite at BBG. Subject matter will include the luscious autumn harvest of fruits and flowers fresh from the Garden. Taught by Pat Hogan, this course is suitable for artists of all skill levels.

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Come explore the fascinating realm of growing mushrooms with Willie Crosby of Fungi Ally. Learn about the basic mushroom life cycle and the important ecological roles that fungi fill. The discussion will focus on several different methods of mushroom cultivation on wood, including shiitake on logs, oysters on totems and wine cap mushrooms on wood chips. Leave with the tools and knowledge to start cultivating mushrooms in your garden! All participants will take home an inoculated log that will produce mushrooms for years to come.

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Right Tree, Right Place IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, October 16, 1 – 3 pm Members: $20/Non-members: $25 Trees can define a garden, but their siting and placement can confound gardeners, particularly when smaller specimens are being planted. This class, taught by Lee Buttala, examines the root structures, growth habits, and the mature size of a range of species and varieties, large and small, for use in the residential landscape.

Attendees will walk away with a new approach to selecting woody plants that will provide their gardens with desired structure and form throughout the years, while taking into consideration underplanting and the tree’s harmonious coexistence with other garden features and elements in the ever-evolving landscape. This class hopes to prevent gardeners from needing to remove maturing trees because they were planted in the wrong place, by demonstrating how better siting or selection (or regular pruning or training) can allow these coveted plants to mature in the garden.

Victory Gardens: How a Nation of Gardeners Helped to Win the War IN-PERSON AT BBG

Sunday, October 24, 11 am – 12 pm Members: $15/Non-members: $20 During World War II, homefront Victory Gardens flourished nationwide—in former lawns, flower gardens, school yards, parks, abandoned lots, and ball fields. As part of the war effort, posters encouraged patriotic Americans to “Grow vitamins at your kitchen door” and “Eat what you can, and can what you cannot eat.” In fact, Americans needed to supplement their diets during a time of food rationing and shortages. Nearly 20 million gardeners answered the call, including many who had never wielded a hoe. Victory gardeners learned to prepare soil beds, grow seedlings, cultivate, control weeds, irrigate, and eliminate pests—raising successful crops for the duration of the war years. Join us as we explore the role of 1940s vegetable gardens, ration-book cookery, and food preservation in wartime victory. Victory gardens provided food and promoted morale during World War II, and by 1944 American gardeners grew forty-four percent of the produce that fed civilian families. In this slide illustrated talk Judith Sumner will trace the Victory Garden movement, including the Roosevelt White House garden, urban gardens, school gardens, food preservation, wartime nutrition, and ration book cookery.

We will also look at the British Dig for Victory campaign, Hedgerow Harvest program, and the Women’s Land Army.

This program is led by Judith Sumner, author of Plants Go to War: A Botanical History of World War II (McFarland Books, 2019).

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Nourishing Vegetarian Meals for New Families IN-PERSON AT BBG

Sunday, October 24, 2 - 5 pm Members:$45/Non-members: $60 Whether you or someone you love is expecting, food can be one of the best ways to support postpartum recovery and nourish new families. Led by Sandra Antunes, a classically trained French chef and mother of twins, this class will cover a variety of nourishing plant-based meals made up of healthy and healing recipes you can create for yourself or the ones you love. Focusing on postpartum cooking for recovery, lactation enhancing baked goods and infusions. Kitchen classes are sponsored by Guido’s Fresh Marketplace

Marketing your Gardening Business ONLINE

Wednesday, October 27, 4 – 5 pm Members: Free/Non-members: $12 Join Lindsey Schmid, Vice President of Tourism and Marketing, and Senior Marketing Specialist Elizabeth Nelson of 1Berkshire, to learn the best ways to market your business online. With so many platforms, the choices can be overwhelming. Lindsey and Elizabeth present some options and help you find a method that works best for you and your business. Special focus will be given to capturing your authentic voice and the regional identity of our beautiful Berkshires. This program is offered free of charge and sponsored by 1Berkshire.

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Design for Landscape Regeneration

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HYBRID CLASS

Victorian Flowers We Still Love IN-PERSON AT BBG

Thursdays, October 28 – November 11, 6 – 8 pm Members: $115/Non-members: $135

Saturday, October 30, 2 – 3 pm Members: $15/Non-members: $20

Learn how to design unique landscapes and garden spaces that strengthen the health of the environment immediately around you.

Most yards are biological deserts as well as an ecological burden due to too much lawn coupled with non-native species. However, our yards can be readily transformed into beneficial habitats that sink carbon and reduce pollution while also providing beauty and a stronger connection to the natural world, all right outside our own door. Using strategies based on the observation and emulation of naturally existing plant communities, landscape designer Owen Wormser offers key techniques for creating enjoyable, lowmaintenance garden spaces. Discover important functional and aesthetic qualities of the native plants that are the building blocks for creating easy-to-care-for, sustainable landscapes. Owen will also discuss how to design and prepare landscapes so that those plants can work together for maximum effect. In this interactive format, participants will be asked to apply what they’ve learned into a design and plant list that can be applied to an actual landscape.

They will be asked to share this and their process in the form of photographs, plans, and sketches. These landscapes will be used as examples for ongoing discussion throughout the course.

Thomas Mickey discusses the new book All about Flowers: James Vick’s Nineteenth-Century Seed Company illustrates how this company influenced both gardeners and the kind of garden that became essential, the Victorian flower garden. James Vick’s story has not been told yet. He is known in his hometown Rochester, NY, but he played a key role in gardens everywhere in nineteenth century America, whether those of the wealthy, the middle class, the working class, or the city dweller. Vick inspired gardeners everywhere with his own passion for gardening with flowers and his desire to spread the love of floriculture. Vick published yearly seed catalogs and a popular monthly garden magazine.

He systematized the seed business: growing seeds, drying them, packaging them, and shipping them around the country, well before Sears or Montgomery Ward sent out their first catalogs.

N OV E M B E R Understanding Soil Health and Structure

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IN-PERSON AT BBG

Tuesdays, 5:30 – 8:30 pm, November 2 – 23 Members: $185/Non-members: $210 Taught by John Howell, this four-session course will explain how plant growth is affected by soils, from drainage to pH and nutrients. Learn how to evaluate soils, improve those that are less than ideal and amend soils for specific garden uses. Fertilizers, soil amendments, making and using compost, moisture management and the pros and cons of mulching will be covered. Students need to get a soil sample before class and bring the results to the first class.

Drawing Dried Leaves, Capturing their Beauty and Drama IN-PERSON AT BBG

Tuesday - Thursday, November 2 – 4, 10 am – 3 pm Members: $320/Non-members: $350 The rhythmic forms of dried leaves present great images to draw.

Under the tutelage of Carol Ann Morley, capture the drama and grace of these beautiful leaves as they twist and turn. Choose to draw solitary forms or branches of overlapping leaves. Drawing concave, convex shapes can sometimes be a challenge — we will explore their complexity through a series of graphite exercises analyzing the spatial depth and angles to bring clarity to these great leaf forms. Render them in contrasting graphite tones or explore their colors and shapes with the brilliance and fun of mixed media.

Open to artists of all levels.

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Cooking from the Garden for Tweens ON-SITE

Wednesdays, November 3 – 24, 3:30 – 5:30 pm Members: $60/Non-members: $75 Tweens can stretch their culinary skills while cooking seasonally from the garden. This program, led by BBG Director of Education Bridgette Stone, is designed for 5th-8th graders to help students learn the fundamentals of cooking, try out new plant-based recipes and make friends along the way. Participants will harvest fresh vegetables and herbs from the BBG garden and transform them into delicious recipes while gaining new cooling skills and exploring new flavors. This after-school cooking program is held in our teaching kitchen and is sponsored by Guido’s Fresh Marketplace. Scholarships are available.

Autumn-Inspired Handmade Filled Pasta IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, November 6, 10 am – 1 pm Members: $55/Non-members: $65 Join the Chef/educator team of Stephen and Julie Browning of Prairie Whale restaurant for a garden-inspired, hands-on workshop making a variety of homemade filled pastas including tortellini, ravioli, and agnolotti. Pastas will be incorporated into dishes emphasizing local, seasonal ingredients. Kitchen classes are sponsored by Guido’s Fresh Marketplace

Houseplants by Design: Adding Plants to your Décor ONLINE

Saturday, November 6, 2 – 3:30 pm Members: $25/Non-members: $35 Are you utilizing your houseplants to their fullest aesthetic potential? In this virtual lecture filled with photos and inspiration from her own massive collection of houseplants, Tovah Martin will explore some of the easiest, most rewarding houseplants appropriate for all types of home situations and varying window exposures. She will show how to move beyond the “green blob in the corner,” offering ideas for profiling plants beautifully and artistically, applying design principles to make your plants work meaningfully with your home décor. Tovah will also demonstrate how the right container can make a houseplant shine with personality. Learn how to host and care for houseplants so they work for you. Your habitat needs houseplants—why not do it with panache? Turn your houseplants into home-plants!

Food for Celebration: Vegetable-focused Share-fare with Alana Chernila IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, November 13, 2 pm – 5 pm Members: $45/Non-members: $55 Want to go beyond pigs in a blanket and cocktail shrimp? Join cookbook author and Guido’s Marketing Manager Alana Chernila for a hands-on class to bring vegetables to the party. We’ll start with chickpea salad in endive boats, move on to broccoli raab and cheddar party toasts and finish with sweet potato latkes with roasted applesauce. All Berkshire Botanical Garden cooking classes are sponsored by Guido’s Fresh Marketplace.

Digging Dahlias IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, November 6, 11 am – 12:30 pm Members: $15/Non-members: $25 These tender perennials are garden stars, but left in the ground they won’t last through a New England winter. With a few tricks, you can preserve and multiply your dahlias, enjoying them for years to come!

BBG faculty member Jenna O’Brien will guide students through digging, cleaning, division, and overwintering techniques. She’ll also share insights on a few of her favorite varieties. This is a hands-on workshop; students are encouraged to bring their own clippers, and are welcome to bring dahlia tubers from home!

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Come play in the Berkshires!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY berkshiremag.com BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN

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Beginners Chainsaw Skills Workshop

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ON-SITE

Sunday, November 28, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm Members: $125/Non members: $140

Herbal Gift Giving IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, November 20, 2 – 5 pm Members: $65/Non-members: $75 Make herbal-inspired gifts for your loved ones this holiday season.

Hannah Jacobson-Hardy of Sweet Birch Herbals in Ashfield, MA, will guide us in handcrafting teas, body lotions, and sipping cordials so you can feel confident in your own creations. This is a hands-on workshop with recipes and everyone goes home with the gifts we make together. Price includes the material fee.

Winter Wow: Beautiful Containers for the Colder Months IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, November 20, 1 – 3 pm Members: $25 /Non-members: $35 Winter approaches but this doesn’t mean your window boxes or containers need to spend the next four months filled with the skeletons of long-dead plants. Instead, you can compost those spent annuals and fill the void with a variety of options from classic to contemporary. Deborah Trickett, whose business The Captured Garden is all about keeping container gardens appealing in all seasons, will share creative ideas to carry you through the holidays to spring.

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Learn to use a chainsaw safely! Taught by arborist Melissa LeVangie Ingersoll, this workshop is designed for the novice-to-beginner chainsaw operator who wishes to gain greater confidence with this powerful tool. The class will combine lecture and hands-on learning, covering topics such as personal protective equipment, the anatomy of a chainsaw, reactive forces, basic chainsaw maintenance and additional tools for use with a chainsaw. Techniques will include holding and starting a saw, hazard ID, escape options, log analysis (binds), planning cuts, overall plan and bucking and limbing.

Attendees will cut logs on the ground and/or elevated on sawhorses and will leave with a better understanding of the safety features of a chainsaw and be able to operate a chainsaw based on safety fundamentals. No experience necessary. Note: Equipment will be provided; if you have your own chainsaw or personal protective equipment, please bring it with you. Dress and prepare for the weather including long sleeves, pants and boots. Bring a bag lunch.

Plant Healthcare

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IN-PERSON AT BBG

Tuesdays, November 30 – December 21, 5:30 – 8:30 pm Members: $185/Non-members: $210 Led by Ken Gooch, this program focuses on factors that affect plant health care, including insects, diseases, pathogens and abiotic influences. Basic diagnostic techniques will be taught. Learn to minimize potential problems through proper site preparation, plant selection and placement. Managing problems using biological, chemical and cultural techniques will be discussed with a focus on integrated pest management.

DECEMBER Seasonal Cards in Dry Brush Watercolor IN-PERSON AT BBG

December 1, 8, 10 am - 1 pm Members: $95/Non-members: $110 Taught by Anastasia Traina, this Holiday Card workshop will focus on using dry brush watercolor to replicate the colors and the form of the Season’s Flora. We will work with seasonal plants such as poinsettias, ivy, or laurel. Dry brush is a watercolor painting technique used in traditional botanical illustration. The method involves a “skin” of dried paint on the palette and a small, slightly damp brush. Techniques to be covered: color mixing and layering, working from light to dark, adding fine detail, using a dry brush. We will also create botanical tints for the base layer, which will generate shape by adding a luminous shadow.

EDUCATION

Kids Winter Craft Workshop in the Garden IN-PERSON AT BBG

Wednesdays, December 1 – 15, 3:30 – 5 pm Members: $65/Non-members: $85 Join us for an afternoon of garden inspired crafts. This class is appropriate for ages 7 - 12. We will use botanical materials to create beautiful crafts to give as gifts or enjoy at home. Each week we will work with a new material! From natural dyes, to preserved plants, to beeswax, we will use the gifts of the summer garden to welcome winter! Led by the experienced BBG Education Team.

Botanically Dyed Holiday Gifts

hazard ID, escape options, log analysis (binds), planning cuts, overall plan and bucking and limbing. Attendees will cut logs on the ground and/or elevated on sawhorses and will leave with a better understanding of the safety features of a chainsaw and be able to operate a chainsaw based on safety fundamentals.

No experience necessary. Note: Equipment will be provided; if you have your own chainsaw or personal protective equipment, please bring it with you. Dress and prepare for the weather including long sleeves, pants and boots. Bring a bag lunch.

Winter Table Arrangements with Township Four

IN-PERSON AT BBG

IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, December 4, 10 am – 3 pm Members: $95/Non-members: $110

Saturday, December 18, 1 – 3 pm Members: $65/Non-members: $75

Come create a unique holiday gift using plant dyes and natural fibers! In this one-day workshop, taught by Nicole Campanale, participants will learn about various techniques and applications that can be used with botanical dyes (from tie dye to block printing) as well as how to make a dye vat from locally harvested plants. We will see examples of these techniques and then experiment with one as we design and execute our own textile pieces — think bandanas, napkins or tea towels — that can be taken home as an extra special holiday gift for a loved one, or kept as a gift to yourself!

The tradition of bringing in evergreens during the shortest days of the year is ancient. Join the Pittsfield-based floral designers from Township Four in creating a low winter arrangement for your home. Learn how to create beautiful and long-lasting compositions using seasonal greens, fresh and dried flowers, cones, and other plant materials. Participants will be able to bring home their arrangements; all material fees are included in the price of the class. A wonderful way to welcome winter!

Late Fall Sausage IN-PERSON AT BBG

Saturday, December 11, 10 am – 1 pm Members: $55/Non-members: $65 This hands-on workshop takes the participants through the process of making sausage at home, incorporating seasonal botanicals. Jake Levin is a Berkshire based butcher, educator and artist empowering people to connect more deeply with the food they eat. Learn the history and process of sausage making. From the right cuts to the correct ratios, to stuffing and linking, you’ll be along for every step of the process. Not only will students get a chance to participate, they will walk away with samples to enjoy at home, a set of recipes, and the frameworks needed to create their own seasonal recipes!

Women’s’ Chainsaw Skills Workshop

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ON-SITE

Saturday, December 11, 8:30 am - 3:30 pm Members: $125/Non members: $140 Are you interested in learning to use a chainsaw but feel intimidated to do so? Led by arborist Melissa LeVangie Ingersoll, this workshop is designed for the novice-to-beginner chainsaw operator who wishes to gain greater confidence with this powerful tool. The class combines lecture and hands-on learning and covers topics including personal protective equipment, the anatomy of a chainsaw, reactive forces, basic chainsaw maintenance and additional tools for use with a chainsaw. Techniques will include holding and starting a saw,

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HORTICULTURE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM The Horticulture Certificate Program is a non-credit, adult enrichment program designed for the professional, aspiring professional or serious home gardener. Students can choose either to take classes towards receiving a certificate, or audit individual classes of interest. Staffed by seasoned and practicing horticulturists and landscape designers, these indepth classes provide a strong foundation for all horticultural pursuits—whether one is exploring or advancing career goals or simply acquiring or expanding their knowledge, skills and enjoyment of gardening. Classes include lectures, hands-on workshops and field trips.

Level I courses cover material essential for a foundation in good gardening practices and are designed sequentially beginning in September and progressing through April.

Upon completing the Level 1 Horticulture Certificate Program, students can work towards additional Advanced Certificates in the following areas: Advanced Horticulture, Landscape Design, Sustainable Land Stewardship, and Native Plant Landscapes Registration for this program begins August 1, 2021.

Learn more at berkshirebotanical.org

WHAT’S COMING UP: WINTER 2022 AND BEYOND

Farm in the Garden Camp Registration for Members Tuesday, January 11, 10 am Winter Lecture | Saturday, February 19 Edwina von Gal Principal Landscape Designer, Edwina von Gal + Co. Founder / President, Perfect Earth Project Please visit BBG’s website for details Principal of her eponymous landscape design firm since 1984, Edwina von Gal creates landscapes with a focus on simplicity and sustainability for private and public clients around the world. She has collaborated with noted architects such as Maya Lin (The Wave Field/ Storm King, Smith College, Oberlin College), Frank Gehry (Biomuseo Panama), Annabelle Selldorf, and Toshiko Mori, on projects for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Richard Serra, Larry Gagosian, Robert De Niro, Jann Wenner and many others in the environmental, design and art communities. Her work has been published in major publications. Her book Fresh Cuts won the Quill and Trowel award for garden writing.

GRANT LARKIN INTERIORS LIGHTING FURNITURE

414-698-2599 GRANTLARKIN.COM

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BBG’s Garden Travel Program Resumes in 2022!

Join BBG as we once again explore the most extraordinary gardens in the U.S. and around the globe! Coordinated by the exceptional staff at Classical Excursions, our trips are led by horticultural-savvy guides who plan unforgettable itineraries that include both well-known public and exclusive private gardens in their region. To find out more, we invite you to attend an upcoming information session. Please check berkshirebotanical.org for details.

Gardens of Charleston Thursday, March 24 – Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Arranged by Classical Excursions

Great Gardens of Scotland

Wednesday, June 1 - Wednesday, June 8, 2022 Arranged by Classical Excursions

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

Magnolia Gardens & Plantation Founded by the Drayton Family in 1680, this is considered to be one of the most important romantic gardens and is the oldest unrestored garden in America.

A stop by Calton Hill, ‘The Athens of the North’, to see many of its famous landmark buildings.

Middleton Place Plantation & Gardens The home of the Middleton family since 1741, Middleton Place boasts America’s oldest landscaped gardens inspired by the great garden designer André Le Nôtre.

Nathaniel Russell House A private tour of the house and ending with a wine reception in the serene 18th century formal garden.

Moore Farms Botanical Garden A wildly beautiful and soulful 65 acre garden set in a pastoral setting. The garden has an informal yet expressive design scheme featuring a blend of exuberant plant displays.

The private garden of designer Ben Lenhardt at his home located in Charleston’s historic district.

The Phillip Simmons Garden These mesmerizing gardens located on Anson Street commemorate the renowned Charleston blacksmith responsible for some of the most beautiful ironwork in the city.

A visit to the Edinburgh Botanical Garden with a talk about the history of the gardens.

Manderston House, home of The Lord Palmer, where we will be entertained to lunch, followed by a tour of this grand Edwardian house and a visit to the gardens with the head gardener.

Floors Castle & Gardens, in Roxburghshire, is the seat of the Dukes of Roxburgh. The grounds are listed in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, the national listing of significant gardens in Scotland.

Balcarres House & Gardens, the ancestral home of the Earls of Crawford, this house eventually became the family seat of the Earl of Crawford and its grounds are included on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens.

These are just a selection of highlights; please inquire about the full itinerary!

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AROUND THE GARDEN

Welcome, Thaddeus Thompson!

We warmly welcome Thaddeus Thompson as Interim Executive Director at Berkshire Botanical Garden! Thaddeus has over 25 years’ experience in the non-profit sector, serving in a variety of senior roles in institutional advancement, fundraising development, programs and education, and marketing. Thaddeus served as the Director of Institutional Advancement at Tower Hill Botanic Garden during a period of explosive growth and was instrumental in helping to expand their audience and launch Tower Hill’s first comprehensive campaign. He is also a Board member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which oversees the botanical gardens at Elm Bank, and a member of their Governance committee. He has served on numerous other Boards and committees, both in his local community as well as nonprofits with international reach.

His professional experience extends beyond the world of horticulture, having spent over a decade in higher education, and five years in international public health where he worked primarily on projects throughout Francophone Africa and Central and South America. He also worked for a time in travel and tourism in France, as well as with a U.S.-based start-up venture doing business in the international ecotourism sector.

Thaddeus’ passion for nature and environmental conservation was nurtured by growing up in a family of avid gardeners. His youthful introduction to horticulture included many seasons helping his father to grow grapes and make semi-palatable wines on the family’s farm in Dutchess County, New York, where his mother also maintained expansive herb and ornamental gardens. It was there that met his wife, Lucia, a native of Litchfield County, Connecticut. Their primary residence is in Wayland, Massachusetts, where they have raised two boys.

In his spare time, Thaddeus enjoys playing tennis, sailing, gardening, SCUBA diving, and painting/sketching (all with great enthusiasm, but varying degrees of skill). He received his B.A. from Trinity College in Hartford, where he interned with the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality, and a Master’s Degree from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University with a focus on development and natural resource policy. “I’m deeply honored to join BBG and to help build on the accomplishments that Mike, the staff, and the Board have achieved,” said Thaddeus. “The Garden is an inspiring place, a hub of activity and learning, and a true gem of the Berkshires!”

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energetic landscaping, inc. expert design, construction & year-round maintenance

Bringing the natural beauty of the Berkshires to homes and offices since 1979.

(413) 442-4873 energeticlandscaping.com

AROUND THE GARDEN

Know a Garden Sprout?

We’d Love to Meet Them!

Our Garden Sprouts early childhood education series is an on-site, one-on-one program for toddlers age 3-5 and their caretakers. Free with Garden admission and offered the last Thursday of the month, Garden Sprouts programs are designed to build new skills, have fun and explore what’s going on in the Garden. Led by BBG Education Coordinator Kessa McEwen, the sessions allow for individualized instruction and discovery while incorporating COVID safety practices. New activities are offered each month:

BBG’s Education Coordinator Kessa McEwen in the Children’s Garden with a group of Garden Sprouts

August 26 | Wings, Feathers, and Beaks Calling junior birders! Make a set of binoculars from recycled materials and go on a bird walk in the garden. We will talk about eggs, nests, and see what it’s like to use a beak to eat.

We will end by “foraging” (harvesting) from the garden.

September 30 | Fantastic Fall Trees Welcome fall to the garden as the landscape changes.

Investigate our surroundings with a scavenger hunt and become a tree with your very own tree costume!

MAKE ART! Offering classes, camps, and workshops online and in-person this summer!

is183.org

October 28 | Goodbye Fall, Hello Winter Say goodbye to the fall leaves as winter approaches. What changes in the winter? Where do the animals go? Dance like falling leaves, create a work of art to bring home and plant garlic for next spring.

For additional information on Garden Sprouts, please contact Education Coordinator, Kessa McEwen, kmcewen@berkshirebotanical.org, or by phone at 413 931-3194.

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AROUND THE GARDEN

It’s Thyme for Tea! We’ve received rave reviews about our new pop-up Tea Room, Thyme for Tea, where something delicious is always baking in the Center House teaching kitchen!

The Tea Room offers a diverse selection of light refreshments including teas, cold brewed coffee and baked goods featuring cakes, crumbles and cookies as well as a ploughman’s lunch and our baker’s signature savory cheddar-thyme scones. Tea Room seating is available indoors or on the Center House terrace overlooking the 1937 Herb Garden. The Tea Room is open Thursdays through Sundays, 10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Please note: the Thyme for Tea is closed during weddings and special events.

Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Fine Woodwork Show Returns to the Garden Save the date for the Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Fine Woodwork Show and Silent Auction scheduled for October 23-24, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the Garden’s Education Center. The show will feature designs by professional woodworkers from the Berkshires and neighboring towns throughout New York and Connecticut.

Admission to the show is $5.00.

The event will include a silent auction to benefit the Berkshire Woodworkers Guild Scholarship Fund, which supports individuals who aspire to make woodworking, architecture, or a related field their professional goal.

Throughout the weekend, BWG members will demonstrate various woodworking techniques including turning, sharpening techniques, riving and finials turning. For more information, visit berkshirewoodworkers.org.

Sopring-Summer Cuttings: 4.75”W x 3.5 “H

WINDY HILL FARM NURSERY • ORCHARD • GARDEN SHOP

Superb plantS, extenSive Knowledge outStanding Quality, Selection & value

We offer our own Berkshire field-grown specimens, including Chinese or Kousa dogwood; the native Berkshire strain of Cornus florida; American and European Green, Tricolor and Copper beech; native birch; hybrid lilacs; hydrangea paniculata selections; American Fringe trees; witchhazels, blueberries, viburnums; winterberries, espaliered fruit trees; mature apple, peach and pear trees; herbaceous and tree peony selections.

686 Stockbridge road, great barrington, Ma 01230 www . windyhillfarMinc . coM (413) 298-3217 34

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Native Habitat Restoration Returning Balance to Nature

Wetlands Woodlands Meadows Fields Invasive Plant Control

(organic options)

Pollinator Habitats Field Clearing Forestry Mowing Wetland Restoration

(413) 358-7400 NativeHabitatRestoration.weebly.com Licensed in MA . CT . NY . VT

Volunteer News

Oh What A Feeling!

It’s always a delight to return to BBG in the “high season” of bloom. This year it’s been especially sweet to wander along our paths of beauty and see not only the plantings and the art, but also so many of our wonderful Volunteers. In the garden beds, in the Visitor Center, in the Leonhardt Galleries and just about everywhere I look, I see friendly faces and Volunteer talents contributing to the success of BBG. I didn’t realize how much I missed my Volunteer family until I got back into the swing of things this year. We had great training sessions and were thrilled to welcome several new Volunteers who hit the ground running as Tour Guides, Greeters, Gardeners and more. And everyone, not just me, seems wreathed in smiles to be back on track, making BBG the special place that it is.

BBG is centered on three pillars: Volunteerism, Education and Beauty. While the beauty is self-evident, it’s the power of education and the spirit of volunteerism that really make this botanical garden click. We all enjoy doing such worthwhile work, alongside a wonderful and equally dedicated staff.

The BBG Volunteer Association is always delighted to welcome new members, and we celebrate our Volunteers in many ways to add to the pleasure of volunteering.

Whether you are new to BBG or a long-time friend, I hope you will consider becoming part of our Volunteer family. We have all kinds of meaningful work you can do, from handson gardening to concocting herbal delights for our Gift Shop, to greeting and guiding visitors, to administrative and computer-skilled tasks ... or even just a 4-hour shift at the Harvest Festival in October.

Please visit our Volunteer page on the BBG website at berkshirebotanical.org, or get in touch with Volunteer Director at abutterworth@berkshirebotanical.org / 413 2984532 to explore the opportunities. Join us, and grow with us — it’s a great time to be a BBG Volunteer!

See you in the Garden,

C u s to m H o m e s – A r t i s a n a l D e t a i l s Crafting Beautiful, Energy-Efficient Spaces using Micro-local Materials.

Zero net energy homes • Passive House

w w w. u n c a r v e d b l o c k i n c . c o m

( 4 13 ) 4 6 4 - 2 5 9 8

CREATING BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES design • installation • maintenance 413 448 2215 churchillgardens.com

est

1998

Lauretta Harris President, BBG Volunteer Association To learn more about volunteering at BBG, go to berkshirebotanical.org/volunteer, or contact Amy Butterworth at abutterworth@berkshirebotanical.org.

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THROUGH OCTOBER 17 It’s the perfect time to get out and explore the Clark’s first outdoor exhibition, featuring the work of six international artists set against nature’s beauty.

GROUNDS ARE OPEN AND FREE OF CHARGE

WILLIAMSTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS CLARKART.EDU/GROUNDWORK Major support for Ground/work is provided by Karen and Robert Scott, Denise Littlefield Sobel, and Paul Neely. Additional funding is generously provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art; the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor; Maureen Fennessy Bousa and Edward P. Bousa; Amy and Charlie Scharf; Elizabeth Lee; MASS MoCA; Chrystina and James Parks; Howard M. Shapiro and Shirley Brandman; Joan and Jim Hunter; James and Barbara Moltz; and a gift in honor of Marilyn and Ron Walter.

Analia Saban, Teaching a Cow How to Draw (detail), 2020. Cedar wood. Courtesy of the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles

Always something new to see!

Robin Tost, Phoenix, 2020

James Gurney, Garden of Hope, 1995 ©James Gurney

on view through October 31

Land of Enchantment: A Fantastical Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition Enchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration on view November 13 - March 6

Jan Brett: Stories Near and Far NRM.org

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Stockbridge, MA

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413.298.4100

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KIDS & TEENS FREE!

Jan Brett, Hedgie ©Jan Brett

Garden Membership Extends Way Beyond the Berkshires!

Did you know that BBG membership delivers way beyond our Stockbridge campus?

All members are automatically enrolled in the American Horticultural Society’s Reciprocal Admission Program, a network providing free access to more than 320 horticultural institutions in 48 states and the District of Columbia, plus Canada and the Caribbean.

Back at home, your membership comes with many benefits, including advance notice and discounts on BBG’s educational offerings. Our upcoming semester includes an exciting selection of classes and workshops designed for students of all levels and ages. Whatever your interests — from garden photography to landscape design for advanced backyard gardeners and professionals — now, more than ever, member discounts go a long way!

Join or give a membership gift at the Supporter Level and also enjoy the benefits of NARM, the North American Reciprocal Museum Association, offering free admission and discounts to more than 1,000 member institutions in five different countries, and ROAM, the Reciprocal

Organization of Associated Museums, a free reciprocal network that connects world-class institutions for the benefit of our Members.

Honor the gardeners and horticulturists in your life with a BBG membership! Gift memberships can be shipped in festive packaging or prepared for pickup at the Garden.

Visit berkshirebotanical.org or call Amy Butterworth at (413) 298-4532 for information about a membership.

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Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Qualprint 5 West Stockbridge Road Stockbridge, MA 01262 413-298-3926 • berkshirebotanical.org

The Legendary Fall Festival in the Berkshires!

SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR 87TH ANNUAL HARVEST FESTIVAL!

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9–10 Purchase advanced tickets online at berkshirebotanical.org

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