B E R K S H I R E B OTA N I C A L G A R D E N
SPRING/SUMMER 2020
SPRING/SUMMER 2020
“All of us at BBG want to be there for our local community during this time of crisis and uncertainty. Know that our acres of beautiful gardens will be waiting for you when the time comes for all of us to venture from our homes once again.� Michael Beck, Executive Director
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Matt Larkin, Chairman Madeline Hooper, Vice Chairman Janet Laudenslager, Secretary John Spellman, Treasurer David Carls 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
S TA F F Anne Albert Visitor Center Manager
Kevin Johnson Seasonal Gardener
Dana Audia Director of Special Events
Dan Mullen Buildings and Grounds Assistant
Michael Beck Executive Director
Robin Parow Director of Marketing Communications
Amy Butterworth Membership and Development Coordinator
John Ryan Seasonal Gardener
Christine Caccamo Senior Gardener
Samantha Ross Camp Director
Gillian Culff Communications Coordinator
Scott Rougeux Buildings and Grounds Assistant
Duke Douillet Senior Gardener
Bridgette Stone Director of Education
Deborah Helmke Gardener
Matthew Turnbull Incoming Director of Horticulture
Dorthe Hviid Outgoing Director of Horticulture
Elizabeth Veraldi Office Manager
CUTTINGS Robin Parow, Editor Julie Hammill, Hammill Design, Design
On the Cover: Director of Horitculture Dorthe Hviid retires after 28 years at the Garden. Photo by Robin Parow
Opposite: Tilia cordata or little-leaf linden, located in the arboretum. Photo by Robin Parow
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Cuttings For advertising opportunities, please call 413-298-3926.
DIRECTOR’S CORNER MICHAEL BECK
A changed world and a changing Garden In mid-March, just as I had finished writing my introduction for the April issue of Cuttings, the restrictions, and then the shutdown, began. Cases of COVID-19 began rising not just in big cities like New York and Boston, but even here in the Berkshires. Was nobody safe from this virus? With dizzying speed, we all went from living our normal lives, in public, among friends and colleagues, to sheltering at home with our nuclear families, our pets, or just alone. Like many of our peer cultural organizations, BBG had to make the difficult decision to close to the public until it was once again safe for us to gather. It was heartbreaking to shutter our beautiful Bulb Show early, and to post a big CLOSED sign across our parking lot entrance just as the first green shoots and buds emerged outside. But we knew we couldn’t take any chances, given what the experts were telling us, and I’m glad we were decisive early on and led by example, for the health and safety of our visitors, our staff, and our community at large. Since so much of our planned programming had to be canceled or postponed, we felt we could not go to press with Cuttings in April. But now, just like we have moved our horticultural learning opportunities and community outreach efforts online, we are proud to present you with this, our very first all-digital issue of Cuttings! Even during the darkest weeks of this pandemic, it has been wonderful to observe our community’s resilience, our ability to adapt and persevere. We always knew we were stronger together, but I am seeing it demonstrated daily, from BBG’s staff in various departments collaborating on our upcoming online Plant Sale, to my full schedule of staff, committee and board meetings, all now held via video conference. BBG staff members have helped with food distribution to the needy, using our BBG van. Our last remaining Horticulture Certificate classes of the spring learning semester were retooled to be virtual as well, and soon a whole slew of classes will be streaming to a screen near you! Meanwhile, our great horticulture and grounds teams are busy preparing BBG’s gardens for summer, and for the inevitable moment when we can welcome visitors again. Rest assured, we will have plenty to see and do once our grounds reopen, and we will keep you updated as additional programs get announced.
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The first Sunday in May is our traditional Roy Boutard Day, named after the famed BBG Director and horticultural superstar. So it is only appropriate that I introduce our new Director of Horticulture, Matt Turnbull, to our Garden family this month. At the same time it will be sad to say goodbye, in a few short weeks, to our long-serving outgoing Director of Horticulture, Dorthe Hviid. For the time being we won’t be able to celebrate this momentous transition like we normally would, with a big BBG party. But without a doubt, we will do so just as soon as we can. Until then, I wish all of you a safe and healthy beginning of the growing season. Together we will beat this virus. And we will see you in the Garden again… soon!
HINDSIGHT IS 20/20 By Dorthe Hviid, Director of Horticulture
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I was born and grew up in Denmark. My father was a Lutheran minister and we always had large gardens in the parsonages where we lived. I liked to garden with my dad as he grew vegetables, fruit, and flowers. Calendulas, marigolds, lupines, and Crocosmia are the ones I remember the best. There were also great big trees for climbing, flowering shrubs, and thickets of hazelnuts in our gardens. When I was 15 years old I left home to go to boarding school, and did not do any gardening again for many years. After high school I came to New York as an au pair, and went on to attend Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City where I studied sweater design, and subsequently worked in the garment district as a designer. When I moved into a brownstone in the Prospect Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn some years later, there was a small garden behind our house. It was a short walk to Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and I spent a lot of time there. I also discovered Vita Sackville West’s delightful gardening columns about her experiences in horticulture. Suddenly I was immersed in gardening again. At the start of the 1990s, my husband, Mark Smith, and I decided to move out of the city with our young son, Will. By then I had completed my 6
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Dorthe weeding in The Herb Garden in front of an ancient horseradish plant a few weeks after starting at the BBG in June 1994.
studies in ornamental horticulture at SUNY Farmingdale, and worked for three years with the New York landscape architecture firm of Bruce Kelly and David Varnell as a horticulturist. Mark and I decided on a house in Lenox in 1992. In looking around for work I chanced on a brochure for a high tea at Berkshire Botanical Garden. I called the Garden and spoke with Joe Strauch, the Executive Director. Joe told me that he thought BBG would indeed be looking for a horticulturist within a few months. There was no one in
the position at the time, and Joe was trying to get approval from the Board of Trustees to establish the position. When I called back a few months later I was able to set up an interview. The Garden was a very different place when I started here on June 15, 1992. The budget was a fraction of what it is today, and as a result the staff was much smaller. Dina Samfeld ran the youth and adult education programs by herself. A volunteer managed the Gift Shop. Duke Douillet, who is still working here today, was the head
gardener and there were just a couple of seasonal gardeners on the horticulture team. The propagator, Alice, only worked during the winter and spring months, when she would order seeds and start them. The propagation records were kept on cards piled in a shoebox. I never met Alice. She moved to Vermont a few weeks before I started at the Garden. There was only one computer for all of us to share. It was a big clunker, which sat in the front office. We all took turns using it. Joe Strauch had a clear vision for moving the Garden away from the mom and pop operation it had been for 30 years with Roy and Sherry Boutard at the helm. Joe changed the name from The Garden Center to Berkshire Botanical Garden, staffed the Director of Education and Director of Horticulture positions, and very importantly started on the process of engaging a landscape architecture firm to develop a Master Site Plan (MSP) for the Garden. The summer I arrived, the well-respected firm of Sasaki Associates from Boston was hired to develop the new MSP. In September of that year, Joe Strauch handed in his notice of resignation to the Board of Trustees. I felt spooked and remember thinking:
Forcing bulbs for the BBG’s Holiday Marketplace Dorthe Hviid poses with the narcissus for a promo photo in the Lexan Greenhouse in 1997
“What have I gotten myself into? What kind of place is this? Mark and I left our secure jobs in New York for this?” Little did I know all that was still to come. With the Sasaki MSP completed in 1994, the Garden embarked on a capital campaign to raise a million dollars to implement the new plan. When I showed the MSP to the horticulture staff, one of the gardeners insisted: “This will
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never happen!” But little by little it did. Spearheaded by the President of the Board, Jean Rousseau, the capital campaign was successful and exceeded the goal by quite a bit. The first new garden we created was The Vista Garden in 1997. It’s a small four-season garden, with long sightlines reaching all the way down to Rt. 183. Hence its name. According to the Cudnohufsky Associates grading plan, it was to be bermed
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up along the west side to shield it from the driveway and the highway. I ordered truckload upon truckload of dead sand and one of the gardeners, Carole Armstrong, and I raked the piles into the berms that you see there today. Then we planted it based on the plan I had designed. That was followed by the installation of the new oval pathway and lawn between the de Gersdorff Perennial Border and the proposed Frelinghuysen Shade Border, which we planted in 1999. Edith Eddleman and Doug Ruhren designed the planting plan. On the morning of the installation, Doug was laying out the plants with a group of us planting as fast as we could behind him. Frelinghuysen has become one of my most favorite gardens at BBG. The emerging spring foliage and blooms are incredibly beautiful in the middle of June. 8
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In 2000, the Tatkon Entry Garden was created, and in 2001 the Daylily Walk. Rob Gennari, from Glendale Botanicals, had generously volunteered himself and his backhoe to help us break up the hardpan of the old 1934-1950 BBG parking lot where the 14 new daylily beds were being laid out. It turned out to be an unforgettable day. It was 9.11.2001. Over the following years we moved the Herb Production Garden across Rt. 102 to the back of the Center House, planted the Rain Garden, and created the New Wave Garden. I was very excited about the new style of naturalistic garden that was sweeping Europe after hearing Cassian Schmidt from Hermanshoff Botanical Garden in Germany describe the concept, and how to go about achieving it. Over the next year we constructed the New Wave Garden at BBG. I love the
Surrounded by Plant Sale volunteers in 2011. Dorthe spearheaded BBG’s volunteer gardening community with good humor, shared wisdom, and personal friendships to last a lifetime.
meadow-like feeling of it — especially in early June. These were exciting years for me. I had come from a background of creating and supervising the installation of gardens in my years with Bruce Kelly and David Varnell, and I love being part of making new gardens as well as improving existing ones. In 2009 to 2011 we renovated the Pond Garden with Anthony ArcherWills, the Herb Garden with Page Dickey, the Vegetable Garden with Jack Staub, the Martha Stewart Cottage Garden with Andrew Beckman, and the Rose Garden with Michael Marriott, the rosarian from David Austin Roses. Michael
“Working as Director of Horticulture for the Berkshire Botanical Garden for 28 years has been the work of my life.” instructed us to double-dig the four beds of the Rose Garden to a depth of 18” to provide perfect drainage for the roses to improve winter survival. When the gardeners threatened mutiny I was luckily able to hire a contractor with a backhoe to prepare the beds for us. Through all these years, my horticulture staff has worked tirelessly to create new gardens along with maintaining the existing ones. Except for the Tatkon Entry Garden, BBG’s gardeners have prepared and planted all the new and renovated gardens. Our records show that since I arrived at the Garden in 1992, the horticulture team has planted 125 trees and 1,380 shrubs. Never mind all the annuals and perennials that we plant each spring! Another enjoyable part of my work here has been building networks with the surrounding community of gardeners, arborists, landscape designers, nurseries, and wreath makers, among others. The many volunteers I have worked with in the Garden have been a great source of support and friendship, with tasks ranging from – yes, of course – weeding, but also planting, mulching, dead-heading, greenhouse work, making signage for our collections, maintaining accession records of our woody plants, recruiting horticulture interns, organizing our library collection, serving on the Horticulture Advisory Committee, as well as innumerable tasks to support our special events. It hasn’t always been peaches and cream. There were years when the economy plummeted, leading to staff cutbacks, and salary raises were hard to come by. There were nights in the
middle of a snowstorm when the phone rang at home at 2 AM to let me know that the power was out and the temperature was rapidly dropping in the Lexan and Fitzpatrick Greenhouses. If I was the only one responding to the alarm, my husband Mark and I would bundle up and go to the Garden to get the backup heaters going in the greenhouses. Still, it has been miraculous to see the Garden improve in so many ways over the years. The remarkable growth that I have witnessed has only been possible because of the determination of so many: the Board of Trustees, the staff, the volunteers, the students, the members and the surrounding community — everyone who believed
in the importance of the Garden. Now we are on the eve of a new MSP for BBG with the landscape architecture firm of Nelson, Byrd and Woltz. It has been thrilling to be part of developing this new MSP, and I have no doubt that we will be successful in implementing it, but this time I will be watching from the sidelines. I am retiring from the Garden in May 2020. Working as Director of Horticulture for the Berkshire Botanical Garden for 28 years has been the work of my life. It has been a great privilege to do my part in the amazing development of the Garden. Thank you to everyone who has collaborated with me.
Dorthe poses with the giant “guess the weight” squash at Harvest Festival 2017, located in the Plant Sale area where each year she greeted friends, offered gardening advice, and sold lots of mums and pumpkins.
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How to Bloom During a Pandemic: Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Response to the Massachusetts Lockdown and Social Distancing Protocol Compiled by Gillian Culff, Communications Coordinator
Like all nonprofit organizations, BBG has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in a multitude of ways, large and small. We thought our readers would enjoy a glimpse behind the scenes to see how each department here at the Garden has had to shift gears and adapt to this “new normal.” Here, our department heads share in their own words what adjusting to this pandemic time has entailed and how it has felt. Mike Beck, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR When COVID-19 hit our region in March, it was as if someone flicked a switch: one moment, we were all in the midst of that period of late winter excitement before the launch of a new BBG visitor season; the next, we had a shuttered parking lot and twice-a-week video check-ins with BBG staff, most of whom are now working remotely. As a public garden, we always want to provide a place of beauty and respite for our community, but unfortunately Governor Baker’s orders and guidelines mean we can’t do
so right now. It’s very hard for me and the BBG board to effectively plan more than a few weeks into the future, since current assumptions about when restrictions will be lifted and people can return to “normal” life are constantly being adjusted. But luckily, I work with a team of dedicated professionals who are always up for a challenge. In no time, it seems, we have retooled our programs to focus on staying in touch with our community by providing almost daily virtual “lockdown distractions” and increasingly, longer BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN
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horticultural content such as classes and workshops that we can share remotely. The delay in opening our grounds and the cancellation of some of our summer programs has also freed up some of our collective energies to focus on more strategic planning initiatives. I am excited to use this oddly quiet time to introduce our new Director of Horticulture, Matt Turnbull, to BBG’s gardens and get him the support he needs to start implementing an ambitious master plan.
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On Saturday, March 11, Mike Beck emailed me a document to share with our Garden community through our email marketing platform and website homepage: we were actively monitoring the rapidly evolving pandemic and taking safety precautions by cancelling all kitchen classes and encouraging those who registered for any BBG class to check the website for updates and cancellations. The grounds and ongoing Bulb Show would remain open with a cautious eye to unfolding events. Two weeks later, another announcement followed from both Mike Beck and Board Chairman Matt Larkin: the difficult decision had been made to close the Garden and cancel programs through the end of May. In the days and weeks that followed these initial announcements, the challenge was not only to provide updated, clear, consistent information to the public on multiple platforms, but to also unpack the previous two months’ work—cancelled events and classes meant cancelling ads and underwriting with NPR, updating or unpublishing website text, eliminating or rewriting articles for Cuttings (and also questioning, should there be a spring/ summer issue of Cuttings at all?). Everything that was cued up and on track for promotion and marketing just a few days and weeks before was now being revisited. A photography exhibit promoted since January: cancelled. The annual Bulb Show: shut down after two weeks. Courses, workshops and lectures promoted on the website, in press releases and on social media: cancelled or postponed. Running in the background of this avalanche of change was the onboarding of the newly hired Communications Coordinator, Gillian Culff, who was on the job less than two weeks when we shifted gears. The term “trial by blowtorch” came to mind. I hoped I could retain her during a global pandemic with multiple tasks at hand while she acclimated to new coworkers and a new job. Even with cancellations happening daily, it was never a consideration to halt or even decrease our outreach to the public. We jumped into action, tapping into the talents
and wisdom found in our Education and Horticulture departments, with the question: “How do we continue to serve the Garden’s mission by providing educational, inspiring, fun content to our community as we go through this together?” The answers came in many ways. Where possible, classes that were already scheduled became virtual and were offered through Zoom; additional online classes were added as well, totaling 12. A multi-tiered social media outreach program was quickly developed, offering daily themes: podcasts on gardening and the environment by BBG volunteer Tom Christopher on Mondays; video tours, tips and tutorials from Director of Horticulture Dorthe Hviid on Wednesdays; and nature craft projects and educational activities for children and families on Fridays. I quickly developed a Virtual Learning page on our website to share new content, and we ramped up our social media posts, inviting engagement on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The weekly enews sent to a general subscriber list of 9,000 and a dedicated enews to volunteers became important connections with high open rates. In the early days of the pandemic, when we had to close our campus to the public, our Bulb Show coverage seemed like medicine for a lot of our readers; we received enthusiastic comments on the photos we shared of bright, colorful bulbs in bloom, and Dorthe’s first video in our Wednesday series, a spring walk through the Garden to show what was beginning to come into flower, was wildly popular. Along the way, several members of our community stepped forward to donate their time and assist with filming and editing videos, offering advice on social media apps, and creating lively, fun promo animations and graphics. Momentum was building; the communications department was reinventing itself with the help of supportive staff, our marketing committee, and a handful of creative individuals.
A generous donation funded the digital issue of Cuttings you are now reading, saving the cost of producing a print version that could potentially be out-ofdate within days of publication. Businesses that had already committed and paid for ads in three issues of the magazine received extra promotion, including links in the online edition, free 15-month individual memberships to the Garden, and free advertising in an extra issue of Cuttings. Gratefully, not one advertiser cancelled. A reminder from Heraclitus: “Change is the only constant in life,” and this applies to a public garden, as well.
Chris Kupernik, FORMER FACILITIES AND GROUNDS MANAGER
Because of the timing, responding to the requirements of the pandemic shutdown and social distancing was a little easier on us in Facilities and Grounds because pushing back the opening day from May 1st to June 1st relieved some pressure for getting things done. I staggered Scott (Rougeux) and Dan (Mullen) to work opposite days so that we’d have a limited number of people on site at a time. When we had more than one crew member there, we planned our projects to have our own separate work spaces, and we were often
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working outside; that worked well. We tried to have just one person use the golf cart or the truck on a given day and then wipe it down when they were done. We brought in touchless antibacterial dispensers to the Center House entry, the Ed Center entry, and the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center one moved to the Fitzpatrick greenhouse for the Bulb Show. We brought in antibacterial wipes for the hort and grounds staffs to wipe down tools. During the Bulb Show we normally would have facilities open for people to use, but we had to close that up. We’re fortunate that we had a small stockpile of masks, and we put in an order of disposable gloves and pump sprays for bleach-water solution for sanitizing. Scott amped up the common surfaces cleaning. Since we were allowed to continue working on site using these precautions for our staff’s safety, we were able to do all of the regular maintenance we’d normally do this time of year, which means the Garden will be ready when the lockdown is lifted and we’re able to welcome visitors again.
Anne Albert, VISITOR CENTER MANAGER After the New Year, I started planning for the 2020 season of the Garden Shop and Visitor Center. We freshened it up with paint and newly refinished floors. 2019 was so successful, and we had many exciting things planned for this season. I began sampling items relating to the upcoming events and art exhibits, also making custom BBG items and placing orders for new merchandise. As soon as the shutdown hit, I spent a lot of time cancelling most of the orders I had placed, and I felt badly, both for the other businesses I was cancelling on and the Garden. But since some merchandise had already been shipped, I wanted to figure out a new way to sell gift shop items, along with memberships and possibly future admission, safely. That was when Michael Beck approved my idea to put together a site to host Plant Sale online along with gift shop items, for preorder and curbside pickup, like many other businesses were doing. Offering and advertising a 10% discount on Plant Sale items resulted in some new memberships coming through the site as well. Setting up the online store was grueling. First, there was collecting and organizing information. Then, inputting every item into inventory with SKU’s, prices, quantities, photos and other details, so I could create the pages to build the store online. After that, photographing and Photoshopping all the items and creating jpegs from a Word doc. The plant images needed to be reduced in size to be uploadable. Learning the program took so much time, my family was perplexed by the screen time I put in. I love
the basic platform but now have learned so much about how to have the online store portion work and make sense for BBG’s purposes. We have so many requirements at the Garden that it’s not your straightforward online shop, and I’ve found out what’s possible and what’s not. I’ve had to test it and change it many, many times. Just when I thought it was all going to work, it turned out I hadn’t checked that essential box on 150 items! I sent my first marketing email with Robin’s expert writing help, and that went well. I think I might just be an online store expert after this! It’s exciting to find tools and creative ways to help keep the Garden going, and I enjoy the challenge. Hopefully, our Virtual Plant and Mother’s Day Gift Sale will be not only a success, but something we can continue to use in the future.
Amy Butterworth, MEMBERSHIP AND VOLUNTEERS COORDINATOR
The number one change I have experienced as a result of the pandemic is working from my quiet home office versus my delightfully not-so-quiet BBG office. There is an immediacy to working on site with your peers. While we all check texts and emails from home and everyone is only a phone call away, I certainly miss walking out of my office to ask or answer a question. I’m able to perform the majority of my tasks from home, but I come into the office to process membership cards and thank-you letters. While at BBG, I’m able to start and complete a job because I have everything at my fingertips. But while working from home, that flow is not quite as smooth. Fortunately, I have been able to adjust and create a work pattern that accommodates either locale. I’ve also been participating in webinars, and it’s been interesting listening to other membership managers talk about how their individual sites have dealt with the COVID-19 constraints. Some of the sites are open year ‘round, and some seasonally, like us. Almost all of them closed when we did, but everyone seems to be opening at different times and with different regulations in place. Our BBG members have again proven themselves to be loyal friends to the Garden. The majority of our members renew like clockwork, and for those who don’t, I send a gentle reminder. We are a member-supported organization, so we rely on new and rejoining members. Because of the benefits that a BBG membership offers, we attract a consistent new member base. In addition to the satisfaction of helping to preserve our gardens and further our educational programs, all BBG members receive free admission to the gardens and discounts on all of our classes, workshops and lectures as well as in the Visitor
Center gift shop. Our volunteer troops are anxiously awaiting the time that they can get back into the BBG gardens, galleries and Visitor Center. We look forward to welcoming them all back as soon as the gates to the gardens and buildings are open again!
Dorthe Hviid, OUTGOING DIRECTOR OF HORTICULTURE My BBG work life has changed a lot since Mike asked us to start working from home on March 24. Who would have thought that this old girl would suddenly star in her own YouTube series on the eve of retirement? Well, it’s true! I guess it’s all about who you shelter at home with. My son, Will, came home around the same time when his college closed. He has been making videos for years with a basic video camera and editing equipment. When Robin and Gillian asked me to help connect people to BBG by making videos about the Garden I talked Will into working with me. We have had a lot of fun—and a few fights—and have completed five videos now. Apart from my life in the limelight, I have also been busy keeping the horticultural flames burning at BBG both in the greenhouses with Christine Caccamo and outside where John Ryan and Debbie Helmke have been sprucing up the display gardens in anticipation of the upcoming season. The last few weeks I have been very involved with our upcoming online Plant Sale. I will miss being surrounded by the thousands of plants that we usually offer in our big spring Plant Sale, and I will especially miss the great volunteer support we traditionally have in the weeks leading up to the Plant Sale. There are usually about 25 volunteers who get involved in everything from pricing to tagging to organizing all those plants, but this year, because of the pandemic, only staff have been involved. Recently, I welcomed Matt Turnbull, our new director of horticulture. I am thrilled to have him here and look forward to passing on to him all my best-guarded horticultural secrets.
Matthew Turnbull, INCOMING DIRECTOR OF HORTICULTURE
Although the pandemic certainly complicated my relocation to the Berkshires, it also allowed an extended opportunity to get to know the garden better while it is closed. Thankfully for my profession, plants need not abide by government restrictions and social distancing. Further, they depend on people—like the BBG horticulture staff—to be maintained, freed of troublesome weeds, and allowed BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN
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to thrive. Despite the difficulties and severity of the times during COVID-19, there is comfort in knowing that some things do not change, as gardens, wildlife and natural plant communities continue on their annual calendar of growth and renewal as if nothing is happening. One challenge amid the social distancing restrictions has been meeting my new colleagues. In fact, my eagerness to work in the gardens and with the horticulture staff resulted in missing my inaugural Zoom-style meeting while I pruned roses with John and Debbie. Since then, I have adapted to the schedule of meetings (and to Google Calendars) and have enjoyed the interactive and informative sessions. Now, I just have to meet everyone in person.
Dana Audia, DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EVENTS 2020 started with all of us looking forward to one of the busiest summers yet in the Garden, in regards to the special events we had planned with our exciting “Taking Flight” theme, and with the record number of weddings, rehearsal dinners and other social events that people had planned. But then, what seemed like overnight, brides were calling about cancellation policies and possible date changes. A
flurry of emails were exchanged with early summer brides about what dates we had available in the Fall and in 2021, and eventually, they all were rescheduled. Then, the difficult decision was made to cancel the flightthemed events we had planned for the summer, including the two wonderful exhibits in the gallery, a kite day and an event with a falconer. Fortunately, we have been able to move everything to next summer, so we do have that to look forward to in 2021! We are still planning to go forward with some of the other events, such as our Movie Nights and our Music Mondays in July and August, with special efforts to practice safe social distancing. And currently, we are working on the same problem all the nonprofits have—figuring out what to do about our summer fundraiser. With the uncertainty of events at the Garden this summer, and the brakes being thrown on planning any additional ones for the time being, I’ve been fortunate to be part of the team that has brought our very first Virtual Plant Sale to fruition. I was tasked to gather information and photos for the plants and vegetables we would be selling online, and although it was a time-consuming experience, it was also one of the best learning experiences I could have imagined regarding plant characteristics and identity. Who knew I’d learn so much in my time at home!!
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I joined the BBG team as the new camp director in February. At this point, I have worked more from home than I have at the Garden. The uncertainty of the pandemic makes it very difficult to make decisions that best support our families and community. I’ve been attending various webinars and community check-ins about twice a week since this all started. Most of the ones I’ve attended are ACA (American Camp Association) or affiliates, the FarmBased Education Network, or Shelburne Farms. It’s great to share information, but each organization finds itself in a unique predicament. More and more, folks are making tough decisions, but there is still a lot of waiting and preparing. I can’t imagine how desperate caretakers and children must be for time outdoors, and I am working hard to accommodate those needs in a safe way. I am hopeful that we can provide some type of garden programming to support families this summer. I am so grateful to be part of the Berkshire community and look forward to getting to know our families and community better once this all lets up. In the meantime, I’ve been working closely with Director of Education Bridgette Stone and the marketing team to create online content for our camp families and greater
audience. We’ve created fun activities such as scavenger hunts, book recommendations and other family-friendly and nature-based activities that can be done right from home with limited materials. We’re sharing these on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube under the theme “Family Fun Fridays.” There are also links to all of the content we’ve created on the Virtual Learning page at our website.
Bridgette Stone, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION I was two weeks into my new role as Director of Education when everything changed in an instant. At first, it was a blur of cancelled programs and calls from worried instructors and students. There were long days grappling with when, how, and whether to reschedule classes. Learning curves are steep in any new position— it’s a vulnerable time—and the COVID shutdown only amplified that. For someone who loves having her hands in the soil, days at the computer feel longer, which can be hard. An early triumph was pulling off our first-ever online course. Landscape Design Level 1 was three weeks into its sevenweek schedule when our students and the instructor, David Dew Bruner, adjusted to a new way of learning mid-course. They did it with gusto. Many pushed past a discomfort with technology or worked through personal difficulties. They produced beautiful and thoughtful work, all while encouraging and supporting each other— just the kind of connection we all need. Since that first online class, we’ve booked 11 more online courses with a collection of instructors whose fresh and engaging ideas will give our students new knowledge and skills. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to start to create an online learning curriculum that I’m excited to share. I’ve also created some online learning materials for our Family Fun Friday series on social media. I’m learning to use iMovie—hats off to all film folks; editing is no joke. I fumble with it, but I’m so grateful it can help me to capture lessons to share with our families, helping them explore the natural world together. A few times a week I start my workday extra early so I can spend the afternoon using the BBG Education van to do runs for various emergency food programs. Some we were associated with before the pandemic, from our work in the schools, while others are new friends. So far, we’ve helped supply over 14,000 lbs. of food to the community. I’m so lucky that my teammate Samantha, our new camp director, was right there with me, gathering information and making plans for Camp; that Mike Beck, our director, provided such steady, kind and assured
leadership during a tumultuous time; that Chris, Duke, John, Debbie and Dorthe have keep the gardens blooming; that our communications team, Robin and Gillian, pivoted to embrace social media and innovative ways to keep our members engaged; that Scott, Dan and Kupe tackled the often unseen and essential tasks to keep BBG humming; that Amy, Beth (Veraldi, Office Manager), Anne and Dana were reaching out to members and volunteers, moving our Plant Sale online, and keeping us connected; that our board supports us; that we get to welcome Matt. It leaves me feeling so lucky to be part of the team that is Berkshire Botanical Garden. The days are long, and a few have been hard. But there is so much joy and hope during this time as well. I’m starting seeds and planting gardens at the schools so there will be things growing when students return. There is excitement as the fall schedule comes together, with the return of beloved instructors and the welcoming of new ones. We are working on new programs and partnerships that will help Education expand our impact on the community. At the end of the day, I’m so grateful for this team and all the things blooming at BBG.
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WE ARE FAMILY… This summer, Senior Gardener Christine Caccamo is organizing the BBG Vegetable Garden with a new educational twist, where raised beds are grouped according to eight plant families. Why is this important? Knowing which family a plant belongs to can be useful! It can help identify an unknown plant that shares characteristics of a particular family, and help narrow the search to find its identity. It can also give you an idea of what the plant looks like. For instance, almost anything in the Asteraceae family will look like a daisy. Nightshades such as tomatoes, chili peppers, sweet peppers, potatoes and eggplant will be neighbors. Did you know that artichoke, cardoon, endive, jerusalem artichoke, radicchio and salsify all belong to the Asteraceae family? You might also be surprised to know that beets, quinoa, spinach, swiss chard and orach are all members of the Amaranth family. Once you know which plant family a plant belongs to, it may help you find the seeds. For example members of the Cabbage family (Brassicaceae) have a seed pod that has a thin papery membrane; the seed sits in between the two halves of the membrane. Members of the Fabaceae family all have legumes (pod-like pea or bean pods) as their seeds. Knowing the plant family can also help seed identification, for instance, whether they are large or small and if there are several in a seedpod or only one. Many of this year’s vegetable boxes are planted with seeds from All-America Selections (AAS), an independent, non-profit organization that tests new, never-before-sold varieties for the home gardener. Only the top garden performers are given the AAS winner award designation for their superior performance. We hope this teaching garden will provide added interest in how plants are related and will provide a new perspective on edible gardens.
CLAIM YOUR FAMILY — SUPPORT THE VEGGIES! Please consider a sponsorship of $100 that will allow you to claim “your” raised veggie box, with your name (or that of a loved one) hand-painted on our ornamental plant signs for all to see! You can be creative with your descriptions: commemorate an event, honor a job well done, celebrate a victory, say “I love you!” The raised boxes are grouped in quadrants according to plant family: Alliaceae Family - Onion or Lily Family Amaranthaceae Family - Amaranth or Pigweed Family Apiaceae Family - Parsley or Carrot Family Asteraceae Family - Daisy or Sunflower Family Brassicaceae Family - Cabbage or Mustard Family Cucurbitaceae Family - Gourd or Squash Family Fabaceae Family - Legume or Pea Family Solanaceae Family - Potato or Nightshade Family
Vegetable Box sponsorships will be gratefully acknowledged and are fully tax deductible, with proceeds used to promote our horticulture programs. Please contact Elizabeth Veraldi at (413) 320-4794 or email info@berkshirebotanical.org to reserve the vegetable box that’s just right for you! 18
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VIRTUAL
BBG
Visit America’s best private gardens through Open Days! Since 1995, Garden Conservancy Open Days has opened rarely seen private gardens to the public across America.
Listen to a podcast on heirloom vegetables, learn how to create a nature box with your children, discover a new recipe, watch a YouTube video on seed starting! While the Garden is closed, browse our library of virtual learning opportunities to stay inspired and connected with BBG. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Garden soon! gardenconservancy.org/opendays Preserving, Sharing, and Celebrating America’s Gardens
MAKE ART!
GC Scotland Garden Scheme Open Days Program 2020 update.indd 1
2/26/20 6:00 PM
Visit is183.org for classes and workshops for all ages!
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Education
JUNE – AUGUST 2020
A worldwide pandemic affects everyone on every level, including a public garden. What seemed systematic and streamlined for providing programs to our students just a few months ago has now been replaced with new, virtual methods to present our classes and workshops. Our mission to educate on the art and science of gardening and the preservation of our local environment has an 86-year history. If only the Garden’s founders could witness us using the technology (Zoom, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Enews) we now employ to teach tried and true gardening techniques, some employed for generations! For example, when we reached out to our readership asking what they would like to learn from us during a statewide stay at home order, the responses led to a four-part video series on vegetable gardening presented by Horticulture Director Dorthe Hviid. During this unprecedented time, we’ve created a roster of pertinent, inspiring and enjoyable classes and workshops that you can enjoy at home via Zoom until we are all back together again in the Garden. Our online classes range from growing peonies to flower arranging, fermenting vegetables, mixology using seasonal botanicals, beekeeping and raising backyard chickens. Click the link below for a complete list of both online and on-campus workshops, classes and offsite field studies planned through August. Please note that some course details may change in response to evolving pandemic guidelines, and other courses may be added. Visit our website for the most up-to-date programming information. Enrollment in many classes is limited -- early registration is encouraged! Whether we see you virtually or in person, we look forward to sharing the joy of learning with you this spring and summer!
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We’re Instructor Proud! We proudly recognize our dedicated instructors, some of whom have taught at BBG for years; others will be joining us in the season to come: Robert Clyde Anderson found his way to the Hudson Valley after a New York City career in illustration and book design. A native of Louisiana, Robert is a lifelong gardener and has designed and maintained gardens in Columbia County as well as serving as right-hand man for eight years at the former Loomis Creek Nursery in Claverack, NY. From 2012 to 2017, Robert served as Creative Director for Pondside Nursery in Hudson, NY, where he helped launch the business and was the buyer for perennials, annuals, tropicals and hardgoods. He continues to serve as a client consultant and writes about plants and gardening on his personal blog, Sempervivum, at robertclydeanderson.com. http://www.robertclydeanderson.com/ SOCIAL: @robertclydeanderson David Dew Bruner, A.S.L.A., is an award-winning landscape architect and fine artist with over 35 years of experience in the field. In addition to serving as Deputy Administrator of Riverside Park in New York City, his diverse background includes amusement park design, historic restoration and all scales of residential design. Originally from New Orleans, David holds a B.L.A. and a B.F.A. from LSU as well as an M.L.A. from the University of Massachusetts. https://www.daviddewbruner.com/ David Burdick, a distinguished plantsman and zealous collector, shows regularly at the American Daffodil Society exhibition. A practicing horticulturalist, he has worked at Berkshire Botanical Garden and Windy Hill Farm and enjoys engaging others through teaching and sharing his expertise. He is the owner of Daffodils & More, a specialty plant and cut-flower business in Dalton, MA. https://www.daffodilsandmore.com/ Colie Collen, founder, farmer, and designer at Flower Scout, brings her love of all things wild and seasonal to her work. After many years farming on the West and East coasts, her interest turned to flower production in 2012, and subsequently, to design. She seeks to create individual experiences for clients based on the colors, textures, and shapes the land, garden and season are creating at a particular moment, with customers’ aesthetic preferences continually in mind. http://www.flower-scout.com/ SOCIAL: @flowerscout Willie Crosby is the owner of Fungi Ally, a mushroom company located in Montague, MA focusing on mushroom research, education and spawn production. He has received six research and education grants over the last five years to study and educate the public on mushrooms. His goal is to create a world of balance and connection through revealing the power of mushrooms. https://fungially.com/ SOCIAL: @fungially
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Walter Cudnohufsky Walter Cudnohufsky R.L.A., M.L.A. is owner of Walter Cudnohufsky Associates Landscape Architects & Planners, a full-service landscape architecture and land planning firm based in Ashfield, MA. After receiving a Master’s degree in landscape architecture from Harvard University, in 1972 Walter founded, and for 20 years directed, the Conway School of Landscape Design, an unconventional, hands-on, student-based program offering a masters in ecologically and socially sustainable design. Walter is co-author with Mollie Babize, of Cultivating the Designer’s Mind: Principles and Process for Coherent Landscape Design. http://www.wcala.com/ Ted Elliman has worked for the New England Wild Flower Society--now Native Plant Trust--as a staff botanist, invasive species program manager and instructor of botany, ecology and conservation classes. His book, Wildflowers of New England, an identification guide to much of the region’s native flora, was published in 2016 by Timber Press. https://www.workman.com/authors/ted-elliman Steven Foster, A.S.L.A., is a registered landscape architect in Massachusetts with over 30 years of experience. He previously taught at the Landscape Design Institute within the Boston Architectural College and affiliated with Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum. Dan Furman is a second-generation peony grower at Cricket Hill Garden in Thomaston, CT, one of the first nurseries in the USA to sell true-to-name peony varieties. Since joining the business in 2010, he has worked to expand the peony hybridization and production programs at the nursery. In addition to peonies, he is interested in growing pawpaws, persimmons, Asian pears and other unusual fruits. https://www.treepeony.com/ @crickethillgarden Jamie Goldenberg is a textile artist based in Western Massachusetts. Informed by her background in art and cultivating native plants, she designs, dyes and weaves natural objects reflecting the experience of their environment but meant for the domestic realm. She was a 2016 resident of the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, an adjunct professor at the Parsons School of Design and co-founder of MUSE in Housatonic, a former textile millturned artist space. She currently weaves and teaches in her studio in Housatonic. www.harttextiles.net SOCIAL: @harttextiles on Instagram Ken Gooch is the Forest Health Program Director for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, working in cooperation with state, federal and municipal agencies to detect, manage and
treat factors that negatively impact Massachusetts’ state forests and providing tree health care services for the DCR’s state forests, parks and reservations. Ken is a Massachusetts Certified Arborist and teaches arboriculture at the Garden. John Howell, M.S., is the former Extension Vegetable Specialist for the University of Massachusetts and currently lectures on vegetables, fruits and soil management. The author of numerous newsletters for growers, John is currently the editor for the New England Vegetable Management Guide, a collaborative effort of members of the Extension Vegetable Programs of the Universities of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, published biennially online and in print by the University of Massachusetts. Tom Ingersol “Tom Ingersoll is a Massachusetts Certified Arborist, also certified by the International Society of Arborists, who has worked in the landscape industry for over two decades. His company, Ingersoll Landcare in Sheffield, MA, offers landscape design and installation, stone work, plant health care, horticulture, tree care, and invasive species management with a focus on safety, stewardship, education, fun and sustainability. His passion is tree care, and he serves both public and private clients in the tri-state region. Tom also serves on boards of the Berkshire Botanical Garden and The Sheffield Tree Project. https://www.ingersolllandcare.com/ SOCIAL: @ingersoll_land_care https://www.facebook.com/IngersollLandCare/?ref=hl Ann Kremers is an artist and calligrapher whose watercolors and drawings take inspiration from the natural world around her home in Bennington, VT. She teaches throughout Berkshire County and has received commissions for paintings, drawings, illustrated and calligraphed citations and awards, artists’ books and botanical drawings. Examples of her work can be viewed at www.annkremersart.com. https://www.annkremersart.com/ Ron Kujawski Ron Kujawski developed the Environmental Studies program at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, is the former Landscape and Nursery Specialist for UMass Cooperative Extension and founded the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association. A garden writer, educator and researcher in integrated pest management, plant nutrition and soil science, Ron teaches for the horticultural industry throughout New England. He is the co-author with his daughter Jennifer Kujawski of Weekby-Week Vegetable Gardeners Handbook and writes the “Garden Journal” column for the Berkshire Eagle.
Carol Ann Morley is an illustrator and teacher of botanical illustration working in Dover, NH. Her art work has been represented in numerous private and public collections and museums including the Smithsonian Institute of Natural History, The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, The Shirley Sherwood Collection, and the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in England. Carol has taught drawing classes at BBG since 1999, and a career retrospective of her work was featured in the Leonhardt Galleries in the spring of 2019. Carol founded the Botanical Art Illustration Certificate Program at the New York Botanical Garden and teaches illustration there and at other botanical gardens. Jenna O’Brien is the owner and founder of Viridissima Horticulture & Design, specializing in container gardening, entry gardens, planting design, perennial garden design and care and holistic estate garden and conservatory management. A member of the BBG Horticulture Advisory Committee, Jenna has lectured and taught workshops for numerous organizations, including Berkshire Botanical Garden, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Hollister House Garden, Ward’s Nursery and Garden Center and Westchester County Cooperative Extenson of Cornell. ttps://www.viridissima.com/ SOCIAL: @viridissimahorticulture Craig Okerstrom-Lang, RLA, ASLA., is a landscape architect located in Berkshire County. His company, Okerstrom-Lang Associates, has won numerous awards and commendations for master planning, design, and construction management in public and private projects. They specialize in site-sensitive landscape design, pond and pool environments, creative grading design and illumination design for residential, commercial and cultural properties. Craig teaches a variety of programs for Berkshire Botanical Garden, including graphic design and business practices. https://okerstromlang.com/ https://www.facebook.com/okerstromlang/?ref=hl Billy Jack Paul is the bartender and owner of MoonCloud in Great Barrington. A Berkshire native, he has been bartending for over two decades throughout Berkshire County and North Carolina along with “guest appearances” in Boston, New York City and Oaxaca, México. Billy Jack’s passion for the art of the cocktail and spirits has led him to study their history, geography and botanical and medicinal origins. In addition to telling the great stories of classic cocktails, he enjoys sharing many of his own, with a focus on thematic, historical and literary references that become characters in any given drink. https://mooncloudgb.com/ SOCIAL: @mooncloudgb
Mark Phillips is a business consultant, writer and educator who is passionate about climate change solutions in food and farming. As a consultant, he provides food, agriculture and land-based organizations with a range of services including program and project support, business and sales, event planning and marketing. He writes about regenerative agriculture and equitable food system development and creates and coordinates programs on food, fermentation, and the intersection of human and ecological health. Mark has taught numerous workshops on fermented vegetables, koji, and climate change solutions and is a team member at Hosta Hill, a Berkshires-based producer of sauerkraut, kimchi, and hot sauce. Find him on Instagram at @EarthCultures. http://www.hostahill.com/ SOCIAL: @hostahill
program. Before joining BBG in 2017 Bridgette taught at Montessori School of the Berkshires and worked as an organic farmer. www.berkshirebotanical.org
Brad Roeller is a private landscape garden supervisor for Altamont Estate in New York and the former Manager of Outdoor Gardens for the New York Botanical Garden. A proponent of site-driven design, he spent 37 years at the Cary Arboretum in Millbrook, which became the Institute of Ecosystem Studies and later, the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Brad lectures extensively and instructs at the New York Botanical Garden, Berkshire Botanical Garden, and New England Grows.
Tom Tyning “Tom Tyning is Professor of Environmental Science at Berkshire Community College. He specializes in reptiles and amphibians and actively researches local rattlesnake populations. Previously, Tom spent 24 years working as a naturalist and then Master Naturalist with Massachusetts Audubon; wrote a weekly nature column for the Sprinfield newspapers and a guide to amphibians and reptiles in the Stokes Nature Guide Series; taught courses at Springfield College and Antioch Graduate School and led natural history tours to Peru, Ecuador, and other South, Central, and North American locations.
Richard Roth “Rick Roth, a conservationist, artist and teacher, runs Creature Teachers, a family-owned environmental and animal education company. Prior to starting Creature Teachers, he served as Curator of Marine Fishes for Rainforest Cafe and ran several small zoos. His goal is to educate the public about the wonders and diversity of the animals that share our planet. Alicia Shogry is an artist, children’s book author and illustrator, and art teacher and administrator. She currently works as a Satellite Gallery Assistant at IS183 Art School of the Berkshires where she has also served as a Learning Through the Arts (LTA) teacher and in numerous administrative roles. Previously, Alicia taught art in the Pittsfield pulbic schools and a worked as a docent at the Norman Rockwell Musuem. Through her studies and work as an art educator in museum and classroom settings she has organized and implemented community arts projects throughout the Berkshires. https://www.is183.org/alicia-shogry Bridgette Stone is the Director of Education at Berkshire Botanical Garden. In her previous role as BBG’s Education Coordinator, Bridgette ran the Garden’s off-site youth programs. Now, as Education Director, she oversees all educational programming for youth and adults, including lectures and off-site programs. A passionate advocate of food access, she serves on the Massachusetts Farm to School leadership board and co-manages the Great Barrington Farmers Market and their Market Match
Matthew Turnbull is the Director of Horticulture at Berkshire Botanical Garden and a graduate of the Professional Gardener Program at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Prior to taking the position to lead the horticulture team at BBG, he served as Assistant Director of Horticulture at Wave Hill and as the National Heritage Garden Manager at the South Carolina Botanical Garden. More recently, he kickstarted a horticultural garden and greenhouse program for students and volunteers at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. www.berkshirebotanical.org
Chris Wellens, formerly BBG’s Director of Education, is Director of Camp Programs at Merrowvista, a youth camp in the Ossipee Mountains of New Hampshire. An experienced beekeeper, educator, mentor for new beekeepers and founder of the Berkshire Backyard Beekeepers group at BBG, Chris teaches on a wide variety of topics involving the environment, gardening, and agriculture. Adam Wheeler is the Horticulture and Production Manager for Broken Arrow Nursery located in Hamden, CT, a specialty nursery with a focus on woody plants. Adam is a past recipient of the Young Nursery Professional Award from the New England Nursery Association and is the current Vice President of the North American Maple Society. He lectures widely on woody plant propagation and a variety of other subjects throughout New England and is an adjunct lecturer at Naugatuck Valley Community College. www.brokenarrownursery.com https://www.facebook.com/brokenarrownursery/ SOCIAL: @brokenarrownursery
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S P O T L I G H T O N S TA F F :
Duke Douillet Senior Gardener Duke Douillet has seen a lot of changes at the Garden in his career here, which has spanned 15 years, in two stints over three decades. He started as a volunteer back in the 90s, a time when, as he puts it, it was a “mom and pop” organization, and the senior administrative staff did a lot of the gardening. A novice volunteer at that time, Duke learned all he could from the knowledgeable people around him. “It was a really exciting environment,” he says, “because there was a lot of sharing about plants and an opportunity to learn, both hands-on and through conversation.” While being mentored by gardening staff, Duke’s interest was piqued by the idea that gardens were living ecosystems, and that initial spark has flared to become his primary focus. “More and more I’m interested in promoting a habitat for creatures, not just fixating on plants,” he explains. “Working outdoors, you’re in fairly intimate contact with the weather, the land and creatures, from tiny insects to birds and mammals, and there’s the opportunity to observe all those things.” In addition to getting up close and personal with Garden plants and wildlife, Duke enjoys being a resource for visitors. If you see him around in the Garden, be sure to stop and chat. He loves being asked about an unusual plant or the work he’s doing. “The realization that people are enjoying their experience here, families in particular, makes you feel like your efforts are worthwhile,” he says. Now, as Senior Gardener and the longest-standing staff member, Duke passes on his knowledge and wisdom not only to visitors but to BBG’s interns and volunteers as well. “I hope that I’ve helped give some people inspiration about gardening and all the various inhabitants in gardens,” he reflects. “I like to think that I helped answer people’s questions and maybe inspired them a little bit or at least encouraged their interest in gardening.”
ROOTED IN PLACE 5th Annual Ecological Symposium
S AV E T H E DAT E Sunday, November 15, 9am–5pm Berkshire School, Sheffield, MA
Become inspired to plant gardens designed to support diverse and resilient ecological communities in the face of a changing world. This all-day program invites us to consider how to incorporate beneficial native plantings into our traditional landscapes. Our expert presenters will examine the intersection of the wild and cultivated landscape while exploring ecosystem services offered by native plantings, including the role they play in our gardens. This event will provide attendees a new, environmentally sensitive vision for approaching the connection between the surrounding landscape and their home. Tuition for this event, which includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day, is $95 for BBG members and $110 for non-members. Student tuition is $55 with a valid high school or college/university ID.
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Horticulture Certificate Program BBG’s Horticulture Certificate Program is an 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. Led by seasoned and practicing horticulturists and landscape designers, these in-depth classes provide a strong foundation for all horticultural pursuits— whether one is exploring or advancing career goals or simply acquiring or expanding 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 • Native Plant Landscapes
Registration for this program will begin in late summer.
Golden Rule, 1961 ©SEPS. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections.
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MOR INFORMATION OR CALL (413) 354-8410.
A B E R K S H I R E S M U S T- S E E !
art that
inspires Home of American Illustration 8 new exhibitions in 2020 NRM.org
Stockbridge, MA
413.298.4100
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AROUND THE GARDEN
Library Corner by Mary Trev Thomas
BBG’s Suhr library is an inviting resource for botany and horticulture, with inspiring books on the history of gardening and garden design. We have books both old and new, including historical editions from the 19th and early 20th century from the original Berkshire Garden Center library. Early this year, we were pleased to renew our partnership with Timber Press, which publishes books from experts in the fields of gardening, horticulture, and natural history, and they have begun forwarding recent titles for our review. Our invitation for you to stop by Center House, take a short walk down the hall, and have a good look around must be postponed until the Garden reopens. Until then, here is a brief “walk through” of parts of our collection that may pique your interest.
There are 1600 books shelved by categories and labeled for easy browsing. Some of the largest categories are listed below. Botany and General Horticulture, with sections such as climate, soil, organic gardening, pests and diseases, propagation, and pruning (200 volumes). Herbaceous Plants, Vines, and Groundcovers (100 volumes) and Trees & Shrubs (125 volumes) are helpful categories for plant selection and culture. The section on Plant Communities, including ecology, native plants, and wildflowers, looks at the larger picture. One of our largest categories is Plants by Genus and Family (from Amaryllidaceae to Violaceae), with sections on Bulbs, Grasses, Ferns, and Mosses (250 volumes). Garden Design includes sections on color, foliage, seasonal interest, ecological gardens, shade, and theme gardens (200 volumes) Gardens (200 volumes) includes sections on the United States, France, Britain, Italy, China, and Japan. It covers gardens from all over the world and the work of many designers, beautifully photographed and described.
A contrast of old and new: a page from Beautiful Leaved Plants by E.J. Lowe, Groombridge & Sons, 1865 and Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy, Timber Press, 2019
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Questions or suggestions? Email us at Library@berkshirebotanical.org.
AROUND THE GARDEN
Passing the Torch Matt Turnbull Becomes New Director of Horticulture We are pleased to announce the appointment of Matthew Turnbull as Director of Horticulture following an intensive nationwide search. Matt will fill the position being vacated in May by retiring Director of Horticulture Dorthe Hviid, who has served in that capacity since 1992. Matt, who joined the staff on April 20, is a graduate of the Professional Gardener Program at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. He was also educated in horticulture at Temple University in Philadelphia and worked as an intern at Bartram’s Garden, also in Philadelphia. He was the Natural Heritage Garden Manager at the South Carolina Botanical Garden in Clemson, SC. Turnbull went on to become Assistant Director of Horticulture at Wave Hill, Bronx, NY, and most recently took on the role of Greenhouse and Gardens Manager at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In his new position at BBG he will manage
Garden,” said Turnbull, “The Berkshires are a beautiful region of the country and the Garden is a great intersection of horticulture, education, arts and culture with a bright and exciting future,” he added.
Photo used by permission by The Berkshire Eagle
the continuing growth and transformation of one of the oldest public gardens in New England through implementation of a multi-year Master Site Plan, while working closely with BBG’s other senior management on realizing the Garden’s long-term strategic plans. “I am thrilled to join the team at Berkshire Botanical
“We all look forward to having Matt join our excellent team of Garden professionals and continue the terrific work accomplished by Dorthe and the Horticulture Department over many years. We have big plans for the future of BBG, and I know Matt will bring invaluable experience and talent to his new role,” said BBG Executive Director Mike Beck.
Read an article about this in The Berkshire Eagle CL
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Sopring-Summer Cuttings: 4.75”W x 3.5 “H
Native Habitat Restoration
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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
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Welcome New Staff Spring is a time of new beginnings, and the Garden is delighted to welcome new staff to the Horticulture, Education, Marketing Communications and Facilities and Grounds departments. Gillian Culff, Communications Coordinator Originally from northern New Jersey, Gillian Culff lived for over 20 years on Hawai’i’s Big Island, where she raised her sons, both now grown. For ten years, she taught high school English and creative writing and built award-winning yearbook and student council programs at Hawai’i’s Parker School. A writer, editor, and author coach, she has written for her alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College, as well as national and regional publications. Gillian returned to the east coast in 2016 and is inspired by walking in the woods, meditating by streams and observing the changes of season. As Communications Coordinator, she’ll be writing for Cuttings, coordinating social media posts, covering events and handling other communications tasks. She told Cuttings, “I’m excited to use my writing to serve the Garden’s mission by spreading the word about our wonderful offerings.”
Kevin Johnson, Seasonal Gardener After a long career in bank management and security, Kevin Johnson is shifting his work focus to spend more time outdoors. He holds a bachelors in environmental studies with concentrations in environmental planning and landscape design from SUNY ESF in Syracuse and is a graduate of
BBG’s Horticultural Certificate Program. Kevin has volunteered in landscaping and maintenance for BBG and the Austerlitz Historical Society in Austerlitz, NY and is assistant treasurer for the Columbia County Agricultural Society in Chatham, NY and co-superintendent and president of the Board of Trustees for Prospect Hill Cemetery in Valatie, NY. “I have found real opportunity at BBG,” he says. “I look forward to cultivating more relationships and continuing to learn. “A lifelong Columbia County resident, Kevin lives in Chatham with his wife, two daughters, a dog and a cat.
Samantha Ross, Camp Director Samantha “Sam” Ross comes to BBG from Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing, New York, where she oversaw children’s programming for five seasons. A visionary program builder, while at QBG Sam tripled the number of children’s programs, dramatically increased attendance and revenue and doubled the number of families served. Originally from Indiana, Sam lived in the Hudson Valley for eight years, where she earned two undergraduate degrees from the Culinary Institute of America before earning a masters in Environmental Conservation Education from NYU. She and her partner, Ryan Balas, a filmmaker working in food media, live in Hudson, NY. Her long-term goal at BBG is to “build upon and honor the great work that’s already been done at
Sculptor Daniel Chester French’s home, studio and gardens www.chesterwood.org
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Farm Camp, expand programming to serve more ages and add weekend and family classes in the shoulder seasons.”
Scott Rougeux, Facilities and Grounds Assistant Scott Rougeux was bitten by the BBG bug at last year’s Harvest Festival, where as a volunteer, he designed the hay maze and ran games. He had so much fun that he jumped at the chance to return to the Garden, this time as a member of the Facilities and Grounds staff. “Everyone is so kind and welcoming,” Scott told Cuttings. “I love being outside, walking the grounds and being with nature.” Scott’s wife Mary Tagge worked in the Visitor Center and as a docent in the Leonhardt Galleries. Scott was formerly a graphic designer for Flow New York, an action sports apparel company in his hometown of Hornell, near the Finger Lakes. The couple and their year-old daughter, Alice, recently moved to Stockbridge to be closer to Mary’s hometown of Lenox, where her parents reside.
Bridgette Stone, Director of Education
Gardens of Holland Coming in late summer 2021! Join BBG staff along with expert tour guides from Classical Excursions on a Garden tour of Holland, featuring an unforgettable opportunity to experience “New European Gardens” at their peak. Look for registration details in our next issue of Cuttings or online later this summer.
In her previous role as BBG’s Education Coordinator, Bridgette Stone ran the Garden’s offsite youth programs. Now, as Education Director, she oversees all of the educational programming for youth and adults, including lectures and off-site programs. Before joining BBG in 2017 Bridgette taught at Montessori School of the Berkshires and worked as an organic farmer. She currently serves on several area committees. “I’m passionate about creating access and breaking down barriers,” Bridgette says. “It’s been a priority for me in sharing BBG’s excellent programming with the community.” Raised in the Berkshires, she graduated from Darrow School, attended the Audubon Expedition Institute, earned a B.S. in environmental science from the University of Vermont and did graduate work in education at the University of Hartford. Bridgette lives in an old farmhouse in Richmond with her wife Hedley, chickens, bees, two dogs and a cat named Sausage.
Matthew Turnbull, Director of Horticulture Originally from Philadelphia, Matthew Turnbull learned horticulture hands-on in some of the east coast’s most celebrated gardens. Recently, he kick-started a horticultural garden and greenhouse program for students and volunteers at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He served as Assistant Director of Horticulture at Wave Hill and National Heritage Garden Manager at the South Carolina Botanical Garden. Matt holds a horticulture certificate and a Bachelors in literature from Temple University and a masters in English literature, philosophy and art history from University of Glasgow. He was one of ten candidates selected yearly for the intensive Longwood Gardens Professional Gardener program. “The botanic garden world is in my blood,” Matt says. “I like to get my hands dirty and work outside, not just theorize about it.” Matt and his wife Kate have three young daughters: Scarlett 8, Louisa 5, and June 1. (See an additional article on Matt on page 27. BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN
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Volunteer News Keep That Volunteer Spirit Alive! Originally this column was going to be a gungho call to action to inspire you to volunteer at BBG. We have so many great opportunities, and some new Volunteer “jobs” that were going to start when we opened for the season. Now, of course, as I write this, all bets are off as to when will once again be able to safely congregate at the Garden we love. But one thing is sure: BBG will re-open in some not-too-distant future. And when it does, we are going to need to hit the ground running. SO … if you are already one of our dedicated Volunteers, thank you, thank you, thank you! We can’t wait to see you back “on campus” helping us do all the things you do, from hands-on gardening to greeting Visitors to making our special events very special indeed. AND … if you are not yet a BBG Volunteer but are looking for something extremely rewarding and fun to do … something that makes an impact in your community, that supports local culture and helps raise consciousness about nature and the environment, then do consider becoming a BBG Volunteer. Our Volunteer family enjoys lots of special perks, such as free classes and a festive annual Recognition event. Plus the pleasure of interacting with our exceptional staff. You can become a better gardener if that’s your thing, or just enjoy the social aspect of being with positive, productive, like-minded people.
Some positions that will be new when we happily open our gates: BBG Education Specialist: Be a Field Trip Attendant, a Family Programs Steward, or a Proctor for our Adult Ed classes. In addition to interacting with our public, Volunteers in these positions enjoy the chance to audit the classes for free! Library Assistant: Welcome visitors and assist BBG members with exploring the Library, an exceptional collection of gardening books including some rare and out-of-print editions. Plus, Greeters in our Visitor Center and Docents in our Center House art galleries. If you enjoy interacting with people, these are exciting, dynamic Volunteer positions.
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To learn more about all our Volunteer opportunities, visit our website page by clicking on the link below. Register now to be a BBG Volunteer, and you will start to receive Volunteer news. It’s the first, easy step in getting involved in a wonderful gardening and cultural arts community.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AS A BBG VOLUNTEER! In the meantime, I urge all our wonderful Volunteers (and Volunteers-To-Be) to channel your positive energy into the Garden by making a donation. Any amount you donate will help BBG survive this pandemic period of closure and loss of income. To donate, click here. And finally, I invite you to join our BBG Volunteer page, on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/BBGVolunteers/ Ask to be a ‘friend’ and you will be able to post your own garden-related tips and photos. To visit the BBG Volunteer page, click here. (Our Facebook page is called Berk Botanical Volunteers). Until I can see you in the Garden, I thank you all for your support and your beautiful Volunteer spirit. Sincerely, Lauretta Harris President, BBG Volunteer Association PS: Questions about volunteering? Reach out to our Volunteer Manager Amy Butterworth abutterworth@berkshirebotanical.org.
There’s never been a better time to join our Garden community! When you join, renew, upgrade or give the gift of membership, you’re supporting Garden programs and helping to sustain us during these challenging times. Membership benefits include free Garden admission and discounts on classes, trips and purchases in our Garden Shop. Our members receive invitations to private gallery events at the Center House, early buying privileges at our Plant Sale and Holiday Marketplace, and enjoy the benefits of the American Horticultural Society’s Reciprocal Admission Program, which offers free admission and/or additional benefits at over 300 gardens throughout North America, Grand Cayman and St Croix. Our Supporter level membership additionally offers reciprocal admission to ROAM and NARM museums everywhere. Best of all, when you become a member, you join a garden community and take part in the life of the Garden year-round. Your financial support through membership dues allow us to create new landscapes and features, enhance existing gardens, and support our ever-growing educational programs and special events. Become a member today! Memberships come in several levels. . .choose one that’s just right for you!
BECOME A MEMBER! CL
ICK
!
BERKSHIRE BOTANICAL GARDEN
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BSC 2020 SEASON
J. Anthony Crane, Lena Kaminsky and Laura Jordan in If I Forget, 2019. PHOTO Scott Barrow.
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