FeedingThe Berkshires

Make Your Own Macrame Plant Hangers

IN-PERSON at BBG

Saturday, May 27, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Members: $35/Non-members: $45

Come create an eco-friendly and natural macrame plant hanger that adds color and texture to your space, with local fiber artist Toula. In this workshop, we will use soft recycled cotton fiber in pleasing neutral tones to create a cozy hanging home for your 3- to 4-inch potted plants. We will be utilizing three basic knots commonly used in macrame. Plant hangers will be made of a metal ring for added security.

June

Deep Dive: A Berkshire Vegetable Garden

IN-PERSON OFFSITE

Saturday, June 3, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Members: $20/Non-members: $25

Among the topics to be covered on a tour of this West Stockbridge garden is soil management, including use of cover crops, various methods of in-garden composting, and adapting to no-till gardening. Participants will view different planting strategies for various crops using raised beds, mounding and vertical space. Various pest management strategies will be discussed. Also included is a walk-through and discussion of the values of an unheated greenhouse for the year-round production of vegetables.

Hortus Arboretum

IN-PERSON OFF-SITE

Friday, June 9, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Members: $45/Non-members: $50

Transportation from BBG: $10

Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is a Level II arboretum with a total of 21 acres, eight of which are currently cultivated. The gardens are run as a non-profit whose mission is to sustain the native, unusual and historic plant life and serve as a vital educational resource for the public. The gardens are also focused on saving rare and endangered plants from around the world, with the goal of making sure that species diversity is preserved. The tour will focus on some of the arboretum’s more unusual plants, and will highlight plants that produce wonderful food for wildlife and people alike. A few highlights will include native plants such as Ptelea trifoliata “Aurea,” American Persimmon, and Zanthoxylum Americanum, an important host plant to the largest North American butterfly. Non-native trees and shrubs will include plants such as Maclura tricuspidata with its tasty mulberry-lychee-like fruit, Zanthoxylum simulans that produces the tingly fruits found in Szechuan cooking, and Pterostyrax hispida, with its unusual epaulette-like flowers among many, many more. Transportation from BBG for an additional $10 fee is available for a limited number of participants.

Cyanotype on Fabric: Make your Own Bag

IN-PERSON at BBG

Saturday, June 10, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Members: $55/Non-members: $60

Magical and simple, cyanotypes are a camera-less technique that results in graphic blue and white prints. Developed in 1852, this alternative photographic process uses a lightsensitive solution on fabric, sunlight and pressed plants to make a beautiful botanical image — in this case, on a tote bag. All supplies, including pressed plant material, will be provided. Participants are encouraged to bring objects or pressed plants with interesting silhouettes from home to use in their compositions.

Water is a Verb: Eco-Art Wellness Workshop

IN-PERSON at BBG

Saturday, June 10, 3 to 5 p.m.

Members: $35/Non-members: $45

In this workshop, participants contemplate the water element to discover which most closely relates to their own lives at this moment. We consider calmness, energy, depth, patience, focus, joy, strength, etc., as we look at water both on the earth and within. Participants create individual nature circles to dive deeper into understanding and celebrating how we live our best lives like water. This mandala workshop includes an introduction, short introspective writing, the creation of individual nature mandalas, and meaningful discussion. Mandalas are ephemeral and will not be taken home. Photographs are encouraged.

Botanical Dyeing Intensive

IN-PERSON at BBG

Saturday, June 10, 1 to 4 p.m.

Members: $150/Non-members: $165

This craft-and-carry class is designed to walk students through the process of natural dyeing. In this workshop, we will discuss preparing your fibers for natural dyeing, perform color extraction baths with food waste, local season plants or flowers, and a natural dye extract as well as pH shift lesson and color modifier discussion. We will use communal dye baths to create fabric swatches, cotton market tote and a silk scarf for students to take home with them. Watch as goldenrod flowers create a sunshine hue, blueberries create a brilliant purple and onion skins create a moody olive. Plus, everyone will receive Maggie’s Natural Dyeing E-Course ($50 value) so they can dye at home. Led by Maggie Pate.

In the Weeds: Community Story Night

IN-PERSON at BBG

Friday, June 16, 6 to 8 p.m.

Members: $18/Non-members: $20

Join us for an evening of curated stories on the theme of “In the Weeds,” however our storytellers choose to interpret it! Your hostess is Sheela Clary, local storytelling teacher and Moth StorySLAM winner. She has been running and participating in storytelling events around Berkshire County for eight years and will be teaching a one-day storytelling crash course over the summer and a longer class in the fall. You can stay up to date on those and other goings-on through her website, sheelasc.com.

Sleepy Cat Farm Field Study

IN-PERSON OFFSITE

Friday, June 23, 10 a.m. to noon

Members: $50/Non-members: $55

Transportation from BBG: $10

Join us as we explore Sleepy Cat Farm in Greenwich, Conn. Sleepy Cat Farm is the vision of one man, Fred Landman, who acquired the handsome Georgian Revival house and grounds in 1994. Committed to the concept of harmony between house and garden, he has dedicated himself to the landscape to create “a garden of which the house could be proud.” Collaborating with Greenwich architect Charles Hilton and noted landscape architect Charles J. Stick and drawing inspiration from travels in Europe and Asia, Landman has done just that. The landscape unfolds in a series of garden rooms. Hillsides and vistas change daily, monthly, almost minute by minute, in this undulating landscape of surprises, intrigue and unexpected beauty. Evocative names add to the atmosphere, including the Golden Path, the Grotto, the Iris Garden, the Spirit Walk, the Perennial Long Border Garden, the Pebble Terrace, the Woodland Walk. Buildings and follies were added, also with storybook names — the Celestial Pavilion, the Barn, the Limonaia, the Chinese Pavilion, the Cat Maze and Arbor. Down the hill from the main house is an organic farm that supplies produce to the community, a project of Landman’s wife, Seen Lippert, a professional chef who worked with Alice Waters. Transportation from BBG for an additional $10 fee is available for a limited number of participants.

Summer Plein Air Painting at BBG

IN-PERSON at BBG

Wednesdays, July 5 though 26, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Members: $235/Non-members: $255

Join us this summer to explore BBG in watercolor. It’s all here: charming structures, beautiful landscapes, flowers, the pond, and so much more — at the tip of your brush! We’ll find inspiration in a different area of the Garden each week. Two sessions are available – join us for either session, or both. Accommodations will be in place in case of inclement weather. Class will generally begin with site selection, value sketch or study, and then on to the painting. The instructor will circulate to provide individual help. Constructive group critiques will encourage painters to learn from and with each other. A supply list with suggestions for comfortable plein air painting is available.

Sunset Yoga in the Garden

IN-PERSON at BBG

Thursdays, July 6 through Sept. 14, 5:15 to 6:15 p.m.

Members: Free/Non-members: Free

Yoga in the Garden is returning to the Great Lawn at Sunset, down the hill from Center House! This free outdoor program is appropriate for all skill levels and a perfect way to end the day. Classes are led by Kathi Cafiero, a Kripalu-certified yoga instructor who has been teaching the physical and mental benefits of yoga for over 20 years. Please bring your own mat and props. No bathroom facilities are available. Classes will be canceled for inclement weather. Please check the programs page on our website for updates.

Cultivating Cures: The Botany, Ecology and Lore of Northeast Medical Flora

IN-PERSON at BBG

Wednesday, July 12, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Member: $30/Non-member: $35

Professor Judith Sumner is a Massachusetts-born botanist who specializes in ethnobotany, flowering plants, plant adaptations, and garden history. She has taught at the college level and at many botanical gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum and Garden in the Woods. Her studies have taken her to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the British Museum (Natural History). For several years, under the pseudonym of Laura Craig, she authored a column, “The Gardener’s Kitchen,” in Horticulture Magazine. Her most recent book is “Plants Go To War: A Botanic History of World War II.” This lecture is jointly presented by BBG and the Lenox Garden Club.

Natural Plant Communities

HYBRID

Thursday, July 13, 6 to 8 p.m. (online)

Saturday, July 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (field)

Member: $65/Non-member: $70

Join ecologist Ted Elliman for an exploration of native New England plant communities. A Thursday evening Zoom lecture will cover many of the forest, meadow and wetland habitats found in Berkshire County, discussing their physical and ecological features — topography, geology, soils, and moisture— as well as their characteristic plant associations, including both common and rare plants. The Saturday field trip will take us to a variety of forested, open and wetland habitats, and we will take a close look at the flora and features of each of them. Ted will also discuss the impacts of invasive species and possible changes to natural communities in response to climate change. We will travel in BBG’s passenger van. Please dress for the weather, wear comfortable shoes (we will be walking nearly the entire day) and bring a bagged lunch if attending the Saturday field study. * Rain date for field day, Sunday, July 16.

Field Study: The Garden of Bunny Williams

IN-PERSON OFFSITE

Thursday, July 20, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Members: $50/Non-members: $55

Transportation from BBG: $10

Interior designer and garden book author Bunny Williams’s intensively planted 15-acre estate has a sunken garden with twin perennial borders surrounding a fishpond, a seasonally changing parterre garden, a year-round conservatory filled with tropical plants, a large vegetable garden with flowers and herbs, a woodland garden with meandering paths, and a pond with a waterfall. There are also a working greenhouse and an aviary with unusual chickens, an apple orchard with mature trees, a rustic Greek Revival-style pool house folly, and a swimming pool with 18th-century French coping. Transportation from BBG for an additional $10 fee is available for a limited number of participants.

Summer Plein Air Painting

IN-PERSON at BBG

Wednesdays, Aug. 2 through 30, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Members: $265/Non-members: $275

Join us in August to explore BBG in watercolor. We’ll find inspiration in a different area of the Garden each week. This is the second of two sessions available this summer. Accommodations will be in place in case of inclement weather. Class will generally begin with site selection, value sketch or study, and then on to the painting. The instructor will circulate to provide individual help. Constructive group critiques will encourage painters to learn from and with each other. A supply list with suggestions for comfortable plein air painting is available.

Field Study: Pom’s Cabin Farm

Friday, Aug. 11, 3 to 5 p.m.

Members: $50/Non-members: $55

Transportation from BBG: $10

Pom’s Cabin Farm is a richly-varied, 27-acre piece of land along the Housatonic River that is nurtured and celebrated by its owner, Dale McDonald, and her dedicated team headed by horticulturist Robin Zitter. Robin’s initial priority in 2007 was to get a sense of place and to develop a relationship with it, “working with the forces of nature to enhance and steward the land.” By listening to the land and through observation, she leads her devoted team toward a richly interconnected and regenerative system that values all who live here. Diversity is expressed through differing habitats including meadows, woodlands, wetlands, and a dynamic floodplain along the Housatonic River. Thoughtful ecological practices encourage native plants through a variety of restorative approaches: Paths now wend through woods, whose dominant understory of Japanese barberry is considerately managed. Meadows have been seeded with native flowers and grasses, and an edible human imprint is threaded throughout the landscape with a variety of cultivated vegetables and fruits. A large blueberry field is home to cultivated and native bee housing projects and neighboring shiitake log cultivation. Hedges of raspberries, red, black and white currants, gooseberries and elderberries nestle above the floodplain. Energy conservation is addressed through solar panels, a geothermal system, cisterns, and vegetated swales, even as PCF explores solar thermal and compostable heat sourcing. This landscape is an expression of historical, cultural and ecological life in the northwest corner of Connecticut. Transportation from BBG for an additional $10 fee is available for a limited number of participants.

September

Overwintering Your Plants

IN-PERSON at BBG

Saturday, Sept. 9, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Members: $25/Non-member: $40

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, this class will include cultivation, fertilizing, watering, and healthcare. Learn by doing, and take home some plant companions.

A celebration of the season: Tomatoes

IN-PERSON at BBG

Saturday, Sept. 9, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Members: $40/Non-members: $55

Join tomato maven Miriam Rubin as she talks all things tomatoes in this demo class. First, we’ll taste a sampling of heirlooms from Miriam’s garden so we can appreciate the differences in taste, juiciness and texture. Then Miriam will prepare some dishes from her book, Tomatoes. Recipes will include a lively curried tomato soup, a tomato pie and an heirloom tomato salad, all of which we’ll get to devour. She’ll also share tips about putting up the harvest, both canning and freezing, and she’ll explain which types of tomatoes work best for different purposes. You’ll be able to buy a personally signed copy of Tomatoes at the end of the class.

Fall Foliage Eco-Printing

IN-PERSON at BBG

Saturday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Members: $90/Non-members: $110

Join textile artist Maggie Pate in an introduction to eco-printing. Capture a moment in time with this seasonal workshop. Offered during summer with flowers or fall with local foliage. Students will leave with a luscious 100 percent silk charmeuse scarf that they will design and eco-print during the class.

Asters and Goldenrods

HYBRID

Thursday, Sept. 21, 6 to 8 p.m. (Zoom presentation)

Saturday, Sept. 23, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (field studies)

Members: $65/Non-members: $75

The many kinds of goldenrods and asters are a visually striking and ubiquitous feature of our late summer and fall landscapes. However, since many of them look much alike, they can be a challenge to identify. This class, led by Ted Elliman , will focus on the identification features and habitats of about 40 species of goldenrods and asters, looking closely at the characteristics that help to distinguish them in the field. A Thursday evening Zoom will provide an overview of these species and their identification features, and the Saturday field trip to a location rich in both asters and goldenrods will provide the opportunity to see many of them in natural conditions. *Rain date for field day, Sunday, Sept. 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Cyanotype on Paper

IN-PERSON at BBG

Saturday, Sept. 23, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Members: $40/Non-members: $50

Magical and simple cyanotypes are a camera-less technique that results in graphic blue and white prints. Developed in 1852, this alternative photographic process uses a lightsensitive solution on paper, sunlight, and pressed plants to make beautiful botanical images. All supplies, including pressed plant material, will be provided. Participants are encouraged to bring objects or pressed plants with interesting silhouettes from home to use in their compositions.

The Inner Harvest: A Meditation Gathering for the Autumnal Equinox, with mindfulness-in-nature facilitator Sandrine Harris

IN-PERSON at BBG

Saturday, Sept. 23, 5 to 6 p.m.

Members: $20/Non-members: $25

Experience the turn of the season at the equinox, with a contemplative process to cultivate the “inner harvest” with mindfulness facilitator Sandrine Harris. Through a fluid mix of outdoor walking, quiet sitting and guided moments for reflection, you are offered an opportunity to be with the seasonality of your life and energy in relationship with the rest of the natural world. All adults (18 years and older) are welcome, and no experience with mindfulness or meditation is needed. Please bring a yoga mat or blanket for outdoor sitting in the grass, and wear clothing and shoes suitable for outdoor walking. In the event of rain, this event will take place inside the main building at BBG.

Botanical Bounty: Creating and Using

Herbal Infused Oils Inspired by the Harvest Moon

IN-PERSON at BBG

Saturday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Members: $65/Non-members: $75

Delight in celestial inspired tea while making lip balms, skin salves and roll-on perfume inspired by the autumnal full moon! Enjoy a fun and educational experience as you learn about the healing properties of Calendula and create your own natural skincare products to take home. Calendula has been used for years internally and externally as a healing herb, and no first aid kit should be without this super all-purpose ointment! With the help of instructor Nicole Irene , you will be guided through the process of making your own products, from selecting the right ingredients to packaging and labeling. You will also have the opportunity to customize your products with essential oils. You will come away from this class with an understanding of how to harvest, dry and use Calendula, while sipping farm-fresh herbal tea and enjoying the community of like-minded plant people. The energetics, properties, and myriad of uses for this plant will be discussed. Cost includes all of your supplies and products you will take home.

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