The Garden Tourist
Berkshire Botanical Garden is set for the season
May 1, 2021 // By Anastasia Stanmeyer // Photos Courtesy Berkshire Botanical Garden
A botanical garden, by definition, is a place where a wide variety of plants are cultivated for scientific, educational and ornamental purposes. Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge is all that—and much, much more. Its collections contain more than 3,000 species and varieties, with an emphasis on plants that thrive in the Berkshires, and its public display gardens are arguably among the oldest in the U.S.
Despite such impressiveness, Berkshire Botanical Garden is notably intimate in scale in relation to other botanical gardens, says garden designer and book author Jana Milbocker. “The Berkshires is unique in that it’s different than the rest of the state—the plants and the topography. Berkshire Botanical Garden is not a formal garden; it’s much more naturalistic in style. It’s such a beautiful setting.”
That natural, smaller-scale setting allows visitors to imagine what can be done in their own gardens and home landscapes.
“The Garden has put together beautiful combinations of plants so you can see which ones are good for what season,” says Milbocker. “They have more native species and a wider variety of hybrids than other formal gardens with historical plants. They use grasses beautifully in some of their display gardens.
“The fact that there are individually themed display gardens really makes it a great source of ideas for homeowners. You will see designs such as creative borders of native plants, or mixed annuals and perennials together, or a daylily border. You can underplay a large tree with shade lovers, or feature alpine plants and conifers in a rock garden. No matter what kind of habitat a homeowner may have, they can find ideas.”
Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge is one of the 140 gardens and nurseries that Milbocker explores in her recently released The Garden Tourist’s New England. Her book serves as a companion to exploring the public gardens in the New England region. This is an excerpt of what she has written:
For more than 80 years, the Berkshire Botanical Garden has grown and prospered due to the generosity of local supporters who believe a botanical garden is not only a place of serenity and beauty, but an essential component of a healthy community.
The Garden was established in 1934 by the Lenox Garden Club, on a parcel of land with a 1790 farmhouse donated by Bernhard and Irene Hoffman. Other public gardens donated plants, including a noteworthy collection of prized daylilies from the New York Botanical Garden. During World War II, the BBG installed a Victory Garden to teach families how to augment their government rations by growing vegetables and fruits. Classes were also offered in canning, freezing, and winter storage, and at the end of the war, the Garden received a National Victory Garden Institute Award in recognition of its “contribution to the national war effort.”
Today’s BBG has educational programs for home gardeners, landscape professionals, and children, along with over two-dozen beautiful themed display gardens with plants that are indigenous to or thrive in the Berkshires. The Tatkon Entry Garden is particularly stunning in late summer, with towering perennials, grasses, castor bean plants, purple-leaved cannas, and black elephant ears. The Children’s Flower and Vegetable Garden is framed with rustic pergolas and planted with bright flowers and colorful produce. The Martha Stewart Cottage Garden features an adorable garden shed topped with a succulent-covered roof and surrounded by an exuberant cottage garden. The formal Rose Garden exhibits hardy roses, fragrant David Austin introductions, and old-fashioned varieties.
There are several perennial gardens on the property, some focusing on sun-lovers, others on shady plants. A shady Hosta Garden displays many hybrids interplanted with ferns and other woodland plants. An American Daylily Society Display Garden features more than 200 cultivars, planted chronologically by date of introduction. The Herb Garden, built in 1937 on a terraced rocky slope, is planted with 100 varieties of hardy and tender herbs displayed according to use, plant family, and ornamental value. The recently renovated Pond Garden with its trickling waterfall showcases plants that thrive with wet feet. The Berkshire Botanical Garden is a font of inspiration from spring through fall.
A FONT OF INSPIRATION
Like many of our cultural destinations, Berkshire Botanical Garden is returning to a normal cycle of events by summer. And it couldn’t come any sooner. For its 87th season, Berkshire Botanical Garden—also known as the Garden, or BBG—has a lot planned right out of the gate when it reopens the first of May.
“We are returning to our normal cycle of events, which is really exciting,” says Robin Parow, BBG’s marketing director. “Welcome back to the garden!” Welcome back, indeed. The Be-a-Better-Gardener Plant Sale on May 7-8, will be curated by BBG’s horticulture staff. This year’s Plant Sale features plants chosen for their ornamental value and their proven reliability in the Berkshires. Also coming up is an online auction, a caterpillar lab residency, Fête des Fleurs gala, Music Mondays, Family Fridays, the Grow Show, docent-led garden tours, and more.
What is equally exciting is the robust lineup of art to be featured in the Anna and Frederick Henry Leonhardt Galleries—three intimate gallery rooms located in the original section of the Garden’s restored and renovated historic 18th-century Center House. The artists include couture jewelry designer Mindy Lam, photographer Gregory Crewdson, and hyper-realistic painter Marc Dennis. Art patron, collector, curator, and philanthropist Beth Rudin deWoody also will curate a collection of sculptures to be exhibited on the grounds.
Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Rd., Stockbridge, 413-298-3926; Admission: $15 (Free entry on Tuesdays) Hours: May 1–
October 31: daily 9–5; Masks are required on the grounds and timed ticketing also is required; berkshirebotanical.org
Taking Flight Sculpture Exhibit, various artists, presented by Beth Rudin deWoody / June 11 to October 31
Renowned collector and friend of the Garden Beth Rudin deWoody has curated a collection of sculptures by notable and emerging artists, each offering a unique expression of the Taking Flight theme in the galleries. President of the Rudin Family Foundation, deWoody is known for her vast art collection— some 10,000 pieces—which she houses and exhibits by appointment at The Bunker Artspace in West Palm Beach, Florida. She is a trustee at the Whitney Museum of American Art, The New School University, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City; The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles; Design Museum Holon in Israel; and Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. For Taking Flight, deWoody presents a group of exciting contemporary artists, including Concha Martinez Barreto, Peter Gerakaris, Rachel Owens, Ian Swordy, and Immi Storrs. Their avian- themed work will be featured throughout the gardens from summer through fall.
Revolution by Marc Dennis / July 30 to September 6
New York-based artist Marc Dennis, known for his hyper-realistic and strikingly detailed paintings, presents a collection of two dozen paintings in oil-on-canvas and watercolor, many of which were created expressly for this show. Says Dennis of his work, “I’ve always been fascinated by my own silence while spending time in the woods. As a painter I create a kind of silence as well. My paintings are filled with exuberance, color, shape, form, beauty, mystery, often a sense of narrative and almost always an explosiveness, yet they remain silent. My work for the exhibition REVOLUTION was inspired by my admiration, intrigue and interest in the natural world and my own silence within that world. My artistic intention for this body of work is to communicate beauty as a series of experiences–each painting providing a place for contemplation, journey and exploration. I create hyper-realistic paintings that celebrate beauty as a kind of tension between the classical and the contemporary based on my experiences in nature. Artistic intention is often derived from exploring the charged subjects of perception, memory and pleasure with paintings that strike the eye and seduce the mind. I paint in order to convey my love for life. It’s that simple.”
HEAVEN AND HELL, oil on linen by Marc Dennis from REVOLUTION, an exhibition of hyper-realistic paintings on exhibit from July 30 through September 6. Jesse Winter, photographer
44th Annual Be-a-Better-Gardener Plant Sale / May 7-8
The plant sale will include hundreds of perennials, annuals and vegetables with a focus on diversity. Hanging baskets and carnivorous plants will also be available. Also, the popular “Ask Me” staff and volunteers will be on hand to provide expert advice. All proceeds from the Plant Sale support the Garden’s horticulture and education programs. Garden members receive early buying privileges and a discount on BBG plant purchases. Free admission (pre-registration required) and free parking.
Garden Treasures from Our Friends: A Dazzling Online Auction / May 7-16
Bid on an eclectic assortment of garden-themed, one-of-kind items, including many vintage and antique treasures, all donated by friends of the Garden from their private collections. All bidding will take place online; proceeds support BBG’s educational programs.
The Caterpillar Lab Residency / July 1-5
The Caterpillar Lab sets up not just an exhibit, but a functioning caterpillar-rearing, researching, photographing, filming and educating facility inside Center House. Enjoy drop-in visits to the lab-in-residence, see their live caterpillar displays, take part in a Moth Lighting experience and Caterpillar Walks for adults and children, and witness how The Caterpillar Lab cares for and works with these amazing, surprising creatures.
Fête des Fleurs: Saturday / July 3
A magical stroll through the Garden to explore the fluttering and flying creatures brought to the grounds and galleries while you enjoy refreshments, entertainment, and the company of Garden friends! This year’s celebration honors former Director of Horticulture Dorthe Hviid and her decadeslong work at BBG. A Berkshire tradition, the Fête des Fleurs is the quintessential garden party—filled with merriment, elegance and surprises.
Music Mondays / July 12-Sept 13, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Each week, a band from the Berkshires or the greater Boston area will play in the gazebo among the topiaries in Lucy’s Garden, while guests stretch out on the tree-shaded lawns. Bring your lawn chairs, blanket and picnic and enjoy beer and wine for purchase from Big Elm Brewing.
Family Fridays / August 6, 13, 20 & 27 - 11 a.m.-noon
A weekly nature presentations designed to educate and inspire. A different presenter is featured each week, and live animal visitors often make appearances with their human handlers.
The Grow Show / August 21-22
Floral designers focused on the theme of “Taking Flight” as well as regional backyard gardeners, are all celebrities at the Garden’s annual Grow Show. Beautiful floral arrangements and the peak summer harvest of flowers, fruits and vegetables are spotlighted in this upbeat, judged event. Whether you bring a single bloom or enter every category, there is no charge to participate in the Grow Show, and all are welcome. Free with Garden admission.
— The listings are from the Spring/Summer issue of BBG’s Cuttings Magazine.