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Virtual Learning
BBG's staff is dedicated more than ever to providing virtual learning opportunities that include online classes, fun facts, upbeat videos, family craft projects and more. We look forward to a time when we will all be together again at the BBG campus, but in the meantime, enjoy virtual learning!
Growing Greener with Thomas Christopher
For those who love gardens, and especially for gardeners interested in the environmental aspects of their craft, we present Growing Greener podcasts with gardener/author Tom Christopher. Growing Greener features interviews with gardening experts who are also leaders working and living in harmony with nature, offering a different perspective on how to make your personal landscape healthier, more beautiful, more sustainable, and more fun.
Tom Christopher is a volunteer at Berkshire Botanical Garden and is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including Nature into Art and The Gardens of Wave Hill (Timber press, 2019). His Be-a-Better-Gardener column is syndicated in 19 print and online publications, reaching 250,000 readers. Growing Greener streams on WESUFM.org, Pacifica Radio and NPR. Additional podcasts can be accessed here.
Christine Cook – Dragonfly Gardening
Christine Cook of Mossaics Ecological Landscape Design discusses the unique beauties of dragonflies and details how she creates gardens designed to attract and foster these insects.
May 27, 2020
Heather Holm – Beyond Bees
Pollinator conservationist and award-winning author Heather Holm introduces us to the "secondary pollinators," the amazing insects other than bees that contribute to pollinating our native plants.
May 20, 2020
Grant Sizemore — A Songbird-Friendly Garden
Grant Sizemore of the American Bird Conservancy details how house cats can coexist with garden birds, and Matthew Shumar of the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative describes how to make your yard more bird safe.
May 13, 2020
Uli Lorimer – Native Plants Provenance
Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture for the Native Plant Trust, discusses the challenges involved in sourcing and growing locally adapted native plants
May 6, 2020
Dan Jaffe – How to Make Your Life Easier With Native Plants
Dan Jaffe, a rising star of the new generation of native plants experts and co-author of Native Plants for New England Gardens discusses the many practical advantages of gardening with natives.
April 29, 2020
Shay Lunseth of Organic Lawns by Lunseth discusses her use of fine fescue grasses to create lawns that flourish with little or almost no mowing, less fertilizers and weed control, and far less summertime irrigation.
April 22, 2020
Adrian Ayres Fisher - Carbon Gardening
Adrian Ayres Fisher, Sustainability Coordinator for Triton College in River Grove, Illinois explains how an easy change in gardening practice can remove carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere and help mitigate global warming
April 15, 2020
The Advantages of Heirloom Vegetable
Christie Higginbottom of Old Sturbridge Village, the famous museum village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, details the advantages of heirloom vegetable varieties that make them superior to modern hybrids for the contemporary victory garden.
April 8, 2020
Gardening Icon Ruth Rogers Clausen talks about gardening with her granddaughter, and Sarah Pounders of KidsGardening.org discusses her organization's free online educational resources for parents, grandparents, and children.
April 1, 2020
EDWINA VON GAL - PERFECT EARTH PROJECT
Edwina von Gal, the internationally renowned landscape designer, discusses her personal journey to environmental activism and her current work with the Perfect Earth Project.
March 25, 2020
WILLIAM BRYANT LOGAN – "SPROUT LANDS"
Author William Bryant Logan discusses his most recent book, "Sprout Lands," and the revival of pollarding, the basis of an ancient and mutually beneficial relationship between trees and people.
March 18, 2020
Gardening with Dorthe Hviid
BBG Director of Horticulture Dorthe Hviid provides virtual tours, answers gardening questions, and offers tutorials on topics relating to horticulture and gardening.
Gardening 101 (part 1)
Lesson 1: Director of Horticulture Dorthe Hviid presents the first in a series on vegetable gardening basics, providing the steps needed to start a backyard vegetable garden "even if you've never grown a radish before."
April 8, 2020
Gardening 101 (part 2)
Lesson 2: Director of Horticulture Dorthe Hviid continues the Vegetable Gardening 101 series with site selection and preparation, in-ground vs. raised beds, and using compost to enhance soil.
April 15, 2020
Gardening 101 (part 3)
Lesson 3: BBG Director of Horticulture Dorthe Hviid presents Part 3 of a 4-part series, Vegetable Gardening 101. This video is all about seed starting and includes step-by-step information on recommended pots, potting mix, planting and the use of grow lights.
April 21, 2020
Gardening 101 (part 4)
Lesson 4: In this final video in the series, BBG Director of Horticulture Dorthe Hiviid focuses on direct seeding and how to transplant seedlings into the garden.
April 29, 2020
Signs of Spring Tour with Director of Horticulture Dorthe Hviid
Come along for a virtual tour with BBG Director of Horticulture Dorthe Hviid as she shares the signs of spring unfolding at the Garden, including Magnolia stellata (star magnolia) and minor bulbs like Galanthus nivalis (common snowdrop) and Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite). Enjoy!
April 1, 2020
Family Fun Fridays
Our Education staff is pleased to present fun, educational nature and gardening projects for kids of all ages and their families.
Chocolate Mint Crinkle Cookies
Since 1957, the Herb Associates have been making and selling herbal products to benefit BBG. What followed was a steady stream of ideas, collaboration, recipes and products. Although we won't be celebrating our annual Roy Boutard Day this year with a community reception featuring the Herb Associates traditional Maibowle punch and cookies, we thought we'd share one of their legendary cookie recipes with you to enjoy at home.
May 13, 2020
How to Make a Plant Press
In this fun instructional video, Camp Director Samantha Ross shows how to create your own plant press using cardboard, newspaper and rubber bands.
May 6, 2020
How to Make Seed Balls
Berkshire Botanical Garden Director of Education Bridgette Stone teaches you to make seed balls to create fun, instant gardens.
April 29, 2020
Nature Scavenger Hunt
What's going on outside? These four scavenger hunts invite exploration of the changing season and invite children and families to go ourdoors and find nature's colors, plants and flowers.
April 15, 2020
Nature Loom Craft
This simple, small homemade loom is inspired by the large one found in our children’s garden. Use natural materials to create a little art piece that changes with the season, or even week by week.
April 9, 2020
Botanically-Dyed Easter Eggs
Director of Education Bridgette Stone shows how to create botanically dyed Easter eggs using turmeric and red cabbage in this fun, easy workshop. Access a step-by-step pdf here.
April 8, 2020
Create a Nature Box!
BBG Director of Education Bridgette Stone demonstrates a simple and delightful activity for kids and families.The only thing you'll need is an empty egg carton and some outside space to explore. This activity is easily adaptable for children of all ages and can be repeated week after week.
April 3, 2020
From Our Instructors
BBG's instructors are experts in their fields of gardening, horticulture, sustainability, landsape design, cooking and food preparation, beekeeping, botanical art and much more. We're pleased to spotlight some of them here, providing "in home" instruction from our talented educators.
Recipe: Braised Rhubarb with Rosé and Ginger
BBG instructor and author Alana Chernila writes about food, family and the wonderful chaos that ensues when the two combine. Her Kitchen Classes at the Garden combine a blend of her wisdom, insight and humor. This recipe, originally published in her blog, EatingFromTheGroundUp is based on a concept of roasting rhubarb.
Pizza Making with Steve Browning
Step into the kitchen of Steve Browning, Executive Chef at the Prairie Whale in Great Barrington and a popular instructor in BBG's teaching kitchen. He's assisted in this tutorial with Dan Stidwell
April 8, 2020
BBG instructor Drew Monthie of Ecologic Consulting, LLC provides some background on Trailing Arbutus, a low growing evergreen member of the Heath family (Ericaceae) which, due to environmental disturbances, is becoming a rarity.
April 3, 2020
From our Archives
Shimmering Flowers: Nancy Lorenz's Lacquer & Bronze Landscapes at Berkshire Botanical Garden
A short film on BBG exhibiting artist Nancy Lorenz directed by Gael Towey as part of her Portraits in Creativity developed to document artists and their inspirations, and revealing the course and curiosity that propel the creative act.
August, 2019
The Big Dig: Bringing a World-Class Topiary Garden to BBG
Berkshire Botanical Garden is the recipient of a world-class topiary garden donated in the fall of 2018 by Lucy and Nat Day. Its unprecedented relocation from its home in Greenwich, CT to BBG required a team effort at both locations. This video depicts the Big Dig required to prepare the collection for transport to Stockbridge. The topiary collection, named Lucy’s Garden, was dedicated in June, 2019.
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