Special Programming

Gardening for the Future -- Special Seminar

Edible Forest Gardening -- Dave Jacke

How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World -- Paul Stamets

Saturday, January 31
10:30 a.m. -- David Jacke
12:30 p.m. -- Paul Stamets
Illustrated Lectures Book Sale & Signing
Members $30, Non-members $35, Individual lectures $20
All Levels -- Bring Bagged Lunch

Edible Forest Gardening -- David Jacke 10:30 a.m.
Edible forest gardening is the art and science of putting plants together in woodland-like patterns that forge mutually beneficial relationships, creating a food production system that is more than the sum of its parts. The idea is that by growing fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms and other useful plants in a way that mimics natural forest ecosystems gardeners can create a beautiful, diverse, high yield system that is largely self-maintained. "Learn to garden Like a Forest not In a Forest " sums up permaculture enthusiast Dave Jacke's view on gardening for the future. Edible forest gardens can provide more than just a wide variety of food including the seven F's: food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer and "farmaceuticals", as well as fun. This lecture will help gardeners recognize new and creative ways to manage home landscapes while playing an important role in understanding and caring for the land. Gardeners will be encouraged to look at gardening in new and exciting ways.

Dave Jacke has been a student of ecology and design since the 1970s. He is the primary author of Edible Forest Gardens and has run his own ecological design firm -- Dynamics Ecological since 1987. Hi design approach reflects his strong belief in incorporating sustainable techniques into his designs. He is an engaging and passionate teacher of ecological design and permaculture and holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Simon's Rock College and a M.A. in Landscape Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design.

Lunch & Book Sale Signing -- noon

How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World -- Paul Stamets 12:30
Join expert mycologist and visionary biologist Paul Stamets for a look at revolutionary ways to use fungi, particularly mushrooms for practical solutions to heal environments. Fungi are the grand dis-assemblers in nature, decomposing plants and animals, creating soils and the food web of life. This lecture will explore how gardeners, farmers, green architects and ecological designers can use emerging mycotechnologies to enhance sustainability and practice environmentally, sensitive gardening techniques. Learn how to use fungi to promote and maintain a fertile soil. Examine practical techniques using fungi, the grand decomposer, to replace chemical insecticides, enhance sustainability and promote healthy soil. Gardeners will learn new creative ways to manage landscapes while playing an important role in understanding and caring for the land.

Paul Stamets is an expert mycologist, environmental advocate, visionary biologist and owner of Fungi Perfecti located in Olympia, WA. He has authored six books and many scholarly papers on mycology including Mycelium Running, A Guide to Healing the Planet Through Gardening. He is advisor to the Program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical School and on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms. In 2008 Mr. Stamets received National Geographic Adventure's Magazine's Green-O-vator and Argosy Foundation's E-chievement Awards. Additionally Utne Reader recognized Stamets as one of the 50 Visionaries of the Year for 2008

Winter Horticulture Lecture
Plants For Your 21st Century Garden
Daniel J. Hinkley
Saturday, February 14, 2 -- 4 p.m.
Snow date; February 15
Lecture, Book sale, Reception to follow
Monument Mountain High School
Members $30, Non-members $35
(group rate available) All Levels
Join world-renowned plant explorer, horticulturist, and author, Dan Hinkley, for an intriguing lecture about new plants that have been recently introduced, discovered or bred. He will offer the audience his thoughts about the many plants that do not pose a threat to bio-invasion and recommend plants that extend the gardening season, no matter the climate. "Using the right plants in our gardens in regard to proper cultural requirements should be the universal goal. A plant well grown, on its own, is justification enough for gardening." For 20 years, Dan Hinkley has gathered seeds from specimens he thinks may be garden-worthy and tried them at home before releasing them to the trade for wider testing. He is credited with introducing -- or reintroducing -- thousands of previously unknown or long-forgotten species. The lecture will be followed by a reception and sale of Dan's favorite garden books.

Daniel J. Hinkley studied horticulture in his home state of Michigan before moving west to Washington, where he earned his masters degree. In 1989 he opened Heronswood Nursery. Heronswoods was a nursery of distinction where thousands of plants Hinkley brought back from his expeditions were grown and studied. Dan has discovered garden worthy plants in China, Korea and Nepal to Chile and closer to home, in remote areas of North America. He is the true definition of a 'Plant Explorer'. He writes for numerous horticultural publications, is in high demand as a speaker throughout North America and Europe and has written two books: The Explorer's Garden, Rare and Unusual Perennials, and Winter Ornamentals.


Fall/Winter Lectures

Bonsai Illusions vs. Reality
Saturday, February 21
10 a.m. -- noon
Lecture, Discussion
Members $16, Non-members $21
Beginners
Bonsai is the art of dwarfing trees and developing them into an aesthetically appealing shape by growing, pruning and training in containers according to prescribed techniques. Bonsai specimens will be on displayed to demonstrate the desirable qualities necessary for specimen Bonsai and will exemplify the horticulture techniques involved. This discussion will explain the history, Bonsai styles, techniques, and demystify the Art of Bonsai encouraging you to try it for yourself.

Todd Hansen is the owner of Sanctuary Bonsai a specialty Bonsai Nursery in East Hartford, Ct. He is a Bonsai enthusiast and past president and vice president of Greater Hartford Bonsai Society. He has won both runner-up and 1st place awards at the Tower Hill Bonsai Exhibition in 2006 and 2007. He teaches bonsai frequently in the New England area for both garden and bonsai clubs.


Garden Maintenance-An Organic Approach
Saturday, March 7, 10 a.m. -- 2 p.m.
Lecture/discussion
Members $25, Non-members $30
All levels, Bring Bagged Lunch
Designing and maintaining a beautiful landscape that requires minimal maintenance without a reliance on water, inorganic fertilizers or pesticides is possible if one understands the process of proper plant selection and site analysis and thinks about their landscape as an ecosystem. Learn how to practice ecologically sound gardening and landscaping concepts on the home landscape scale. Join Brad Roeller for lessons learned from his unique gardening background. This program is packed with practical gardening tips with a focus on a sustainable organic approach

Brad Roeller is Manager of Display Gardens at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y. where he has overseen the construction of most of the Institute's landscaping projects. He lectures extensively and instructs for the New York Botanical Garden, Institute of Ecosystem Studies and Berkshire Botanical Garden.


Organic Vegetable Gardening
Saturday, February 28
10 a.m. -- noon
Lecture /Discussion
Members $16, Non-members $21
Beginners/intermediate
10% discount for participating in both Vegetable and Small Fruit classes
Get all your vegetable garden questions answered in this practical class on growing food organically. Learn how to grow vegetables from the earliest spring greens to luscious vine-ripe tomatoes. This introduction to vegetable gardening will include site selection, soil and nutrient management, seed selection, design, crop rotation schemes, seeding and planting, pest management, and specific plant cultivation. These topics will be discussed with an emphasis on building a healthy soil and careful management of moisture requirements.

Pat Parkins owns Gardens of the Goddess, an organic gardening business, focused on enhancing nature's beauty through landscape design, installation and maintenance. She incorporates her interest in ecology into her landscaping practices and uses her business as a classroom for her crew. Pat lectures locally on organic gardening practices and composting.


Small Fruit & Berry Gardening
Saturday, February 28, 1 p.m. -- 3 p.m.
Lecture/discussion
Members $16, Non-members $21
Beginner/intermediate
10% discount for participating in both
Vegetable and Fruit classes
Learn about the art and science of growing small fruit including designing, planting and cultivation. This discussion will survey the fruits and berries that grow well in New England with a focus on realistic success. Discuss plant varieties, siting, cultivation, and fruit production of small fruits and discuss maintaining with low pesticide use. Small fruits such as raspberries, blackberries, grapes, strawberries, blueberries and currants will be covered.

Sonia Schloemann is the small fruit specialist at the University of Massachusetts Extension in Amherst. Her specialty is education and research in small fruit production with a focus on IPM. She also promotes new alternative small fruits.


Perennial Gardener Series
Mondays; March 2 -- March 16
6 -- 8 p.m.
Series; Members $45, Non-members $50
Individual classes $18
Beginners
Join experts in the field of horticulture and learn how to make a great perennial border. Start with soil essentials and learn step-by-step how to select herbaceous perennials and integrate them into the border in a pleasing design. Finish up with a discussion and demonstration on perennial maintenance to keep the border healthy and happy all summer.

Preparing the Perennial Border- March 2
Developing a healthy soil and enriching garden spaces for optimum plant growth is the focus. Learn how to assess a garden site and orient the border. Consider the role of soil texture, pH, and soil amendments for the border. Composting and fertilizers will be discussed.
(Bring a soil sample for a ph test)
Elisabeth Cary is the Director of Education at the Berkshire Botanical Garden and has been gardening for over twenty years.

Perennial Plants: Design the Border -- March 9
Consider outstanding perennials that perform consistently throughout the summer. Criteria for selected plants include ornamental appeal, disease resistance, minimal maintenance, low fertility requirements and longevity. Design principles will be discussed with a focus on creating successful plant combinations for three-season interest. Basic principles of design will be considered including spacing, massing, accent plants and focal points.
Jessica Savory is a Senior Gardener at Berkshire Botanical Garden. She has gardened professionally for many years

Easy Guide to Garden Maintenance March 23
Learn how to shape perennials to produce more flowers, stimulate new growth, stagger bloom times, discourage pests and encourage vigorous plant health. All aspects of maintenance will be covered including edging, weeding, mulching, fertilizing, watering, and dividing. Pruning, pinching, shearing, cutting back and staking will be discussed.
Jessica Savory is a Senior Gardener at Berkshire Botanical Garden. She has gardened professionally for many years.


Ethnobotany
How People Use Plants
Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m. -- noon
Members $16, Non-member $21
Illustrated Lecture
All levels
Learn about the many uses of plants growing in the fields and forests of New England. This lecture will look at the fascinating history of plants in North America from a human perspective. Explore their role in the survival and development of society, as well as some of the major figures in plant discovery. Cover how plants were used for such things as food, shelter, medicine, clothing, hunting, religious ceremonies and consider the enormously important role they continue to play in today's society.

Drew Monthie is a horticulturalist, garden designer and ecologist working in upper New York State. He has a Master degree in ethnobotany and is committed to teaching about the importance of using native plants to provide beauty and preserve biodiversity in yards and gardens.


Enhancing Gardens with Water
Saturday, March 28
10 a.m. -- noon
Illustrated Lecture
Members $16, Non-member $21
All levels
Join water gardening expert Anthony Archer-Wills for an informative talk on using water as a design element in the garden. He will cover designing and constructing a water features including both still and moving water elements. The presentation should prove inspirational and as a basic primer for anyone considering improving or creating a water feature. Whether making a pond, tiny reflecting pool, babbling brook or a trickling waterfall, this lecture is sure to inspire gardeners in the art and science of adding water to the landscape.

Anthony Archer-Wills has a passion for water gardening and has made it his profession for forty years. Born in Great Britain, his formal training and early work in the UK resulted in developing innovative landscaping techniques now used worldwide. He has published widely on the topic and his gardens are featured at Quaker Hill Native Plant Garden in Pawling, NY.



Workshops

Wreaths from the Wild
Wednesday, December 3, 1 - 3 p.m.
Hands-on workshop
Members $35; Non-members $40
Materials included in cost of class, Bring pruners and gloves.
Beginners
Create a beautiful evergreen wreath for the holidays, using the bounty of the fields and forests of the Berkshires. Learn about the natural history of common and not-so-common plants that can be used to create interesting holiday decorations. Consider a wide selection of plant material including evergreen boughs, berries, seedpods, fern fronds and moss. Construct a simple evergreen wreath. Take it home and the knowledge to create wreaths for holidays to come.

Elisabeth Cary is the Director of Education at the Berkshire Botanical Garden and has been collecting plant materials from the wild and creating wreaths for over fifteen years.


Bark and Buds--Winter Identification of Trees and Shrubs
Saturday, December 13, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Field study (Held indoors)
Members $25; Non-members $35
All levels
Discover the many plants that lend bark, buds, fruit, and structural interest to the garden in fall and winter. Develop or enhance your ability to identify winter trees by twig and bud anatomy, and by bark features and plant architecture. Students will practice their skills with winter tree dichotomous keys. Participants should have The Illustrated Book of Trees by William Carey Grimm ISBN 0-8117-2220-1. Must be 1983 edition. Dress for limited outdoor fieldwork. Class enrollment is limited.

Brad Roeller is Manager of Display Gardens at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y. where he has oversees the Institute's landscaping projects. He lectures for the New York Botanical Garden, Institute of Ecosystem Studies and Berkshire Botanical Garden.


Grafting Techniques for Ornamental Trees
Saturday, January 10, 10 a.m. -- noon
Hands-on workshop
Members $50, Non-members $55
All levels, Materials fee $10
Participants should bring pruners and a grafting knife if available
The most challenging and rewarding propagating technique, grafting will be the focus of this workshop. Consider the history and fundamental principles of grafting plants and then learn by practicing grafting techniques. Watch a demonstration of different grafts and practice the most common and easiest side-veneer graft. Work with both conifers (pine) and deciduous plants (Japanese maple or kousa dogwood) and take several plants home to grow on.

Adam Wheeler is the Propagation and New Plant Development Manager for Broken Arrow Nursery located in Hamden, Ct. a specialty nursery with a focus on woody plants, especially kalmias. He teaches woody plant propagation workshops throughout New England.


Orchid Workshop
Saturday, January 17
1:30 -- 3:30 p.m.
Demonstration/workshop
Members $16, Non-members $21
Beginners Participants should bring plants for repotting and evaluation. Information sheet on how to transport orchids in the cold will be available
Orchids, the exotic beauties that you admire in your favorite hothouses can be grown in the home setting. Observe some of the best orchids, watch a demonstration on care and repotting, and learn how to maintain an orchid collection in a home setting. This is a work session and participants should bring in not only their questions but their plants. Learn by doing including repotting, assessing insect and disease problems, pruning and staking.
Orchids will be for sale.

Judy Becker owns Lauray of Salisbury, a specialty nursery. She is an active member of the Connecticut Orchid Society and is currently Membership Secretary. She is an accredited judge with the American Orchid Society, and frequently participates in Orchid Shows in New England.


Pruning for Fruit Production
Pome & Stone Fruit Trees, Brambles, Ribes and Blueberries
Saturday, March 21, 10 a.m. -- 2 p.m.
Members $40, Non-members $45
Demonstration/Workshop
All levels Off site demonstration. Participants should dress warmly for outdoors bring pruners and bagged lunch
This demonstration will focus on the specifics of pruning stone and pome fruit trees, brambles, ribes and blueberries. Unlike ornamental shrubs, pruning for fruit is a special science that is designed to maximize fruit production. Learn the principles of pruning for health, shape, size and most importantly fruit production. Both small fruit varieties and semi-dwarf orchard trees will be available for pruning.

Steve McKay is the Grape and Small Fruit Specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension in eastern New York State. He has a B.S. in entomology from U.C. Davis and a M.S. in pomology. He has taught for several years at the Berkshire Botanical Garden.


Ornamental Woody Plant Pruning
Saturday, April 11
10 a.m. -- 1 p.m.
Hands-on workshop/demonstration
Members $25, Non-members $30
Beginners, Dress for outdoors and bring hand pruners
Spring is a great time to assess your woody plants for shape and structure. This hands-on workshop will focus on pruning including when, why and how to shape, renovate, train or rejuvenate your woody plants. Consider ornamental shrubs and small flowering trees with an emphasis on plant health and aesthetics. Learn about pruning tools, timing, and specific techniques available to the home gardener. Following a lecture and several pruning demonstrations participants will learn by doing.

Ken Gooch is the Department of Environmental Management's Forest Health Specialist for Berkshire County and has worked in the field of forestry for over 25 years. He has taught workshops throughout the state and for the Berkshire Botanical Garden.


Stone Step Setting
Friday, April 24, 9 a.m. -- 3 p.m.
Hands-on workshop
Rain date: April 26
Members $55, Non-members $60
All levels; Participants should bring: work gloves, safety glasses, bagged lunch
Flatwork will be the focus of this workshop: concentrating on setting stone steps. Learn how to evaluate a project, prepare the site and choose the best material. This class serves as a foundation for all paving projects involving stone or brick on the flat; terraces, patios, stepping stones and is sure to interest homeowners and landscape professionals alike. Participants will work on a set of stone steps and learn the principles of step building including calculating the rise and run.

Mark Mendel is the master mason of Monterey Masonry, Sheffield, MA. He apprenticed with Maine stonemasons in the 1960's and taught at the Haystack School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. He has built scores of walls, arches, terraces and walks in addition to many fireplaces in both brick and stone. He has lectures on stone in art and architecture at the Phillip Johnson Glass House in Darien, Ct, and currently teaches fireplace building at Southwest Stoneworks, in Rinconada, NM.


Hardscape -- Constructing a Stone Arch
Saturday, April 25, 9 a.m. -- 3 p.m.
Hands-on workshop
Members $55
Non-members $60
All levels, Participants should bring: work gloves, safety glasses, and dress for outdoor work, bagged lunch
Off site at Monterey Masonry Stoneyard, Sheffield, MA.
10% discount for participation in both Arch and Stone Step class
This program is for those interested in building a vocabulary in hardscape. Learn about the many types of stone and brick available for hardscape application for both the homeowner and professional. The course will involve a brief tour of Monterey Masonry's stoneyard to learn the basic properties of brick and stone with a focus on choosing the right material for a given job. Watch a tool demonstration along with basic drilling, splitting, and finishing techniques. Evaluate and discuss an ongoing patio project using mixed materials. Then spend the rest of the day assisting in the construction of a simple stone arch.

Mark Mendel is the master mason of Monterey Masonry, Sheffield, MA. He apprenticed with Maine stonemasons in the 1960's and taught at the Haystack School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. He has built scores of walls, arches, terraces and walks in addition to many fireplaces in both brick and stone. He has lectures on stone in art and architecture at the Phillip Johnson Glass House in Darien, Ct, and currently teaches fireplace building at Southwest Stoneworks, in Rinconada, NM.