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Herb Associates Yesterday and Today

The Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Herb Associates began in 1957 when three women who loved and grew herbs — Gertrude Burdsall, Emily Rose, and Amy Bess-Miller — decided to make and sell herbal products to benefit the Garden.

Dog in a field of flowers

Be a Better Gardener: The Dog Days of Summer

Despite the name, this period, which begins on July 3 and ends on Aug. 11, has nothing to do with our four-legged friends.

What Is Happening in the BBG Herb Gardens and Kitchen This Week (July 23)?

Let's talk about fennel, swallowtail butterflies and scented geraniums. Plus, all the wonderful things the Herb Associates Kitchen Crew has been up to (think BBG Barbeque Sauce and Plum Chutney ... Yum!).

Gardeners Checklist: Here Is What to Do on the Week of July 22

Why should you stand down with your weed killers? Why focus now on leafy Asian greens? What bold move should you make for brittle stems? If grapes are turning color now, are they really ripening? How can you insure you'll have pansies next year? And gather round for the “Saga of the Ugly Tomato!”

What Is Happening in the BBG Herb Gardens and Kitchen This Week (July 16)?

We welcome some “flamboyant pincushions.” That is to say, our herb of the week putting on a show in the BBG Herb Display Garden: Monarda.

Be A Better Gardener: Foraging for Garden Skills

Slip the field guide into your pocket, lace on a pair of hiking boots, grab an empty backpack, and set out through the local woods and fields on a foraging expedition.

Be A Better Gardener: Freund Dairy Farm and its “Cow Pots”

Matt Freund has turned one of the Freund farm’s biggest liabilities, the 3,600 gallons of manure its herd of 300 Holsteins produce daily, into an environmental asset.

Be A Better Gardener: Biopesticides

As defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, biopesticides include any pesticides derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. 

Be A Better Gardener: Listen to Your Plants

Ecological landscaping expert Larry Weaner is right when he says that a two-way conversation is beneficial to both parties.

Gardeners Checklist: Here Is What to Do on the Week of July 15

Are your crops filled with pests? What can you do with cockscomb? Is powdery mildew infecting your champion pollinator habitat? When is "small and tender" the best? Did someone say dig garlic? 

The Seats of Berkshire Botanical Garden

Come, and take a load off here at BBG. Plenty of places and spaces to chill out. Here's a look.

Gardeners Checklist: Here Is What to Do on the Week of July 8

Why carry sheers right now? Do your scraggly annuals need a makeover? What do your raspberries need from you now? Are rose slugs making their moves? Did you know Japanese beetles emit chemical signals (yikes)?

Applemint, Pickled Perilla, lavender, and Betony are among this week's highlights from the Herb Garden.

What Is Happening in the BBG Herb Gardens and Kitchen This Week (July 3)?

The BBG Herb Display Garden is a riot of color and pollinator activity this week. The featured herb is Betony. Also, we're busy harvesting lavender and preparing a some very special products for sale in the BBG Gift Shop.

Gardeners Checklist: Here Is What to Do on the Week of July 1

What to do with your Swiss chard? What about European corn borers? Shall we discuss repeat bloomers? Why go to a garden center right now? And what are two of the most troublesome insect pests at this time of year?

What Is Happening in the BBG Herb Gardens and Kitchen This Week (June 25)

Bloom, bloom, BOOM! Let's talk about lavender and poppies. And the Kitchen Crew is as busy as ever. See the new products they've cooked up, now for sale at our Gift Shop.

Be A Better Gardener: A New Challenge for Apples and Others

Now I am wondering about my ability to grow apples at all in my Massachusetts garden. Here are some facts about fire blight and tips for how to manage it.

Gardeners Checklist: Here Is What to Do on the Week of June 24

Blueberry time? Pea break? Cucumber beetle battles? Succession success? And further thoughts on the great question of our lives: to sucker or not to sucker? 

“Bachelor’s Button”, “cornflower”, Feverfew, “Rose Petal Jelly”

What Is Happening in the BBG Herb Gardens and Kitchen This Week (June 18)

“Bachelor’s Button” and other plants sure are putting on a flowery show. Plus, the Kitchen Crew prepares a batch of “Rose Petal Jelly.”

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