Articles

Redesigned and expanded in 2023, this shady haven is perfectly suited for our collection of native and non-native herbaceous perennials, including hardy Hosta cultivars, wildflowers and other woodland plants, all framed by a backdrop of ferns.

This 2.5-acre ecological showpiece opened to the public in 2023 and includes walking trails and sweeping vistas. Eschewing the use of herbicides, our horticulture team manages weeds by mean of scheduled mowings, string trimmers and hand clippers.

Designed for all four seasons, this garden provides year-round interest. Spring bulbs, fothergilla, crabapples, and dogwoods flower in spring. Summersweet and oakleaf hydrangea bloom in summer. Autumn brings brilliant fall foliage.

Our Tree of Forty Fruit, framed within a circular rock wall beside the Visitor Center, is part art piece, part conservation project. In a riot of pink, white and crimson, it blooms heavily in spring and summer to become what it was created to be: a fru

Beatrice Sterling Procter loved pinks, blues, and purples. Those hues — combined with calming white, silver, and maroon accents — form the primary palette for this informal, mixed-border garden, created in her honor by the Lenox Garden Club in 1967.

Despite its naturalistic look, this is a man-made pond with a waterproof liner. But local wildlife doesn't care if a pond is natural or artificial. Frogs, toads, dragonflies, salamanders, water beetles, and other animals gravitate to and depend upon this watery habitat.

Most gardens are designed for beauty, but our New Wave Garden is also designed for balance.

Our collection of native North American plants demonstrates the effective use of such shrubs and ground covers for a home garden setting. Native plants can often provide better food sources for native insects and birds while still offering ornamental value.

The heart of BBG’s popular Farm in the Garden Camp, the Lodge was assembled using old world post-and-beam construction and many notable innovative engineering and design elements, including gorgeous, painstakingly engineered and arranged trusses.

Our topiary collection showcases the horticultural practice of clipping plants into specific shapes. These living sculptures were created from boxwood, yew and arborvitae and represent animals as well as inanimate objects.

Created in 1937, the Herb Garden is the oldest continuously planted area of the Berkshire Botanical Garden. Since 1957, the Herb Associates volunteer group has been meeting weekly to grow and harvest herbs, and makes herb-based mustards, dressings and jellies sold in the Visitor Center.

This border, honoring Beatrice Procter Frelinghuysen, a longtime supporter and trustee of the Garden, is shaded by maturing trees and planted with shade-tolerant perennials.

Gardeners often build rock or alpine gardens around existing large, natural formations — like the rock at the center of this one. They also introduce rocks to imitate a geological formation. This example weaves together both natural and introduced rocks.

What gardeners grow is typically limited by climate and season. Greenhouses, however, create a controlled environment for year-round growing, from seed starting and bulb forcing to growing heat-loving exotics.

Nestled in a grove of shady crabapples, just down the path from the Rose Garden, is BBG's fernery, which includes both native and nonnative species — more than 100, representing 17 varieties. Designed by Eric Ruquist, 2024.

The raised beds in these two plots are laid out in tidy grids, each highlighting one type of vegetable or fruit. Raised beds can be planted earlier in spring as their soil warms up faster than lower ground. This is a benefit in our short growing season. Designed by Jack Staub, 2009.