Berkshire Botanical Garden's March Classes and Workshops

Stockbridge, MA. . .Classes, lectures, and workshops all geared towards the
home gardener are currently open for registration at Berkshire Botanical
Garden.

A three-session lecture, The Home Vegetable Garden, provides an opportunity
to fine-tune garden plans in an informative and practical program on how to
grow food. 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. Taught by former Extension Vegetable Specialist for the
University of Massachusetts John Howell, the lecture meets February 26,
March 5, and March 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cost for the series is
$108 Members / $135 Nonmembers.

The Wild Side of Gardening, an illustrated lecture/demonstration focusing on
growing summer bulbs, is scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Horticulturist Matt Mattus will share his designs, ideas, and inspirations
for adding lesser-used summer bulbs to gardens and container plantings.
Participants will receive a plant resource list and growing tips to
successfully recreate summer bulb gardens at home. Cost: $20 Members / $25
Nonmembers.

Housescaping with Succulents, Orchids, and More is scheduled for Saturday,
March 12, 10:00 a.m. to noon. This hands-on demonstration/workshop explores
plants from around the world, including agaves, orchids, and other exotics,
which can be grown as low maintenance patio plants that double as
houseplants during the winter months. Under the direction of garden
designer Rob Gennari, students will practice dividing and repotting a
variety of specimen plants and take home divisions to incorporate into their
collections. Cost: Members $37 / Nonmembers $42.

Growing Under Glass, a lecture/discussion focusing on the practical home
greenhouse, will be held Saturday, March 12, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Designed for
all levels of growers, topics covered will include assessing and evaluating
different greenhouse designs, framing, glazing, ventilation, heating,
cooling, and accessory equipment necessary for a successful operation. The
program will conclude with a walking tour, led by instructor John Bartock,
of the various greenhouses on the grounds of Berkshire Botanical Garden,
including an historic Lord & Burnham glass house, a Lexan production
greenhouse, a solar pit greenhouse, a poly hoop house, and cold frames.
Cost is $20 Members / $25 Nonmembers.

Beginning gardeners and nascent market gardeners can learn how to create a
small, highly productive cutting garden Saturday, March 19, 10:00 a.m. -
noon at a discussion/workshop, Growing a Cutting Garden. Taught by Anne
Hunter, owner of Lastings, a specialty fresh and dried flower farm, the
program will include selecting varieties, sowing times and techniques,
planting and transplanting, cultivating and preparing for market.
Participants will sow seeds and transplant flower seedlings to take home.
Fee for the workshop is $25 Members / $30 Nonmembers.

A Plant Press Workshop taught by Berkshire Botanical staff, is scheduled for
Saturday, March 26, 10:00 a.m. - noon. This hands-on workshop involves
constructing a professional-sized herbarium plant press for preserving
flowers, fruits, ferns, and leaves from gardens, fields and forests. The
cost is $45 Members / $54 Nonmembers. Following the workshop, participants
are invited to join University of Massachusetts herbarium Director Karen
Searcy, for a discussion and demonstration, The Art and Science of Pressing
Plants. Students will then practice preserving plant material with their
newly constructed plant press. Students only interested in the
discussion/demonstration by Ms. Searcy can join the program from noon - 1:30
p.m.
The cost is: $22 Members / $27 Nonmembers.

All classes, lectures, and workshops are held at Berkshire Botanical
Garden's Education Center, 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, MA. To
register, call the Garden at (413) 298-3926, or visit the web site:
www.berkshirebotanical.org Berkshire Botanical Garden offers year-round
programs to children and adults wishing to expand their knowledge of
gardening and the environment.