One of the joys of gardening is to take a break from humdrum chores and travel to see other gardens. This can mean driving an hour or so east to the Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, or an hour west to the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge. Or a trip across the country, or even across the ocean.
I asked several hard-working gardeners for their recommendations and “bucket list” destinations. Here’s what they had to say:
Nancy D’Amato of Shutesbury, a long-time member of the Garden Club of Amherst, weighed in on some of her favorite East Coast gardens: “One garden I would really like to see again is Chanticleer, in Wayne, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. (www.chanticleergarden.org/) I always find the perennial beds at the New York Botanical garden interesting and inspiring, and the same with Wave Hill. (www.wavehill.org, www.nybg.org) The latter has the plus of being slightly messy and overblown. That makes the amateur feel less intimidated.
I stopped last fall at Arrowood Nursery, in Franklinville, New Jersey, a terrific source of unusual trees and shrubs. (856-697-6045) I’d like to get back there this spring because I am helping my son, Erik, with his landscaping.”
Jane Bryden, whose Belchertown garden I wrote about last summer, passed along the names of several gardens she wants to see and another she recommends. “Whenever I’m driving in Maine, I always mean to stop at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay Maine (207-633-8000).
I’m a fan of the American horticulturalist and gardener Frank Cabot, founder of the Garden Conservancy. I highly recommend his Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring New York (845-265-2000). This makes a great day trip.
I also want to see Cabot’s garden called Les Quatre Vents, in Charlevoix County, Quebec. And people who love tree peonies should head out to western New York and visit the Tree Peony Festival at Linwood Gardens, Pavilion New York.” The dates this year are: May 20, 21; May 27, 28; June 3, 4. (linwoodgardens.org)
Meredith Michaels, chair of the Garden Club of Amherst, is traveling to the Bay Area of California this spring and hopes to visit four sites. The first is Heather Farms, known for its amazing spring plant sale. “Since the GCA prides itself on its own version, I thought I’d see what Heather Farms has to offer, hoping not to be put to shame. After all, the climate is a tad bit different in California.” (https://gardenshf.org)
Also on her list is Filoli, “an over-the-top ‘cottage’ created during the period when wealthy Californians were hoping to surpass their east coast counterparts.” (http://www.filoli.org)
Michaels also wants to see the Berkeley Botanical Garden. She explains that it was established and brought to fruition during the time that her grandfather was a faculty member at UCB and her grandmother a UCB student. “There’s a story there…” she says. (http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu)
Last but not least, she hopes to visit the Gardens at Lake Merritt. “This is smack dab in the middle of Oakland, a beautiful botanical garden that has devoted considerable effort to offering Oaklandians access to space, education and services to enhance their access to green food and horticultural endeavors.” (http://gardensatlakemerritt.org/the-green-heart-of-oakland/)
My friend Toni Egger is heading further afield. “Rob and I are going to London in late March. I’m planning to see the Chelsea Physic Garden. (chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/) It’s been around since the 17th century and has over 5,000 medicinal plants.
I’d also like to get to the Oxford Botanic Garden, which was a favorite of Lewis Carroll’s.” (www.botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk)
For those traveling to the Seattle/Vancouver area, she recommends the Butchart Gardens. “A spectacular place!” (www.butchartgardens.com)
Jon Adolph of Amherst describes another dazzling European destination: “As for ‘bucket list’ gardens, I checked a big one off my list a couple of years ago. We went to Holland and toured the tulip fields on bikes. Really incredible. The big tourist spot, Keukenhof Gardens, was not as interesting to me as the fields all around it. Definitely worth the trip!” (www.keukenhof.nl/en)
Before spring awakens our gardens and beckons us to get digging, take some time to think about gardens you’d like to visit this year.
Take your home orchard beyond apples and plums this year. On Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon, Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge will host a talk by Dan Furman of Cricket Hill Garden on unusual edible fruits such as pawpaws, persimmons and quince that grow well in our region.
Furman will share his experience growing and cultivating various unusual fruits and berries that he has found to grow well at his family’s second-generation nursery in Thomaston, Connecticut. Focusing on the landscape and the ecological planting of these species that bear interesting fruit, Dan will discuss everything from basic cultivation to pest and disease issues. The talk will take place at BBG’s Education Center. Cost: $20 for members, $25 for nonmembers. Pre-registration is advised but walk-ins are welcome as space allows
Hadley Garden Center is hosting a clinic Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. on houseplants. Dianne Klenotic, a longtime HGC employee, will discuss houseplants from African Violets to Zamias, including information on watering, general maintenance, pest control, easy-to-grow choices and terrariums. You are welcome to bring in a small problem plant for diagnosis, outside temperatures permitting. Free and open to the public. The space fills quickly, so come early. 285 Russell St. (Route 9) in Hadley. 584-1423
Berkshire Botanical Garden’s winter lecture
On Feb 10 at 2 p.m., join the BBG in welcoming acclaimed American landscape architect Thomas Woltz. He will share his design philosophy, his superb sense of plantsmanship, focused on selecting species and varieties that have a connection to the local flora and fauna, and his use of indigenous materials in creating landscapes that capture the essence of place. Known for his subtle, sensitively detailed designs that take in the essence of place, Woltz has designed projects from coastal gardens in New Zealand and the Dell at the University of Virginia to New York’s Hudson Yards. In his talk for the BBG, he will focus on landscapes that he has created in the region, from private gardens in New York State to Hudson’s Olana and Coastal Maine Botanical Garden. Although trained as a fine artist, an architect and a landscape architect, he is revered for having the soul of a naturalist, with a heartfelt attachment to plants and the local environment.
This annual event, begun in 1997, is a great way to welcome the new gardening season. The lecture will take place at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington. There will be a reception with refreshments following the lecture. Cost: Member $35; nonmember $45. Pre-registration is advised. Walk-ins welcome if space allows. To register, go to: berkshirebotanical.org