In the Pioneer Valley, we are fortunate to have a variety of indoor flower shows to dazzle us when the outdoor growing season’s glories are past their prime. As the colors of fall foliage fade, the Lyman Conservatory at the Botanic Garden of Smith College in Northampton will host a fabulous display of blooms at its annual Fall Chrysanthemum Show Nov. 4 through Nov. 19.
The Chrysanthemum Show began in the early 1900s as a showcase for the hybridizing experiments of Smith College’s horticulture class. Japanese growers in California had begun cultivating chrysanthemums for commercial distribution around the same time. The show has been a popular college and community tradition ever since. The show will feature chrysanthemums that were hybridized by last year’s horticulture students. Visitors are encouraged to vote for their favorite blooms.
The Chrysanthemum Show’s mums are hardly your garden-variety ho-hummers. The show will feature blossoms in a wide range of colors and sizes, some as large as eight inches across. The show will also include an exhibit of etchings by Ruth Wilson Sutro, a 1946 graduate of Smith whose time in the college’s Botanic Garden ignited a lifelong love of the natural world.
Also on display in the Church Exhibition Gallery is Plants of Pompeii: Ancient and Modern Medicinal Plants, featuring lovely portraits of 35 plants used by Pompeians in antiquity and the present day. Each plant is presented with information about its medicinal properties as well as where it grows natively.
This year, the Chrysanthemum Show will open with a lecture, “Who Put Those Genes in My Food? Facts and Myths About ‘GMO’s,’ ” by Margaret Smith, Ph.D., a plant breeder and geneticist at Cornell University. The presentation will highlight common concerns and misconceptions about genetically engineered crops, including what types are grown, how much area they occupy, farm-level impacts of their adoption, food and feed safety, who “owns” these traits, and the debate about labeling.
Smith will summarize the relevant scientific information about these concerns and point out which are specifically scientific issues and which involve broader public values. The lecture will be held Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Carroll Room at the Smith College Campus Center. Following the lecture, the public is invited to a reception at the Lyman Plant House and a preview of the Chrysanthemum Show in the illuminated Lyman Conservatory.
The Chrysanthemum Show opens to the public on Nov. 4. Regular hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, with extended hours on Fridays, Nov. 10 and 17, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sutro’s etchings will be on display from Nov. 3 through Dec. 22. Members may view the show during special member-only hours, 9 to 10 a.m. daily. The suggested donation is $5.
The Chrysanthemum Show is wheelchair accessible, and parking is available along College Lane across from the Lyman Conservatory. For more information on the show, go to: www.smith.edu/garden.
Learn how to extend the season’s harvest and enjoy your own garden greens throughout the late fall and early spring months. On Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Berkshire Botanical Garden will host a talk with farmer/educator Pete Salinetti, owner of Woven Roots Farm, a small family farm and CSA that grows vegetables and culinary herbs using traditional farming practices. Salinetti will discuss methods such as growing under cover in an unheated greenhouse, cold frame or high/low poly tunnels, and other techniques needed to achieve a true four-season harvest.
Crop selection, no-till soil preparation, timing, planting, cultivation and harvesting will also be covered, with a focus on early and late-season production.
Following the lecture, Salinetti will lead a field study to Woven Roots Farm in Tyringham and will explain season-extension structures and the various growing techniques. The cost is $85. Pre-registration is advised. Walk-ins available as space allows. For more information and to register, go to: berkshirebotanical.org.
On Wednesday, tree specialists from throughout the Berkshires will gather for a day of community service, education and recreation at BBG in Stockbridge. First started by BBG 14 years ago, Arborists’ Day has become a meaningful tradition in which talented landscape professionals gather to provide tree work as a donation to a chosen non-profit organization. More than 20 arborists will participate in the day’s activities, which include tree pruning, removal and planting. The public is invited to the morning session, 9 a.m. to noon, to observe the group at work. For more information, go to: berkshirebotanical.org
Berkshire Botanical Garden’s annual symposium will take place Nov. 12, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Berkshire School in Sheffield. This year’s keynote speaker is James Hitchmough, Professor of Horticultural Ecology and Head of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Sheffield in England. He is an expert in the design, ecology and management of herbaceous vegetation and is best known for his large-scale work on the 2012 London Olympic Park.
In his talk, “Learning from Meadows: Exploring Design and Maintenance of Conventional Herbaceous Plantings,” Hitchmough will illustrate how vegetation works in the wild and how some of the most desirable properties of wild-occurring vegetation can be applied to more conventional garden and landscape planting. He also will address how different layers within planting, rather than the mono-layer of most horticultural planting, can be used to achieve both desirable functional and aesthetic outcomes. This all-day program will focus on managing the landscape sustainably and will give attendees a environmentally sensitive approach to the connection between their homes and surrounding landscapes.
Other presenters include horticulturist Jessica Walliser, author of ”Attracting Beneficial Bugs to the Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control;” mycologist Trad Cotter; and Sharon, Connecticut-based organic land-care specialist Michael Nadeau.
Registration is required. The cost is $95 (lunch included). For more information, go to: berkshirebotanical.org
This calendar is a must-have for New England gardeners. In addition to gorgeous photographs, it features daily tips, information on New England growing conditions, and phases of the moon. This year’s calendar also features a display of insects to look for in Massachusetts, including beneficial as well as invasive, non-native varieties. The calendar makes a wonderful holiday gift. $12. Order online: www.umassgardencalendar.org. Shipping on orders of up to 9 calendars is free until Nov. 1. After Nov. 1, shipping is $3.50 for one calendar and $2 for each additional one.
Mickey Rathbun can be reached at foxglover8@gmail.com.