Ann Getsinger’s “Leaping Deer” painting hangs in what she calls “the cabinet of curiosities” room, part of her exhibition entitled “The Garden of Curiosity,” currently on display at Berkshire Botanical Garden’s Leonhardt Galleries. She painted it four years ago to honor the magic of the topiary when the BBG opened Lucy’s Garden.
“I had no idea I’d have a show here one day, which is also magical,” she smiles, noting her deep affection for a place that “brings together so many things I love—ideas around wildness and controlled wildness, education for all, and natural history,” Getsinger says.
A ‘magical’ community resource
Magical is the word that often comes to mind when people think of this shared Berkshire treasure. While Orto Botanico in Italy may be the oldest known botanical garden in the world, and the Royal Botanic Gardens in England may be the largest, Berkshire Botanical Garden, founded in 1934 at the intersection of Routes 102 and 183 in Stockbridge, is revered as one of the older public display gardens in the Northeast—a vital community resource and “museum of living things,” as its website notes.
“There were many beautiful private estates in 1934 but no publicly accessible gardens,” BBG co-executive director Mike Beck explains. “So the community got together to create a space where anyone could stroll. They also wanted a place where people could come to develop their gardening skills, so education was an important component from the very beginning.” The not-for-profit, membership-supported organization (first incorporated under the more garden-variety name Berkshire Garden Center) now encompasses 24 acres of land and an expansive garden of educational programs and community-building events—not to mention an additional feast for the palette (the French-Berkshire fusion Lost Lamb cafe and teaching kitchen) and a feast for the eyes (the highly acclaimed Leonhardt Galleries).
Celebrating the full scope of BBG’s annual and perennial offerings requires closely reading its Cuttings magazine and extensive website. Still, this Business Monday piece will give you a hummingbird’s-eye overview, alighting on three end-of-season treats—its current art gallery exhibition, the expanded gardens and educational programs, and community celebrations (notably the upcoming Harvest Festival, which concludes the 2023 season). All three amend our local soil with rich resources, connections, inspiration, and knowledge.
In the galleries: Ann Getsinger’s “Garden of Curiosity”
The Anna and Frederick Henry Leonhardt Galleries came about through the 2017 renovation of the historic 18th-century Center House “for the purpose of sharing seasonal exhibitions of artwork inspired by the natural world” (per the website) displayed in three intimate gallery rooms. “The galleries have brought another huge following of visitors who also tour the gardens,” Beck says, noting the beneficial cross-pollination. “Our annual visitor count (locals and from outside Berkshire County) has grown to 30,000 at this point,” he adds.
Getsinger’s exhibit, “The Garden of Curiosity”—named in honor of Hieronymus Bosch’s painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights”—celebrates BBG’s mission as well as Getsinger’s curiosity and joy as an artist exploring the “real and surreal interplay in our relationship to the natural world.” The exhibit, consisting of 50 oil-on-linen paintings, three ceramic sculptures, and a mixed media ‘inventive creature,’ opened last month and will remain open daily (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) through November 19.
In her gallery talk last Friday, Getsinger shared insights into her creative process when painting “Sylvanus” (‘of the forest or woods’) and other works. “I see an object that intrigues me and want to explore it more,” she explained. “Sometimes there’s a tone I hear, like a clear bell sound, that leads me deeper. And then I let my mind wander… It’s so much fun to take reality and see what you can do with it!”
She saw one such “object” while returning to her studio after dinner one evening during her recent artist fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts at Mt. San Angelo. As the sun set over the Blue Ridge mountains, she noticed a “weird green glow” on the horizon and then a white globe emerging on the ground. “A floating ball, a heart, a baby? I didn’t want to know but rather to explore it and see what happened,” she says, adding, “I direct you to the first thing and then invite you to discover — that’s my job.”
As a close observer of nature who lives in intimate relationship with plants and animals, Getsinger creates works of art that “are really works of awe,” encompassing her deep love and respect for the mystery of the dead and the living.
Although she was initially on BBG’s schedule for the 2022 season, the pandemic shutdown pushed all exhibitions off indefinitely. When Matt Larkin, Chair of the Trustees, and Mike Beck visited Getsinger’s New Marlborough studio last fall, they knew the contours of the show would fit perfectly for the Berkshires and the Garden.
Felix Carroll, Director of Marketing Communications, describes the artist’s work as “intricate, meditative, venturesome, challenging, forceful, often odd, and always stunning” and suggests that her art reveals “a profound unity, where everything in the world is intricately connected on both biological and metaphysical levels.” That white globe in the woods changes the surrounding scenery, “challenging familiar perceptions and inviting new discoveries,” Carroll states.
BBG’s ever-evolving gardens…
According to the website, the Garden presently encompasses over 20 acres of land acquired over time, including “woodland areas, meadows, and cultivated areas showcasing native and non-native annuals, perennials, bulbs, shrubs, and trees that thrive in our sometimes challenging growing environment.”
It boasts two dozen different garden areas, including fruit and vegetable production gardens, mixed borders, a pond garden, a rose garden, a cottage garden, and a unique collection of mature topiary. The Horticulture team also oversees three greenhouses (a historic glass conservatory, a polycarbonate production greenhouse, and a passively heated solar greenhouse).
The newest addition to the Garden is the New England Meadow—a 2.5-acre meadow behind the Center House seeded with dominant native plant species that inhibit the growth of invasive species. This ecological showpiece, complete with visitor-friendly meandering paths, allows viewers to cultivate their knowledge and expertise in the ongoing struggle to encourage natives and discourage invaders.
This addition was part of phase one of its comprehensive Master Site Plan, created with the help of a design team from renowned landscape architect Nelson Byrd Woltz. The Garden will share details on the remaining four phases as they begin implementing each one. “We’re very eager to continue this important work,” says Beck, anticipating the exciting transformation of most of the property. “We realized in achieving our Center House renovation that we have a lot of support through private donors, grants, and public funds, which enabled us to be more ambitious in our long-term goals.”
…and ever-expanding educational offerings
Like its recently opened New England Meadow, featuring native species not found elsewhere, BBG’s garden programs offer a rare and elaborate array of classes, lectures, and workshops (most occurring on weekends or weeknights). Awareness of their garden programs—many held in outdoor spaces—spread like chickweed during the pandemic, when locals sheltering in place took advantage of the chance to upgrade their yards and gardens. They now include more varietals than you can imagine—along with Music Monday and Family Friday programming throughout the summer season.
“We have a wonderfully sharing community of design, garden, and farming professionals in our region,” Beck acknowledges, “as well as an organic mix of educators on our staff, all of whom bring their own interests, expertise, and connections.”
Interested in exploring botanical art? There are classes for that, with expert instructors and a supportive community of like-minded students waiting to inspire and encourage you as you develop your botanical artist’s hand. Recent offerings included Fall Foliage Eco-Printing with Maggie Pate, a Black Ash Berry Basket workshop with Penny Hewitt, and Intro to Smartphone Photography with Thaddeus Kubis. Two additional classes are still to come—Creative Composition (October 25) and Petals and Pigment Bundle Dyeing (November 11), where you can create a silk scarf using petals from local flowers and pigments from natural dye extracts.
Into ecology? Join John Howell for a Soil Health and Structure course (October 31 to November 21), enjoy a one-day Canopy Exploration tree-climbing experience (November 4) with Melissa LeVangie Ingersoll and Bear LeVangie of the Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop, or design your own project in the Rooted in Place symposium (November 12) featuring experts in landscape design, community outreach, pollination systems restoration, and farming.
Prefer gardening and horticulture? Join Jenna O’Brien of Viridissima Horticulture & Design for a four-session (weekly from October 3-24) survey of ornamental woody plants used in residential landscape design. Deer Defense, led by Cornell Master Gardener Chris Ferrero, will help you protect your garden using barriers, repellents, and alternative plants.
Able to commit to a four-part, four-season visitation with trees (starting October 28 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon)? Join Melissa LeVangie Ingersoll and Tom Ingersoll to learn how to identify tree species (by their leaves or bark) and understand which trees flower in which season.
Vineyards your thing? J. Stephen Casscles, author of “Grapes of the Hudson Valley”, offers tips on establishing a vineyard in your backyard (November 11).
Health, wellness, and cooking your jam? There are classes that tick those boxes, too—including yoga, meditation, DIY herbal body products, and more. You can explore the ancient Chinese mind-body practice of QiGong this Saturday morning or celebrate your inner harvest with a meditation gathering for the Autumnal Equinox with Sandrine Harris in the evening.
Eager to hop on the homesteading bandwagon? The Garden offers workshops on beekeeping, fermented beverage making, stone masonry, herbs and spices, and even beginning chainsaw skills. It would be hard to imagine anything you can’t explore at the Garden!
A full-on Harvest Festival—for every generation and taste
The BBG’s annual events at the Garden include the Winter Lecture, Plant Sale, Grow Show, Fête des Fleurs garden gala, Ecological Gardening Symposium, and Holiday Marketplace. The oldest and most popular event by far, however, is the Harvest Festival. Launched in 1935 as the Garden’s first fundraising event, it’s widely regarded as the Berkshires’ best-known end-of-season community gathering.
This year’s celebration takes place the weekend of October 7 and 8, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. During these two days, the entire Garden is transformed into a “vibrant hub for the celebration of community, the natural world, and our agricultural heritage.” Come for family-friendly activities, live music, a Barrington Brewery beer garden, and a wide selection of regional food vendors. Overflow parking is abundant, and the atmosphere rivals any Manhattan street fair.
Children’s activities include pony rides, a haunted house, an obstacle course, a hay maze/jump/ride, face painting, and a cider press, plus roving entertainers and a Main Stage line-up featuring Kayla Berone, Luna Fire Faun, StompBoxTrio, Home Body, Katherine Winston, Cierra Fragale, and Tom Knight & Misty Blues.
Wait, there’s more! If shopping is your bliss, you’ll find 50 craft vendors, a giant tag sale (a local favorite for as long as the Garden can remember), and the “Accessorize” pop-up shop, offering upcycled clothing, jewelry, hats, scarves, and housewares. And, of course, there will also be garden books, tools, and plants on sale, as always. Stop by the Horticulture Tent for those, along with spring bulbs, fall mums, and pumpkins galore.
“I usually like to park myself at one of the admissions areas and watch people come in, noting the joy on everyone’s faces, no matter their age,” Beck shares. It’s hard to beat at $10 a ticket (children under 12 are free of charge). Take the kids, the grandkids, the neighbor’s kids—you’ll all come home happier than a glowing Jack O’Lantern.
Visit their website for more information about the incredible bounty at Berkshire Botanical Garden. If you’re interested in lending a hand (or green thumb), click here!
