Stockbridge —The Berkshire Botanical Garden has kicked off its summer season with a unique opportunity for visitors to meet and mingle with the nine local designers and builders who have re-imagined playhouses for this season’s whimsical, wonderful exhibition entitled, “PlayDate: Playhouses in the Garden.” The exhibition, which will be on display through September 24, is geared toward children of all ages and features eleven different iterations on the notion of what makes a playhouse.
“The idea of featuring structures is a play on the Garden’s own capital campaign project underway to restore and renovate its historic Center House,” said Executive Director Mike Beck. “We’ve been in building mode since last fall, and decided to spread the theme of buildings and structures throughout the Garden. I think visitors will be charmed by the level of creativity and skill that our guest craftsmen have brought to this exhibition.” Beck went on to remark, “I’m super excited to have young ones here!”
The subject of this year’s exhibition, not at all by accident, reflects the BBG’s robust youth education programs, long found throughout Berkshire County in local schools; recent expansion on site, including PlayDate, should aid in putting BBG on the proverbial radar for families with young children looking to simultaneously cultivate their interests in all things horticultural and fanciful.
It has become a tradition at BBG to feature a unique installation by local craftsmen and artisans based on a creative theme. Just a few years ago artists were invited to reinvent the humble garden shed; last season featured variations on the theme of a garden bench. This season some of the best Berkshires craftsmen were invited to cast new light on the conventional children’s playhouse in hopes of appealing to families.
The PlayDate structures vary in size and theme, from a medieval fortress-style house, to an outdoor transparent “play room” and an English-style timber framed cottage. Other designs include a tree trunk transformed into a hobbit house, a 19th-century shepherd’s wagon, a teepee-style structure, a sanctuary, and an antique aviary tea party. A permanent
installation at the Garden, the Martha Stewart Cottage, will receive a makeover for the exhibition, transforming the traditional garden cottage into a wild-themed jungle room of ferns and other plants. A total of 12 structures will be included in the exhibition.
Peter Thorne of West Stockbridge had the liveliest play structure, one medieval fortress occupied by his four grandchildren who were on hand from Brooklyn to help celebrate. There was no dampening their spirits, and capes, swords, shields as well as various piece of cardboard armour took center stage as the little ones disappeared behind the impressive black locust slabs of “The Fort.” Robin Berthet of Sheffield, who hails from the south of England, explained the prevalence of the mobile shepherd’s hut, dating back nearly 400 years, which quite literally allowed for a shepherd to move with his flock from pasture to pasture every few days. “It’s supposed to be a screen porch and a potting shed but I got carried away,” he said of the structure that, on Friday, had been fully appointed by Carrie Herrington Home + Design of Hillsdale, N.Y., to serve as a sleeping porch or guest cottage. He divulged that the name, “Lady Chatterly,” reflected his take on a playdate, albeit one for grown-ups.
The Berkshire Botanical Garden is a not-for-profit, membership-supported educational organization encompassing 15 acres of cultivated land at the intersection of Routes 102 and 183 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Called “a glistening community gem” by Virginia Small, author of the book Great Gardens of the Berkshires, the Garden’s mission is to fulfill the community’s need for information, education and inspiration concerning the art and science of gardening and the preservation of our environment. Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at 5 West Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, Mass, and is open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibition is free with Garden admission. PlayDate will remain on display through September 24. For more information, visit www.berkshirebotanical.org or call 413-298-3926.
List of exhibitors
Jeffrey All, Allwoodwork, Spencertown, New York
Keylonta – Creation and Consciousness: The Silent Sanctuary
Sit or lie down on the platform to enjoy the meditative space highlighted by a mirrored panel and plexi-glass rods. The structure could be a small greenhouse by adding shelving.
Berkshire Botanical Garden
Where the Wild Things Are
Originally designed by guest gardener Martha Stewart, this heirloom cottage garden leads you to a wild and wondrous world of plants within, featuring an interior space inspired by BBG’s woodland trail and designed by BBG gardener Lou Kratt.
Robin Berthet, RBC Construction, Inc, Sheffield, Mass.
Lady Chatterley
Made from a design crafted on Google Sketchup, this shepherd’s hut is made of local cedar, mahogany, and locust. The wheels and Chasssis are made by Cattail Foundry, an Amish family run foundry in Lancaster, PA. Interior design by Carrie Herrington.
Bill Cummings, Becket, Mass.
Tree Teepee
Step inside this teepee made of hardwood saplings sheathed with beech branches. This living playhouse serves to inspire you to create a similar structure in your own backyard – let your imagination take hold!
Tamarack Garlow, Canaan, New York
Sometimes the Best Playing is Just Sitting
Is it a chair, a playhouse, or both? Enjoy the Garden view from atop this eastern red cedar chair and then hunker down under its rough-cut pine seat to enter the special space below.
Michael King, MPK Design, Sheffield, MA
Living from the Outside In
This outdoor “room” is designed to provide both refuge and transparency for all ages. Over time, it can also be transformed from playhouse to greenhouse to storage facility.
Matt Larkin, Black Barn Farm, Richmond, Mass.
Antique Aviary Tea Party
This circa 1880s wrought iron antique bird cage invites both songbirds and children into its space. Join the tea party created out of a whimsical approach to including repurposed elements, both manmade and made by nature.
Clarke Olsen, Clarke Olsen Design, Spencertown, N.Y.
Cubitation
Step inside, see what’s outside. This wood, glass, and mirrored structure invites a retrospective approach to viewing the surrounding Garden.
Peter Thorne, West Stockbridge, MA
Come and Get Me
Inspired by the designer’s own childhood imaginings of a medieval fortress, this structure is made from strong and durable black locust slabs is indeed fortified and ready for battle.
Allen Timmons, Backyard Heirlooms, Great Barrington, MA
The Cottage for Kids
All six different sections of this structure are built of recycled cedar fence and stained with environmentally safe latex stains, providing a colorful, and especially “green” space for children.
Allen Timmons, Backyard Heirlooms, Great Barrington, MA
The Grownup Hobbit House
For the hobbit in all of us, a place for meditation and relaxation. This hollowed out giant white pine was hand carved, debarked, sanded, and treated with marine polyurethane. Roof is native white pine with red cedar shakes.
