STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Berkshire Botanical Garden is a 24-acre botanical garden that showcases horticulture and garden design through its dozens of displays.

Starting May 1 the garden's grounds are open daily from 9 until 5 daily. Visitors can roam the grounds freely with no duration limit, but the average visitor often spends approximately two hours exploring.

The garden's mission is to educate and inspire the art and science of gardening and preserve the local environment.

This not-for-profit, membership-supported organization offers classes, lectures, workshops, and exhibits year-round. It also provides online educational programs and is on campus year-round.

The garden holds annual events including winter lectures, a plant sale, "Grow Show," Fête des Fleurs garden gala, a harvest festival, the Rooted in Place Ecological Gardening Symposium, and a holiday marketplace.

From May through October, guests are welcome to bring food and drinks or purchase refreshments at the Garden Shop in the visitor center.

Seating is available throughout the garden, and many paths are accessible for people with disabilities. Wheelchairs are available when reserving in advance by calling 413-320-4794.

For more information on Berkshire Botanical Garden, visit the site.

Some History: 

The garden is the oldest public garden in the Northeast. It was established in 1934 by a group of local garden clubs and civic associations who leased the parcel of land from Bernhard and Irene Hoffman.

The group hired horticulturist Kenneth Simpson of Lenox to run the garden. His efforts and donations from other botanical gardens, including the New York Botanical Garden, brought the garden to national attention.

The garden held the first harvest festival in 1935 as a fundraising event, and since then, it has become one of the best-known end-of-season community gatherings in Berkshire County.

The organization gained its non-profit corporation charter in 1936 and the Hoffmans donated most of the 15 acres and the 1770 farmhouse, now known as the Center House, soon after.

The Herb Garden, built in 1937 by landscape architect Edward F. Belches, is still on display today. It is the garden's oldest existing area. During World War II, it expanded its education reach by establishing a Victory garden and informing families how to grow their own vegetables and fruits. The garden also offered classes on canning, freezing, and winter storage. This earned the garden a National Victory Garden Institute Award in 1946.