Museum presents garden talks

HOLYOKE Get out your trowels and seeds. Wistariahurst Museum Gardeners & Western Mass. Gardeners Association continues the series of garden talks presented by highly regarded Master Gardeners and experts on the last Saturday of each month from 10:30 a.m.-noon. Donation of $5 will support garden restoration projects at Wistariahurst.

The next talk will be held June 24 from 10:30 a.m-noon with Tom Clark, Gardens Supervisor at Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden. This talk will be on new and underutilized plants and will include trees, shrubs and perennials.

Clark is responsible for many gardens on Mount Holyoke College campus in which grow a tremendous wealth of trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs. He coordinated the international seed exchange and propagates hundreds of plants each year from around the world. He received his bachelors degree in plant and soil sciences and a minor in botany at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1992. He studied for a year at Threave School of Horticulture in Scotland, and also took part in internships at Inverewe Gardens and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, both in Scotland. He worked as the Plant Evaluation Assistant at Chicago Botanic Garden and has been on the staff of the Hadley Garden Center since 1985. He has worked at Mount Holyoke College since 1994.

July 17-Garden Workshop 1-3 p.m. Wearable Garden Art, with Master Gardener Diane Willitts. Join us in the gardens for a hands-on workshop involving the use of plants as artists' tools. Participants will create their own wearable garden art and leave with their own decorative t-shirts and the know-how to design using a garden as their palette. Pre-registration is required; an additional materials fee will be asked of all participants. Cost is $15 per person.

Join the Wistariahurst Gardeners every Tuesday morning from 9 a.m.-noon. No experience necessary. Work gloves and tools will be provided. Restoration plans of the Wistariahurst Gardens have begun. The gardens and landscape tell an important part of the historical and cultural story at Wistariahurst. The restoration project will not only improve the grounds but also give volunteers the opportunity to work with Master Gardeners to learn more about their own garden projects. The Holyoke Wistariahurst Gardeners primary goal is educational and enjoyment of gardening.

Wistariahurst Museum is a designated National Historic Landmark that offers a lively array of programs, exhibits, concerts, that offer insight into the history and cultural expressions of the people of Holyoke and her surrounding communities. The museum is open to the public Saturday, Sunday and Monday afternoons from noon-4 p.m. For more information or a schedule of other upcoming events, the website is www.Wistariahurst.org or call 322-5660.