General Meeting

Lee Buttala, Speaker:  The Return of the Species

Our gardens serve more than our aesthetic needs; they serve as ecological landscapes that support wildlife, pollinators, and the genetic diversity of plant species. Our speaker Lee Buttala will discuss how an array of cultivars and seed-grown plants will help our gardens preserve the breadth and adaptability of the plants they contain — providing a long season of sustenance for local wildlife.  Our gardens may preserve not only native plants but species from afar — including cherished heirloom varieties of perennials, annuals and shrubs as well as the species themselves, all the while inspiring us with their beauty.

Lee Buttala is a writer and organizational consultant. He is the former Executive Director of Seed Savers’ Exchange, an organization dedicated to preserving America’s agricultural and garden heritage, an Emmy-Award winning producer of Martha Stewart Living and Martha Gardens, and the creator, director and producer of Cultivating Life, a PBS series focused on outdoor living and gardening.  Lee has written for The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, New York, and Garden Design. He was also an editor at Alfred A Knopf, Interview, and Metropolitan Home, a program manager at New York City’s Park Council and the Garden Conservancy. and is the author of two books: The Seed Garden and Cultivating Life. He currently lives in the Berkshires where he is the Chair of his town’s Select Board. He writes regular columns for the Berkshire Edge and the Edible Berkshires. He is also a founding member of the board of Hollister House Garden in Washington, CT.

https://theberkshireedge.com/author/lbuttala/