A taste of spring at the annual bulb show

The Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge is offering the perfect solution to the winter doldrums with its annual Bulb Show, beginning Feb. 20. Depending on how long the bulbs bloom, the show is estimated to run until about March 20.

Inside the Fitzpatrick Conservatory, hundreds of tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths will be waiting to give visitors a welcome taste of spring.

Some rarer blooms to look for are the “Hoop Petticoat Daffodil” (Narcissus bulbocodium) and three from South Africa: “African Corn Flag” (Chasmanthe bicolor), “Fairy Bells” (Melasphaerula ramosa) and “Forest Lily” (Veltheimia bracteata).

Preparation for the bulb show begins in summer, when bulbs are chosen and ordered. They are planted in fall and then spend about 15 weeks at temperatures simulating winter.

Eric Ruquist, director of horticulture at BBG, explained. “We have
two small, air-conditioned rooms, or CoolBots, in the basement. We pull out our pots of bulbs in three stages. The first pull was Feb. 7, and since we didn’t get too much sun last week, they are off to a bit of a slow start, but they are all budded up and I’m sure we will have blooming bulbs for our opening day.”

A point of interest besides the blooms is the display of succulents. Ruquist said to look for “hens and chicks, aloes, agave and sedum.”

“The Bulb Show is BBG’s gift to the community,” Ruquist said. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. Multiple visits are encouraged to enjoy a range of blooms.

Berkshire Botanical Garden is located at 5 W. Stockbridge Road, Stockbridge, Massachusetts.