May 29, 2025: In Blooms

The Fabulous 413

May is often when we think about the growing things.

Including our youth, as they are our future, as they dance into new horizons in the School for Contemporary Thought’s first narrative work: Wonderland. We speak with the director, Jen Polins, about the company members blooming into the plotlines in their pre-professional company The Hatchery, and the importance of inspiring young dancers to take up more space.

Also private gardens are being opened to the public are being opened to the public. The Garden Conservancy is holding Open Gardens this week and next where many beautifully cultivated landscapes across western Mass, and the country, will be available for folx to peruse and enjoy. We’ll chat with Greenfield gardeners Elise and Laura Schlaikyer, and Sarah Chadwick, Regional Ambassador for Western Massachusetts at The Garden Conservancy, about this event which may inspire you to get your hands dirty, and how the non-profit collaborates with gardening organizations across the US, including the Greenfield Garden Club.

Plus, we speak to gardner, witchy folklorist and author Varla Ventura about her latest book, “Enchanted Plants: A Treasury of Botanical Folklore and Magic,” before her event on May 31 at the South Hadley Public Library. We discuss the interesting tales the plants have to tell and the poison garden she raises at home.