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Kaliis Smith and Monte Belmonte.
The Fabulous 413

Famous botanical amalgams

By Monte Belmonte,
Kaliis Smith
Published June 1, 2023 at 6:34 AM EDT
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A person walks the stone path among several plants
1 of 8  — Berkshire Botanical Garden: Herb Garden
The newly redesigned herb garden at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens
Kaliis Smith / New England Public Media
Emily Brewster of Merriam-Webster, with her official title
2 of 8  — Emily Brewster, with her official title
Emily Brewster of Merriam-Webster, with her official title
Kaliis Smith / New England Public Media
Berkshire botanical garden staff with the hosts of the Fab 413
3 of 8  — Berkshire Botanical Garden
(from left) Director of Horticulture Eric Ruquist, Monte Belmonte, Kaliis Smith, and executive director Thaddeus Thompson at Berkshire Botanical Gardens
Tony Dunne / New England Public Media
4 of 8  — Give Amazon points for making Harrison Ford's increasingly curmudgeonly style look charming.
Amazon YouTube
A small cove under a large tree
5 of 8  — Berkshire Botanical Gardens: Weeping Hemlock
The weeping hemlock, "Grandfather tree" at Berkshire Botanical Gardens
Kaliis Smith / New England Public Media
A hedge cut in the shape of a turkey beside a trellis
6 of 8  — Berkshire botanical garden topiary
A turkey topiary at the Berkshire Botanical Garden
Kaliis Smith / New England Public Media
The 700 European Hornbeam plants that will become the new labyrinth at Berkshire Botanical Garden
7 of 8  — Berkshire Botanical Gardens: 700 plants
The 700 European Hornbeam plants that will become the new labyrinth at Berkshire Botanical Garden
Kaliis Smith / New England Public Media
two people stand in front of two walls covered with hanging planters
8 of 8  — Berkshire Botanical Garden: Green Wall
Executive director of the Berkshire Botanical Garden, Thaddeus Thompson (left) with Monte Belmonte by the "green wall" in its Center House.
Kaliis Smith / New England Public Media

Hidden gems are always fun to find.

There's cool things to discover in our very language itself. Emily Brewster, resident wordster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster in Springfield, helps us delve into the conflict ridden marriage of German and French that ultimately resulted in the modern English Language. The Battle of Hastings is very involved, but your dinner might be also.

We encounter gorgeous flora at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens. Nestled in Stockbridge, spring finds the grounds literally bursting with life, and new projects to bring more plantlife to western Massachusetts. Executive director Thaddeus Thompson and director of horticulture Eric Ruquist speak with us on the new things they've got planned, the problems climate change is posing, and reveal some of the hidden surprises found among their 24 acres.

And perhaps there's a famous face in the crowd that gets noticed. Which is what happened this weekend during Amherst College's commencement where several folx spotted Harrison Ford in the wild. So we ask you what celebrity you've encountered in the 413, and share some of our own as well.

**Please note: there is humor regarding death within our talk at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens

Tags
The Fabulous 413 ARTS & CULTUREWESTERN MASSACHUSETTSAGRICULTUREEDUCATIONHIGHER EDUCATIONMERRIAM-WEBSTERCONSERVATIONCLIMATE CHANGE
Monte Belmonte
Christopher “Monte'' Belmonte is host and executive producer of NEPM's The Fabulous 413. He was born and raised in Massachusetts and has been a radio host in western Massachusetts for the last 20 years — the last 17 of them as host of Mornings with Monte on The River 93.9/WRSI.
See stories by Monte Belmonte
Kaliis Smith
Kaliis Smith is a radio host and producer for NEPM's The Fabulous 413. She was most recently host and producer at The River 93.9/WRSI where she appeared on Mornings with Monte for the Nerdwatch segment and hosted weekday evenings.
See stories by Kaliis Smith