Fundamentals of Pruning (Webinar)
Learn the fundamentals of pruning in this online lecture and demonstration. Enjoy it as a refresher or, if new to it, gain the confidence to know what, how, and when to prune. Whether you’ve attempted to prune in the past with unsuccessful results, or you've been afraid to prune because you're not sure if you'll damage your plants, you’ll leave this lecture far more confident. We'll discuss appropriate tools, timing, goals, and techniques that will assist you in your pruning projects.
Perennial polycultures aim to grow useful plants together in a way that minimizes competition and maximizes cooperation. They include functional species to fix nitrogen, to serve as groundcover, and to attract pollinators and other beneficial insects. Perennial crops providing fruit, nuts, and vegetables anchor such designs. This workshop will review best practices for perennial polyculture design, introduce a palette of species suited to Maine, and allow participants to design sample polycultures.
In this online lecture, Shawn Jalbert, nurseryman and plant propagator at Native Haunts, will share the tricks to sowing, growing, and collecting the seeds of our native perennials, plants that thrive in woodlands or any shade-garden setting. He’ll discuss the ecologically responsible and effective ways to grow native plants from seed, resulting in a healthy, green living carpet that can operate as a long-term, cost-effective, and low-maintenance mulch.
Soil, compost, and mulches are fundamental elements for the garden, but it’s easy to become confused, overwhelmed, or unsure about what’s what. Mark Hutchinson, Soil and Compost Educator at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, will discuss these elements, addressing in-ground and above-ground applications. Mark will provide an overview of proper selection of manufactured soil blends, mulches, and amendments and cover the basics of the soil chemistry and biology that determine the need for specified amendments.
In this webinar, Gary Fish, Maine’s State Horticulturist, will introduce and discuss common pests, including noxious to invasive insects, blights, rusts, diseases, and deficiencies. This class is geared toward those who aren’t necessarily scientists, but who thoroughly enjoy gardening and want to learn the symptoms and signs of infestation as well as prevention and management strategies. Students are welcome to e-mail pictures of specific plant concerns in advance of class to the class host, 
Climate change is already impacting gardens, but how we garden can also impact climate change for good or for ill. We will look at projected changes to Maine’s climate and those gardening strategies we can employ to adapt to the new “normal.” We will also look at how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our gardens, from fertilizers to rototilling, and techniques to remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in our soils and in living perennial biomass.
Ornamental grasses can add so much to a garden setting, whether in meadow restoration or to blend colors or add textural and structural accents to perennial gardens. Join Syretha Brooks, gardener and garden designer, for this interactive slideshow and learn more about the diverse selection of safe, non-native and native grasses to consider for your landscape. Syretha will offer management suggestions and habits for the species presented. Students also have the option to 
Prepare for a mindful gardening season by beginning or refreshing your understanding of horticulture. This introductory course will cover a wide variety of horticultural topics important for home gardeners to consider when growing and managing plants on any scale. Subjects will range from the theoretical to the practical, beginning with scientific foundations such as plant nomenclature, biology and ecology, pollination, and propagation. Other topics will include applied and artistic practices exploring plant selection, cultivation, and installation of new plants.
Witness the seasonal evolution of the Burpee Kitchen Garden. Filled with edibles and floral accents, the garden’s wares range from arugula to zinnia, itty-bitty seedlings to 12-foot stalks. Diane Walden, the Burpee Kitchen Garden’s designer and tender, will share her favorite garden occupants. In this unconventional kitchen/cutting garden, you'll discover new and unusual selections as well as the classics, whether planted in-ground or in containers, vertically trained with tuteurs.
There’s something powerful about herbs; whether it’s their scent, taste, or long therapeutic history, growing them successfully at home is especially fulfilling. Herbs also lend something special to any garden design, particularly curly parsley, sage, basil, and rosemary. In this class, we’ll cover common herbs as well as the often-overlooked like chervil and chamomile. Join Irene Barber, HTR, horticulturist and Horticultural Therapist, in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses to learn more about using herbs in garden design as well as tips for management, harvest, and recipe ideas.
For shade gardens, a wide variety of planting options exist featuring amazing texture, foliar color, and bright floral accents. In fact, some of the most fragrant flowers prefer the cooler temperatures shade offers. CMBG’s Dan Robarts, horticulturist and grower, and Andy Brand, Curator of Living Collections, will take you through our extensive shade gardens, pointing out the classics as well as the unusual perennials, their characteristics, habits, and cultural preferences. Come with your curiosity and leave inspired!
Let’s grow up! In this fun, innovative container-garden class, we’ll plant mini vertical gardens that can be mounted on a fence, a stone wall, an exterior wall, or against a post. Let us supply the plants and planting materials while you select which plants you’d like in your vertical garden. Registrants will be asked to choose between sun-loving succulents or shade-loving ferns and foliage plants. After registering, contact 
Garden designer Jen Dunlap creates dynamic and texturally driven designs that build upon traditional container gardens. Join her on a tour of the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden where she’ll provide the details of various container garden plant combinations. She’ll offer insight into her compositions and demonstrate the tricks to planting in various types and sized containers. From the small to the very large, Jen will leave you comfortable no matter what the scale of your container garden project.
While sun gardens tend to feature lots of color, there’s more to know about sun-loving perennials: their seasonal performance, structural habits, and bountiful pollinators. In this class, horticulturist Brent McHale will highlight sunny perennials that perform at different times of the growing season, how to distinguish among similar species, and explain different subcategories to help you make proper selections for your garden. 
From arbors to pergolas, toolsheds to tea-houses, outdoor landscape structures can add function and aesthetic interest to any property. Karl Alamo, horticulturist and landscape architect, will take students through the Gardens, pointing out the design and structural elements that serve as storage, entry points, and sanctuary. Discussion will include green roofs, sustainable materials, and architectural choices. This class will outline what choices you can make to help you create artful and functional garden features.
Join horticulturalist Lesley Paxson in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses as she introduces you to our new Medicinal Plant Garden. Before modern medicine, we looked to the natural world to heal the body and mind. By looking through the lens of three populations, Indigenous Peoples of Maine, European settlers, and traditional Eastern cultures, we will explore the new garden’s plantings. We will compare and contrast the different uses and philosophies associated with these important plants. We will also take a stroll through the Lerner Garden and discover the healing powers of some common backyard garden plants.
Join horticulturist Jennifer Dunlap and Youth and Family Coordinator, Erika Huber, for a detailed tour of the plants, features, and activities that make an effective children’s garden. Jen and Erika know first-hand the wants and want-nots of a children’s garden, and they’ll share insider knowledge regarding the plants that serve as aesthetic, educational, and fun features, including edibles and good ingredient and activity plants. Discussion will include how water, soil, planting activities, creative features, and living creatures all play a part in the make-up of an unforgettable children’s garden.
In this outdoor class, permaculture landscaper Justin Nichols will offer a new perspective on common weeds. Illustrating that truly “one person’s trash is another’s treasure,” many consider weeds valuable medicinal, edible, and ecological plants that can tell a story about surrounding soil conditions. Of course, there are also those that can be a nuisance. In this class, Justin will share weed-related wisdom, guiding participants in identifying, recognizing, and then approaching these gardening questions—nuisance or nutrient?—from a more informed perspective.
Join horticulturists Diane Walden and Brent McHale on a tour of their container garden designs in the Burpee Kitchen Garden, the Arbor Garden, and the Great Lawn. Learn about the different styles on display, from the organized to the whimsical, the bold to the muted, and the minimalistic to the complex. Diane and Brent will describe the plant varieties providing those stylistic differences and how plant placement can affect the design and overall management throughout the summer.
This registration is for the online event. Please note: both online and 
Abra Lee is a national speaker, writer, and owner of 
In this class, Courtney Locke, bulb grower and Staff Horticulturist, will discuss the world of bulbs beyond tulips and daffodils. Although the latter are beautiful and deserve attention, there are many varieties that bloom later into the summer and fall. Aconites, Camassia, and fall crocus are just a few that will be featured. Courtney will take you on an online visual journey; learn how to landscape with these bulbs, including naturalizing or gardening within an ornamental border, and how to manage bulb species over time—most bulbs are perennials, perfect partners in sustainable gardening.
Seeds are miracles of the plant world – a lot of power packed into a small case that sustains nature’s biodiversity. Former horticulturist and lead propagator of Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary and native seed specialist, Leslie Duthie, will guide students through the process of growing meadow plants from seed. Whether you’d like to convert a lawn into a mini meadow-scape, diversify an existing field, or start a large-scale meadow from scratch, Leslie will share the secrets of making meadows succeed. Using the palette of the Gardens’ naturalized areas, discussion will include seed collection, storage, and plant selection as pertaining to the environmental conditions of a setting.
Join dahlia lover and horticulturist Courtney Locke to learn the best methods for growing these stunning gems. We’ll cover all aspects of locating, planting, and growing dahlia tubers, including purchasing, site planning, soil preparation, staking, feeding, pest protection, and (finally!) cutting and enjoying these sumptuous flowers. Learn how to identify the parts of a tuber, the different types of dahlia flower forms, and determine the best fit for your garden. As CMBG’s official dahlia grower, Courtney knows first-hand the exceptional cultivars that produce the jaw-dropping blooms that are truly worth the wait.
In this panel presentation, four CMBG horticulturists will review their top five perennials, from longtime favorites to new darlings from the 2021 growing season. With so many beautiful perennials at CMBG, each showing off unique foliage, flowers, structure, and wildlife benefits at various times of the year, it’s difficult to choose which ones to feature—but these top-20 are a good place to start!
Choosing native plants for your landscape should be fun and creative, not daunting or complicated! When you consider plants in simple groupings, or guilds, it becomes a lot easier to design a landscape with appealing texture, color, and wildlife value throughout the seasons. Native plant guilds draw inspiration from naturally occurring plant communities in habitats like coastal plains, forests, wetlands, or mountain tops. Leave this introductory webinar inspired, with plant lists for various light and soil conditions or landscape functions and the tools necessary for selecting your own plants for beauty and biodiversity.
Whether designing one garden or several, the first step is to understand the history and significance of garden design before diving into its fundamentals. Irene Barber, landscape designer and the Gardens’ Adult Education Program Manager, will introduce students to garden themes from different cultures and civilizations, all of which relate to the principles and elements of design relevant today.
Geography and cultural history are pertinent factors for decisions made in garden design, particularly in New England’s unique and diverse landscapes, from river valleys to rolling fields to narrow, rocky corridors. Students will understand how to establish a sense of place and belonging, wherever their prospective garden is to be located. No matter what cultural elements and influences you want to incorporate, this class will help you get creative while staying true to a sense of place.
Whether as a refresher or a first foray into pruning, students gain confidence in this workshop and demonstration covering pruning fundamentals. Learn to know what, how, and when to prune, even if you’ve attempted it in the past with unsuccessful results, or you've been too afraid to try for fear of damaging your plants. We'll discuss appropriate tools, timing, goals, and techniques to assist you in your dormant pruning projects. Demonstrations will include fruit trees, berry bushes, some semi-herbaceous, and cover the timing for shrubs such as lilacs, rhododendron, and more.
Beginning a base plan for a plan-view design of your garden may not be the most exciting part of the process, but it is an all-important one! Join us as we discuss everything from how and what to measure for a new garden to translating that information into a scaled drawing on paper. Once a base plan is established, the designer can get creative, tracing over it until they are happy with (and excited about!) their design, the topic of discussion in the next class: Dreams to Design. Students will be responsible for their own design materials, supply list available upon registration.
In this panel presentation, four CMBG horticulturists will review their top five annuals, from longtime favorites to new darlings from the 2021 growing season. With so many beautiful annuals at CMBG, each showing off unique foliage, flowers, and structure, it’s difficult to choose which ones to feature—but these top-20 are a good place to start!
Soils, mulches, and amendments are fundamental for growing plants successfully indoors or out, but it’s easy to become confused, overwhelmed, or unsure. In this webinar, we’ll review what’s what, addressing in-ground and above-ground applications pertinent to vegetable, woodland, or container gardens. We’ll also discuss the variety of manufactured soil and soilless blends, mulches, amendments like composts and mineral additives, the basics of the soil chemistry and biology, and making sustainable choices.
