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In this two-part online class, we will introduce, review, and practice the art of kitchen garden design. Kitchen garden designer, grower, and author, Ellen Ecker-Ogden, will feature a number of different designs and concepts to inspire you, then explain cultural considerations, artful elements, and plant selection. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.
Once we have the conceptual ideas narrowed down to one or two general schematics of our garden spaces, we can start shaping them with program and structure. Structure and movement consist of more than a row of shrubs, a fence, a path or a wall at your property line – this is how you shape a space, create a sense of enclosure, and lead the eye to landscape destinations. This online lecture and demonstration will identify features and design principles captured initially on trace layers, which will ensure both pragmatic and inspirational function in our gardens. After this class, students will feel empowered to practice on the personal project that will help them prepare for the next class, Garden Design: Details in the Layers. Upon registration, students will receive a list of supplies recommended to pursue their own design project.
Practice your skills and learn more about the plants to prune during certain times of the year with Gardens Horticulturists Irene Barber and Brent McHale. In this hands-on workshop, we'll discuss the variety of pruning methods and techniques needed depending on plant setting, plant health, and any desired goals. Students will have the opportunity to use different tools during the workshop, learning when and how to use them properly as well as how to maintain them for optimal long-term performance.
Join us for an online panel presentation featuring 20 plants that attract winged companions like the birds, native butterflies, moths, and flying insects that are essential to our ecosystems. Many of the plants we’ll discuss are found in forests, fields, and other natural ecosystems, wonderful species for gardens and rewilding. Staff horticulturists Lesley Paxson, Alicia Miller, and Brent McHale will share their favorites, perfect for your gardens or wild spaces. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.
Thursdays, April 13 & 20, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
In this two day class, delve deeply into the art of graphite drawing. Using simple botanical subjects, this virtual class will give students confidence in accurately depicting various fruits and vegetables. Using a light source and three-dimensional armature and an emphasis on highlights, mid-tones, and shadow areas, artists will develop an understanding of concave and convex shapes. Students will complete a three-part series of drawings, line, armature, and full tonal graphite drawing. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.
Friday, April 14 & Saturday, April 22 | Soil is a living matrix of chemical and biological interactions, and a fundamental understanding of soil science is critical when selecting well-adapted native plants or choosing amendments needed by native plant communities. This two-day, hybrid class for the ecologically-minded grower, will discuss soil texture, chemistry, water-holding capacity, the biologically diverse life in the soil, and how these dynamic relationships can affect a plant’s health.
In this class at the Gardens, we’ll look at the palette and plant choices that coordinate with the structure and movement of our design space(s), along with personal and environmental considerations. Using a base plan, we’ll focus on implementing the layers of details, from ground to canopy, onto layers of trace paper. By constructing your physical garden’s layers on layered drafts of trace paper, it’s easier to avoid becoming overwhelmed, and before you know it, your dream design is intact! Upon registration, students will receive a list of supplies needed to pursue their own design project and to use during this class.
Are you interested in growing hydrangeas in your garden? Or maybe your hydrangeas aren’t performing as well as you'd like? Join this online presentation with Horticulturalist Courtney Locke as she provides a thorough overview of the many different types of hydrangeas and how to successfully grow them for bountiful blossoms and sturdy structure.
Growing plants can be truly fulfilling, yet at times a bit overwhelming. Both new and seasoned gardeners constantly experience successes and challenges and realize learning curves along the way. In an effort to reduce some costly or aggravating trial-and-error, join us for some guidance and insight into horticulture. This class will provide practical information about sustainable gardening and will include an overview of plant biology, adaptation, habit, and cultivation. We’ll discuss soils, pesky problems, environmental and ecological factors, low-input management, and much more. The goal of this two-part online class is to help all plant lovers feel more confident in growing plants successfully, sustainably, and in abundance. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.
Plants interact with their garden environments, from abiotic influences like temperature, pH, humidity, and sunlight, to biotic influences like other plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and even humans. In this two-day hybrid class, learn how plants adapt, compete, and depend on these influences, and get familiar with concepts like parasitism, pollination, plant adaptation, and dispersal.
Celebrate Arbor Day with this field-study class highlighting the value of our northeastern forests. Maine's macro- and micro-climatic regions consist of a wide assortment of deciduous and coniferous species valuable to thousands of living organisms. Learn how to identify many of Maine's trees, the history of its forests, and silvaculture and climate-adaptive species. Students will leave with a native tree seedling to plant.
Whether you’re working on a new garden design or revising an existing one, this class at the Gardens will address both the large-scale process and the detailed specifics of your design. After a brief recap of the design process to ensure comprehension and strengthen the core intent of our designs, we’ll address how to merge the layers of design details, ensuring legibility is maintained. In this collaborative workshop, students will be able to present their design projects, exchange constructive feedback and discuss the means for making the design come to fruition. In this final installment of our series, students should come prepared with a design project they’ve been working on, no matter the stage. Upon registration, students will receive a list of supplies needed to pursue their design projects and to use during class.
Meet in-person at the Gardens for this introduction to the Botanical Arts Certificate Program. Our program offers a broad palette of botanically inspired classes. Enrolled students select courses that suit their interests and work toward a final project. Learn about this program and its classes, and decide if this creative curriculum inspires you. New and current students should enroll in the orientation. The fee is $25 dollars for new enrollees; those previously enrolled do not have to pay a fee, just sign up as a current student.
Thursdays, May 4, 11, 18, & 25, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
In a continuation of Form & Texture with Graphite Part I, students will further develop understanding and application of graphite to more complex natural subjects. By using pineapples, pine cones, the interior of a pepper, and so on, students will develop their skills, including working on rendering different pigments in greyscale. Explore the tonal quality and textural differences between the papery skin of a garlic and the deep, dark shine of an eggplant. Learn to translate multi-colored subjects into tonal values, all while maintaining form and perspective. This class will meet via Zoom from 9:30-11:30 on May 4, 11, 18, and 25. Pre-requisite: Suggested as a continuation of Form and Texture with Graphite Part I. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.
Deepening your connection to nature through moving meditation offers enormous benefits for personal well-being. In this gentle class, experience how the simple practice of walking mindfully through a forest can provide deep serenity. By engaging with all five senses, we enhance awareness and presence. Follow Susan Bickford, certified guide in the ancient Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku, or forest therapy/forest bathing, as she gives you the tools to begin your own meditation practice. The walk ends with a tea ceremony.
Monday-Wednesday, May 8-10, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Do you LOVE lush floral design and the dramatic still life paintings of the Dutch masters? Celebrate spring blooms in the Gardens in this three-day workshop. On day one, Mimi and Mum Floral design will present several large, extraordinary arrangements to serve as models for students to paint from, discuss their process, and offer a few tricks to make flowers appear open and showy. Then, we’ll focus our studies on individual flowers so that students can learn to paint these beautiful, complex forms with confidence. Come learn from and be inspired by the 17th-century Dutch flower painting technique, and learn the history behind this historical method. Materials list will be made available upon registration.
Friday, May 12 & Saturday, May 20 | With a core understanding of plant biology, working with plants takes on a whole new meaning and helps the gardener answer so many questions. Through discussion, lecture, and hands-on lab work, this class begins with basic plant anatomy, exploring how every aspect of the organism works together to sustain photosynthesis, respiration, and water and mineral uptake.
Ever wondered what wildlife is living in your backyard? In our seasonal series of field-study classes (register separately for each), participants ages 14-adult will learn more about the creatures that live in or around their garden, looking for shelter, food, and water. Join us in mid-spring for the first class and see spring animal-activity first-hand, an experience that will provide deeper insight into and appreciation for their roles in the ecosystem, better informing us how humans and wildlife can live together more harmoniously. With the return of spring, our wildlife awakens and begins actively foraging, preparing to find mates, establishing new homes, and more. In this session, we’ll focus on resident and migratory birds, amphibians and reptiles, and which mammals are active and evident this time of year.
In this hands-on garden crafting class, students will learn everything there is to know about living willow structures: where they are used, how to make them, and the variety of willow species to use. Alicia Miller, CMBG Horticulturist and willow structure designer, will guide you through the process of planting a potted harlequin braided willow tree that you'll be able to take home and grow for many years. We ask that students bring their own clippers and garden gloves. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.
The Earth’s natural systems are in crisis, both globally and closer to home in our region. Despite decades of efforts, conventional conservation efforts have not succeeded in turning the tide of many indicators of ecological decline. At the same time, recent years have seen a renewed and growing movement to shift conservation narratives to include the leadership of Wabanaki (Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, and Penobscot) people, while also working to address the ongoing dispossession of Wabanaki people from their home. Join us for an exceptional evening in dialogue with six Wabanaki leaders as, together, they discuss the interconnections of land, culture, and Indigenous sovereignty in bringing the work of healing and repair into the place we now call Maine, and which was first, and still is, Wabanaki homeland.
Speakers include: Nolan Altvater, Passamaquoddy; Suzanne Greenlaw, Maliseet; Jennifer Neptune, Penobscot; Richard Silliboy, Mi’kmaq Nation; Donald Soctomah, Passamaquoddy and moderated by Darren Ranco, Ph.D., Penobscot
100% of proceeds from registrations from this program will go to the Wabanaki Self-Determination Fund.
Wednesday, May 17, Saturday, July 8, & Wednesday, September 13 | Presented in three parts, native plant expert Dan Jaffe-Wilder will introduce students to a wide variety of native perennials to use in a number of garden settings. Class sessions during May, July, and September will feature native plants and an overview of an extensive range of seasonally-relevant perennials. Discussion during online lecture and in-person field-study will include how to select the right plant for the right place in the right combination, cultivation variables, choosing plants for their ecological role, specialized garden communities, aesthetics, propagation, and proper plant procurement.
Every other Thursday, May 18-October 5, 7-9 a.m.
The Photography Club meets every other Thursday morning from 7-9 a.m., beginning May 18 and ending October 5. Club dues are $25.00 for the entire season, as long as you're a member of the Gardens. Enjoy having the whole of our campus to yourself for two hours before we open to the public, and capture the morning light and mingle with your fellow photographers.
Tuesday & Wednesday, May 23 & 24, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Visiting Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens offers sensory stimulation and inspires personal reflection. In this two-day workshop, students will draw on CMBG gems like the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses, the Alfond Children's Garden, and the Vayo Meditation Garden in order to explore the dynamic space of sight/insight. Both days will be devoted to creating new, expressive forms in poetry and book arts. Day one will begin with a paperback accordion book to be used as a journal, then we’ll venture into the Gardens. Students will write about both what’s in front of them and what that experience of seeing brings up in the memory. On day two, we’ll experiment with collage. After lunch, we’ll construct a single-sheet diorama book. As the day closes, students will have the opportunity to appreciate one another's work with a round-table exhibit and reading.
Friday, May 26 & Saturday, June 3 | Learn how Maine’s native plants behave in their natural habitats. Guided by ecologist Ted Elliman, this comprehensive, two-day hybrid course will introduce students to Maine's plant communities, their defining physical environments, the plants living in them, and the natural processes affecting them. Online discussion and hands-on field work will evaluate the variety of plant communities throughout Maine and how this information influences your gardening choices.
Tuesday-Thursday, May 30-June 1, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Come out and enjoy painting in the best studio ever, the great outdoors! In spring, the Gardens offers joyous inspiration, sparking creativity after a long winter with daffodils, tulips and budding trees. Via both group instruction and putting skills to work in the Gardens, class will focus on watercolor techniques and learning what creates a good composition. Students can expect demonstrations as well as time to work independently, with plenty of instructor feedback. Though open to all levels, students will benefit from having some basic knowledge of painting with watercolor prior to these workshops. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.
Whether you live in an apartment building, on a suburban lot, or on a rural property, this class will address the opportunities everyone has for composting at home. Instead of adding to the food waste that makes up 1/3 of America's trash, you can learn how to effectively turn it into a treasure, whether the method is indoor vermiculture or outdoor bins or piles. Join Don Morrison, Master Gardener and compost aficionado, to learn about the different methods, containers, and materials that both accommodate your lifestyle and successfully compost food waste and garden debris. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.
From small bellflowers to 8" wide star blossoms, clematis can show off a wide variety of colorful ornamental flowers throughout the growing season. Grow clematis vines for vertical interest or as groundcover that naturally interweaves with plant companions. Clematis are most often affiliated with cottage gardens, yet you can find them growing on vertical features made of metal, wood, or rope in any garden design. Join Cindy Tibbetts, clematis specialty grower at Hummingbird Farm, to explore and learn about the extensive array of clematis at the Gardens, garden cultivation, and what species will work for you, in pots or in-ground.
Garden tuteurs, garden obelisk, or trellis—no matter what term you're familiar with, this creative pyramidal structure supports edible or ornamental vines. These practical features add vertical interest and provide visible textural contrast, line, and structure to a garden. Join us just in time to support seasonal vines and make your own rustic wooden tuteur to add to your garden space. Instructor and CMBG Horticulturist, Kelsie Birney, will provide all needed supplies and lead students through the constructing process. Please bring your own gloves, clippers, and battery-operated or cord drill, if you have one handy. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.
Friday-Monday, June 9-12, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Attention artists! Come join us for the annual Plein Air Days long weekend. Bring your art supplies and easels, and admission is free! You must make reservations, but you’re welcome to come any or all of the four days.
Friday, June 16 & Saturday, June 24 | Ecosystem balance, soil, and water quality are all influenced by our landscape practices. This extensive, two-day sustainable horticulture class will help students apply the principles of ecologically safe gardening practices to their garden or landscape. Through online and in-person sessions, we’ll examine composting, techniques for eco-friendly soil amendments, alternatives to pesticide and herbicides, responsible native plant acquisition, erosion control methods, plant forms for function, and so much more.
Tuesday-Thursday, June 20-22, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
In a workshop designed for all levels of experience, participants will be inspired by beautiful gardens while learning to create vibrant paintings with the pastel medium. Led by artist Diana Rogers, this three-day course will introduce beginning artists to pastels with pure pigments, the perfect complement to the colorful bounty of nature. For experienced painters, the course offers techniques for loosening up compositions and using bold color and painterly mark-making. Diana will offer demonstrations and plenty of one-on-one attention and encouragement at the easel. Using fun exercises, participants will learn how to use color selection, simplified compositions, and mark-making to create expressive garden paintings. We will paint indoors in the classroom and spend time outdoors observing nature and preparing sketches. Participants will have plenty of time to paint and complete fully developed paintings.
This one-day class will cover extensive ground on the insects, diseases, and deficiencies found on plants in the landscape. Applying principles of integrated pest management (IPM), the course will help students identify, monitor, and prevent poor plant health and, when necessary, deal with treatments. State Horticulturalist Gary Fish will emphasize preventative measures and help students determine methods to mitigate further plant-pest problems.
Color, color, and more color! Join us and learn how visually stunning color combinations can be achieved effectively and harmoniously in container garden design. Sometimes too much color can be overpowering, but color can be expressed in many ways—through hue, tone, shape, and texture, creating wide-ranging visual appeal. Join Brent McHale, container-garden designer and Gardens Horticulturist, to learn how to create your own colorful container garden, one that achieves its effect through flowers, foliage, and seasonal succession. All planting materials will be supplied by the Gardens. The instructor will contact you to ask if you want a shade- or sun-loving plant selection. Please bring your own garden gloves and clippers.
Join award-winning photographer Nathaniel Smalley and gain new understanding in composing and capturing the beauty of nature. In this exceptional three-day photo session, tune your creative vision in a blend of both classroom and fieldwork. An in-depth presentation on camera settings will help you maximize the photographic opportunities we’ll encounter in the Gardens, where we’ll work on capturing images of plants and flowers in both landscapes and more intimate scenes. There will be time to process your images in Lightroom or Photoshop, developing them to their full potential. Participants should have a sturdy tripod, a camera with a manual mode setting. Photographers of all skill levels are welcome, but a basic understanding of the functions of their camera’s ISO, aperture, shutter speed, light meter, and histogram is required. *Please note: This is not an introductory course on how to use your camera for the first time.
Sedges and rushes are ubiquitous and ecologically significant elements of our natural landscapes, but lacking showy flowers, they are often overlooked. This class will introduce a number of the common sedges and rushes frequently encountered in woods, wetlands, and meadows, highlighting their subtle variety and visual appeal. Join Ted Elliman, New England botanist and field-study researcher, to learn how to identify sedges and rushes, their functions in our natural landscapes, and how they provide ornamental and ecological benefits to gardens spaces.
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 on inspiration from natural plant communities in habitats like coastal plains, forests, wetlands, or mountain tops. This field-study and design workshop at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens will guide students through the process of selecting plants according to companionship, seasonal performance, and environmental considerations.
Water-wise gardening is another way of referring to designing with water in mind, especially relevant to drought conditions. Water-wise container gardens lend themselves to an exotic and creative assortment of annuals or perennials like succulents, alpines, and plants with fuzzy leaves, leathery-glossy leaves, or those with varied color- and textural characteristics. Join Gardens Horticulturist Jen Dunlap for this creative workshop and make your own drought-tolerant container garden. Students are encouraged to bring their own clippers, apron, and garden gloves. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.
Have you ever thought of flower photographs as portraits? Award-winning photographer Kathleen Clemons certainly does, and she will share the equipment and techniques she uses to create her art. Topics will include lens choice, lighting, subject selection, focus issues, aperture choices, selecting a background, and how to simplify a subject to truly capture its natural beauty.
Join trained herbalist and horticulturist Lesley Paxson for a workshop and field-study examining some of the interesting layers of herbalism, from traditional beliefs to contemporary applications. Come enjoy a tea tasting with plants freshly harvested from the Gardens, harvest medicinal plant cuttings to take home for tea, and, since July offers an abundance of blooms, she'll also demonstrate how a flower essence is made. We’ll stroll the gardens and identify five important medicinal plants historically valuable to human well-being and understand them more intimately with a tincture tasting.
Weeds, by casual definition, are undesired plants found in a certain location. In this class, we will discuss the perception of weeds as well as their identification, cultural management, and ecology. Learning the identity of a “weed” may change the desire to remove it from the landscape as you realize its potential benefits. While sometimes weeds are just misunderstood plants, there are times they can be invasive or toxic, so it is important to properly identify and learn how to manage for these species. Join Delany Pitman, CMBG Horticulturist, in this mixed field-study and lecture class and broaden your awareness of why, what, when, how, and where these plants live and if they can be embraced or must be eradicated from a garden or landscape.
The mission of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is to inspire meaningful connections between people and nature and promote plant conservation through horticulture, education, and plant science.
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