Forest Therapy Walk and Tea: Spring (Sold Out)

This class is sold out, but please click "Learn More" to join our waitlist. | Deepening your connection to nature through moving meditation offers enormous benefits for personal well-being. In this gentle and sensory-oriented class, students will experience the practice of walking mindfully through a forest to gain deep serenity and new awareness. Follow Susan Bickford, certified guide in the 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 that honors the experience. Suitable for teens 14+.

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Susan Bickford
Price: $15 / $36

Plant Your Own Vertical Garden (Sold Out)

This class is sold out, but please click "Learn More" to join our waitlist. | Leave with a beautiful vertical garden in this hands-on workshop. Designers Cheryl Tyler and Jen Dunlap will guide students through a step-by-step process of building and planting an 18"x 14" framed planter. The plant pallet of ferns, mosses, and lichens will be provided for outdoor and indoor applications. Class Level: All Levels. Suitable for teens 14+.

Learn More
Location: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 105 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Multiple Instructors
Price: $45 / $80

Wearable Art: Marquetry Jewelry with Polymer Clay

Build your own pin or pendant (or both) based on inspirations from the flowers and foliage in the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. From observational drawing or photography, develop a simple flower or leaf design based on a color palette of your choosing. Employing Bonnie's signature marquetry techniques for surface design, and construct your pendant before making a pin back or pendant bale using wire and clay for a beautiful and fun finish. Basic polymer skills will be helpful but not required. Suitable for teens 14+.

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Bonnie Bishoff
Price: $235 / $325
Sign Up

Plant A Succulent Container Garden (Sold Out)

This class is sold out, but please click "Learn More" to join our waitlist. | Succulents provide the perfect plant for both seasoned and aspiring gardeners. These powerhouse low-maintenance plants add elegance and unique displays for small or large gardens. Join staff Horticulturist and container garden aficionado Brent McHale to show you what plants to use and how to plant your own shallow container garden that you'll take home to display and admire on your patio, deck, or balcony. All materials will be provided. Class Level: All Levels. Suitable for teens 14+.

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Brent McHale
Price: $45 / $80

Sustainable Horticulture Practices (Sold Out)

This class is sold out, but please click "Learn More" to join our waitlist. | 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 pesticides and herbicides, responsible native plant acquisition, erosion control methods, plant forms for function, and so much more. Class Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Learn More
Location: Online / at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 132 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Irene Barber
Price: $140 / $175

Plant ID and Ecology: Hardy Ferns (Sold Out)

This class is sold out, but please click "Learn More" to join our waitlist. | Ferns are commonly used to add elegance, texture, and an ethereal feeling to any shade garden, and did you know there are thousands of fern species? To learn more about fascinating fern ecology, genera, species, and cultivars, join Bill Cullina, former Director of Horticulture and President & CEO of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, now Director of Morris Arboretum at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Native Ferns, Mosses, & Grasses for a captivating slideshow and garden tour exploring the extensive inventory of ferns at the Gardens. Class Level: All Levels

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Bill Cullina
Price: $36 / $44

Integrated Pest & Disease Management (Sold Out)

This class is sold out, but please click "Learn More" to join our waitlist. | State Horticulturalist Gary Fish leads this one-day class, which covers 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. Mr. Fish will emphasize preventative measures and help students determine methods to mitigate further plant pest problems. Class Level: Intermediate

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Gary Fish
Price: $50 / $62

Landscaping for Wildlife (Sold Out)

This class is sold out, but please click "Learn More" to join our waitlist. | Habitat loss is the primary cause of declining wildlife populations, and learning how vital native plants are to wildlife and how much our landscape choices matter is one of the most critical steps we can take to divert such loss. Combined with a short online lecture followed by an interactive workshop and field study at the Gardens, students will learn how and what to manage in the landscape and how to incorporate certain native plants to create welcoming habitats that attract wildlife, conserve natural resources, and encourage biodiversity. Class Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Learn More
Location: Online / at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 132 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Deb Perkins
Price: $62 / $75

Field Trip to Captain Fitzgerald Recreation & Conservation

Visit one of Maine's few remaining Sandplain Pine Barren communities, and you will learn how to identify endemic native plant species and how to recreate elements of this native plant community in your home landscape. If the weather permits, we will see dozens of pollinating insects and birds, so bring your hand lenses and binoculars. We'll have extra on hand if you don't have these items. Come prepared with sunscreen, water, and good walking shoes. Class Level: All Levels. Suitable for teens 14+.

Learn More
Location: Captain Fitzgerald Recreation and Conservation
Instructor: Catherine Kaczor
Price: $10 / $32
Sign Up

Block Printing with Jordan Parks

Explore traditional block printing methods with a modern touch, which can be used anywhere, as a printing press is not required! Participants will leave the workshop understanding basic block printing techniques and multiple prints of their designs. We encourage students to use the gardens as inspiration and/or to bring ideas, sketches, or photographs from home. During this two-day workshop, you'll learn about the various tools and materials used in linoleum block printing, how to transfer ideas to sketches, and how to take those sketches from tracing paper to block and paper. No previous printmaking experience is required, but students with experience are also welcome. Suitable for teens 14+.

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Jordan Parks
Price: $210 / $295
Sign Up

Is it Really a Weed? ID and Management

Weeds, by casual definition, are undesired plants found in a specific location. Delany Pitman, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Horticulturist, leads a combination of field study and lecture discussing the perception of weeds, identification, cultural management, and ecology. You'll leave with a broader understanding of what & why plants are commonly known as "weeds" and whether they might be embraced or removed from a garden or landscape. Class Level: All Levels

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Delaney Pitman
Price: $28 / $36
Sign Up

Photography Workshop: The Art of Flower Portraiture

Known for her creative use of natural light and unique artistic composition, Kathleen likens flower photography to painted portraits. In this workshop, she will share her favorite equipment and techniques. Topics include lens choice, lighting, subject selection, focus issues, aperture choices, background selection, and how to simplify a subject to truly capture its natural beauty.

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Kathleen Clemons
Price: $95 / $125
Sign Up

Plant Problems? Ask Garth (Cancelled)

Are yellow, wilting, puckered, or folding leaves getting you down? Is Google simultaneously telling you that you're under and over-watering? Enter our staff expert, Garth, to assess, and accurately diagnose your plant problems in real-time, and provide recommendations to resolve the issues. You'll gain the tools to help you identify any more problems you may encounter in the future and even learn how to prevent them when possible. Students are encouraged to bring photo samples of up to two different plant issues for Garth to help identify. To prevent spread, please do not bring live samples of the plant(s). Class Level: All Levels

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Garth Welch
Price: $32 / $40

Art & Botany: Creating a Botanical Dissection Plate

Combining botany, design, and illustration, students will have the opportunity to create an artful botanical dissection plate during this two-day workshop. Botanical dissection plates have been around since the invention of the microscope and are realistic educational illustrations of plant anatomy. Participants will learn valuable techniques used by science illustrators, such as field sketching, plant dissection, and drawing from magnified plant specimens. Students will also learn how to use color and design to create eye-catching compositions. The workshop will take place both in the gardens and the classroom, where students will learn how to translate their knowledge into creative and visually appealing illustrations. This workshop will take a loose and artful approach to this typically technical and time-consuming process. All experience levels are welcome. Suitable for teens 14+.

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Joy Grannis
Price: $245 / $310
Sign Up

Garden Groundcovers: Plants and Uses (Sold Out)

This class is sold out, but please click "Learn More" to join our waitlist. | Groundcover plants combine beautiful form and function, supporting healthy soils and providing texture and color to any garden. In this class, you'll learn from staff Horticulturalist Jen Dunlap about the wide variety of groundcovers, especially those indigenous to the Northeast. We'll uncover their economic and ecological benefits, such as a solution to replace the need for any other kind of mulch.

Learn More
Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Jen Dunlap
Price: $28 / $36

Create a Nature Collage Map (Canceled)

Join artist and forest therapy guide Susan Bickford for a guided, mindful walk and craft workshop. Returning to a time pre-technology, participants will employ their eyes, ears, and touch to document their experience, transferring their observations into a 3-dimensional creative collage map. This fun, interactive, and tactile activity further deepens awareness of nature's elements, resulting in a texture-rich, aromatic artistic representation that participants will take home. Locally foraged herbal tea will be offered during the workshop to sustain participants' newly awakened senses and imagination. All materials will be supplied.

Class Level: All Levels. Suited for teens 14+.

//

Instructor Biography:

Susan Bickford, Certified Forest Therapy Guide, leads walks throughout coastal Maine and co-manages a retreat event annually called the Stillness Kitchen. Susan has many talents connecting her to nature, including a visual arts instructor at the University of Maine Augusta. A native of Maine, Susan has a strong connection to the flora and fauna in our verdant landscape.

Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Susan Bickford
Price: $30 / $62