Our gardens are always evolving! To learn more about our ongoing garden refresh projects, click here.
In this two-day hybrid class, join Bill Cullina—former Director of Horticulture and President & CEO at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, now Director of the Morris Arboretum—for an in-depth look at how plants respond to both abiotic factors like sunlight and soil pH, and biotic influences like animals, fungi, other plants, and even humans. Explore key concepts, including parasitism, pollination, adaptation, and dispersal. Class Level: Intermediate to Advanced.
Join floral design team, Mimi and Mum, for this fun two-day weekend workshop on wearable floral art. Learn how to make stunning wristlets, head wreaths, and body jewelry from fresh flowers and foliage. Students will utilize some preserved and dried florals to create an everlasting wearable lapel art or headpiece. All levels are welcome. Class appropriate to teens 14+.
Using a beautiful fresh floral arrangement as inspiration, paint a still life in gouache. Students will learn various gouache methods and techniques, including applying opaque, thick brush strokes and thin glazing. With an emphasis on color experimentation, we'll explore different papers and surfaces. Arrangements are lovingly prepared by Mimi and Mum Floral Design. All levels are welcome. Suitable for teens 14+.
Join Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens for an educational walk at Captain Fitzgerald Recreation and Conservation Area in Brunswick. Visit one of Maine's few remaining Sandplain Pine Barren communities, and you will leave with the skills 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. Class level: all.
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. We'll begin 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.
Hone your digital photography skills and learn to take beautiful photos of flowers, plants, and landscapes using your iPhone. In this engaging workshop, we'll explore the Gardens before opening hours and learn ways to avoid blurry images, tips for composing, how best to use your iPhone's features, and much more. Back in the classroom, we'll explore editing options to make your photos stand out and shine. Class level: beginner. Also appropriate for teens.
This two-day workshop will focus on creating monoprints on various papers. Unlike most printmaking techniques, which allow for multiple originals, monoprinting creates a single, unique image at a time. The beauty of this technique lies in its spontaneity and its allowance for combinations of printmaking, painting, and various mark-making methods that can be printed multiple times in various ways. All levels are welcome. Suitable for teens 14+.
What’s an evergreen, yet not always an evergreen? In this field-study class, Jeff O’Donal, nurseryman and conifer grower, will explore the extensive world of conifers, including native and non-native species, specimen plants, and those great for naturalizing into our native landscapes. We'll explore the diverse shapes and sizes, variations of gold and blue, soft or coarse textures, varieties of needle lengths, deciduous or evergreen, fragrant or neutral—there’s something for every style and landscape. Class level: Beginner-Intermediate.
Weeds, by casual definition, are undesired plants found in a specific location. Delaney 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 and why plants are commonly known as "weeds" and whether they might be embraced or removed from a garden or landscape. Class level: all.
Using the Gardens as inspiration, explore traditional block printing methods with a modern touch. These blocks can be used anywhere, as a printing press is not required. Participants will leave the two-day workshop understanding basic printing techniques and multiple prints of their designs. All levels are welcome. Suitable for teens 14+.
Let’s learn and make together! Explore the world of paper-making with artist Ashley Page in this hands-on two day workshop. Participants will learn how to make paper at home or in a studio, leaving with their own paper creations. No previous papermaking experience is required. Suitable for teens 14+.
From harvesting to bottling, learn the steps to make a herbal salve! Salves are topical ointments created from plants used to heal a specific condition such as dry skin, burns, scars, splinters, or sore muscles. The class will begin indoors with a live demonstration followed by a walk through the gardens to identify plants that can be used to make a salve. Each participant will take home a tin of herbal salve.
The first step to gardening with Maine’s native plants is meeting them in their wild habitats. Over this three-day in-person class, students will learn how to recognize frequent coastal species. This class will cover plant identification skills, terminology, and botanical etymology. Through guided walks, both at the Gardens and on the Boothbay peninsula, students will practice skills and collect samples for identification and botanizing native species. Class Level: Intermediate-Advanced
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.
Copyright 2025 Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
