Garden Design: History and Fundamentals

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.

Location: Online
Instructor: Irene Barber
Price: $30 / $36

Garden Design: A New England Lens

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.

Location: Online
Instructor: Irene Barber
Price: $30 / $36

Water in the Landscape: Issues into Opportunities

Trevor Smith, owner of LandEscapes, is a Green Infrastructure (GI) expert for both residential and commercial properties. In this session, he will discuss how to reenvision a property’s water issues as positive and effective opportunities. Whether there's too little or too much, Trevor will explore problem-solving strategies such as water collection, retention, repurposing, or directing in order to support surrounding habitat.

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Location: Online
Instructor: Trevor Smith
Price: $10 / $15

Grow from Seed: Vegetables & Herbs (Ages 14+)

Growing vegetables is enormously rewarding, especially when you start them from the tiniest of seeds. Witnessing and nurturing the growth of a plant, particularly one that nourishes in return, provides immeasurable fulfillment. Professional vegetable grower John Fromer invites gardeners of any ability, ages 14-adult, to learn about the selection and process of growing vegetables and herbs, whether started in your home or sown directly in your garden bed.

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Location: Online
Instructor: John Fromer
Price: $18 / $24

Pruning During Dormancy (Sold out)

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.

Please note this class requires participants to show proof of having received all eligible Covid-19 vaccinations, as recommended for their age by the CDC, in order to participate. Because of the dynamic nature of this situation, we ask that you agree to abide by potential future changes in CMBG’s Covid-19 policy designed to address evolving public health recommendations.

Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Brent McHale
Price: $25 / $32

Garden Design: Creating a Base Plan

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.

Location: Online
Instructor: Irene Barber
Price: $30 / $36

Favorite Annuals: Top-20 Staff Picks

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!

Location: Online
Instructor: Jen Dunlap
Price: $15 / $20

Growing Your Green Thumb

Tuesdays, March 22 and 29 | Countless new terms and often-conflicting advice can make gardening intimidating, not only for newcomers, but also for those who have been gardening for years. In this course, we’ll set gardeners up for success in the potentially overwhelming world of horticulture. Using practical, real-life examples and engaging activities, we'll review how plants are named and classified, basic plant anatomy, and how environmental factors can influence plant growth.

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Location: Online
Instructor: Katherine Garland
Price: $25 / $32

Soils, Mulches, and Amendments

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.

Location: Online
Instructor: Irene Barber
Price: $15 / $20

Garden Design: Drawing from the Landscape

Whether designing a secret garden or an extensive wildflower garden, it’s critical to run an assessment of the setting—built features, where water flows, and how much sun hits the area between growing months. We'll discuss what a site assessment and inventory looks like and how sketching this information gives designers a visual diagram, providing a clearer understanding of any variables to consider. The more informed you are as a designer, the better a designer you’ll be! Students will be responsible for their own design materials, supply list available upon registration.

Location: Online
Instructor: Irene Barber
Price: $30 / $36

Perennials for Cut Flowers

This presentation highlights the ever-popular topic of growing, gardening, and designing with cut flowers. Because perennials are not endless bloomers, they often get overlooked as cut flower options. However, for sustained color all season long, there are plenty to choose from when planning a residential perennial border or farm field. John Bliss, co-owner of Broadturn Farm, and floral designer and grower Celeste Parke will discuss those hardy perennials, both herbaceous and woody, that offer fantastic, sustainable options for cut flowers, discussing details from cultivation to vase. For growers, gardeners, and landscape designers, this topic is gold.

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Location: Online
Instructor: John Bliss
Price: $10 / $15

Form and Texture in Graphite 1 (Ages 14+)

Thursdays, April 7 and 14 | Delve deeply into depicting botanical subjects with graphite. Using fruits and vegetables, gain an in-depth understanding of how light affects individual shapes in nature including highlights, midtones, shadow areas, reflected highlights, and cast shadows. Great for ages 14-adult, beginners, or those looking to refine their drawing and observation skills.

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Location: Online
Instructor: Mindy Lighthipe
Price: $50 / $65

Growing Orchids Indoors

Orchids are amazing plants—and an engrossing indoor hobby for us northern gardeners. In this fun and enlightening class, learn from CMBG horticulturist Courtney Locke how to successfully grow orchids year-round as houseplants. With so much advice out there, it’s inevitable that confusion would arise. Learn from a true orchid grower and enthusiast, and soon you’ll be on your way to nurturing these intoxicating plants in a variety of arranged containers.

Location: Online
Instructor: Courtney Locke
Price: $15 / $20

Garden Design: Dreams to Design (Sold out)

When designing a new garden, it’s tempting to dive right in and start selecting plants – it’s what we plant nerds love best! But we’re doing more than creating a space to show off favorite flowers—we’re creating one that also incorporates and considers circulation, function, character, and scale. Join us as we train our brains and sketching hands, learning how to use graphic and conceptual tools to think bigger about the possibilities of place-making.

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Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Emma Kelly
Price: $65 / $80

Wildlife in the Backyard: Amphibians and Reptiles (CANCELLED)

Wildlife awakens upon the spring equinox, vibrant with the sound of a new generation. In this workshop, students ages 14-adult will learn which species belongs to which sound, identifying frogs, turtles, salamanders, and other herps (Greek for “crawling things”). Learn about the Big Night and the citizen science initiative surrounding it. From the comfort of your home attend the live instruction featuring these exceptional wetland fauna.

Location: Online
Instructor: Alicia Miller
Price: $15 / $20

Wildlife in the Backyard: Amphibians and Reptiles (CANCELLED)

Wildlife awakens upon the spring equinox, vibrant with the sound of a new generation. In this workshop, students ages 14-adult will learn which species belongs to which sound, identifying frogs, turtles, salamanders, and other herps (Greek for “crawling things”). Learn about the Big Night and the citizen science initiative surrounding it. During the final hour of class, those onsite will explore CMBG’s vast wetland environments and practice identifying and observing these critical, fragile species.

Please note this class requires participants to show proof of having received all eligible Covid-19 vaccinations, as recommended for their age by the CDC, in order to participate. Because of the dynamic nature of this situation, we ask that you agree to abide by potential future changes in CMBG’s Covid-19 policy designed to address evolving public health recommendations.

Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Alicia Miller
Price: $20 / $25

Soil Science for Gardeners

Monday, April 11 and Saturday, April 16 | Soil is alive, and a fundamental understanding of soil science is critical when selecting well-adapted native plants or choosing amendments needed by native plant communities. A two-day class for the ecologically-minded grower, students will gain an understanding of soil's dynamic relationship with a plant's health.

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Location: Online & Bosarge Family Education Center
Instructor: Lois Berg Stack
Price: $130 / $155

Plant ID and Ecology: Wetland Plants

Wetland plants are wildly diverse and complex—take the marsh marigold or the wild calla, the native relative of the traditional calla lily. Join ecologist Ted Elliman for this online lecture and captivating visual presentation, and learn more about freshwater wetland plants. Ted will guide participants in identification, wetland classifications, habits, and the fauna that have co-evolved with these verdant plants, gaining a deeper understanding for their ecological value.

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Location: Online
Instructor: Ted Elliman
Price: $15 / $20

The Right Tool For the Right Job

From gardening to landscape projects, the right tool makes the process easier, less strenuous, and more efficient. A chef wouldn’t use a butter knife to slice a roast, and a carpenter wouldn’t secure an inch-thick board with a half-inch nail! In this behind-the-scenes look at the CMBG horticulture staff's favorite tools, you'll learn why certain tools are appropriate for certain jobs. We’ll also discuss the more effective and ergonomic options out there—it might be time to replace that splintering, 30-year-old spade you're still using!

Location: Online
Instructor: Irene Barber
Price: $12 / $18

Form and Texture in Graphite 2 (Ages 14+)

Thursdays, April 21 and 28, May 5 and 12 | Delve deeply into depicting botanical subjects with graphite. Using fruits and vegetables, gain an in-depth understanding of how light affects individual shapes in nature including highlights, midtones, shadow areas, reflected highlights, and cast shadows. Great for beginners and those looking to refine their drawing and observation skills.

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Location: Online
Instructor: Mindy Lighthipe
Price: $120 / $135

Garden Design: Structure and Movement

Once we’ve got the bigger picture of our garden spaces in mind, we can start shaping them with program and structure. In garden design, structure is more than a row of shrubs, a fence, or a wall at your property line – it’s how you shape a space, create a sense of enclosure, and lead the eye to landscape destinations.

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Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Emma Kelly
Price: $65 / $80

Trees of Maine: ID and Ecology (Ages 14+)

Whether you’re a land steward, forestry student, or simply passionate about the outdoors, ages 14-adult are invited to join Allyssa Gregory, Maine District Forester, to learn how to identify many of Maine's trees, the history of its forests, the soils that anchor and sustain the trees, and about silvaculture and climate-adaptive species. Students will leave with a native tree seedling to plant.

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Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Allyssa Gregory
Price: $20 / $25

Horticultural Ecology

Friday, April 29 and Friday, May 6 | Learn how plants adapt, compete, and depend on surrounding living and nonliving influences, and get familiar with concepts like parasitism, pollination, and dispersal. After day one’s online session, spend day two in the living classroom of the Gardens.

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Location: Online & Bosarge Family Education Center
Instructor: Dan Robarts
Price: $130 / $155

Garden Design: It’s All in the Details

In this session, we’ll look at palette and plant choices, focusing on personal and environmental considerations, and take our design dreams and translate them onto paper. Utilizing the base plans created in an earlier session, we’ll look at the current garden space, visualize what we want it to become, and articulate that onto paper in several conceptual drafts.

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Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Emma Kelly
Price: $65 / $80

Signs of the Seasons Citizen Science Training (Ages 14+)

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is teaming up once again with Maine Sea Grant and University of Maine Cooperative Extension to participate in “Signs of the Seasons,” a citizen science program that engages volunteers in observing plant and animal phenology, or the study of seasonal life events like when birds make their nests in the spring, when berries ripen in the summer, and when leaves change color in the autumn.

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Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Beth Bisson
Price: Free

Photography Club

The Photography Club meets every other Thursday morning at the Gardens, 7-9 a.m. Enjoy having the whole of our campus to yourself for two hours before we open to the public. Come and capture the stunning morning light, May-October. You must be a member of the Gardens to enjoy this amazing perk. The first meeting of the year is Thursday, May 12.

Location: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 105 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Price: $25

Natural Communities of Maine

Friday, May 13 and Sunday, May 22 | Learn how Maine’s native plants behave in their natural habitats. Guided by ecologist Ted Elliman, this comprehensive, two-day course will introduce students to several plant communities, the native plants living in them, and the natural processes affecting them.

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Location: Online & Bosarge Family Education Center
Instructor: Ted Elliman
Price: $130 / $155