Growing Vegetables & Herbs from Seed

Growing from seed is enormously rewarding, especially when you're growing for the best flavors and nutrition. This two-part online class will provide you with the knowledge and confidence to successfully grow an assortment of vegetables and herbs from seed, whether you're growing on a windowsill, under grow lights, in a hobby greenhouse, or directly in the garden soil. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.

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Location: Online
Instructor: John Fromer
Price: $32 / $40

Garden Design: Assess and Sketch

Whether designing a secret garden or an extensive wildflower garden, it’s critical to evaluate, document, and sketch out a setting's details—built features, water movement, sun exposure throughout growing months, soil types and so on. This online session will help students develop longhand documentation and, more importantly, sketch the assessed information, resulting in a visual diagram that provides a clearer understanding of any variables to consider. The more informed you are as a designer, the better a designer you’ll be! We strongly recommend students to have a scaled base-plan in-hand before moving forward with this stage. Upon registration, students will receive a supplies list that will be useful for designing a new garden.

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Location: Online
Instructor: Irene Barber
Price: $36 / $45

Top 20 Hardy and Resilient Perennials

Join us for this online panel presentation where we'll feature 20 hardy and resilient perennials selected by staff horticulturists Jen Dunlap, Courtney Locke, and Delaney Pitman. This group of plants includes those that manage challenging conditions such as dry/wet, windy locations, compacted soils, and which also regenerate quickly after major weather events, on the rise due to climate change. Come learn about plants that will lead to sustaining, high-performing, and beautiful gardens. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.

Location: Online
Instructor: Multiple Instructors
Price: $22 / $26

Soils, Mulches, and Amendments

Soils, mulches, and amendments are fundamental for growing plants successfully indoors and out, but it’s easy to be unsure, confused, and overwhelmed. 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. While this class is a part of our adult education offerings, it is open to advanced younger students, ages 14 and older.

Location: Online
Instructor: Irene Barber
Price: $22 / $26

Garden Design: Conceptual Process (Sold Out)

When we design a garden, we do so much more than simply create a space to show off favorite flowers—we create one that reflects personality and a sense of place, incorporating circulation, function, and design principles. Join us at the Gardens as we explore the conceptual process that awakens creativity and trains the brain to draw freehand, while learning how to use graphic tools. We’ll practice with onsite spaces, and have time for students to apply newfound skills to their own personal projects. Upon registration, students will receive a list of supplies needed to pursue their own design project and to use during this class.

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Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Cheryl Salatino
Price: $60 / $75

Tree Pests: The Future of Tree Selection and Resilience

Trees, whether forest or cultivated species, are experiencing major pest problems, most of which have been brought about by human impact. We’re now left wondering what will happen to Maine's forests and what the impact to our landscape will be. Will there be economic implications? Will some species show more resistance and resilience than others? Will pest species’ life cycles persist or lessen over time? How will these pests impact Maine's nursery and landscaping industry? Allison Kanoti, State Entomologist for the Maine Department of Forestry, will dig into these questions and more, offering clarity that will help us become better prepared and informed.

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Location: Online
Instructor: Allison Kanoti
Price: $12 / $18

Introduction to Kitchen Garden Design

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.

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Location: Online
Instructor: Ellen Ecker Ogden
Price: $40 / $48

Garden Design: Structure and Movement

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.

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Location: Online
Instructor: Cheryl Salatino
Price: $36 / $45

Pruning Workshop: Practices and Plants

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.

Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Multiple Instructors
Price: $36 / $45

Top 20 Plants for Winged Companions

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.

Location: Online
Instructor: Multiple Instructors
Price: $22 / $26

Form and Texture in Graphite I

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.

Location: Online
Instructor: Mindy Lighthipe
Price: $55 / $65

Soil Science for Gardeners

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.

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Location: Online / at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 132 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: John Jemison
Price: $130 / $155

Garden Design: It’s in the Layers

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.

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Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Cheryl Salatino
Price: $60 / $75

Growing Hydrangeas

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.

Location: Online
Instructor: Courtney Locke
Price: $22 / $26

Introduction to Sustainable Gardening

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.

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Location: Online
Instructor: Sonja Birthisel, PhD
Price: $30 / $36

Horticultural Ecology

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.

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Location: Online / at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 132 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Dan Robarts
Price: $130 / $155

Trees of Maine: ID & Management

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.

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Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Shane Duigan
Price: $25 / $30

Garden Design: Final Plan to Fruition

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.

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Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Multiple Instructors
Price: $60 / $75

Orientation for Certificate in Botanical Arts

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.

Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Caroline Davis
Price: $25

Form and Texture in Graphite II

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.

Location: Online
Instructor: Mindy Lighthipe
Price: $135 / $155

Forest Therapy Walk & Tea: Spring

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.

Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Susan Bickford
Price: $30 / $36

“Going Dutch” – Painting Floral Arrangements in Acrylic (Cancelled)

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.

Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Multiple Instructors
Price: $285 / $305

Fundamentals of Botany

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.

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Location: Online / at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 132 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Bryan Peterson
Price: $130 / $155

Wildlife in the Backyard: Spring Awakens

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.

Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Multiple Instructors
Price: $25 / $30

Living Willow Structures (Sold Out)

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.

Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Alicia Miller
Price: $62 / $75

Wabanaki Homeland and Land Relations: Contemporary Leadership in Conservation

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.

Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Multiple Instructors
Price: $5 / $100