Natural Communities of Maine
In this two-day introduction to the natural communities of Maine, ecologist Ted Elliman will acquaint students with several of Maine’s characteristic plant communities, their defining physical environments, and the natural processes affecting them.
Learn MoreArtful and Functional Landscape Structures, Field Study
From arbors to pergolas, toolsheds to tea-houses, outdoor landscape structures can add function and aesthetic interest to any property. Karl Alamo, horticulturist and landscape architect, will take students through the Gardens, pointing out the design and structural elements that serve as storage, entry points, and sanctuary. Discussion will include green roofs, sustainable materials, and architectural choices. This class will outline what choices you can make to help you create artful and functional garden features.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, classes are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 people. We are practicing social distance protocols.
Rain Date: Saturday, July 31, 2021
What’s Cookin’ and Good Lookin’ In the Kitchen Garden, Mid-Season
As warm temperatures and longer days drive an abundance of growth, the Burpee Kitchen Garden series will focus on how to grow warm-season greens, herbs, flowers, and vegetables. Diane will elaborate on practices such as weeding, successional cropping, and harvesting, all while highlighting her favorites, alliums and basil.
Learn MoreIntroduction to Medicinal Plants: Cultivation and Cultural Uses
Join horticulturalist Lesley Paxson in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses as she introduces you to our new Medicinal Plant Garden. Before modern medicine, we looked to the natural world to heal the body and mind. By looking through the lens of three populations, Indigenous Peoples of Maine, European settlers, and traditional Eastern cultures, we will explore the new garden’s plantings. We will compare and contrast the different uses and philosophies associated with these important plants. We will also take a stroll through the Lerner Garden and discover the healing powers of some common backyard garden plants.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, classes are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 students. We are practicing Maine CDC social-distancing protocols.
Rain date: Saturday, July 10, 2021
A Children’s Garden: Plants, Features, & Activities
Join horticulturist Jennifer Dunlap and Youth and Family Coordinator, Erika Huber, for a detailed tour of the plants, features, and activities that make an effective children’s garden. Jen and Erika know first-hand the wants and want-nots of a children’s garden, and they’ll share insider knowledge regarding the plants that serve as aesthetic, educational, and fun features, including edibles and good ingredient and activity plants. Discussion will include how water, soil, planting activities, creative features, and living creatures all play a part in the make-up of an unforgettable children’s garden.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, classes are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 students. We are practicing Maine CDC social-distancing protocols.
Rain Date: Saturday, July 17, 2021
The Forest in Watercolor
Using watercolor, capture the peace and majestic beauty of our forests. In this class we’ll explore some of the techniques used to build depth, atmosphere, and capture a sense of light. Conducted via Zoom, day one will be include group instruction. Days two and three will be held at the Gardens, and participants will paint plein air, receiving one-on-one instruction and feedback.
Learn MoreFrom RAW to Finished Print
This is the third of three interactive lectures by renowned photographer Ron Rosenstock. Students may take just one or all three; each program lasts approximately 50 minutes with a Q&A period to follow. In this lecture, Ron will cover the journey from RAW image to finished print, illustrating through examples and explaining his process.
Learn MorePollinators: Butterflies & Moths (Field Study)
Join us outside with our Lepidoptera specialist, Alicia Miller, on an interactive tour through the Native Butterfly and Moth House and adjacent pollinator garden to discover the many different species calling CMBG home.
Learn MoreIs It Really a Weed?
In this outdoor class, permaculture landscaper Justin Nichols will offer a new perspective on common weeds. Illustrating that truly “one person’s trash is another’s treasure,” many consider weeds valuable medicinal, edible, and ecological plants that can tell a story about surrounding soil conditions. Of course, there are also those that can be a nuisance. In this class, Justin will share weed-related wisdom, guiding participants in identifying, recognizing, and then approaching these gardening questions—nuisance or nutrient?—from a more informed perspective.
Justin Nichols has been enthusiastically maintaining landscapes since 1989, including many years as a gardener on a 30-acre estate in the Boston area and six years here at CMBG on the horticulture staff. He currently runs an ecologically-focused landscape and design business based in the Portland area. He is a NOFA Certified Organic Landcare Professional, holds a master’s degree in education and enjoys teaching horticultural topics to people of all ages.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, classes are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 students. We are practicing Maine CDC social-distancing protocols.
Drawing and Painting Bees and Pollinators
Bees play a vital role in our environment, especially when it comes to pollination. Honey bees and native bees are all abuzz this time of year. Learn to capture their behavior and create a composition featuring your favorite native flower! Color application can be in watercolor and or colored pencil. All levels are welcome!
Learn MorePollinators: Bees & Beyond (Field Study)
In this field-study course, join Sarah Callan on a walking tour of the Gardens and discover the diversity of bees in the landscape, bee identification, pollinator preferences, bee anatomy and behavior, and the latest research into these important pollinators.
Learn MoreDIY Garden Mobiles
Artistic, eye-catching mobiles can add whimsy and natural music to any garden as they catch the wind. Secured to posts, branches, or arbors, these features can reflect light, capture the spirit of a space, and offer depth and vertical interest to any landscape. In this creative craft class, we will make garden mobiles from found and natural objects supplied by instructors Caroline Davis, the Gardens' Coordinator of Botanical Arts and Exhibits, and Irene Barber, Horticultural Therapist and educator. Students are welcome to bring their own found, repurposed, or natural objects to incorporate in their garden mobiles. Please bring a pair of form-fitting work gloves.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, classes are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 people. We are practicing social distance protocols.
Rain Date: Saturday, August 14, 2021
Container Garden Inspirations: Styles and Management
Join horticulturists Diane Walden and Brent McHale on a tour of their container garden designs in the Burpee Kitchen Garden, the Arbor Garden, and the Great Lawn. Learn about the different styles on display, from the organized to the whimsical, the bold to the muted, and the minimalistic to the complex. Diane and Brent will describe the plant varieties providing those stylistic differences and how plant placement can affect the design and overall management throughout the summer.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, class are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 students. We are practicing Maine CDC social-distancing protocols.
Rain Date: Saturday, August 14, 2021
Aquatic Botanicals In Watercolor
Join naturalist and botanical watercolor artist Hillary Parker for a fascinating three-day botanical watercolor workshop exploring the submerged plant life growing along the rocky shoreline of the Gardens' stretch of the Back River.
Learn MorePlant ID in the Field: Freshwater Wetland Plants
Wetland plants are wildly diverse and beautiful—take the marsh marigold or the wild calla, the latter related to the traditional calla lily sold by florists. Join us for this field-study class with plant ecologist Ted Elliman and develop skills to identify freshwater wetland plants, developing an understanding of their growing conditions, habits, and seasonal performance. Gain a deeper appreciation for the ecological value of these often-overlooked species.
Ted Elliman has been engaged in botanical work in New England and other northeastern states for more than thirty years. Most recently, he was a botanist and plant ecologist on the staff of the Native Plant Trust in Framingham, Massachusetts, where he conducted botanical inventories, natural community surveys, invasive species control programs, and helped publish Wildlfowers of New England.
To provide safe in-person classes at the Gardens, classes are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 students. We are practicing Maine CDC social-distancing protocols. Rain date: Friday, August 6, 2021
Plant ID in the Field: New England Grassland Species
Led by Ted Elliman, author of Grasses, Sedges and Rushes, An Identification Guide, participants will learn how to identify and better understand New England meadow plants. This is the perfect class for those interested in starting or sustaining an open grassland.
Learn MoreGardening With Nature (Field Study)
Anna Fialkoff, Program Manager at Wild Seed Project, will offer an overview of native plant selection and and gardening practices for achieving beautiful and biodiverse gardens that require minimal manual labor. The display gardens at CMBG will serve as a living classroom, offering a visually inspiring lesson of what you, too, can do at home.
Learn MoreIntroduction to Native Flora of Maine
Interested in gardening with Maine’s native plants? First, come meet them in their wild habitats. During this intensive three-day course with CMBG Research Botanist, Melissa Cullina, students will learn how to recognize at least 50 frequent coastal Maine plant species.
Learn More11th Annual Ina and Lew Heafitz Endowed Lecture: Planting Your Path
In this conversation Abra Lee will discuss her garden roots from the dirt-road country of the rural South to a lesson in family history that helped define her life’s purpose. This is a story of failure, persistence, and how taking her Mama’s advice to “don’t be no educated fool” led her on a journey to uncover Black America’s legacy in ornamental horticulture.
Abra Lee is a national speaker, writer, and owner of Conquer the Soil, a platform that combines Black garden history and current events to raise awareness of horticulture. She has spent "a whole lotta time" in the dirt as a municipal arborist, extension agent, airport landscape manager, and more. Lee is a graduate of Auburn University and alumna of the Longwood Gardens Society of Fellows, a global network of public horticulture professionals.
The Ina and Lew Heafitz Endowed Lecture celebrates leading thinkers in horticulture, landscape design, sustainability, and more. These nationally-recognized speakers address cutting-edge and timely topics, presenting enriching talks centered around their work in nature-related fields. The annual lecture is free for all.
Art in the Garden
In this interactive walking-tour, students will gain insight in including art in the landscape, at any scale, while viewing examples located throughout the Gardens.
Learn MoreBotanical Silk Scarf Paintings
Paint a beautiful silk scarf with a botanical theme. Specimens will be provided by the Gardens to inspire your creativity and design. Students will go home with a lovely scarf and a fun new skill. Materials are provided for a $20 fee, collected on the first day of the workshop.
Learn MoreA Children’s Garden: Plants, Features, & Activities
Join horticulturist Jennifer Dunlap and Youth and Family Coordinator, Erika Huber, for a detailed tour of the plants, features, and activities that make an effective children’s garden. Jen and Erika know first-hand the wants and want-nots of a children’s garden, and they’ll share insider knowledge regarding the plants that serve as aesthetic, educational, and fun features, including edibles and good ingredient and activity plants. Discussion will include how water, soil, planting activities, creative features, and living creatures all play a part in the make-up of an unforgettable children’s garden.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, classes are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 students. We are practicing Maine CDC social-distancing protocols.
Rain Date: Saturday, July 17, 2021
Gardening with Ornamental Grasses (Field Study)
Interested in gardening with ornamental grasses, but aren’t sure if you’re ready to commit or how to apply them in a garden? At Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, we have a plethora of ornamental native and non-native grasses through which Syretha Brooks, gardener and garden designer, will guide you. By studying the variety of shapes, sizes, textures, and colors, students will clearly understand how to use grasses effectively in perennial gardens or naturalized settings. Discussion will include grass management, cultivation, and habits.
To provide safe, in-person classes at the Gardens, classes are held entirely outdoors and have been reduced to 12 students. We are practicing Maine CDC social-distancing protocols. This course is alternately available in an online format.
Syretha Brooks is a horticulturist and project manager at Pretty Flowers, a landscape and design company based in Brunswick, Maine. A native of Harpswell, Maine, she has a degree in fine arts from Smith College, which has greatly aided in developing her eye for plant designing and curation. Syretha was formerly a horticulturist at New York City’s Wave Hill Gardens before returning to her home state of Maine and working as a horticulturist here at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens for four years.
Horticultural Ecology
Wednesdays, September 1 and 8
Explore the ways in which plants interact with their garden environments. Join instructor Dan Robarts as he discusses specific adaptations to environmental conditions; interrelationships between garden plants and their surrounding biotic and abiotic influences; and concepts such as competition, symbiosis, parasitism, pollination, and dispersal. The first session consists of an online slideshow and introduction. A week later, class will convene at the Gardens to study the content in-depth with plants in cultivated and wild settings.
Rain date: Thursday, September 9, 2021.
Flowers and Foliage for Dried Wreaths
Learn from expert wreath maker Jen Dunlap, whose amazing and imaginative harvest wreaths feature dried floral and foliar cuttings from the garden. Walk the Gardens with Jen and learn which plants are perfect for dried wreaths and other dried compositions. Jen will discuss the proper time to cut and drying methods. This class pairs perfectly with the online tutorial, Making a Harvest Wreath, happening in October.
What’s Cookin’ and Good Lookin’ In the Kitchen Garden, Late Season
This late-season Burpee Kitchen Garden session will showcase eggplant, tomato, sunflowers, and dahlias and share leek, ornamental corn, and herb-harvesting knowhow. File away seed-harvesting tips for next year’s garden, and learn how to establish late-season crops like kale and radishes.
Learn MoreBulbs Blooming, Spring through Fall
In this class, Courtney Locke, bulb grower and Staff Horticulturist, will discuss the world of bulbs beyond tulips and daffodils. Although the latter are beautiful and deserve attention, there are many varieties that bloom later into the summer and fall. Aconites, Camassia, and fall crocus are just a few that will be featured. Courtney will take you on an online visual journey; learn how to landscape with these bulbs, including naturalizing or gardening within an ornamental border, and how to manage bulb species over time—most bulbs are perennials, perfect partners in sustainable gardening.
Sow for the Future: New England Meadow Plants
Seeds are miracles of the plant world – a lot of power packed into a small case that sustains nature’s biodiversity. Former horticulturist and lead propagator of Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary and native seed specialist, Leslie Duthie, will guide students through the process of growing meadow plants from seed. Whether you’d like to convert a lawn into a mini meadow-scape, diversify an existing field, or start a large-scale meadow from scratch, Leslie will share the secrets of making meadows succeed. Using the palette of the Gardens’ naturalized areas, discussion will include seed collection, storage, and plant selection as pertaining to the environmental conditions of a setting.
Leslie Duthie is a lifelong gardener. She was formerly employed at the Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary where she was the horticulturist and plant propagator for over 38 years. An accomplished grower of ferns and wildflowers, she says you can't really know a plant until you have grown it from seed. Now retired, she continues to volunteer at various gardens and works to protect land for her local Conservation Commission and land trust.
Selecting Native Woody Plants
This class will explore the motivation and philosophy behind using woody native plants in the garden, discuss straight species, cultivars, and sources for materials. Andy Brand, the Gardens' Curator of Living Collections, will expand on the ecological relationship between host plants and the insects and pollinators critical in maintaining the balance between management and reproduction.
Learn MoreBlock Printing Workshop: Flora and Fauna Relationships and Interactions
Celebrate the natural world by creating a work of art honoring the relationship between an animal and a plant. Block printing, a form of relief printing, is the oldest, simplest, and most direct approach to making an impression. Experience all aspects of the process, from handling and care of tools through inking and printing your own images by hand.
Learn MoreHouseplants: Bring the Outdoors In
In the northeast, when the warm season comes to a close, it’s hard to say goodbye to nature’s lushness and our container and in-ground plants. However, there is an opportunity to preserve and transfer some favorites into the home. As a bonus, houseplants offer therapeutic benefits and enhance indoor air quality. Learn from Brent McHale, Staff Horticulturist and houseplant enthusiast, about which outdoor plants can succeed indoors, and nurture your connection to nature. From tropical plants to flowering annuals, herbs to succulents, there’s an array of plants to choose from.
Plants of the Salt Marsh
Plants of salt marsh communities are uniquely adapted to tolerate and survive the stress of repeated, daily salt-water flooding. Learn which members of our wild flora can withstand these harsh conditions and the various mechanisms they’ve evolved to cope with—and even thrive in—environmental conditions that would kill most plants. Melissa will lead you on a low-tide botanical journey into an iconic and vulnerable Maine habitat. Please wear boots or sneakers that can get wet (and maybe redolent of the salt-marsh…).
Sow for the Future: Native Trees and Shrubs (Field Study)
Whether grown from seed or transplanted as seedlings, native woody species can adapt to changing conditions and challenging environments, benefitting urban communities and rural developments or woodlots by filling in empty spaces and protecting and bringing nutrients back to the soil.
Learn MoreIntroduction to Encaustics
Drip, pour, drag, layer, heat, and incise! Learn the art of encaustic painting in this hands-on workshop using pigmented wax and a heated palette! Through a rich variety of marks and surfaces, explore the various painting techniques of this seductive medium. We will also look to CMBG’s gardens as sources of inspiration.
Learn MoreEcological Landscape Design
Students will examine naturally occurring systems that influence design decisions, practice environmental site analysis, and design conceptual plot plans for a selected site. Instruction will take place online for days one and two. On day three, students will meet at the Gardens to critically examine applied design features that address ecological principles and components.
Learn MoreThe Art of Forest Bathing: Shinrin Yoku
Deepening your connection to nature through moving meditation offers enormous benefits for personal well-being. Follow Tracey Hall, certified guide in the ancient Japanese practice, Shinrin Yoku, or forest bathing, as she gives you the tools to begin your own meditation practice. In this gentle class, experience how the simple practice of walking mindfully through a forest can provide deep serenity. By engaging with the forest with all five senses, we enhance awareness and presence. Despite a busy lifestyle, taking time for ourselves is enormously important—what luck that we can do so by walking in the forest!
Fall Botanicals in Colored Pencil
Using autumn plants and flowers, learn and/or further your colored-pencil skills. We’ll discuss how to observe and draw a specimen, then transfer the sketch to a final piece. The ability to draw and/or sketch is required for this class. Learn how to pick out pencil colors and combine those colors using layering techniques.
Learn MoreInvasive Plants: Issues, Identification and Ecology
For two days, dive into learning the basic ecological problems surrounding invasive plants, the complicated (and sometimes political) issues surrounding the species, and the process by which a plant becomes labeled “invasive.”
Learn MoreTree ID: Forest Species of Maine
Our Northeastern forest genera consists of a wide assortment of deciduous and coniferous species that vary throughout the macro- and micro-climatic regions of Maine. Understanding these species helps inform landowners about management, the local ecology, soils, and successional development. Join us and learn how to identify many of Maine's forest trees and about concepts like silvaculture and climate adaptive species. Autumn is the perfect time for this exploration—beyond the natural spectacle, the range of fall colors provides Allysa Gregory, Maine District Forester, the perfect palette by which to explain trees and their color choices. Leave feeling more connected to our forests and confident in identifying trees in your area.
IPM in the Landscape
While there are beneficial bugs, fungi, and bacteria in nature, there are also those indigenous to an ecosystem that become invasive. In this class for experienced gardeners or landscapers, State Horticulturist, Gary Fish, will cover extensive ground on the insects, diseases, and deficiencies deemed harmful to wild or cultivated landscape plants. Applying principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), the course will help students learn how to identify, monitor, and manage poor plant health. Instruction will focus on prevention as a means of management, cultural practices and plant selection, and the decision process and actions to take if an infestation occurs.
Gary Fish is the State Horticulturalist at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. He is a past coordinator of the Maine YardScaping Partnership and manager of the Pesticide Control Board. He has a B.S. in forest and wildlife management from the University of Maine, College of Forest Resources and has been a licensed professional forester since 1985. An aspiring landscape and nature photographer, he attributes his love of plants to his mother and her beautiful rose and rock gardens.
Making a Harvest Wreath
Ever wanted to preserve your garden after the season has ended, extending the enjoyment of its bounty? Join Staff Horticulturist Jen Dunlap and learn the process of making dried wreaths from cuttings collected from your garden or surrounding property. Jen will take you through this art and craft, step-by-step. A materials list will be supplied upon registration, as will a list of suggested cuttings to have on-hand, if you’d like to make a wreath during class. If you won’t have the dried cuttings, you can still learn and keep the recorded class demonstration as reference.
