Grow your career in the Green Industry:
Advanced Studies in Professional Horticulture
Designed for professionals or students in the horticulture or landscape industry, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ Advanced Studies in Professional Horticulture offers career advancement and personal development. From 90-minute lecture/discussions to more in-depth, one-day and multi-day workshop seminars, classes cover a wide variety of topics, including sustainable horticultural practices, native plant propagation and cultivation, water management, erosion control, and landscape design with a lens towards ecology and resilience. Material presented here supports landscape and horticultural professionals in reaching the next level in their business, giving them a competitive edge in the marketplace. From greenhouse growers to flower gardeners, landscape designers to contractors, nursery growers to arborists, there are offerings for all green industry disciplines.
Partners and allied agencies include Maine Landscape and Nursery Association (MELNA), Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA, AOLCP), Association for Professional Landscape Designers (APLD), and the Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA).
Resilient Landscapes in Built Environments
Resilient landscape practices are connected to the evolving environment. Incorporating low-maintenance design and high-performance results, resilient landscapes sustain and regenerate under stressful environmental conditions rather than falling victim to stressors. These are aesthetic powerhouse systems providing ecological services, giving the landscape professional the opportunity to evolve their business and adapt to the changing environment.
This in-depth program is offered in two sections: Design and Structural Components, then Plants and Practice. Each section consists of four class-sessions which explore design principles, materials and processes that contribute to resilient landscapes in built environments. If desired, after taking both sections, students can request a certificate of completion. We recommend students who want to take both sections begin with Design and Structural Components.
Each section counts towards recertification credits with the allied agencies listed above. If your affiliate professional network is not listed, please let us know the name of the organization and we’ll confirm if they will accept our classes for recertification.
Green Spotlight Series
The Green Spotlight Series is an online forum for professional plantspeople, landscape practitioners, and land stewards featuring new information and ideas focused on inspiring and pertinent topics.
Offered monthly from 4-5:30 p.m., November through April, specialists in the scheduled topic present for 60-70 minutes, leaving the remaining time open for questions and discussion.
The Green Spotlight Series is produced in partnership with the Maine Landscape and Nursery Association. MELNA members will receive one recertification credit for each live Zoom session.
One–Day Workshops/Seminars
Full-time landscape and horticulture professionals may find it hard to commit to extensive week- or semester-long classes. Therefore, we offer fun, intensive one-day classes featuring specific applied topics that update and deepen a green-industry professional’s range or bolster their career portfolio, inspiring them to pursue further training. Classes like Native Plants for Profit and Productivity, Invasive Plant Management, Irrigatation from Nursery to Landscape, and Business Management for Small Green-Industry Companies are found at the Gardens and taught by industry leaders from throughout New England, all of whom have first-hand familiarity with the local environment and its considerations.
Advanced Studies in Professional Horticulture Classes
In the horticulture and landscape industry, peat is a ubiquitous material used in potting soils, composts, bales of straight peat, and more. It has long been considered a reliable horticultural resource, and recently, questions around sustainability, sourcing, and its role in climate change mitigation have come to light. In this presentation, peat research specialist Dr. Brian Jackson of North Carolina State University will share valuable information about using or not using peat in your landscape or horticultural practice. Talking points include peat alternatives for growing media, harvest locations and practices, and sourcing materials.
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An increasing area of interest for gardeners and landscape clients is to convert a lawn space into a beautiful native wildflower ecosystem, benefiting insects, pollinators, and humans alike. Robert Graham, Land Steward of New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, will share insights on how to make a thriving wildflower garden. We'll dive into design considerations, the conversion process, and learnings from New England Botanics' own managed meadow space. You'll leave with tools for budgeting, timelines, and realistic management strategies to get the best out of your landscape projects.
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If you've ever considered starting a plant nursery, this one's for you. Whether your goals are driven by a passion for plants, frustrations with supply, or a desire to meet local needs, our panel of three nursery growers and owners will share recommendations for success. Leveraging their different business models, we'll cover everything from sustainability, the changing business climate, lessons learned, and motivations and goals for owning a nursery.
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Support healthy gardens while tackling invasive plant issues with skills learned in this valuable presentation. Chris Polatin, restoration ecologist with Land Stewardship, Inc., will discuss how he incorporates Integrated Pest Management into successful mitigation practices. Developed over 20 years as an ecological restoration practitioner, Chirs has honed his skills and will share what to do, what not to do, and what are the most feasible outcomes. Additionally, we'll cover commonly encountered and emerging invasive plant species, seasonal consideration and prioritization, and native plant revegetation strategies. Landscape and garden professionals will leave with tangible mitigation tools and resources for additional support.
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From ornamental to functional benefits, there are many opportunities to use native shrubs in any landscape. It's time to scratch privet off the shopping list and add New England native plants, northern bayberry or fragrant summersweet. In this online presentation, we'll see examples of various native shrubs and discuss their applications and plant combinations. Whether you're doing a formal garden perimeter or a wildlife habitat naturalizing project, we'll share management practices and plant selection to help you meet your design goals.
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