Advanced Studies in Professional Horticulture

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.

For more information or questions contact Irene Barber, Adult Education Program Manager, at ibarber@mainegardens.org.

Advanced Studies in Professional Horticulture Classes

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March 19

Designing with Native Shrubs: Formal to Naturalized Applications

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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Location: Online

Time: 4:00pm-5:30pm

Cost: $15–18