Container Garden Inspirations: Elements and Sizes

Garden designer Jen Dunlap creates dynamic and texturally driven designs that build upon traditional container gardens. Join her on a tour of the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden where she’ll provide the details of various container garden plant combinations. She’ll offer insight into her compositions and demonstrate the tricks to planting in various types and sized containers. From the small to the very large, Jen will leave you comfortable no matter what the scale of your container garden project.

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: Satuday, June 19, 2021

Location: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 105 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Jen Dunlap
Price: $25 / $32

Summer Naturalist: Medicinal Plants, Session 2 (Ages 10-17)

In this session, participants will explore new garden areas in search of medicinal plants with CMBG horticulturalist, Jen Dunlap. Participants will be introduced to a wide variety of medicinal plants that can be used safely to treat colds, wounds, stress, headaches, and so much more. Participants will also learn what part of the plant to harvest, how to harvest, and how to dry and prepare medicinal plants.

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Location: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 105 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Jen Dunlap
Price: $20 / $25

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.

Location: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 105 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Jen Dunlap
Price: $25 / $32

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.

Location: Online
Instructor: Jen Dunlap
Price: $16 / $25

Making a Winter Wreath

Get into the mood for the winter holidays by making your own evergreen wreath—there’s nothing like the sharp, clean scent of balsam fir to signal the beginning of the festive season. In this virtual workshop and demonstration, Horticulturist Jen Dunlap will lead you through the process of making your own unique winter wreath. Students can register with an option to pick up greenery from CMBG; instructions will be provided in a follow-up email. All registered students will receive a helpful list of suggested resources for other necessary supplies in that same email confirmation.

Location: Online
Instructor: Jen Dunlap
Price: $18 / $45

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

Plant a Fabulous Container Garden (Ages 14+) (Sold Out)

Planting a container garden is enormous fun. Loaded with creative possibility, it’s a perfect activity for gardeners of every age and ability, no matter if your containers are destined for your front stoop, patio, balcony, or planned as a focal feature in a perennial bed. In this hands-on workshop, Jen Dunlap, horticulturist and container garden designer, will guide you through the process of selecting, planting, and caring for whatever annuals you choose—sun- or shade-loving and with a myriad of flower and foliage options. All supplies provided.

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: Jen Dunlap
Price: $60 / $72

Create your own Kokedama (Ages 14+)

Unique, exceptional and magical are just some of the adjectives used to describe kokedama, the Japanese art of growing plants in a moss-covered ball of soil, 6-8 inches in diameter. They can be displayed on a decorative surface of your choice, hung from a tree branch, pergola ceiling, arbor, or bracket. In this class for all ages, horticulturist Jen Dunlap will guide you in creating three kokedama projects for your home garden. These verdant, living globes add whimsy, mystery, and vertical interest to your outdoor living space. All supplies provided.

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: Jen Dunlap
Price: $60 / $72

Making a Winter Wreath

Get into the winter holiday mood by crafting your own evergreen wreath—there’s nothing like the sharp, clean scent of balsam fir to signal the beginning of the festive season. In this workshop and demonstration, Horticulturist Jen Dunlap will lead you through the process of making your own unique winter wreath with cuttings from CMBG. All supplies will be provided, however we encourage students to bring their own hand pruners.

Location: Lerner Visitor Center
Instructor: Jen Dunlap
Price: $44 / $55

Make a Water-Wise Container Garden

Water-wise gardening is another way of referring to designing with water in mind, especially relevant to drought conditions. Water-wise container gardens lend themselves to an exotic and creative assortment of annuals or perennials like succulents, alpines, and plants with fuzzy leaves, leathery-glossy leaves, or those with varied color- and textural characteristics. Join Gardens Horticulturist Jen Dunlap for this creative workshop and make your own drought-tolerant container garden. Students are encouraged to bring their own clippers, apron, 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: Jen Dunlap
Price: $68 / $85

Garden Groundcovers: Plants and Uses (Sold Out)

This class is sold out, but please click "Learn More" to join our waitlist. | Groundcover plants combine beautiful form and function, supporting healthy soils and providing texture and color to any garden. In this class, you'll learn from staff Horticulturalist Jen Dunlap about the wide variety of groundcovers, especially those indigenous to the Northeast. We'll uncover their economic and ecological benefits, such as a solution to replace the need for any other kind of mulch.

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Location: Bosarge Family Education Center Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay
Instructor: Jen Dunlap
Price: $28 / $36