Raising Seedlings for the Backyard Gardener

Enjoy painting botanical illustrations in the super easy to learn and forgiving medium of gouache, also known as opaque watercolor. This class is designed for both inexperienced students and those who wish to improve their skills. We will cover basic as well as more advance gouache techniques to paint a beautiful flower in a style I like to call "soft...

This class will take place online. Registered students will receive login instructions. Mushrooms have been utilized for thousands of years for medicinal and edible purposes. John Michelotti, owner of Catskill Fungi, will show you how to cultivate gourmet mushrooms at home using safe and simple techniques. Using cardboard and coffee grounds, create...

Dive into the world of permaculture—a set of design principles centered around whole-systems thinking, utilizing natural ecosystems as a tool and roadmap. This class will introduce permaculture principles and uses, and how to apply this design philosophy to urban spaces in NYC and around the world. Notes: You will be emailed the Zoom link for this...

Native Plants 101: Gardening with Native Ephemerals & Understory Plants Find out what native Puget Sound plants are first to grow and flower in the spring and how to incorporate them into your garden!  This class will cover some of the native blooming flowers and plants that you can grow in your shady garden spot that will brighten up your...

Our Beginning Beekeeping instruction takes you from the basics to the realities of managing an urban beehive. You'll learn about honeybee anatomy and life cycle, bee stings, honey and other resources from the hive, common pests and diseases such as how to deal with varroa mites, hive equipment and how to use each piece, seasonal management, how to...

Backyard Food Forest: Design a Sustainable Edible Garden (Online) Turn your home landscape into a sustainable, edible landscape that returns year after year--without replanting! This interactive online workshop will teach you to use the design principles of permaculture to create an edible garden using perennial plants, shrubs, and small trees. Whether...

This class will take place online. Registered students will receive login instructions. This intro class teaches you basic botanical illustration techniques to help you make realistic drawings of branches, stems, leaves, and flowers using graphite and colored pencil. Recommended Textbooks: Botanical Art Techniques, American Society of Botanical Artists...

This class will take place online. Registered students will receive login instructions. Farms and edible gardens are popping up on rooftops across the country. But rooftop spaces have their own unique challenges for soil maintenance, watering, crop management, installation, and more. Annie Novak, co-founder of Eagle Street Farm (pictured here),...

Learn how to grow garden-fresh vegetables and herbs year-round in containers. Discover which varieties do best in containers and how to care for them.  Special attention is paid to those varieties that not only taste great but also look beautiful, including varieties that have interesting or unusual blooms and foliage.

The well-designed border wears a combination of perennials, annuals, and shrubs that provide three seasons of color and winter interest. This class will discuss how to artfully combine plants with an emphasis on the use of color, texture, and form. Whether you are a new gardener or have an established border that could use updating, this class is...

This class will take place online. Registered students will receive login instructions. Get pro tips on how to care for orchids in less than optimal environments. Barbara Schmidt, award-winning exhibitor at the Philadelphia Flower Show and author of Orchid Care: For the Beginner, will walk you through which orchid genus will fare best in your indoor...

A garden shaded by trees or buildings is often a challenge for the gardener who is faced with low light levels, tree roots, and soil that is often dry. Discover solutions and ideas for artful plantings that can help you create effective combinations with optimal color, texture, and form. This class will be taught online via Zoom. All registrations...

This class will take place online. Registered students will receive login instructions. Container gardening know-how is in high demand. Learn how to create a container garden for your patio, terrace, or entryway that is at once functional and gorgeous—and discover techniques for ensuring that your plants thrive in all four seasons. 

This class will take place online. Registered students will receive login instructions. Discover the power, the allure, and the science of psychedelic mushrooms. Food journalist and former president of the New York Mycological Society, Eugenia Bone, author of Mycophilia, will discuss the biology of these potent fungi, their cultural history, and contemporary...

Container gardening requires some specialized knowledge to achieve quality results. Learn the basics for planting and maintaining a healthy outdoor container garden: materials and styles of containers, customized potting mixes, fertilization, and watering requirements.  Learn which plants thrive in containers and you'll be ready to go!

This class will take place online. Registered students will receive login instructions. Gardens tucked into roofs and balconies beautify our urban mosaic and connect us to nature. But every urban terrace gardener knows the challenge of dealing with conditions such as harsh sun, perpetual shade, relentless wind, and managing plants confined to containers....

Gain an introduction to the terminology, concepts, and basic principles of landscape design through lectures and simple two-dimensional exercises.  This course is recommended for students with little or no background in design who want to design for their own home or who are considering a Certificate.

This class will take place online. Registered students will receive login instructions. Explore the basic principles underlying successful, environmentally friendly gardening, including the structure and physiological processes of plants and their relationships to the settings in which they grow. Students learn not only what to do, but why. Topics...

This class will take place online. Registered students will receive login instructions. Did you know there are over 200 tree species growing on the streets of Manhattan? Learn to distinguish among the five most common genera and pinpoint particular species in this quick intro to tree identification. If you have mystery trees in your neighborhood,...

Want to compost, but not sure where to start? Learn tips and techniques on how to compost right in your own backyard. You’ll gain sound composting practices to ensure successful home composting. All registrations must be submitted online two days before your class starts.