Perennials can provide almost year-round color in an easy-care garden.  The Beginner's Perennial Garden introduces you to hardy perennials, simple starter plans, and the basics of soil preparation.  Instructor Beth Burrell (The Giving Tree) shares her years of experience as a landscape designer—including how to create a garden on a site with bad soil! This class […]

Come learn some basic and fun information about butterflies and moths, including the significance of Monarch butterflies and how we can each make a difference. Afterwards, enjoy a guided walk around the Garden. We’ll end at the Conservatory with a visit to M&T Bank Butterflies LIVE!. Fees: Member Adult and Member Child $0 / Non-Member […]

Explore Virginia’s unique regions through dishes celebrating the Northern Neck, Tidewater, Shenandoah Valley and River City with Executive Chef Anne Maury Haapala. More than just ham biscuits and pimento cheese, Virginia cuisine incorporates rich cultural and regional influences. Learn how to impress your friends with dishes inspired by the food-rich Commonwealth.

New best-selling books have brought revelations about how trees live their lives. You'll visit some of the Garden’s most prominent trees and hear discoveries about their subtle communication skills through the “wood wide web”. Tour includes many parts of the garden; expect some uneven terrain. Fees: Member Adult and Member Child $0 / Non-Member Adult […]

Native plants are a wonderful addition to the landscape for their adaptability, ornamental value and pollinator support. Tour the Garden with experienced Guides and learn how to incorporate natives into your garden with greater confidence and success.

Explore and view the Asian Valley from a different perspective. Learn how Eastern culture, tradition, and lore are fundamentals in the development of an Asian garden.

Container gardens help you maximize small spaces and they’re easy to maintain! Garden horticulturist Dean Dietrich, responsible for the many spectacular container plantings in the Central Garden, helps you create your own container garden emphasizing color and texture combinations. Soil and plant material provided, along with a lightweight liner that students can slip into their […]

Celebrate the joys and colors of autumn in the Garden by beginning a nature journal. Discover how word, line and color come together to create beautiful pages that capture your unique experience in the out-of-doors. Take home new skills, ideas, and inspiration along with a robust trove of journaling and art supplies to continue your […]

Explore plants that are adapted to survive in more hostile conditions. Huge varieties of plants are available in "big box stores" as well as native plant nurseries. Some thrive year-round and others must be over-wintered inside. Regardless, you can transform your hostile spaces into beautiful gardens (even a Fairy Garden), travel without water worries and help the […]

Silverpoint, a drawing medium used by the old masters, is enjoying a revival by artists today. Styluses containing a sharpened sterling silver wire produce delicate pale lines that tarnish over time to golden browns. Drawings have a lovely glow due to thin layers of silver reflecting light. Learn traditional ways to apply silverpoint to a […]