Gardening for Beginners
Mia A. Mengucci
Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist and Employee, Primex Garden Center

In this course students will learn the basics for starting a garden. We will cover the essential elements that plants need to survive including soil, sun and moisture and how much is required for different kinds of plants. Mia will review how to select the right plants for your garden taking into consideration color, height and foliage texture. Planting techniques, the use of fertilizers, mulching and proper watering methods will all be covered as well as transplanting, deadheading and some common insect and pest problems that you might encounter.

Wednesday, September 26
7 – 9 p.m.
Members: $24
Non-members: $26

Make a Hypertufa Trough
Mary Tilger and Rebecca Boylan
Penn State Master Gardeners

Using hypertufa, made from sand or perlite combined with cement and peat moss, you will create a molded planter to take home and plant. This easy to make product is lighter in weight than concrete and can be planted with sedum or hen and chicks, rare alpines or even shadeloving plants. The finished trough has an ancient look like stone. All materials for creating the troughs will be supplied. The instructors will provide step by step instruction. Dress to get dirty. Please bring a pair of sturdy rubber gloves for kitchen use. We will meet at Bloomfield Farm. Look for the paved road across Northwestern Avenue from the public garden entrance. Park in the lot at the side of the Horticulture Center, a large building that resembles a garage.

Saturday, September 29 - 2 Sessions
10:30 a.m. – 12 noon (Full)
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Members: $22
Non-members: $24
Less than 5 reservations left!

Woody Plant Propagation: The Secrets Revealed
Shelley Dillard
Propagator, Morris Arboretum

Woody plants are often expensive and the particular one that you want can be hard to find. Learn the secrets of propagating woody
plants from seed. Seed from woody plants often requires special treatments for germination. These treatments are not difficult to perform but are essential to break a seed’s dormancy and get it to grow. Shelley propagates seed from all types of woody plants from this country and around the world in the Arboretum greenhouse complex. She will share her expertise in collecting, cleaning and propagating woody plant seeds.

Thursday, October 11
7 – 9 p.m.
and
Saturday, October 13
10 a.m. – 12 noon
Members: $45
Non-members: $50
Less than 10 reservations left!

Pruning for the Homeowner
Iana Turner
Horticulturist, Morris Arboretum

Learn how you can skillfully prune shrubs and small trees to achieve a pleasing natural shape and abundant flowering. In this evening lecture and Saturday workshop you will have the opportunity to see demonstrations designed to help you master pruning concepts and gain confidence. The course will cover formative pruning for young trees and proper pruning practices for larger, older trees. It will also cover naturalistic pruning techniques for creating attractive hedges and methods for reducing overgrown shrubbery. Please bring hand pruners and a small pruning saw to the Saturday session. This class meets twice.

Tuesday, October 16
7 – 9 p.m.
and
Saturday, October 20
10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Members: $45
Non-members: $50

Fall Color: A Special Tour with the Director
Paul Meyer
The F. Otto Haas Director of the Morris Arboretum

The Arboretum comes alive in fall with a rich palette of brilliant colors. Join us for this special lecture and tour with the Arboretum’s Director, Paul Meyer, whose enthusiasm and love of plants is contagious. He will show you some of his favorite trees and shrubs that provide spectacular fall color and fruit including many of the maples, Enkianthus, black gum and deciduous hollies. You will learn about plants you can use in your home landscape and the conditions that they need to thrive. In this walk through the Arboretum’s living collection, which should be at the height of fall color, you will have the chanceto study the actual plants up close. The class will be held rain or shine. If we are unable to go outside, Paul will present an illustrated lecture.

Saturday, October 20
10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Members: $29
Non-members: $32
FULL!

Gardening with Native Plants
Catherine Renzi
Owner, Yellow Springs Farm Native Plants Nursery

This class will teach you the essentials of gardening with native plants. The instructor, a native plant expert, will introduce you to a
great palette of native plants. She will include information on what plants are considered native, why you should use them in your garden, and which planting conditions they prefer. Catherine will share tips on how to choose plants to maintain an environmentally friendly garden that provides a habitat to attract and support birds and other wildlife throughout the seasons.

Saturday, October 27
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Members: $24
Non-members: $26
Less than 10 reservations left!

Tree ID and Appreciation: The Oaks, Beeches and Chestnuts
Ken LeRoy
Horticulturist and Owner, LeRoy Tree and Landscape Care

In this identification course we will study trees in the beech or Fagaceae family, which includes the oaks, beeches and chestnuts. Ken will share tips for identifying these trees by examining their nuts and acorns and we will learn about the important role they play in our forests. Some of the oldest and most majestic trees found in our area are from this plant family. The Arboretum’s massive Bender oak measuring five feet seven inches in diameter and its elegant weeping beech are two excellent specimens that we will study. For this class we will use the entire Arboretum as our living laboratory including the Michaux Quercetum, a research collection of oaks planted in the early 1950s. These trees are planted at Bloomfield Farm, an area of the Arboretum not open to the public. This course meets twice.

Two Saturdays:
November 3, 10
10 a.m – 12:30 p.m.
Members: $50
Non-members: $55
Less than 10 reservations left

Behind-the-Scenes: A Special Tour with the Curator
Anthony Aiello
Curator of the Living Collection, Morris Arboretum

On this special tour of the Bloomfield Farm we will learn what goes on “behind-the-scenes” in an area of the Arboretum not usually open to the public. Tony will show you that the Bloomfield Farm is much more than the site for the yearly Plant Sale. It contains the Arboretum’s young plant nursery, southern magnolias that are being tested for winter hardiness, the bee garden, many interesting oaks in a collection called the Michaux Quercetum, and various other research collections. Learn about plans for the Bloomfield Farm and how it provides the behind-the-scenes support needed to help make the areas of the Arboretum that are open to the public really shine. Dress to explore. Meet at the Bloomfield Farm parking lots. Look for the paved road across Northwestern Avenue from the public garden entrance. Park and meet in the lot to the side of the Horticulture center, a building that resembles a large garage.

Saturday, November 17
10 a.m. – 12 noon
Members: $24
Non-members: $26
FULL!