There’s only so many canvases one can collect from paint nights with friends. If you’re looking for some other awesome ideas for classes- look no further than the New York Botanical Garden’s Adult Education classes. NYBG offers adult classes in design, art, gardening, and now food and drink! Check out some highlights below, and visit www.nybg.org for more information.
- Practical, real-world Floral Design classes in New York City’s oldest and most prestigious Floral Design Program, which includes, as part of the certificate program, creating more than 40 original floral designs and honing the skills needed to build or sustain a thriving floral business;
- A host of new Food and Drink classes, in which people can, among other things, learn how to ferment tea to make kombucha, explore the world of eco-friendly wines, understand the basics of beekeeping, and—in time for Valentine’s Day—discover the history and modern techniques of making chocolate, including tastings that will refine the palate of even the most ardent chocolate lover;
- NYBG’s expanded Urban Naturalist certificate program, which starts September 22 and uses NYBG’s 250-acre grounds and select New York City parks as living laboratories to investigate the interrelationships between species and equip people with the observation, identification, and documentation skills to become citizen scientists and effective environmental stewards;
- The 20th Annual Landscape Design Portfolios Lecture Series, held on three Monday evenings in October and November in Manhattan, featuring Charles Birnbaum, Beka Sturges, and Thomas Woltz, innovative leaders in the field of contemporary landscape design whose work is dedicated to ensuring that the public has access to beautiful landscapes that heal the land and celebrate history, culture, and ecology;
- A Floral Design Showcase with Putnam and Putnam on October 26 in NYBG’s Ross Hall, a large-scale, in-depth floral demonstration with Michael and Darroch Putnam, whose romantic, densely layered arrangements have made them the go-to floral designers for New York’s fashion world and wedding scene and such A-list clients as Bergdorf Goodman, Dior, and Cartier;
- Cultivating a New Garden Ethic, a symposium on November 28, featuring Larry Weaner, Scott Freeman, and Jan Merryweather, three distinguished speakers who will explore how our gardening practices can satisfy our desire to cultivate natural beauty while helping to heal the larger environment;
- Festive holiday classes and workshops that will teach people how to make wreaths, decorate with greens, and create sculptural floral arrangements with greens and winter blooms; and
- The 19th Annual Winter Lecture Series, held on three Thursday mornings in January, February, and March at NYBG, featuring Martha Stewart, Jinny Blom, and Margaret Roach, notable and passionate practitioners of gardening who will share their philosophies, stories and lessons learned along the way.