Growing Together Series:

Classes designed for adults and children to learn together. Bring a young person with you or just bring yourself for a morning of fun. A suggested donation of $5 per child is appreciated.   Please register by calling 221-0981 x 18.

Paper Making

Saturday, May 10, 10-11am

Instructor:  Corina Bullock, CGC Youth Education Coordinator

Come and enjoy an introductory lesson on turning old paper into nice handmade paper. You’ll leave with the ability to make more at home and a good start on your Mother’s Day card. 

Child Friendly Backyard

Saturday, May 17, 2-4pm

Instructor: Corina Bullock and Peter Huttinger, CGC Staff

Parents and children will brainstorm together and share ideas for making their own outdoor play areas into discovery zones. By using mapping techniques, we hope to facilitate participants' imaginations to create a backyard design. The second half of the class we'll share plant types and building techniques that will start simple but the imagination can turn magical!

The Dirt is Alive!

Saturday, June 14, 10-11am

Instructor: Corina Bullock, CGC Youth Education Coordinator

Dirt is not just dirt. Discover first hand what soil is made of, how it is alive and how to keep it alive! Digging in the dirt will never be the same.

Summer Night Games

Monday, July 21, 8-10pm

Instructor:  Corina Bullock, CGC Youth Education Coordinator

Remember how fun summer evenings were outside? Spend an evening in the Hauck Botanic Garden playing night games and enjoying nature at night. Bring your friends - the more the merrier!

Plant Identification Series:

These horticulture classes can be especially useful to seasoned gardeners, Master Gardeners and CGC volunteers. All will be held in the CGC auditorium. Volunteers may take the classes free.

Flowering & Fruit Trees

Tuesday, May 20, 6-8pm

Instructor:  Dave Koester, Campbell County Cooperative Extension Agent

Everyone can enjoy their own private Garden of Eden!  Come learn about great disease resistant tree varieties that will fit in your home landscape.

Poisonous Plants in the Home Landscape

Wednesday, June 18, 6-8pm

Instructor:  Sue Trusty, Horticulturist

 Most plants in our environment offer great benefits, including beauty, privacy, food, fragrance and medicine. But there are a few plants out there that can prove harmful when inappropriately used or accidentally eaten or touched.

Gardeners, particularly those with young children and pets, need to be familiar  with these potential problem plants. Learn to identify the toxic plants most likely to be found in our homes and landscapes – from poison ivy to poppies and azaleas to wisteria. Find out why they are harmful and how to avoid them.

Perennial Geraniums

Tuesday, July 15, 6-8pm

Instructor:  Paul Koloszar, CGC Horticulturist III

Geraniums have been getting a lot of attention from growers and gardeners over the last few years. Some are winners and some clearly belong on the compost heap. Which ones deserve a place in your garden? Paul will talk about choosing and using these multi-seasonal perennials.

Home Gardening and Sustainable Living Series

Attend a class to spark creativity for your garden or increase your knowledge on a topic & explore with us and others who are working in this direction some of the ways to live in closer harmony with the natural world.  Classes are held at the CGC and cost is $10 per class unless otherwise noted. Please register by calling 221-0981 x 18. 

How to Build a Rain Barrel

Saturday, April 12, 10am-Noon FULL/Registration is closed for this class

Instructor: Peter Huttinger, Neighborhood Gardens Coordinator

April showers bring May flowers and an opportunity to put a rain barrel to good use!  Rain barrels are an eco-friendly way to collect rain to water your garden.  Vegetable and flower plants love rainwater.  Harvesting rainwater also reduces storm water runoff and provides free water for your garden.  Instruction on how to build and install a basic rain barrel, as well as a supply list and instruction sheet, will be provided.  (Rain barrel kits will be available for purchase at the workshop.)

Additonal classes have been added:

May 12, 6-7:30pm

May 19, 6-7:30pm

No-Till Gardening

Saturday, May 10, 1-3pm

Instructor:  Jerome Wigner

Save energy!  Save time!  Save your soil!  Jerome Wigner is a practitioner of No-Till Gardening and eager to share with you this great alternative way of gardening.

Intro to Xeriscaping

Tuesday, May 27, 7-8:30pm

Instructor:  Cara Hague, CGC Horticulturist I

Xeriscaping is a relatively new term for Midwesterners, but has been practiced by folks in Denver, California and other western states for decades.  Join us to explore this landscaping concept that people have been buzzing about!

Emerald Ash Borer Information for the Homeowner 

Tuesday June 10, 6-8pm

Instructor:  Dave Gamstetter, City of Cincinnati, Division of Urban Forestry

Get current on the Emerald Ash Borer:  how they got here, where they are in the U.S. and Cincinnati, symptoms of infestation, and management strategies for your own yard.

Dividing Perennials

Tuesday, June 24, 6-8pm

Instructor:  Paul Koloszar, CGC Horticulturist III

Most perennials benefit from being divided every few years, and gardeners can get more of their favorite plants this way! Get your hands dirty and learn what, when, and how to divide!

Fall Vegetable Gardening and Crop Rotation

Wednesday, July 16, 6-8pm

Instructor:  Cara Hague, CGC Horticulturist I

The gardening season doesn’t have to end with tomatoes and summer squash!  Learn how to extend your harvest with vegetables that grow in the cooler temperatures of fall, and what to replace summer crops with once they die down.

Lunch and Learn Series:

These lunchtime classes are especially great for those who wish to take a class, but are short on time. Bring your lunch if you wish, while we explore a horticultural topic of the month. We will begin in the Hoffman Library for a brief overview and then move outdoors for a close-up look at the gardens or one of the plant collections.

These classes are free (unless otherwise noted) but registration is requested.

Beneficial Insects

Wednesday, May 21, Noon-1pm

Instructor:  Connie Booth, CGC Volunteer Coordinator

Many of the insects in our gardens are allies for our gardening efforts.  Learn about resources for identifying the “good” from the “bad” bugs and take home ideas of which plants attract those that are beneficial.

Hosta

Wednesday, June 11, Noon-1pm

Instructor:  Jane Kozlowicz, Founder, Hosta Society of Greater Cincinnati

Take a walk through the Pat Kipp Shade Garden at the CGC and marvel at the hundreds of Hosta varieties.  See everything from miniatures to species Hosta, and many favorite and unusual cultivars.

Gardening as a Healing Art

Wednesday, July 9, Noon-1pm

Instructor: Eileen Frechette, Educator; Certified in Therapeutic Remedial Education

This presentation will discuss the curative properties of gardening and how they can be used as an integrated therapeutic practice when working with children, adults and persons with special needs.