Horticulture Classes in Chicago, IL

Along with the many edible mushrooms dotting our Illinois landscape, our woodlands, flood plains, ravine communities, and even our own backyards often contain poisonous mushrooms. Get introduced not only to mushrooms that can make you very sick and those that are deadly, but also to the various toxins these mushrooms contain.

Learn techniques on how to avoid buying bees for your apiary every spring. We will cover how to select good stock to start your hive, easy ways to make a few queens to propagate stock that winters in your area, and how to make splits from your own bees to increase hive counts or replace dead colonies.

Learning the correct technique for pruning is key to maintaining healthy plants. Tim Johnson will introduce you to the principles of pruning, including proper tool use, techniques for pruning trees and shrubs, and the best time to prune both evergreen and deciduous plants. He will also display a variety of good tools for pruning.

Join us for a discussion of orchid cultural requirements, focusing on the orchid root system and the importance of proper potting. Discover what makes a good potting mix, how to pot for different growing conditions and how to troubleshoot poor growth, a lack of flowers, and dying leaves. It’s all in the roots! A tour of the Orchid Show is includ...

This is a technical training course for aspiring growers who are interested in learning best-practice season-extension techniques.  It will combine classroom and hands-on work to prepare students to get a jump on the spring growing season.  It will involve farm work activities in all weather conditions. Students are expected to work indoors...

Growing and eating sprouts can present benefits to enhance your immune function and increase your body’s ability to heal. Learn how easy it can be to grow life-giving foods that heal, how to incorporate sprouts into your diet, and taste samples of the indoor harvest.

Explore native tropical fauna, indigenous peoples, and how culture is tied to horticulture. Take a glimpse into the ancient Hawaiian way of life by touching on topics such as island biology, native agriculture systems, Hawaiian legends, and the importance of plants to the native Hawaiian’s culture. 

If you have a spot in your garden, balcony, or deck that receives more than six hours of direct sunlight, you can grow fresh herbs and vegetables. We’ll cover how to grow the best essential ingredients for your kitchen: tomatoes, onions, peppers, squash, garlic, and leafy greens.  In this class, you’ll learn the basics of soil preparation,...

Learn about growing woody plants, both deciduous and evergreen. Whether you are a beginning or experienced home gardener, you can improve your skills to choose, plant, and place the perfect tree or shrub, as well as short- and long-term care techniques.

The Garden’s production department grows nearly a half-million plants every year. Join Tim Pollak for a behind-the-scenes tour through the Chicago Botanic Garden’s greenhouses and nursery. Be the first to see which spring annuals will appear in the 2019 annual display beds, hanging baskets, containers, and hanging hayracks. You will also get a...

Explore recipes, stories, and how-to tutorials for incorporating herbs into every aspect of your daily life. Discover unusual herbs, how to grow them, ways to use them, and interesting facts about these fascinating plants. The instructor will share 45 years of experience growing, selling, and living with herbs from her book, Beyond Rosemary, Basil,...

Root over rock is a unique and naturally occurring event in nature. Tree roots attach to rock and continue to grow as the tree ages. In this workshop, we will attach a tree to a rock so the roots will take hold. A tree and a rock are provided; each student will leave the workshop having taken the first and most important step in the process.  A...

Create a living wreath of succulent plants for your home or outdoors. You will fill a wire wreath frame with moss complete with succulent cuttings that root in the wreath. This will be a small but full wreath that can be used as a tabletop arrangement or as an outdoor decoration for a door or fence and will last for years, given proper care. Please...

This course is designed as an introduction to home organic cannabis cultivation for Illinois medical marijuana patients and caregivers. Cultivation topics will include: Cannabis growing strategies: Organic vs. Traditional Cannabis harvesting, trimming, drying, curing Cannabis strains, genetics, methods of use. Overview on legal and social issues...