Staghorn Fern Workshop

Learn all the basics needed to start keeping bees. This includes what to expect, how to put together equipment, how to get bees in your hive, finding the queen, feeding, what to look for after the bees are installed, and seasonal chores.

Study more than 60 different deciduous flowering shrubs (and their cultivars and related species) suitable for commercial landscape and home garden use in the Chicago region. Identification, cultural information, aesthetic qualities, and landscape uses of both common and more unusual shrubs will be emphasized.  Upon completing this course, you...

We generally use leaves and foliage to identify plants. But what about deciduous trees and shrubs that only have leaves for six months out of the year? During the dormant season, we can still correctly identify plants by using the buds, bark, and habit. Take this class to learn how to identify common trees and shrubs in the dormant season. A...

Join us on an evening bird walk through the display gardens as we search for songbirds, waterfowl, and raptors.  No prior bird-watching experience is required, and binoculars are recommended but not necessary! 

With the arrival of seed catalogs in your mailbox, it’s time to get excited about spring. Learn hot new plants, what to look for at garden centers, and new garden trends. Find out how to use annuals in containers, window boxes, and hanging baskets, what plants do best in shade or full sun, and how to incorporate vegetables to enhance your garden....

The glacial out carvings along Lake Michigan's shoreline make the ravines one of the rarest ecosystems in Illinois. You will discover how the ravines were created, what makes them such a rare habitat, their unique fungi and flora, and contemporary threats to this delicate system.