New York Botanical Garden Classes, New York

Perfume can be traced back thousands of years to an Ancient Egyptian tradition, beloved by Cleopatra. Discover the history of perfume and the therapeutic benefits of essential oils in this hands-on workshop. Learn scent-blending techniques and how to identify and keep perfume notes.  Formulate three unique signature scents using wax, carrier...

Create your own professional-looking arrangements with economical, store-bought bouquets. Using simple design principles and fresh flowers from European-style displays in your grocery store, learn how to design and create your own elegant arrangements. Please bring: Pruners and a bag/box to take your arrangement home. 

Fifteen minutes is all it takes for a stylish arrangement that will transform your table! Working with a variety of seasonal flowers, you'll learn how to execute simple yet impactful designs that are versatile, sophisticated, and eco-friendly.  Take home one finished arrangement—and plenty of easy design ideas.  Please bring: Pruners...

Colors—like flowers themselves—evoke feeling and sentiment, and set the mood. Explore the role of color in floral design using a spectrum of flowers. This course gives you a solid grounding in color theory, while highlighting the latest hues and color combinations.  Please bring:  Florist knife wire cutter scissors pruners ...

Bring the bouquet of a summer garden indoors with handmade, naturally moisturizing glycerin soaps. You'll learn the traditional melt-and-pour process and combine fragrances of various dried herbs and essential oils—lavender, rosemary, mint, and more—to make four bars to take home.  Note: All the needed materials are included and provided...

Freshen your home while experiencing the soothing benefits of essential oils. Create custom-scented aromatherapy soy candles using essential oils to invigorate, calm, or heal. Learn the differences between petroleum-based paraffin candles and synthetic essential oil candles commonly sold in stores. Create and take home two 4-oz. container candles...

Learn the keys to successful floral design and master the mechanics needed to create round, triangular, parallel, and crescent arrangements. Experiment with shape, line, and symmetry, while composing beautiful, balanced creations.  Materials List: Florist knife wire cutter scissors pruners a camera box or bag to carry home your work Note: ...

Container gardening know-how is in high demand. Learn how to create a container garden for your patio, terrace, or entryway that is at once functional and gorgeous—and discover techniques for ensuring that your plants thrive in all four seasons. 

Designed for students who want a user–friendly introduction to plant science, this course surveys the major groups of plants—flowering plants, conifers, ferns, and bryophytes—focusing on plant form and structure.  Learn about the relationships between appearance and function, ecology, systematics, and evolution, and become botanically literate....

Mushrooms have been utilized for thousands of years for medicinal and edible purposes. John Michelotti, owner of Catskill Fungi, will show you how to cultivate gourmet mushrooms at home using safe and simple techniques.  Using cardboard and coffee grounds, create your own oyster mushroom starter (Pleurotus ostreatus) to take home, while learning...

Container gardening requires some specialized knowledge to achieve quality results. Learn the basics for planting and maintaining a healthy outdoor container garden: materials and styles of containers, customized potting mixes, fertilization, and watering requirements.  Learn which plants thrive in containers and you'll be ready to go!

Plants in pots can turn an ordinary deck, rooftop, terrace or front porch, into a bountiful gardening space filled with foliage and flowers. Autumn brings new opportunities—and challenges—for every container gardener, whatever their experience level. Learn which plants are ideal for containers, how to maintain them, and where to easily source...

Gain an introduction to the terminology, concepts, and basic principles of landscape design through lectures and simple two-dimensional exercises.  This course is recommended for students with little or no background in design who want to design for their own home or who are considering a Certificate.

Did you know there are over 200 tree species growing on the streets of Manhattan? Learn to distinguish among the five most common general and pinpoint particular species in this quick intro to tree identification. If you have mystery trees in your neighborhood, bring photos and we'll identify them together. We'll spend some time outdoors too, so dress...

Enjoy painting botanical watercolors in a relaxed atmosphere. This class is designed for both inexperienced students and those who wish to improve their skills. Sign up for one section, or several! Lectures and demonstrations are enhanced by individual instruction.  Work at your own pace on a variety of pieces. Please bring lunch. Note: ...