Horticulture & Gardening

Explore all things palms … and even pot and take home one of your own. Registration closed.

Gather all you need to know about hardy bulbs with this comprehensive horticultural course, featuring four weekly lectures and two engaging plant walks. Registration closed.

Elective Class for Gardening Certificate

With some know-how and little practice, you’ll be well on your way to successfully starting your own plants at home.

Gain an understanding of how seeds are formed and dispersed, why they look the way they do, and how they fit into the environment.

Our Garden Shop Planted by Longwood experts will guide you through the art of terrarium building, focusing on the exquisite beauty of orchids. Sold out.

Get ready for a hands-on experience, where you’ll first observe how to perform important pruning techniques, then try them out yourself!

Join us for a crash course in common houseplant ailments including pests, diseases, watering and light issues, and more. Sold out. Join the waitlist.

Gain a solid understanding of native plants, trees, shrubs, and perennials to then apply to landscape design.

Core Course for Landscape Design Certificate

Dig deep into vegetable cultivation with this introductory level class for beginner vegetable gardeners. Sold out. Join the waitlist.

Discuss and explore deer-repelling best practices that can be implemented to protect your plants, shrubs, and trees. 

Learn to identify small flowering trees and explore their ecological significance. 

Fulfills the Horticulture and Gardening requirement for Landscape Design.

Learn basic mixing, molding, and finishing techniques to make a lightweight, porous, weatherproof container from hypertufa. Sold out. Join the waitlist.

Fully online. Join this beginner-friendly webinar and immerse yourself in the fascinating world of bonsai.

Discover the best timing and benefits of growing from seed, while mastering techniques to overcome common challenges.

Learn about the different kinds of soils and how their characteristics translate to advantages and disadvantages for your garden. 

Learn essential gardening skills, including garden planning, safety practices, understanding fundamental tools, and mastering key gardening techniques. 

First Required Core Course for Gardening Certificate

Learn the care and culture of bonsai, including techniques for designing and maintaining these sculptured treasures. Sold out. Join the waitlist.

Explore the fundamentals of creating a water garden at home—from how to care for and cultivate commonly used plants to how to use propagation most effectively in your garden.

Take the mystery out of flower gardening as expert gardener and author of The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Guide Jenny Rose Carey sheds light on how to create your own flower garden. 

Learn the fundamentals of creating a 12 x 12-inch birch-framed preserved hanging moss wall perfect to display at home.

Find a new use for those willow and dogwood branches that you cut back or used for winter decorations. 

Create your own spring planter that incorporates early-season color. Sold out. Join the waitlist.

Learn the fundamentals of compost—from how it’s made to what it’s made of—with Longwood Soils and Compost Manager Erik Stefferud. 

Learn the identification, culture, ornamental characteristics, and landscape use of a group of perennial plants—herbaceous plants that live three or more years—that serve as highlights in the garden from late winter through early summer.

Elective Class for Gardening Certificate

Learn to design and create a landscape well-suited to handle excess rain.

Prepare for taking care of all of your perennial plants this season—from fall-blooming perennials to all other varieties.

With more than 40,000 varieties, dahlias offer vibrant late-season color from August to frost, making them a versatile choice for any garden.

Take a special look at all things native orchids—from hardy orchids, to native orchids at Longwood and their ideal growing conditions.

Get an introduction to the fundamentals of plant science—from leaf and leaf arrangement to flower and flower structure, basic plant anatomy, and basic taxonomy. 

Core Course for Gardening Certificate

Join The Garden Shop team in a hands-on workshop as our expert instructors guide you through the process of crafting your very own miniature garden enclosed in glass. Sold out. 

Through a series of lectures and plant walks, this course covers the identification and many landscape uses—and benefits—of deciduous trees found in this region. 

Elective Class for Gardening Certificate

Join us for a relaxing morning surrounded by the beauty of orchids—and an enjoyable orchid-themed brunch with drink pairings.

Join us for a tour of Brandywine Cottage and Bondsville Mill Park, led by internationally recognized garden designer, horticulturist, and author David Culp.

Get an expert take on what makes plants drought-tolerant, and which may be best for your yard.

Nothing beats annuals if you’re looking for a big splash of summer color to add to your garden. 

Elective Class for Gardening Certificate

Explore the technique of crevice gardening, which replicates the exposed and rocky conditions of such environments as mountaintops, deserts, and coastlines. 

Join The Flower Sommelier, Christopher Sheridan, in first exploring the Gardens to find inspiration in our spring display, and then creating two tussie-mussie bouquets.

Join The Garden Shop team and design your own low-maintenance succulent terrarium—perfect for those who want to add a touch of greenery to their home with the peace of mind that it will thrive even when they are away on vacation.

Take a closer look at your own bonsai and get specific, tailored advice and guidance from our in-house bonsai experts.

Plant summertime treasures in a container of diverse and contrasting textures.

Through a lecture and demonstration, learn characteristic kusamono styles, methods for creation, display techniques, and care. 

Get a detailed look into plants with exceptional ornamental attributes and resiliency in the garden; native groundcovers and vine varieties.

Elective Class for Gardening Certificate

Explore the fertility needs of indoor and outdoor potted plants; annual, perennial, and vegetable garden spaces; a few special needs plants (including ericaceous species and iron deficiencies); and basic turf fertility issues.

Join The Garden Shop team and embrace the beauty of fall by crafting a stunning mini moss wall that captures the cozy, warm, earthy tones and textures of the season.

Join The Garden Shop team and create a timeless, fall-inspired display inside a glass cloche—preserving the vibrant colors and textures of the cozy season for years to come.