Upcoming Classes

In this festive workshop. Together we'll create a Thanksgiving-themed arrangement to set the tone for the season. Using a rich palette and seasonal materials, you'll learn techniques such as establishing line, balance, and proportion to build a harmonious design that captures the warmth and abundance of fall. Come ready to get inspired and leave with a beautiful piece that reflects the spirit of the holiday

Length: 1 day
Date: Saturday, November 15, 2025
Time: 10am - 11:30am ET

Using inspiration from the rich textures and colors of holiday fruits, berries, and evergreens, you’ll create a festive botanical painting using pen, ink, and watercolor.  Through a series of guided demonstrations and hands-on practice, Sarah Roche will walk you through the steps—from sketching and composition to inking, painting, and preparing your piece for high-quality reproduction. By the end of the workshop, you’ll be ready to create pieces that are perfect for turning into custom holiday cards, gift tags, or notepaper.

Some drawing experience required

Length: 1 day
Dates: Saturday, November 22, 2025
Time: 10 am - 3 pm ET 

The dormant period in Winter is an important time to perform specific work on plants whose structure is visible with no leaves. We will visit a number of shrubs and ornamental trees that are best pruned and accessed in Winter. Since plants do not respond to pruning at this time, we can use this window to remove water sprouts and root suckers and work on plants with specific aesthetic needs. The workshop will cover specific pruning techniques, explaining how and why cuts are being made.

Length: 1 day
Date: Saturday, November 22, 2025
Time: 10am - 11:30am ET

Discover the timeless techniques of painting on vellum in this immersive three-session workshop with instructor Sarah Roche. Calfskin vellum—treasured for its luminous surface and durability—has been used by artists for centuries, and this course offers the perfect entry point into this archival medium.

Learn essential dry brush techniques tailored specifically for working on vellum. Explore how to build delicate layers and fine detail with the rich jewel tones and sculptural forms of seasonal fruits as your subject

Length: 3 days
Dates:  December 1, 3, &  5,  2025
Time: 10 am - 2 pm ET 

Botanical art has always informed and promoted botany and the plant world. Fueled by centuries of plant exploration and advances in printing techniques, botanical art has gained a wide audience and flourished as both an art form and a means to document plant species. Join Sarah Roche as she reviews the significant roles and styles of botanical art from early times to the present. At the second session of this class, you will view rare botanical books & prints from Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s extraordinary collection.

Length: 2 days
Dates:  December 2 & 4,  2025
Time: 10 am - 12:30 pm ET 

Celebrate the season with this hands-on workshop that shows how to use the materials around you to create festive arrangements for indoors or out. Working with fresh evergreens, grasses, and other natural textures, participants will first learn the basics of building a strong base arrangement, then explore different ways to embellish it for the holidays. Guided step-by-step, you’ll create your own seasonal piece to take home.

Length: 1 day
Date: Friday, December 5, 2025
Time: 10am - 11:30am ET

Get into the holiday spirit with an unconventional December workshop. You'll create a one-of-a-kind holiday arrangement that breaks the rules—in the best way! Think unexpected elements, bold textures, playful color palettes, and maybe even a few sparkles tucked among your blooms. Using techniques like dynamic asymmetry, creative use of negative space, and a mix of fresh and novelty materials, you'll build a design that's as joyful and unique as the season itself. Perfect for anyone ready to shake up tradition!

Length: 1 day
Date: Saturday, December 6, 2025
Time: 10am - 11:30am ET

Kim Knowlton will lead you in this 3-day course as she introduces you to the delight of working with acrylics. In a relaxed and informative workshop, Kim will take you through the basics of working with acrylic paint.  We will concentrate on painting fruit & vegetables, with a series of exercises to help you develop and gain confidence with this medium.
Suitable for artists at an intermediate level of drawing & any painting experience.

Length: 3 Days
Dates:  Mon. December 8- Wed. 10, 2025
Time: 10 am - 4 pm ET 

Celebrate the season with this hands-on workshop that shows how to use the materials around you to create festive arrangements for indoors or out. Working with fresh evergreens, grasses, and other natural textures, participants will first learn the basics of building a strong base arrangement, then explore different ways to embellish it for the holidays. Guided step-by-step, you’ll create your own seasonal piece to take home.

Length: 1 day
Date: Saturday, December 13, 2025
Time: 10am - 11:30am ET

Drawing plants isn’t always easy, especially when you’re faced with foreshortened petals, tricky tonal values, or overlapping shapes. In this four-session class, Carol Ann Morley will explore numerous ways to approach these visual problems and how to solve them with confidence. Learn how to build spatial depth and show space using techniques like atmospheric perspective.  With step-by-step guidance, you’ll gain skills to simplify what you see and conquer the curves of a curled leaf, the surface pattern of a gourd, or the layered shapes of a flower..

Length: 4 days
Dates:  January 5, 7, 9, & 12,  2026
Time: 10 am - 4 pm ET 

Learn when and how to collect seeds from native perennials, identify reputable seed sources, and understand the best methods for sowing seeds at the right time. Kim will also cover nurturing seedlings to ensure healthy growth and techniques for properly storing seeds for future planting.  Just in time to start your plans for the coming spring!

Length: 1 day
Dates:  January 12, 2026
Time: 6 pm - 8 pm ET 

In this class with Tara Connaughton, we’ll take the artistic opportunity to study the beautiful and unique succulents and/or cacti available in our local greenhouses. Students will be guided through creating a botanical illustration of their chosen plant, with lessons focused on observation, drawing, painting process, and capturing unique characteristics these plants have - such as powdery bloom and silvery greens. We’ll learn methods for accurate color mixing, how to layer watercolor to build value, and detail in our illustrations.

Length: 3 days
Dates:  Wednesdays,  January 14, 21, & 28, 2026
Time: 9:30 am - 1:30 pm ET 

Join us on site at The Kampong, a National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) in Florida, for five immersive days of botanical art. Home to an extraordinary garden, where the warm, coastal climate supports an astonishing range of tropical species. Working from an open-air classroom, you’ll explore foundational drawing techniques using live plant material. Starting with simple field sketches in graphite you'll study form, structure, and growth stages. Many specimens may be flowering or fruiting—and some may display multiple stages of development at once. Using watercolor you'll bring your studies to life!

All art abilities are welcome

Length: 5 days
Dates: January 26-30, 2026

This class is our introduction series for botanical art beginners. 

In this six-week class, Sarah Roche introduces you to the traditional art and science of botanical drawing and painting. Focus includes observational skills, drawing, composition, design, and watercolor techniques. Sarah provides plenty of demonstrations, individual attention, and detailed feedback to make this a perfect beginner class.
Winter Topic: TBD.

Length: 6 Days
Dates: Varied, starting on February 2, 2026
Time: 10 am - 1 pm ET 

In this six-week class, refine your drawing and watercolor techniques with Sarah Roche as you focus on achieving the accurate representation of botanical subjects. 

Winter topic: TBD.

Prerequisite: Artists enrolling in this class should have successfully completed at least two Foundations courses and have the permission of the instructor.

Length: 6 Days
Dates: Tuesdays, February 3, 10, 17, 24 & March 3, 10, 2026 
Time: 10 am - 1 pm ET 

This lecture explores the concept of cues to care—the design strategies that signal purpose, stewardship, and thoughtfulness in naturalistic gardens. The idea was popularized in the 1990s by landscape architect Joan Nassauer, who studied how people perceive ecological landscapes. We will examine how small interventions, such as defined edges, plant layering, and well-placed focal points, can transform a native garden from appearing “wild” to being read as intentional and artful.

Length: 1 day
Dates:  February 25, 2026
Time: 6 pm - 8 pm ET 

Get color confidence. Susan T. Fisher teaches you a system for combining colors consistently so you won't have to settle for the ones you end up with through trial and error. Lots of exercises, discussions, individual attention, and demonstrations will show you how to achieve the broadest possible spectrum. You'll get answers to many of your questions as we discuss the various properties of paint. Familiarize yourself with the codes to quality paint and choose pigments that will endure. 

Length: 5 days
Dates: Daily, March 16 –20, 2026
Time: 10 am - 1 pm ET 

Meadowscapes mimic natural grassland systems and provide a dynamic, low-maintenance alternative that supports biodiversity and ecosystem health. Explore the ecological functions of meadows, including their role in improving soil health, supporting pollinators and beneficial insects, and providing food and shelter for birds and other wildlife. You’ll gain an understanding of plant community dynamics, seasonal succession, and how different species interact to create a resilient, self-sustaining system.

Length: 1 day
Dates:  April 13, 2026
Time: 6 pm - 8 pm ET