In the Garden of Learning: A Class in Bloom

It's spring. Time for trees to start budding, flowers to start sprouting, and serious gardeners to get down to the business of making things grow. This is what brings about two dozen students - some serious hobbyists and some striving professionals - to a bulb walk on a bright, but chilly April morning. The bulb walk - part of the School of the Chicago Botanic Garden's horticulture certificate program - leads the group through the institution's myriad gardens to view the many colorful, aromatic tulips, daffodils, snowdrops, crocuses, and irises.

Led by two enthusiastic instructors - Jill Houte Selinger, who is also manager of the school's continuing education program, and William Moss, coordinator of career development for Chicago Botanic Garden and host of the Discovery Channel's Rally Round the House - the group is introduced to a variety of plant-life, quizzed on Latin names and identification, and treated to an occasional "woo-hoo" as certain flowers make their first appearances of the year.

The School of the Chicago Botanic Garden offers an extensive education program with classes and workshops targeted to both the professional and casual home gardener. In essence a 385-acre "living classroom," students enrolled in the school gain access to nearly 1.9 million plant specimens, 23 display gardens, 75 acres of lakes and waterways, and three native habitat areas. Courses are also offered at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center and the Gurnee Park District.

The school's summer course catalog includes:

• Ground Covers and Vines
• Trees: Nature as Art
• Gardening in Containers
• Botany for Beginners
• Mulches and Compost

For those who lack space for a garden or just wish to take a course in beautiful surroundings, courses are also offered in photography ("Photographing the Prairie"), dance ("Bachata & Ceviche"), craft ("Paper from the Garden"), and art ("Composing a Still Life").

School of the Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe
Main number: 847-835-5440
Continuing education: 847-835-8261
www.chicagobotanic.org

Set on 1,700 acres of gardens and plant collections, the Morton Arboretum is located in Lisle, about 25 miles west of downtown Chicago. More than 350 classes, certificate programs, seminars, symposiums, weekend trips, and nature camps are offered during the year.

For serious hobbyists, Morton Arboretum offers certificates in Botanic Art and Illustration, Home Landscape Horticulture, Nature Photography, and Ornithology. These certificate programs are more than a day in the garden, each requiring serious coursework and exams. Many of the courses are available for credit at the College of DuPage. According to Jan Little, Manager of Horticulture Education, "All certificate programs focus on practical knowledge presented through lectures, demonstrations, field experiences, design projects. The instructors include industry professionals, academic experts, and arboretum staff, interacting personally with students in limited size classes."

For the more casual student of nature, an extensive catalog of courses is offered on Botanical Art, Nature Photography, Horticulture, Natural History, Nature Writing, and Ornithology.

Youth and family programs are also offered including "The Caterpillar Club," "Wiggly, Squiggly Worms," and "Trees, Leaves, and Me." "Youth and Family courses give parents a chance to share their love of nature with their children" adds Little.

Morton Arboretum
4100 Route 53, Lisle
630-968-0074
www.mortonarb.org


Located on Chicago's west side, just four miles from the Loop, the Garfield Park Conservatory is truly one of the city's hidden gems. Occupying four-and-a-half acres of the 184-acre Garfield Park, the conservatory was built between 1906 and 1907 and is full of surprises and wonders for the uninitiated. Designed by Jens Jensen, the conservatory includes a lagoon and waterfall, tropical forest, desert, children's garden, and much more.

The Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance offers a variety of courses for children, adults, and families. Course levels range from the novice planting their first garden to the green thumb fine-tuning their technique. Titles for summer 2004 include "Herbs in My Backyard: The Outside Herb Garden," "Juneteenth Heritage Flower Design," "Eco-Friendly Pest Control," and "Late Season Container Gardens." With many courses priced at $10 or less, this is a great bargain for aspiring horticulturalists.

Garfield Park Conservatory
300 North Central Park Avenue, Chicago
773-638-1766
www.garfield-conservatory.org


Set on forty-six acres of a former tuberculosis sanitarium on Chicago's northwest side, the mission of the Chicago Department of Environment's North Park Village Nature Center is to provide urban citizens with an opportunity to interact with wildlife, plants, and other natural resources through environmental education and access to improved natural landscapes.

The nature preserve includes an education program. The summer schedule includes "All About Fungi," a meeting of the Illinois Mycological Association; a nature writing group; "All About Turtles," a meeting of the Chicago Herpetological Society; and "The Pond is Alive," a peak beneath the surface to see what creatures are up to.

North Park Village Nature Center
5801 North Pulaski Road, Chicago
312-744-5472
www.cityofchicago.org/Environment


Located about 50 miles from downtown Chicago, Taltree Arboretum & Gardens is set on 360 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and prairie near Porter County, Indiana. The goals of Taltree include conservation and education. Taltree Arboretum & Gardens is dedicated to providing educational opportunities in arboriculture, horticulture, restoration/conservation of natural resources, ecology, and natural history.

Taltree offers regularly scheduled interpretive programs that are open to the public and small groups. These programs include "Taltree Treks," "Discovery Hikes," and "Moon Walks."

Taltree Arboretum & Gardens
450 West 100 North, Valparaiso, Indiana
219-462-0025
www.taltree.org


Nature abounds in our urban jungle. And Chicago and its environs offer plenty of opportunities to learn more about it!

To read about someone who put her gardening education to work read "Meet Jeanne Appleseed and her Crew"

This article appeared originally in the Spring 2004 issue of Chicago Learning Guide Magazine.

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