1/16/2021
1:30 PM to 3/5/2021 4:30 PM

Winter Flora - Saturdays
Registration Closed
This course is designed for a broad audience as well as for students who are enrolled in either of the Garden’s certificate programs. Field trips and exercises provide experience in the use of identification keys and recognition of plants in their winter condition in natural settings. Enjoy discovering that many trees and shrubs are easily recognized when not covered with leaves!

3/6/2021
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Carolina Futurescapes: Planning and Planting Climate Resilient Landscapes - Virtual
In this workshop, participants will learn about and begin to plan their own native-plant gardens. We will learn the basics of creating Carolina Xeriscape gardens, which do not require additional watering and are resilient to extreme heat. Topics include plant selection, site selection, plant care, and color palettes. Participants will develop or refine planting plans for their own climate-resilient gardens.

3/11/2021
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

Virtual LUNCHBOX Talk: Mitigating Climate Change through NC’s Natural and Working Lands
North Carolina's Natural and Working Land Action Plan recommends 25 activities that will help increase North Carolina’s resilience to natural disasters and offset greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering and storing carbon. Developed through a stakeholder-driven process, the Action Plan recommends conserving, restoring, and managing lands in six sectors: Agriculture, Coastal Habitats, Floodplains and Wetlands, Forestry, Pocosins, and Urban Lands. It also outlines specific projects for North Carolina’s natural and working lands that sequester carbon, build ecosystem and community resilience, provide ecosystem benefits, enhance our economy, and recommend socially equitable implementation.

3/18/2021
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM

Demystifying Botany: For New Plant Enthusiasts - Virtual
Do you find yourself confusing your philodendron with your monstera? And what's the deal with all of this Latin? Let's come together, and demystify the world of botany. In this class, we will go over basics of botany, from leaf shape, and plant families. Let's grow our knowledge of plants together.

3/20/2021
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

12 Tips for Happy, Healthy Trees: Virtual
What are the best ways to care for your trees? How can you make them happy, strong, and long-lived? During this virtual presentation we will focus on what we believe to be the most important actions. Healthy trees in abundance create happy people and a vibrant planet.

3/27/2021
12:30 PM to 4:30 PM

Penny's Bend: A Half Day Field Trip
This field trip to Penny’s Bend will provide students with a guided tour of the preserve, owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, and managed by the North Carolina Botanical Garden while highlighting the natural history and significance of the site, including how it is currently managed to preserve and enhance its value. Much of this hike is on primitive trails over uneven terrain, with one short, steep climb up from the river. Wear sturdy hiking footwear and bring insect repellent, water, and a walking stick, if you ever use one.

4/6/2021
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Keep the Animals Out: Virtual
Mammal browse is one of the biggest challenges that gardeners face. And we all have critters that we are sharing our gardens with, including deer, rabbits, groundhogs, even cats and dogs! The reality is, our gardens are delicious- they are fertilized, irrigated and full of tasty exotic plants, so of course the local wildlife will take delight in eating our hard work. In this fun webinar, author, and horticulturist Brie Arthur, will explain her approach to dealing with unwanted animals. She will cover it all, including a few things that you should NOT do! From the best repellents and inexpensive fencing solutions to using a few favorite veggies to help deter problem animals, attendees will learn easy-to-apply strategies. Brie aims to make you laugh and answer all your questions in this interactive virtual session.

4/9/2021
1:30 PM to 4/23/2021 4:30 PM

Flowering Plant Families
This course builds on the information covered in Plant Taxonomy and focuses on the study of plant diversity by targeting twenty major and fairly stable plant families found in North Carolina. Classroom discussions of evolutionary adaptations and relationships are combined with field studies in the Garden and close-up examination of representative examples.

4/13/2021
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Battle Park Tour
Learn about the history and preservation of the property now known as Battle Park on the UNC campus. We'll walk through the park in the peak of its spring glory, covering hotspots visited and named by Kemp Plummer Battle himself as well as the philosophies behind the preservation and conservation of our natural areas.

4/22/2021
10:00 AM to 5/6/2021 11:30 AM

Identifying and Controlling Invasive Plants - Hybrid
This course is intended for a broad audience. Through virtual classroom and in person field demonstrations, students learn the tools and methods needed to identify invasive species and effectively remove them. We'll discuss the most prominent invasive plants in North Carolina and how to identify them by habit and growth form. Then, we'll cover integrated methods for controlling invasive plants on multiple scales. Some of the material will be presented using prerecorded lectures which students will watch on their own schedule between 4/22 and 5/6.

4/24/2021
1:00 PM to 4:30 PM

Spring at Mason Farm
Take a turn around the Mason Farm Biological Reserve’s Old Farm Trail, which travels through some 260 years of cultural and natural history. Naturalist Ed Harrison will point out wildflowers and discuss how the Garden’s intense management of both field and forest benefits local biological diversity conservation. About 2.5 miles in length, the hike includes a short off-trail foray into the old-growth Shagbark Hickory forest. Wear sturdy hiking footwear and bring insect repellent, water, and a walking stick, if you ever use one.

5/8/2021
10:30 AM to 3:30 PM

Excursion: Bigleaf Magnolia at Redlair Preserve, Gaston County
The Redlair Preserve is a 730 acre tract that forms the core of a larger 1200+ acre conservation area along the South Fork of the Catawba River near Mount Holly, NC. The complex topography and geologic diversity of the site provide habitat for a great diversity of plant species and natural vegetation types. The most dramatic species is the rare bigleaf magnolia, the tree species with the largest leaves of any tree species in the US. We will be sure to visit a broad range of habitats and discuss their distribution across the landscape, the natural dynamics of these forests, and the management challenges they present. Although the topography is complex and there will be a bit of up and down, the hike will be of only moderate difficulty as the trails are relatively smooth and well-maintained.

5/9/2021
10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Excursion: Back to the Future: Suther Prairie Nature Preserve, Cabarrus County
After being cared for by generations of the Suther family going back to the 1700s, this relatively undisturbed remnant Piedmont wet prairie on the floodplain of Dutch Buffalo Creek became a “must see” destination over the last two decades for scientists, conservationists, researchers, and reporters/writers from across the country after being included in the natural heritage inventory of Cabarrus County. Hundreds of species have been catalogued on this 9-acre preserve, and the ecotypes of dozens of species are available commercially for conservation projects, including Suther Indiangrass and Suther big (and little) bluestem.

5/15/2021
9:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Vegetative Propagation of Southeastern Native Plants
Event is Full: Accepting Wait List Registrations
Learn the fundamentals of vegetative propagation and how to propagate plants native to the southeastern United States. We’ll focus on low-tech methods you can apply at home, and all participants will have a newly stuck cutting to take home in a rudimentary, DIY mobile greenhouse. This workshop will feature a lecture, in-class demonstrations and participation, and a tour of the NCBG nursery.

5/15/2021
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Taking iNaturalist to the Next Level: Virtual
You’ve already created an iNaturalist account and shared some observations. Are you eager to take your use of iNaturalist to the next level? If so, please join us for an exploration of iNaturalist's advanced features that can enhance your use of the app and the website, as well as your participation in the iNaturalist community. Whether your goal is to hone, organize, and curate your own species observations, to engage with or create an iNaturalist Project, or to more actively participate in identifying your own and others’ observations, knowledge of (and tips for using) key iNaturalist features will help. We’ll also share strategies for exploring iNaturalist’s wealth of species data and maps, and for connecting with helpful and knowledgeable members of iNaturalist’s worldwide community of users.

5/19/2021
10:00 AM to 6/2/2021 12:30 PM

Local Trees
This short course is perfect for those just beginning their study of trees or for recent transplants to the NC Piedmont who want to identify the common deciduous trees in their backyard gardens and neighborhoods. Students spend time outdoors, walking in the Garden or on the Piedmont Nature Trails, learning about common trees, how to identify them, and understanding why they grow where they do.

5/27/2021 2:00 PM

Local Trees
This short course is perfect for those just beginning their study of trees or for recent transplants to the NC Piedmont who want to identify the common deciduous trees in their backyard gardens and neighborhoods. Students spend time outdoors, walking in the Garden or on the Piedmont Nature Trails, learning about common trees, how to identify them, and understanding why they grow where they do.

6/2/2021 2:00 PM

Local Trees
This short course is perfect for those just beginning their study of trees or for recent transplants to the NC Piedmont who want to identify the common deciduous trees in their backyard gardens and neighborhoods. Students spend time outdoors, walking in the Garden or on the Piedmont Nature Trails, learning about common trees, how to identify them, and understanding why they grow where they do.

6/5/2021
10:30 AM to 3:30 PM

Excursion: Boiling Spring Lakes and Green Swamp Preserve, Brunswick County
The Green Swamp Preserve (over 16,000 acres) contains some of the country’s finest examples of longleaf pine wet savannas as well as extensive pocosins. The savannas are bounded by pocosins containing pond pine and cypress as well as numerous shrubs including titi. The open savannas have a diverse grass/herb layer with many wildflowers including orchids and insectivorous plants. The Green Swamp is the nexus of Venus flytraps. Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve (~6,000 acres) is characterized by a mix of communities including xeric sandhill longleaf pine and pocosins. The preserve has a variety of carnivorous and other plant species and it is home to the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Upwards of 400 vascular plant species have been reported in the preserve. Fire is integral to the health of these plant communities and is the primary management activity in both preserves. Trails in both preserves are flat but may be wet depending upon the weather.

6/12/2021
9:30 AM to 6/26/2021 12:30 PM

Entomology
Event is Full: Accepting Wait List Registrations
This course is designed for a broad audience. Students learn insect family recognition and common species identification, insect ecology and conservation, basic life cycle biology, and how to improve insect habitat and conservation in the urban environment.