ECOLOGICAL GARDENING CERTIFICATE

Whether you are a backyard gardener, landscape professional, or just interested in native plants and their wildlife connections, Mt. Cuba Center’s Ecological Gardening Certificate offers a comprehensive approach to gardening in harmony with nature using ecologically sound practices.

Broaden your understanding of life in the soil, the fundamentals of eco-friendly gardening techniques, and how to identify and grow native plants. Learn how to attract and nurture beneficial wildlife such as birds, bees, and butterflies by creating inviting, biologically diverse landscapes. Use these skills to transform your garden or neighborhood greenspace, commercial property, or clients’ landscape into a habitat that enhances and preserves the ecological integrity of our plant communities and their associated ecosystems. Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Identify and use native plants in the landscape

• Apply organic gardening practices to create resilient environments

• Design and create ecologically sound gardens by imitating nature’s patterns and systems

• Manage plant health issues using sustainable techniques

• Become conservators of our natural habitats

Complete all classes to earn the certificate or take only the classes that interest you. Certificate classes are open to everyone; however, students enrolled in the certificate program have priority in registration. Complete all classes to earn a certificate. Students seeking the certificate must pass an evaluation (project, quiz, exam, etc.) for each course.

Sign up for the Certificate Program and learn more at mtcubacenter.org/certificate or contact the Education Department, 302.239.4244.

“Completing the ecological gardening certificate has at last enabled me to define my niche in the horticulture profession as well as create a foundation for ecological gardening practices at home. I feel empowered & equipped to share these principles and native plants with others so that they too can support their local ecosystems. It may have taken a long time, but I truly feel I’ve found my calling. In our fragile and uncertain natural world, this education can plant so many seeds and be a bright light. Thank you, Mt. Cuba!”

HACKSTIE PROFESSIONAL HORTICULTURIST

*These courses are ideal starting points for the Certificate program.

Inviting Wildlife into the Garden

With Faith B. Kuehn, PhD, Ian Stewart, PhD, and Derek Stoner

Transform your landscape into a garden that attracts a wealth of beneficial wildlife, including birds, mammals, amphibians, and a wide variety of insects. Unlock the important connections between the roles of pollinators and the plants and habitats they require. Explore Mt. Cuba Center’s naturalistic gardens to observe the best native plants for migrating and resident birds. Learn the importance of having water in the garden to support turtles, damselflies, and bats, and the value of creating environments that sustain wildlife year-round.

Three Fridays: 9/15 through 9/29

10 am – 2:30 pm $229 (Lunch included)

(Rain Date: Friday 10/6)

Ecological Arboriculture

With Mt. Cuba Center Arboriculture Team Develop a deeper connection to trees by understanding their outsized role in our natural ecosystems. Trees provide habitat and food. They support nutrient-cycling in forest systems through leaf-drop and decomposition, mediate temperatures, mitigate stormwater and soil erosion, and are culturally significant to the mid-Atlantic region. Examine the ecological features of trees while learning about their anatomy and care. Find out how trees contribute, in both life and death, to forest ecology. Learn why large, mature trees need to be conserved and how climate change could impact forests in the future. These classes are rain or shine. Dress for the weather.

Section B: Three Wednesdays: 11/1 through 11/15, 10 am – 2:30 pm $229 (Lunch included)

Botany for Gardeners

With Eileen Hazard

Have fun with botany! Understanding how plants grow and develop, how water and nutrients are taken up and distributed, and how leaves, flowers, stems, and roots function are key to becoming a successful gardener. Discover intriguing relationships between plants and pollinators, how seeds and fruits form, and why plants grow toward the sun. Develop basic plant identification skills and learn the reasons for using scientific names. You will be amazed at what goes on in the plants that live all around us. Dress for the weather.

Wednesday 1/17 and Thursday 1/18

10 am – 2:30 pm | $169 (Lunch included)

(Snow Date: Wednesday 1/24)

Ecological Landscape Design

With Jenna Webster

Ecologically sound landscapes are adapted to local environmental conditions and require fewer inputs to achieve success. Learn how to measure, inventory, and analyze a site; then make a conceptual design and planting plan using the “right plant, right place” approach. Broaden your design perspective, increase biodiversity in the landscape with native plants, decrease space dedicated to lawn, and create habitats that benefit insects, birds, and other fauna. Dress for the weather.

Before enrolling in this course, completion of the Native Plants of Spring, Summer, and Fall, and Sustainable Landscape Techniques courses is recommended.

Six Wednesdays: 2/7 through 3/13

1 pm – 4 pm | $289

Optional project evaluation: 3/20

(Snow Date: Wednesday 3/27)

Native Plant Series

Native plants of the Eastern Temperate Forest are beautiful, inspiring, and critically important for healthy landscapes. From the subdued colors and fragrances of spring wildflowers to the exuberance of summer perennials and the captivating hues of fall foliage, discover a wealth of plants that satisfy your gardening needs throughout the seasons. Using Mt. Cuba’s stunning gardens, learn to identify 60 trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials in each Native Plants course. Examine their key identifying characteristics, preferred growing conditions, overall size, and ecological significance. Students seeking a Certificate in Ecological Gardening must take the onsite exam.

Hybrid Native Plants of Fall 2023

With Liz Allen and Kevin Allen

Six prerecorded online lectures available Monday 8/28

Three garden tours Saturdays: 9/16, 9/30, 10/14, 10 am – 12 pm | $205

Optional exam: Saturday 10/21, 10 am – 12 pm

Onsite Native Plant Series 2024

Native Plants of Spring 2024

With Mt. Cuba Staff

Six Wednesdays: 4/3 through 5/8

10 am – 12 pm |$205

Optional exam: Wednesday 5/15, 10 am – 12 pm

Native Plants of Summer 2024

With Mt. Cuba Staff

Six Wednesdays: 5/29 through 7/10

10 am – 12 pm | $205

*No class on July 3rd

Optional exam: Wednesday 7/17, 10 am – 12 pm

Native Plants of Fall 2024

With Mt. Cuba Staff

Six Wednesdays: 9/4 through 10/9

10 am – 12 pm | $205

Optional exam: Wednesday 10/16, 10 am – 12 pm

Hybrid Native Plants Series 2024

Our highly popular Native Plants Series is available in a new course format. View the prerecorded lectures at your own pace prior to joining Mt. Cuba staff for scheduled onsite garden tours.

Native Plants of Spring Hybrid Option

With Jay Kratz and Liz Allen

Six prerecorded online lectures available

Monday 4/1

Three garden tours

Saturdays: 4/13, 4/27, 5/11, 10 am – 12 pm $205

Optional exam: Saturday 5/18, 10 am – 12 pm

Native Plants of Summer Hybrid Option

With Kathleen Elliot and Melissa Starkey, PhD

Six prerecorded online lectures available

Monday 5/27

Three garden tours

Saturdays: 6/8, 6/22, 7/13, 10 am – 12 pm $205

*No class on July 6th

Optional exam: Saturday 7/20, 10 am – 12 pm

Native Plants of Fall Hybrid Option

With Liz Allen and Kevin Allen

Six prerecorded online lectures available

Monday 9/2

Three garden tours

Saturdays: 9/14, 9/28, 10/12, 10 am – 12 pm $205

Optional exam: Saturday 10/19, 10 am – 12 pm

Sustainable Landscape Techniques

With Sue Barton, PhD, and Visiting Lecturer

Create more ecologically sound landscapes by implementing a variety of sustainable gardening and landscaping techniques. Learn how to manage and conserve water using rain gardens, bioswales, and rain barrels. Reduce the demands of lawn care by adding meadow areas and increase your energy savings with strategically placed layered plantings. Develop your garden to support a diverse population of beneficial wildlife and create healthy, natural habitats.

Two Saturdays: 4/13 and 4/27 10 am – 2:30 pm |$169 (Lunch included)

Plant Propagation

With James Rockwell and Claire Zuidervliet

Save money and increase your garden plants through simple propagation techniques using seeds and cuttings. Review the ethics of wild-collected seed and learn the basics of seed biology, germination, and storage. Study the principles of asexual plant reproduction, learn when and how to take cuttings, and practice proper techniques for preparing and rooting them. Take samples home. Dress for this hands-on workshop by wearing closedtoe shoes. Please bring hand pruners.

Section A: Two Fridays: 5/10 and 5/17 10 am – 2:30 pm | $189 (Lunch included)

Section B: Two Saturdays: 5/11 and 5/18, 10 am – 2:30 pm | $189 (Lunch included)

Managing Invasive Plants

With Ellen Lake, PhD, and Nate Shampine, CERP

Is your landscape being invaded by overly aggressive plants? Examine the problems caused by invasive plants and discover management strategies for controlling them. Learn how to identify common invasive weeds and how to distinguish them from similarlooking native species. See invasive-plant management techniques and restoration strategies in practice in Mt. Cuba’s natural lands. Dress for the weather and wear reliable shoes as walking paths may be uneven. Classes are rain or shine.

Wednesday 6/5 through Friday 6/7 10 am – 2:30 pm $229 (Lunch included)