Chicago Botanic Garden Classes, Chicago

Vegetable- and nut-based dips and spreads are convenient and nutritious.  Learn how to use a food processor and immersion blender to make:  pea avocado hummus artichoke-spinach-white bean spread black bean and mango salsa middle eastern roasted red pepper and walnut puree  These delicious and fuel-filled recipes can be added to...

Yin yoga works by gently loosening connective tissues, opening and restoring joints, and invoking freedom and lightness in the body. Yin yoga consists primarily of seated poses held for a period of time, allowing gravity to do most of the work. Finish with a guided yoga nidra meditation: a deeply relaxing, sleep-like state while still maintaining...

Explore the mystery of owls at night. Learn owl behavior and identification, as well as the places these fascinating birds are likely to be seen. After an indoor discussion, you will enjoy a guided walk in the woods to look and listen for these enigmatic birds. Dress for the weather, and bring a flashlight and binoculars.

If you are new to gardening or the Midwest, you’ll benefit from knowing how our climate and changing seasons can affect your garden. Learn solutions to address the ongoing challenges of temperature and moisture extremes, soil problems, and wind to have a successful garden in every season.

In this baking class, master baking techniques such as using an egg foam, methods for creaming butter, and buttercream frosting basics.  Learn to prepare a variety of cakes: orange chiffon,  yellow layer cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, and  sour cream coffee cake.  Take home a portion of layer cake and two mini-bundt...

This workshop introduces and reviews the landscape design process of site analysis, conceptual design, and evaluations, based on such landscape-design principles as balance, symmetry, proportion, scale, and unity. Looking at plant combinations and landscape features, you will learn about color, texture, line, form, and methods of creating garden s...

Expand your enjoyment of pen and ink by incorporating colored ink, applied as a wash or using the stippling technique. You will build on your own light graphite drawing with crow quill or brush work. Explore different effects with emphasis on control and richness.  A supply list will be sent. Prerequisite: Pen and Ink 1. 

Learn to select the right plant for a particular indoor space and how to determine ideal lighting levels. Explore correct watering principles and know when to repot and prune your houseplants. Featured plants include Phalaenopsis orchids, bonsai, terrariums, and air plants.

Learn the techniques and principles of photography. Explore the basics, including image composition rules, how the camera works, proper exposure, and the functions of lens aperture and shutter speed. Some minimal photo processing will also be covered. The course requires a digital SLR camera. No previous experience is required.

Experience an authentic North Indian vegetarian meal in this cooking class. Learn to prepare slow-cooked lentils using herbs and spices in a variety of recipes. Traditional Indian recipes include: dal makhani cumin-flavored long grain basmati rice and cool cucumber mint yogurt dip

Did you know your tapioca dessert comes from a root? Learn the plant taxonomy of things right in your kitchen. Explore the different parts of a plant that are edible such as fruit, roots, stems, shoots, and seeds, and how these end up on your plate as a nutritious meal.

This workshop covers site analysis, vegetable garden plan components, space saving techniques and spacing, cool- and warm-season crops, crop and variety selection, three-season and succession planning. There will be crop plan examples and a template for you to start your own crop plan. Bring a drawing of your farm site with dimensions.

Learn how to ferment vegetables in a saltwater brine, creating an environment in which probiotics can flourish, to achieve tasty, tangy vegetable pickles.  Learn the how and why of lacto-fermentation including the salt-to-water ratio, the proper fermenting environment, and knowing when your pickles are ready. You will prepare your own jar of vegetables...

Carbon dust is a beautiful, versatile, and little-known medium that lends itself to both broad, painterly expression and to extremely fine detail. It is appropriate to all botanical subjects as well as to landscapes and still lifes. Working on various paper with a variety of black pigments (applied with both brushes and pencils, we will focus on botanicals...

Anyone who lives in the Chicago area knows how tumultuous the weather can be any time of year. Learn specific ways to prepare and compensate for the climatic extremes that can present challenges for photographers. Dress for the weather, as time will be spent outdoors to practice these techniques.