ADULT PROGRAMS
Registration and non-refundable prepayment to FCPA required for all programs. Call 703-642-5173, TTY 703-803-3354 for more information.
 Workshop: Basic Gardening Series
Fridays: May 9 and May 30
1:30-2:30pm. Gardeners are not born with green thumbs. They practice, practice and practice until their successes outnumber their failures. Green Spring's Master Gardeners share gardening tips and dazzle you with time-saving techniques, clarify simple steps and debunk horticulture myths. By the end of the series, your thumb will be a shade greener. Sign up for the entire series or for individual workshops. $11/class or $66 for the series
Friday, May 9
Shade Gardening
1:30-2:30pm. A shady spot in your landscape provides opportunities to incorporate special plants in your garden. Learn how to create that cool, soothing mid-summer retreat by discovering these delicate and elegant plants. Master Gardeners will share information to help you create a cool, leafy, sanctuary for those hot summer days. $11
Friday, May 30
Waterwise Gardening
1:30-2:30pm. Remember last year's drought? Learn how to use water efficiently within your garden while enjoying a beautiful landscape. Find out how to increase your soil's water holding capacity with the proper use of soil amendments and mulch. Master Gardeners will show you how to have a beautiful landscape utilizing drought tolerant and native plants. $11
Yoga for Gardeners
Gentle Introduction to Vinyasa Yoga
Last Spring Session: Mondays, April 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12, and 19
First Summer Session Mondays: June 2, June 9, June 16, June 23, June 30, and July 7
Second Summer Session Mondays: July 14, July 21, July 28, August 4, August 11, and August 18
9:30-10:30am. A series of yoga classes featuring the Vinyasa method to increase your strength, flexibility and endurance necessary for gardening. Classes held inside looking at the garden. Six-class session: $66
Series: Spring Perennials in a Combination Planting
Saturdays: March 29, April 12 and May 31
9:30-11am. This series explores the world of perennials and the beautiful woody plants that bring your garden design to life. Karen Rexrode, former owner of Windy Hill Nursery, discusses how to identify and choose plants, where to place them in the landscape, who they should share space with and how to maintain them in top form. The series combines indoor presentations with outdoor explorations of the gardens. Sign up for one session or the full series. $18/session or $ 48 for series
May
2 Friday
Signs of a Garden
1-3pm. Follow in the footsteps of Monet and capture "signs" of your spring garden. Artist Judy Murrett offers inspiration and shows simple techniques to help you embellish a slate tile for your garden or home. Slate, paint and other materials provided. $35
3 Saturday
Garden Goodness: Cooking With Spring Vegetables
9:30-11:30am. Parents searching for ways to draw their children away from televisions and computer games should consider gardening as an alternative activity. But not just any gardening - vegetable gardening! In Green Spring's "Let's Grow" program (see children's section) children learn how to grow vegetables. We're expanding to the next level inviting families to expand their menus with delicious, healthy vegetable dishes. Learn how to prepare easy recipes that entice finicky critics. Participants create and eat several seasonal treats. This program is for adults and children accompanied by an adult. $10/adult or $16/adult and child
3 Saturday
Workshop: Living Wreaths
1:30-3:30pm. Bruce Nash, horticulture instructor at Northern Virginia Community College, creates this unique living wreath using succulents and herbs as inspiration for the class. Known for their striking forms, unusual colors and easy-care, succulents and herbs are fun plants to combine. Participants create a wreath of their own to take home with them. Plants, soil and containers provided. $50
11 Sunday
Mothers' Day Concert
3-4pm. Treat your mother, daughter, sister or the whole family to an afternoon of music surrounded by beautiful spring flowers. Sit on the lawn and relax while the Fairfax Woodwind Quintet plays a collection of classical and modern music in the Green Spring gazebo. Visit our Garden Gate Plant Shop and pick up a blooming plant for mom. Free concert
19 Saturday
Drawn Into the Garden
9:30am-3:30pm. Explore various artistic drawing media with artist Judy Murrett on a sketching excursion into the gardens at Green Spring. Open to artists of all abilities. Learn by drawing with pencil, ink pen, and oil pastel. See how line, shape, light and shadow, with the basic laws of perspective, give the artist the power to create a pleasing finished product, with a sense of play and invention. Bring a bag lunch. A supply list plus notes on the subject sent to all who register. $65 or $118 for both art classes
June
Part 2 of Landscape Design for Homeowners: Tours in the Garden
9am-noon. Need help sharpening your design skills? Critiquing existing designs will improve your skills. Accompany staff horticulturalist and design instructor Cindy Brown into the gardens of local homeowners to see their design solutions. Perhaps you’ll find a solution to your landscape challenge. A class member receives a free garden critique by class participants and the instructor. Completion of Landscape Design for Homeowners and familiar with the basic elements of design required. Limit 22. $160
Friday, June 6
Saturday, June 7, 14
New Series: Designing with Perennials
Explore the principles of how to combine perennials and woody plants to bring out the best in your garden design. Karen Rexrode, former owner of Windy Hill Plant Farm, discusses how to identify and choose plants, where to place them in the landscape, who they should share space with and how to maintain them in top form. The series combines indoor presentations with outdoor explorations. Each session covers unique design subjects and plants. Register for one session or the series. $18/session or $ 48/3-part series
June 28
9:30-11am. Session One: Variety is the Spice of Life
July 19
9:30-11am. Session Two: Working in Mass
August 9
9:30-11am. Session Three: Unique Shapes
6 Friday
Eco Savvy Rose Gardening
1:30-3pm. Love roses but don’t want to spend multiple hours maintaining their beauty? Design your rose garden by combining low maintenance roses with ecologically savvy plants, some of them native. Brenda Skarphol, curatorial horticulturalist, invites you into a new world of rose gardening. $15
7 Saturday
Container Workshop: Pots with Panache
9:30-11:30am. Searching for that special container to accent garden areas, expand garden space, or provide interest to an empty corner? Design a container garden that does that and more. Mary Frogale, staff horticulturalist, provides inspiration and information on container gardening and then helps you design a container to take home. Plants, soil and containers provided. $55
19 Thursday
Summer Solstice Concert
7-8pm. Hooray, summer has arrived! Celebrate the season listening to the music drift over the garden. For a very special evening, place an order for a picnic from our caterer or bring your own to enjoy while the Fairfax Symphony Dixieland Band plays their jazzy music. Picnic menus include non-vegetarian, vegetarian and child-friendly selections; place order by 6/16/08. Picnic for two: $45. Concert FREE
21 Saturday
Framed Botanical Art: Pressed Ferns
9:30-11am. Pressing leaves and flowers is an ancient art form with many decorative uses. Horticulturalist Nancy Olney shows how to transform fern fronds into attractive art. Participants will mount pressed ferns on paper and then frame the delicate treasures to take home. $25
27 Friday
Designs from the Garden
1:30–3 pm. Arranging cut flowers and foliage from the garden, Bruce Nash, Northern Virginia Community College instructor and professional floral designer demonstrates the basics of floral design and creates floral masterpieces you can duplicate at home. Door prizes: floral designs. $18
July
12 Saturday
Deciduous Tree ID
8:30-10:30am. “What tree is this?” is one of the most frequent questions we get. Walk through the gardens with Mary Olien to learn strategies for identifying trees in your landscape. Review basic terminology and work with plant identification keys to build your skills. $20
12 Saturday
Pique niques, Picnics and Pic-a-nics: More Than Your Average Fare
10:30-11:30am. What began as an ancient pot luck has morphed into an All-American outdoor affair. Peek into picnic baskets and discover how the menus, service ware and traditions have altered through the ages. Crafts, games and family-friendly food samples will turn our picnic program into a party. Everyone is invited; except, of course, pesky bears, ants and rain clouds. $12/adult, $5/child (accompanied by an adult). To enhance your afternoon, place an order for a picnic from our caterer or bring your own. Picnic menus include non-vegetarian, vegetarian and child-friendly selections; place order by 7/9/08. Picnic for two, $40
16 Wednesday
Concert in the Garden
7-8pm. In the evening, the garden transforms as the light softens, a soft breeze blows and music lilts across the colorful floral displays. For a very special evening, place an order for a picnic from our caterer or bring your own to enjoy while the Fairfax Brass Quintet entertains us. Picnic menus include non-vegetarian, vegetarian and child-friendly selections; place order by 7/14/08. Picnic for two, $45. Concert FREE
26 Saturday
The Diverse World of Hydrangeas
9:30-11am. Hydrangeas are hot! They have risen from obscurity to become the darling of the garden. Andrew Bunting, Curator of the Morris Arboretum at Swarthmore College, shares his extensive knowledge of the many hydrangea species and cultivars available, covering new trends, care, cultures and pruning to keep you up to date with this vast genus. $18
23 Saturday
Terrarium Workshop
9:30-11:30am. Tired of the heat? Stay cool; create an indoor garden – a terrarium. Begonia enthusiast Johanna Zinn provides information on the versatile species and the inspiration to create a beautiful terrarium. Terrarium, plants and soil provided. $20
23 Saturday, 9-4:30pm and 24 Sunday, noon-3:30pm.
Annual Begonia Show and Sale
Attend the 28th Annual Begonia Show and Sale sponsored by the Potomac Branch of the American Begonia Society for a weekend filled with demonstrations, sales and workshops. Expand your plant palette; be tempted with splashes of color for homes and greenhouses that last long after frosts have put our outdoor gardens to bed! The sale offers a wide variety of begonias, including unusual subtropic species. FREE
August
2 Saturday
The Fruits of Summer: Tomatoes and Peppers
11am-1pm. Tomatoes and peppers make summer gardens sizzle! Every gardener claims their own secret to growing the tastiest ones. Cindy Brown, Green Spring horticulturist, shares her gardening secrets and her culinary expertise and invites you to taste her delicious tomato and pepper treats.
Program only, 11am-noon $18
Program plus tea at the Historic House, 11am-1pm $35
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