ArtPlantae Today

There is so much going on at UC Berkeley’s Botanical Garden!

Here is what has been added to Classes Near You > California:

University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley
http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/
This 34-acre garden was established in 1890 and is now a non-profit research garden and museum. The botanical art classes below are taught by Lee McCaffree and Catherine Watters. View a detailed schedule and register on the Garden’s website.

• Horticultural Walk: Southern Africa – Thursday, March 17, 2011;
  1 PM – 2:30 PM. Learn about the early annuals and spring flowering bulbs that fill the Southern Africa section with color. Join horticulturist, Meghan Ray, on a walking tour celebrating this annual show of color. Reservations required. Cost: $10 nonmembers, Free members
• Fiber & Dye Exhibit – Saturday March 19 – Sunday April 3, 2011;
  9 AM – 12:00 PM. Plants are the origin of most of the fibers we use in our daily lives, and of the dyes that provide us with colors. Feel fabrics, see and smell dyes while learning about the many uses of plant fibers & dyes from around the world. Free with garden admission.
• Garden Garments: Opening Reception, Workshop and Book Release with Sasha Duerr – Saturday, March 19, 2011; 1 PM – 4 PM. Learn to dye with creative alternative sources of natural plant dyes from your very own garden, or even urban sidewalk, with Sasha Duerr, textile designer and founder of Permacouture Institute. Create a surprising array of colors for a garden dyers sample book and artistically dye a plant colored and patterned textile to take home with you! Sasha will be speaking from her new book The Handbook Of Natural Plant Dyes: Personalize Your Craft With Organic Colors From Acorns, Blackberries, Coffee, And Other Everyday Ingredients. Reservations required. Cost: $25 nonmembers, $20 members. Books available for purchase.
• Felting with Plant Dyed Wool For Kids – Sunday, March 27, 2011;
  1 PM – 2 PM. Learn how to make a beautiful felted textile using plant dyed wools from Thirteen Mile Lamb and Wool, using a wet-felting technique. For ages 6 and up. Reservations required. Cost: $20 nonmembers, $15 members. Price includes one adult and one child. $10 each additional child or adult per family.
• Extreme Plants: Desert Gardens for Kids – Saturday, April 9, 2011; 1:00 – 2:30 PM. Children and their accompanying parent/guardian will learn about succulents, tour the Arid House and Desert Collections, eat refreshments made from edible succulents, and take home a garden project. Cost: $20 nonmembers, $17 members (one child w/one potted garden). Additional child/parent/garden, $12 each.
• NEW! Botanical Latin: It’s a dead language but it’s still aliiiive! –
  Tuesday, April 12; 1:00 – 4:30 PM. You’re invited to join us for a brief introduction to botanical Latin. Learn the names for plants and the way the names are constructed. We’ll look at some common Latin and Greek roots for plant names and botanical terms, and use some simple rules of thumb to pronounce plant names with confidence. Al Luongo originally developed this course for the New York Botanical Garden and now he’s bringing to Berkeley! The workshop will include a copy of the full course notes including a list of useful books and Web sites. Refreshments too! Registration required. Cost: $30 nonmembers, $25 members.
• NEW! The California Collection – Tuesday, April 14, 2011; 1:00 – 2:30 PM. Join horticulturist Ken Bates for a tour through the California Area, the Garden’s largest collection. See native flora from diverse regions of the state. Representing close to one-quarter of the state’s native species, the U.C. Botanical Garden showcases one of the largest species collections of native California plants anywhere. Free; members only; registration required.
• NEW! Cal Day – Saturday, April 16, 2011.
  Join Garden docents for free tours of Plants of the World throughout the day as a part of this campus-wide event. Visitors will enjoy hands-on activities, demonstrations and special discounts. Stroll through the Garden, visit the Garden Shop, relax with your family and friends, and maybe even pick up a new passion for horticulture! Tours at 11 AM, 12 PM, 1 PM, 2 PM. Free.
• Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs – Sunday, April 24, 2011;
  1:00 – 2:30 PM. Children will learn about plant-based dyes as they color eggs. $20 nonmembers / $15 members. Price includes one adult, one child, and 6 eggs. Each additional child and adult, $6.
• Spring Plant Sale – April 29-30, 2011. Members’ Sale (Friday April 29; 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM). Public Sale (Saturday April 30; 10 AM – 2 PM).
• National Public Gardens Day – Friday, May 6, 2011; 9 AM – 5 PM. National Public Gardens Day is a celebration of America’s public gardens and their
  important role in promoting environmental stewardship and awareness, plant and water conservation and education. Better Homes and Gardens Magazine offers BHG readers a free admission coupon for two to visit participating APGA member gardens on National Public Gardens Day (visit website at www.bhg.com for coupon). To show our gratitude for your support we’ll be featuring special tours and activities throughout the day. Get out there and enjoy your local green spaces – for free! There will be a docent-led tour at 11am and 1pm leaving from the Garden shop. Free admission with BHG coupon.
• NEW! Unselt Birding Walk and Breakfast – Saturday, May 7, 2011;
  9:00 AM – 11:30 PM. Join the flock of bird enthusiasts to enjoy the Garden’s bird life with Phila Rogers, expert birder and Chris Carmichael, Associate Director of Collections and Horticulture. Event includes light breakfast. Free. Members only. Registration required.
• Botanical Illustration: The Rose – Monday & Tuesday, May 9-10, 2011; 10 AM – 4 PM. Paint roses from the Garden! Learn about morphology of roses as you create your colored pencil or watercolor painting. Cost: $160 nonmembers / $150 members
• A Walk Through the Garden of Old Roses – Saturday, May 14, 2011; 10 AM – 12 PM. Horticulturist Peter Klement will lead a walk through the garden and tell fascinating stories about the history of roses. Cost: $20 nonmembers / $15 members.
• Animals of the Garden Children’s Walk – Sunday, May 15, 2011;
  1:00 – 2:30 PM. Learn about newts, butterflies, birds, frogs, lizards, snakes, and more! $10 each adult and child.
• NEW! An Illustrated Guide to Fauna of the East Bay Hills – Friday,
  May 20, 2011; 10 AM – 3 PM. The UC Botanical Garden is proud to present, An Illustrated Guide to Fauna of the East Bay Hills. This fold-up guide offers an extensive introduction to the incredible array of animals that can be found in the Garden and surrounding hills. The original art used in the field guide will be on view in a special public exhibition on Friday, May 20 in the Garden Conference Center. Guides will be available for purchase at the exhibition. Come celebrate the arrival of this highly anticipated field guide! Free with Garden admission.
• NEW! The Mediterranean Collection – Thursday, May 26, 2011;
  1:00 – 2:30 PM. Colin Baxter, Horticulturist for the Mediterranean collections will take you on a delightful tour of this diverse collection. Come explore the diverse flora from regions around the Mediterranean Sea! Free. Members only. Registration required.
• NEW! The South American Collection – Thursday, June 16, 2011;
  1:00 – 2:30 PM. Join Horticulturist Peter Klement for a lovely summer tour through the Garden’s South American Collection. Plants in this collection represent the floras of temperate and mediterranean climate areas of South America, featuring plants from the matorral of coastal Chile. Free. Members only. Registration required.
• Introduction to Botanical Art – Wednesday & Thursday, July 6-7, 2011; 10 AM – 4 PM. Participants will learn how to measure and draw plants in detail as they work in graphite, colored pencils, and watercolor. Instructor, Catherine Watters, welcomes artists at all levels. $160 nonmembers / $150 members.
• Sick Plant Clinic – First Saturday of Each Month, 9 AM – 12 PM. Free. No reservations required.
• Monthly Butterfly Walks – Fourth Tuesday of each month (March – October); 3 – 4 PM. Garden volunteer, docent, and caterpillar lady, Sally Levinson, will lead walks through the garden in search of butterflies. Space is limited. Children welcome. Free with admission.
• Garden Strollers – Second Wednesday of Each Month, 11 AM – 11:45 PM. A 45-minute tour of the garden for adults with young children (3 and under). Tour will end on the lawn for play and snacks (bring your own). Children must be in a stroller or carrier during the tour. FREE with garden admission. Meet in front of the Garden Ship. For more information, call (510) 642-7082 or email garden@berkeley.edu.

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