Landscape for Life™

New Class!

Landscape for Life™ shows you how to work with nature in your garden, no matter where you live, whether you garden on a city or suburban lot, a 20–acre farm, or the common area of your condominium. The educational series is comprised of five classes that explore the role of soils, water, vegetation and materials in sustainable landscape design. Think about your landscape in a whole new way.

Landscape for Life™ is a project of the United States Botanic Garden and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Landscape for Life is based on the principles of SITES™, the Sustainable Sites Initiative™, an interdisciplinary partnership of the American Society Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden.

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.

T'ai Chi in the Conservatory

Life today is stressful, and stress can affect us physically and emotionally. An excellent way to manage stress, feel stronger, and more flexible and energized is through T’ai Chi. This class will guide all levels of students. As T’ai Chi focuses on the mind and spirit, rather than speed and endurance, the practice is suitable for all ages. Bring a water bottle and wear comfortable clothes – no flip-flops please.

Please be aware, entry to Phipps is from the Schenley Park Bridge side on most mornings before 9 a.m. due to the road in front of Phipps being closed.

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.

Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC)

Permaculture is synonymous with ecological and regenerative design. It features holistic approaches to design that integrate natural environmental processes with human systems to enhance human health as well as that of the environment. It is often referred to as reaching beyond sustainability. Permaculture design is rooted in agriculture and horticulture, yet is far reaching and interdisciplinary in nature, making connections to city planning, ecology, architecture, and appropriate technology.

If this sounds good to you, you may be ready to earn your Permaculture Design Certificate? During this action-filled 11 days, journey with us as we visit Pittsburgh’s premier examples of permaculture in action. Get a sense of what is possible in urban sustainability, and try your hand at some of the green techniques being taught. Then get a chance to put what you learn into action by co-designing Phipps’ Garden Center space.

Instructors include Darrell Frey, author of and permaculturist for over 25 years, Juliette Jones, co-founder of Pittsburgh Permaculture, and Elizabeth Lynch, co-founder of the Three Rivers Permaculture Guild, plus guest presenters.

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.

The Sustainable Table: Creating inventive table-scapes using household items and scavenged finds

In this class students will work with a collection of random table items and learn how to organize by grouping, edit by color and concept, and re-combine these treasures into a cohesive table design. This class will address the idea of recycling and reinvention in home design with items that you already have with minimal additional investment.

This class has been canceled.

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.

Wedding Planning Workshop

You’re getting married? Congratulations! Now what?

Come and learn basic event planning from contract negotiations to crisis management from an event planner and florist. Gain inspiration, motivation, and direction for you to have a more successful and less stressful wedding. Want more? How about convincing you that reducing your environmental impact and working with mother-nature are going to benefit the region and your bank account? Themes? Venues? Mom? We will cover those too.

$60 members; $80 non-members; $100 for couples, mother/daughter, etc.

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.

Vegetable Seed Starting and Transplanting

Starting your own seeds at home can be a fun and economical way to supply your own vegetable seedlings. In the first class, students will learn the principals of seed starting from a seasoned veteran. Students will be instructed on what supplies they need in order to build their own light stand, and will have the opportunity to put in an early seed order with their fellow classmates. In the second class, students will share their home light stand building successes, fill seed trays with their own seeds, and practice transplanting young seedlings into larger containers. Students will emerge from this course ready for the spring planting season!

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.

Health Benefits of Tea

Come learn with us as we experience traditional “Gong Fu Cha” to cultivate and explore the true “Way of Tea”. Sit down with a Certified Tea Master and Herbalist and experience the deep traditions and superior taste of tea. The class will focus on exploring the physical and energetic healing effects of the world’s most popular beverage. Traditional and contemporary Eastern and Western perspectives will be addressed.

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.

Planting for a Continual Harvest

Succession planting is the key to a long and continual harvest. Learn from an experienced farmer how to increase your harvest and spread it out over the season. Through homework and in-class work, students will map their gardens and make their own planting plan for peer and instructor review. You will leave this class a good plan for getting the most out of this year’s growing season.

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.

Backyard Composting

Register online at http://www.zerowastepgh.org/ZW-PRC-byvc.html or by phone: 412/488-7490 ext. 236.

Fee Details: $50 per person, $55 per couple: a partner, relative, friend or neighbor who share a single bin. Children under 18, accompanied by an adult, admitted for free.

You can turn all of your non-meat food scraps, your leaves, grass clippings, yard and garden waste, your newspapers, even some of your cardboard waste into high-quality compost! This is a rich soil conditioner that will improve the health and productivity of your lawn, trees, shrubs, flowers, veggies and house plants. It’s easy to do, once you learn some basic rules, and have the right bin. And it’s a great way to re-connect with Nature, give something back, in a very direct way.

The workshop thoroughly covers the importance of composting, setting up a compost pile, proper maintenance, troubleshooting and good ways of using finished compost. Participants will receive an Earth Machine Compost Bin with attendance. Approved across the state as an ideal bin for urban and suburban areas, it has an eighty-gallon capacity (big enough for even the largest household). If not abused, it can last for many years.

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.

Wedding Planning Workshop

You’re getting married? Congratulations! Now what?

Come and learn basic event planning from contract negotiations to crisis management from an event planner and florist. Gain inspiration, motivation, and direction for you to have a more successful and less stressful wedding. Want more? How about convincing you that reducing your environmental impact and working with mother-nature are going to benefit the region and your bank account? Themes? Venues? Mom? We will cover those too.

$60 members; $80 non-members; $100 for couples, mother/daughter, etc.

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.

Celebrate the Rain! Rain Barrel / Watershed Workshop

Register online at http://www.zerowastepgh.org/ZW-PRC-rainbarrel.html or by phone: 412/488-7490 ext. 236.

Fee Details: $35 / person, $45 / couple (a partner, relative, or housemate who share a roof)

Harvesting rain water from your roof makes good sense for your backyard and garden; can save you money; and benefits water quality in our region. Learn why rain barrels are especially important in Allegheny County. Learn how to assemble and install a retrofitted rain barrel to your downspouts; and how to best store and use rainwater. Registrants receive all hardware required for retrofitting a 55-gallon drum (drum not included). Learn the benefits of doing this: for your land, your pocketbook and for the region we share.

To register, call the Garden Center at (412) 441-4442 ext. 3925 or download our registration form.