The Art of Gardening

It has been said that a work of art should "interest the eye, excite the brain, move the mind to reflection, and involve the heart"… (and ideally)….. "come at us from an unexpected angle and stop us short in wonder." (Anne Wareham, in "The Garden" August 2002 ).

The Art of Gardening is intended to merge your gardening experience with the knowledge you have acquired throughout this program. To begin the journey into areas of specialist expertise, this course explores the most classic of garden compositions - container plantings. We will then learn about that green backdrop to garden art, the lawn. Lastly, we examine the cultivation of 'food from the heart' - fruits and vegetables. The course will teach you how to successfully implement these options to create the specialized landscape that reflects your interests.

Course Topics:

1. Container Gardening
   • The basics of container gardens
   • Types of container gardens

2. Lawn Care
   • Establishing a lawn

3. Fruit Gardens
   • Tree Fruits in the Home Garden
   • Small Fruits in the Home Garden
• Planning the small fruit garden
• Selected small fruits; strawberries, brambles and grapes

4. Vegetable Gardens
• Basics of Vegetable Gardening
• Selected vegetable crops

Instructors

Sherry Chaisson is a Teaching Technician in the Environmental Horticulture Program with the Department of Environmental Sciences at NSAC. She has been actively involved as an instructor in Continuing Education courses including Plant Identification and Horticultural Therapy.

Lana Chisholm is a Program Instructor in the Continuing Education Department at the NSAC. Since coming to NSAC in 2002, she has worked on program development, propagation protocols of ornamental perennials, coauthored a manual on propagation and cultivation of native plants, and developed content for the Master Gardeners’ Maintaining the Garden and Art of Gardening courses. Lana is also the instructor of NSAC’s horticulture program at the Nova Institution for Women in Truro. She has a strng belief in the benefits of Horticulture Therapy. She became the teaching assistant for the Master Gardener Program in 2006. Lana is the owner of a specialty nursery that produces edible fruit and vegetable transplants as well as native plants. Saturday mornings she can be found at the nursery’s booth at the Truro Farmers’ Market.

Note: Registration deadline for October 2010 intake is
September 24, 2010

Course Details