Classes & Workshops


		I’ve been teaching gardening classes since 1995, first for Newmarket Parks & Rec, then for many years through GARDEN POSSABILITIES BOOKSTORE. For 2008, the selection has been expanded with many more individual topic workshops on top of our popular 8 lesson comprehensive gardening course we've been running for many years. The emphasis in all the classes I teach is a common-sense, natural, low-maintenance, and budget conscious approach with the goal of helping participants understand the basic science at work in the garden while exploring the rewarding creative possibilities. Decisions about products, methods, plants and design can then be made with knowledge and confidence. Gardening education with a difference. Gardening isn't about achieving an end-goal - it's an on-going process that feeds the creative spirit, engages a curious mind, and nurtures the soul. Come on - join in! - the possibilities are endless! Evelyn Wolf
		CONTACT US anytime for more details or to register.
	....	on the schedule for Spring 2008 - PERENNIAL GARDENING ESSENTIALS 8 weeks/$210.00 Starts Thursday March 20th 6:30–9:00, OR Wednesday April 23rd 12:30 - 3:00 or 6:30 - 9:00 This is our popular comprehensive course covering all the elements essential to achieving a healthy, beautiful garden. In-depth discussions, hands-on demonstrations, and take-home lesson sheets, will take us back to some basic amateur science to help you fine-tune your gardening skills and make product, plant, and maintenance choices with confidence. Lessons include shrub pruning, dividing perennials, lowering maintenance and water needs, understanding plant life cycles to develop common-sense maintenance routines, designing great plant combinations, tweaking zone hardiness, basic soil science, lawn care, site analysis and appropriate plant choices, organic disease control, basic design rules, mulching, fertilizing, weeds, and more. We’ve received many accolades over the years on this course – beginners learn basics to help them avoid common mistakes and keep costs down, and even veteran gardeners report they’ve learned new skills and filled in many knowledge gaps. Casual format and small friendly groups make this course just as enjoyable as it is informative. STOP THE TORTURE! – Shrub & Young Tree Pruning 3 hour workshop. $55.00 Sat. March 29th 12:00–3:00 OR Mon. April 14th 12:00-3:00 How to prune completely depends on why you’re pruning, and why you’re pruning leads to when to prune. All these how’s, why’s and when’s are covered in this essential workshop. Pruning is probably the most misunderstood and usually incorrectly executed garden task. The haircut trim that often passes for pruning is exactly the wrong thing to do and leads to weak, twiggy, non-flowering, plants with “bare legs”, and often a long slow death. The “haircut” is literally plant torture! Through hands-on demonstrations and a 24pg lesson manual, you’ll learn how to prevent structural tree defects, maintain strong blooming health, enhance the natural beauty each plant has to offer, or rejuvenate an old hedge. You’ll learn what makes a woody plant tick and how to work together with their predictable response to cuts. (Last week I had a beautiful large Maple cut down for a client. A split had developed, caused by a major branch that had included bark. If early in the tree’s life the owner had made just one small pruning snip, this could have been prevented. What is “included” bark you ask? Just one of the valuable details you’ll learn in this workshop.) NEW! RETHINKING THE FRONT LAWN 4 weeks. $115.00 (Spring 2008 dates will be established shortly. Call to register your interest or check here at the end of March. Afternoon & evening class will be available.) Keeping a nice lawn means engaging in a costly, tedious, and environmentally un-friendly battle with grubs, fertilizers, lawnmowers, noise, and a weekly maintenance grind. Why not reduce that high cost green carpet and catch the popular wave of establishing a full front garden instead! Think outside the garden box and learn how to apply basic design rules and lower-maintenance / low water needs routines, to create gardens that are truly unique. In step-by-step lessons we’ll create a basic master layout plan as an organizing tool and showcase the design possibilities. We'll than cover practical matters such as earth friendly gardening methods, soil & site analysis, bed preparation, reducing water needs, low-maintenance plant choices, etc., tol lead you to a garden that virtually looks after itself in comparison to turf. Also - watch for York Region's Water for Tomorrow schedule to hit your mailbox in February, and come out to some of the free seminars I'll be doing in March & April as part of their 2008 Designing for Drought Tolerance gardening seminar series.
		Below is a COMPLETE LIST and FULL DESCRIPTIONS of CLASSES OFFERED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, in no particular order. Call or email anytime for specific information, or to register your interest in joining in on the next run of any of these classes.
		SHRUB PRUNING - STOP THE TORTURE! 3 hour workshop with Evelyn Wolf. How to prune completely depends on *why* you’re pruning, and all of these how's and why’s are covered in this popular workshop. From essential pruning at planting time to establish a framework, or rejuvenating that overgrown lilac or sculpting a topiary. Pruning is probably the most misunderstood and usually incorrectly executed garden task. The haircut trim that often passes for “pruning” is exactly the wrong thing to do, and at best leads to weak, twiggy, non-flowering plants with “bare legs”, and at worst leads to a long slow death. The “haircut” trim method is literally plant torture, and disfigured or dead trees and shrubs are usually the result. At the core of the misunderstanding that surrounds pruning is the fact that pruning stimulates growth in the exact spot where the pruning cut is made, when most often the gardener is attempting to reduce growth. The more you prune the stronger the plant will respond and shoot out new growth (given adequate moisture and nutrition). But there are many qualifiers and variables to this. Quality trees and shrubs can cost a lot of money, but it's skillful training and knowledgeable pruning that makes the investment worthwhile by keeping them strong, healthy, and sculpted to bring out their best. Only by either a stroke of very good luck or through proper pruning will ordinary trees and shrubs become beautiful specimens. An expensive Japanese Maple will be a pretty red leaved addition to your garden but with correct pruning it can become that gorgeous layered sculpture you see in pictures. This workshop helps gardeners understand what is going on when woody plants are pruned. Learning to work together with the plants' predictable natural response and understanding why rather than how or when is key. Anything is then possible - espalier, topiary, a trained rather than grafted standard, healthy full hedges without bare legs, trees with billowing grace rather than a dense mop, a rejuvenated old shrub with dignity and maturity rather than having to rip it out for something new. One of the true arts of gardening, correct pruning is a rewarding investment in time with results that can't be bought at any price - a beautiful healthy mature plant strutting its very best stuff. The workshop focuses on shrubs but also covers the training of a young tree, and basic do's and don'ts when pruning larger limbs. Hands-on demonstrations and training videos are used whether we're indoors or out. 16 pg workshop manual included to help you work through the many details once you get home. Current dates LIFTING AND DIVIDING PERENNIALS A 2 hour workshop with Evelyn Wolf Whether you’re rejuvenating an overgrown Iris or want to multiply what you have to spread around a larger area or share with a friend, dividing perennials gives them renewed vigor and is an inexpensive way to expand your garden. In this workshop we’ll go through an overview of the different types of root systems, how to determine the best times for particular plants, and hands-on demonstrations of different perennials to show exactly what you’re looking for when dividing their roots. You’d be amazed at just how many divisions can be made from just one overgrown patch of daylily, hosta, coral bell, Iris, Dahlia, or ornamental grass. You’ll take home a few starter plants of your own from the demonstration plants, and gain the know-how you need to create hundreds of dollars worth of new plants from the ones you already have. Current dates PREPARING FOR WINTER a 2 hour workshop If a new gardener is to take their cue from the garden center shelves in fall, then preparing for winter may seem like the most labour intensive part of the whole gardening process. This workshop will help put some common-sense into your decisions and teach some basic botany to help you understand just what you're protecting your plants from to begin with! For example, the traditional burlaping of evergreens isn't to insulate them from the cold, it is to protect them from the searing sun of late winter when plants are stirring out of dormancy - a simple shading with a few cut evergreen boughs will do. Should you mulch? When and why. Rake up all those leaves or leave them be? Clean away frost deadened stems and leaves or leave them 'til spring? We'll also talk about some fun and budget saving things you can do to save some favourite tender plants over winter - lifting and storing your Canna bulbs or putting into dormant storage a wonderful new colour of geranium you found this year, for example. This is a great workshop for relative beginners to help sort out the many conflicting bits of advice. Current dates THE LIVING EARTH a 2 hour workshop with Evelyn Wolf Most garden problems are rooted in incorrect soil preparation, neglected soil health, or lack of attention to the effects of many garden products we routinely apply. Learn more about the fascinating world that is life underground in your garden, and how to maintain soil health in both the short and long term. Various approaches to starting a new bed; understanding pH; different mulches and when to choose which; weed/pest control; fertilizing; compost, triple mix, top soil, loam ... what's the difference and why it matters to choose correctly; determining your soil type and how to improve it; If you have time for no other class, this one is a must. Everything starts with the soil and mistakes or neglect here can at best cause a garden to be much higher maintenance than necessary, and at worst cause costly plant stress and death. Current dates GREAT PLANT COMBINATIONS A 2 hour workshop on designing complimentary plant partners and trios for all seasons. The huge assortment of plants available today is overwhelming and its easy to end up with a cluttered mess instead of the beautiful garden you envisioned. In this workshop we’ll talk about how to think of your plants in partnerships or trios and demonstrate some classic examples of plant combinations that work well in any setting. Learn how to take your garden from spring to autumn with something blooming or contributing at all times through creating good partnerships. Seeing a plant’s shape and form, not just flower colour; staging on slopes; colour combinations that sing; foliage contrasts; creating vignettes with something for each season; Current dates OUR MAIN COMPREHENSIVE COURSE that we've been running for over 10 years. PERENNIAL GARDENING ESSENTIALS A Comprehensive 8 week course with in-depth lessons for both beginners and experienced. While gardening involves thousands of details and choices, there are basics which everything follows from. This class covers these basics thoroughly, with an entire lesson devoted to each important element. By the end of the class you’ll understand why such and such is done in the garden, not just when and how. We'll focus on the basic natural science behind how the plant & underground world ticks. Everything you do in the garden is interconnected and once you've completed this comprehensive course you'll understand more about how one action leads to another, and how to successfully achieve the results you're after. You will be armed with the knowledge and confidence to make the thousands of individual decisions that go into creating a healthy beautiful garden to satisfy both the eye and soul. Building healthy soil; Understanding pH; Design basics; Lawn Care Lifting and dividing perennials; Hardiness zones & manipulating them; Perennial life cycles and maintenance; Shrub pruning; Winter preparation; Earth friendly pest/disease control; Low maintenance tips; Compost; Fertilizing; Mulching; Deadheading; . . . COURSE LESSONS (not always in this order) Day #1 The Language of Plants. What exactly is a Perennial, Annual, Bulb, Shrub, etc. and why it matters to know. Understanding the basic plant groups determines their best care, what to expect from them, how far you can push them, when and how to propagate, etc.. Hardiness zones and what they mean to selection and handling. Thinking Like a Plant. Plant life cycles and how each plant’s personal growth/dormancy routine dictates the ebb and flow of energy, nutrition needs, and maintenance. Day #2 The Living Earth. Repairing or working with the soil you have. Long term soil care that offers plants what they need, when they need it. Composting. Understanding pH (soil acidity or alkalinity), and what it means to the availability of nutrients. Mulching choices. Fertilizers. Lawn Care. Routine maintenance and some organic methods for weed control. If, when, and how to use herbicides safely. Day #3 No Haircuts Please! Shrub pruning. A hands-on demonstration and explanation of what is going on when you prune woody plants. When and how to prune a shrub completely depends on why it is being done in the first place. How to correctly care for the most important plants in your garden. Day #4 Basic Principles of Design This is a topic that could take all 6 evenings in itself. We’ll discuss some basic design rules to guide your creative explorations, working with your site conditions, form, balance and scale in overall design Day #5 Pests & Diseases. Good guys and bad guys—achieving pest control, not elimination is the goal. Organic protection and prevention techniques. Early Spring to-do list. Preparing a new bed, Seed Starting, freeze/thaw protection..… General Garden Maintenance. Identifying wish-list factors that determine how much work is needed—low-maintenance/natural? manicured perfection? - different types, not just different levels, of maintenance are required. Manipulating perennials to shorten floppy plants, stagger or delay bloom, prompt repeat bloom, prevent early foliage decline, weed control .... Day #6 Now what! Pulling together all the pieces and applying information learned to some real world scenarios. Your questions, photos, and particular problems addressed. General discussions where I’ll follow where your questions lead. Day #7 Moving, Dividing, or buying Plants. Different root systems and how they’re best divided—a show and tell with many different types of plants operated on. New perennials can cost anywhere from $3.95 to $20.00 or more—which ones are worth it and why such a difference. How to select a healthy plant. Best moving or dividing time. Day #8 In the Garden, Follow Up We’ll determine a date later in the spring (same day of the week and same time slot) and spend the lesson time hands-on, reviewing, demonstrating, and applying much of what has been discussed in the class. Identifying brewing problems. Pest patrol. The surprising colours of spring foliage and using them effectively in your bed design. Designing great plant combinations. Current dates
		PERENNIAL GARDEN MAINTENANCE 7 Monthly hands-on, out in the garden lessons, spring thru fall to learn the how-to's and when-to's of tending a successful perennial garden. (A familiarity with perennial gardening is assumed.) Achieving maximum blooming performance and long term health of perennial and shrub gardens. The seasonal maintenance routine of the pros to achieve a garden that’s healthy and beautiful from the first snow melt to the first snow fall. Perennial gardens can be many things depending on how much work a gardener wants to put in. A low-maintenance and natural look with the plants more or less looking after themselves is possible, but a particular type of preparation and care is necessary to prevent problems and a messy look. If the desire is for a garden that looks neater and blooms more vigorously and longer into the fall, then routine care of a different sort is necessary. It’s all about advance planning and working together with the plant’s natural life cycle of growth, bloom and seed set and a plant’s instinctive response to particular actions - manipulating them into doing a bit of what you want and less of what they want. ... pruning, pinching, training, and other bloom extending manipulation techniques of the pros. early spring and late fall bloomers to extend the season. planning & planting for winter interest. creating great plant combinations.. when and how to use mulch and what type to choose. preparing for winter and taming the ravages of freeze/thaw. lifting and dividing perennials to renew vigor. earth friendly weed control. pest patrol and when to act. shrub pruning for different purposes. details on many great performance plants. ... It isn’t completely that simple though—if you want your plants to work harder, more effort must be put into keeping the soil in peak condition, as well as paying more attention to planting design to make sure you have plants that bring beauty in all parts of the season. Learning the finer details of gardening always leads to the same fact—that everything is intertwined. Nothing is ever an isolated choice—one action or decision inevitably leads to another and the whole picture always needs to be considered. The first class will be an indoor lesson for a condensed overview* of perennial plant life cycles, principles of shrub pruning, and understanding soil life, so that what we then actually go out in the garden and do in the following lessons will make sense. * for those who took our full 8 week Perennial Gardening Essentials course in winter, this first lesson will act as a refresher on 3 of the core lessons from that course. Current dates

		DATES, TIMES & FEES To register just email or phone and ask for Evelyn. Visa or cheque accepted. Click Here to Contact us via Email or call 905 478-7915 for current dates.