Education

As part of the Garden Conservancy's mission to preserve, share, and celebrate America's gardens and diverse gardening traditions for the education and inspiration of the public, we organize and cosponsor lectures, symposia, Open Days, and garden tours in a range of different locations across the country. Many of the programs are presented in partnership with botanical gardens, our preservation garden partners, and other like-minded organizations.

The Making of the French Garden, an eight-part virtual series, January 13 through March 3, 2022

Our recent educational programs:

Fall 2021 Literary Series
October 14 - December 2, 2021
A four-part webinar series that featured distinguished authors and guests and their stunning new books, filled with horticultural and design inspiration. The Fall 2021 Literary Series was presented by the newly established Frank and Anne Cabot Society for Planned Giving, in partnership with Phaidon and Monacelli, with additional support provided by Celia Hegyi, the Coleman and Susan Burke Distinguished Lecture Fund, and the Lenhardt Education Fund. 

Winter/Spring 2021 Virtual Programs
February 23 - May 13, 2021
Our 2021 virtual programs presented a variety of experts from the garden world and two special virtual program series devoted to exploring the cultural importance of gardens. No matter where you live, our virtual programs aimed to engage you in conversations about the why of gardening, not just the how-to.

Fall 2020 Literary Series
Biweekly webinars with authors of new gardening books
September 24 - December 17, 2020

Gardens for a Changing World: A Biweekly Webinar Series
July 16 - August 27, 2020

On June 10, 2020, we also sponsored an IGTV presentation with Rizzoli Bookstore, featuring Carl Dellatore, editor of Garden Design Master Class, in conversation with some of the contributors to his book and James Hall, the president and CEO of the Garden Conservancy.

Our 2020 Speaker Series got off to an early start in February. Aaron Bertelsen presented illustrated talks in four cities for us and Alexandre de Vogüé in one, before the Covid-19 pandemic required pausing our in-person public programs. 

Open Days is our most extensive public educational program and includes self-guided garden tours across the country as well as an assortment of site-specific Digging Deeper programs and, starting in 2019, Garden Masters Series programs.

Through all of our educational programs, we hope to raise public awareness of the important role gardens play in America's history, culture, and quality of life.