Courses

Join long-time VanDusen birding guide Jeremy Gordon for a beginner-friendly class on the basics of birding! This class is specifically designed to provide aspiring bird watchers with a solid foundation and the confidence to head out and get birding this season.

Join your experienced guide, Jeremy Gordon, for a leisurely two-hour tour through the Garden to look & listen for the many species of birds that frequent the area while they share their enthusiasm and knowledge of the Garden’s avian inhabitants.

This course will equip you with essential knowledge on growing Chinese medicinal plants and guide you through proper methods for cultivating, harvesting, processing, and using these herbs.

This five-session series includes four online sessions, and the final session is a 2-hour, in-person guided plant walk at VanDusen Botanical Garden, led by Dr. Lily Chunling Liu, where you’ll receive Chinese medicinal plant seeds to take home and grow in your own garden.

Join Andrew Fleming, VanDusen Superintendent and expert gardener for a unique tour of VanDusen focused on the smells and aromas of the spring garden, both the pleasant and, sometimes, malodorous!

In this hands‑on May workshop, we’ll explore what to plant for a season of colourful, easy‑to‑grow cut flowers. Learn how to choose varieties that bloom reliably in summer, how to space and plant them for strong stems, and how to encourage continuous flowering. 

Led by Sangeeta Thomas, Learning Garden Coordinator, the workshop will include a hands‑on gardening portion, and offer tried & true techniques you can use at home.

Enhance your drawing skills and create realistic floral illustrations in this six-session (mixed online & in-person) series with artist and educator Katharine Dickinson. Through guided demonstrations, you’ll practice techniques to capture a plant or flower’s defining features—line, shape, structure and colour—while refining your observation skills.

Join long-time VanDusen birding guide Jeremy Gordon for a beginner-friendly class on the basics of birding! This class is specifically designed to provide aspiring bird watchers with a solid foundation & the confidence to head out and get birding this season.

Join us for a two-session en plein air watercolour workshop with instructor, Susan Pearson. With VanDusen Garden as the backdrop, participants will produce atmospheric landscape paintings while enjoying the opportunity to paint outdoors.

During this workshop, facilitated by Allison Luke, the class will explore perennial collections in the Garden and identify standout perennials that are beautiful, low-maintenance, hardy, and disease-resistant. You are sure to discover a few new additions that you will be eager to introduce to your own garden. 

In this hands‑on June workshop, we’ll explore what to plant and tend as warm weather arrives, with a focus on bush, pole & fava beans and other vertical climbers. Learn how to choose varieties that match your space and cooking preferences, and how to plant these productive crops for steady summer harvests.

Led by Sangeeta Thomas, Learning Garden Coordinator, the workshop will include a hands‑on gardening portion, and offer tried & true techniques you can use at home.

Join Andrew Fleming, VanDusen Superintendent and expert gardener, for an insightful tour and talk to discover the fascinating variety of conifers in the Garden and learn about their unique adaptations and ecological roles.