Outdoor Gardens,
Lobby + Gift Shop
April - September
10 am – 6 pm daily
October - March
10 am – 4 pm daily
Bolz Conservatory
Closed March 11 - June 14 for Planned Maintenance
Schumacher Library
Permanently Closed
Award winning horticulturist, botanist, and plant collector Daniel Hinkley believes visually satisfying gardens rely on three concepts: punctuation, accentuation, and exclamation. Learn how to create balance in your garden by utilizing these concepts just as Hinkley has in many places including at his most recent and personal project, Windcliff. Hinkley is a teacher, writer, lecturer, consultant, nurseryman, naturalist, gardener, and recipient of numerous awards including Veitch Memorial Medal (V.M.M.) from the Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain in 2007 “for outstanding contribution to advancing the science and practice of horticulture” and the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award from the American Horticultural Society in 2006. Above all, he is committed to solid and sustainable horticultural practices, above average garden plants, landscapes of distinction and raising the collective awareness of the diversity of plant life on Earth as well as the magic and mysteries of our natural world.
$15/$12 member
Gardens endlessly award our senses, making them sensible places to share our time and energy. A brief scent of wet soil, a distant murmur of a bird’s song, or a blurred pattern of blooms can transport us to another time in our memory and simultaneously root us in the present moment. Such experiences offer a source of appreciation for the life all around us and nurture our minds and souls. It's no surprise that gardening is an amazing way to cultivate, expand, and hone our "sense-abilities." Join us for our 5-part virtual lecture series to learn from talented professionals in the gardening community about the many ways sound, touch, taste, smell, and sight inspires their work.
Our virtual lecture series offers an opportunity to connect with
inspiring professionals in the gardening community throughout the United
States and beyond. Each lecture includes a 60-minute presentation on
ZOOM followed by a 30-minute Q&A with the presenter.
Check out our best practices tip sheet to ensure you are in tip-top technical shape for the lectures! Olbrich Botanical Gardens is unable to provide technical support during the presentations.
What is ephemeral art? Art that is only created with natural materials and is meant to get blown away by the wind or tumbled down by the rain. In this class, we will explore early spring ephemerals around the garden and create art to match using only the things we find on the ground. Dress for the weather and bring your creativity! Ages 5-11 with an adult
“Move like a great river; be still like a mountain” instructs the age-old description of the meditative exercise and movement art of T’ai Chi Ch’uan. This class offers standing movements and seated practices rooted within the Chinese tradition of Tai Chi and Chi Kung for the enrichment of body, mind and spirit. All physical abilities welcome, including those in need of chair-based practice.
A garden has the potential to speak to all our senses. Designer Jay Sifford believes that “a garden should be an immersive environment laced with magic, art and story, a place where people, plants and wildlife interact in meaningful ways, and a stage upon which people can live out the best versions of their lives.” Join us as Jay shares his personal discoveries from 20 years of garden design, plus lessons from other designers. Learn how to create a magical, immersive, and profound space. He will share tips on rhythm, lines, shapes, and light; creating theater using scrim; and the power of emotion. Sifford’s work has been featured in several books and publications including Fine Gardening, Southern Living, Country Gardens, Garden Design, and SouthPark Magazine. LUXlife magazine named him "North Carolina's Most Outstanding Landscape Designer” in 2021.