Create the garden you've always dreamed of! This ten part series will give you an in-depth understanding of the most important aspects of gardening so you can create your very own back (or front) yard oasis. We will teach you the basics of gardening and some unique things, too. All of the classes will be taught at the UT Gardens and many will lead you through them. Each series-long participant will receive a manual to fill up with information from each session. During some of the classes, we will utilize the greenhouse and send you home with a plant or two! You may register for the series as a whole or for individual classes.
Tuesday evenings from January-May 2020
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Cost per session: Garden member $35/nonmember $40
Cost for full series (10 classes): Garden member $330/nonmember $375
UT Gardens Book Club
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." (Cicero) This book club is for those folks who love plants and books and even books about plants (or nature in general at the very least.) We will spend five months reading five different books and meeting to discuss them once each month. At each meeting we will provide you with a new plant, tea, and snacks; you provide your own copy of the book. Feel free to use an audio book, check it out from the library, borrow a friend’s copy, or purchase your very own!
Cost:
Cost per session: Garden member $30/nonmember $45
Cost per series: Garden member $145/nonmember $220
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
In this book we read that trees are interconnected, social beings. They rely on one another to become the best versions of themselves, and they work as a community. Tolkein might not have been too far off when he imagined Ents (the living trees inhabited by spirits that are the guardians of the trees) as being a living version of a tree. According to Wohlleben, trees are social beings with the capability to feel what is happening around them and to other members of their community. This book discussion will be interesting as we dive into Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees, and we will take home a plant, too!
Date: January 17, 2020; 1-4 p.m
Second Nature by Michael Pollan
“He planted a garden and attempted to follow Thoreau’s example: do not impose your will upon the wilderness, the woodchucks, or the weeds. That ethic did not, of course, work.” (from michaelpollan.com) Join us as we read Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education by renowned author Michael Pollan. We will discuss his modern-day Walden while we plant something and enjoy tea and snacks.
Date: Feburary 21, 2020; 1-4 p.m.
A Golden Weed by Drew A. Swanson
Suggested reading by an environmental historian, A Golden Weed by Drew A. Swanson promises to be an educational read about one of the South’s main crops: tobacco. Learn how this crop started off being an ideal choice for southern farmers and about the connections that bind the people, land, and crop together. As usual, our discussion will take place over tea and snacks and will be followed by planting a plant to take home.
Date: March 20, 2020; 1-4 p.m.
The Overstory by Richard Powers
A book that has gained much attention since it was released, particularly by being awarded a Pulitzer Prize, The Overstory by Richard Powers is a book that is waiting to be read by those who recognize the state of the planet and our role in it. The book tells us about the importance of trees to our very existence through the lives of others interacting with them. We experience the roots, the crown, and the seeds during our read of this award-winning novel. Please join us for our book club discussing this book and for getting to take home a plant, too.
Date: April 17, 2020; 1-4 p.m.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Come with us as we hike the Appalachian Trail with Bill Bryson in A Walk in the Woods. This entertaining account will bring us face-to-face with experienced hikers, beautiful vistas, and even some bears as we hike along the trail that stretches from Maine to Georgia (or the other way around if that’s the way you choose to go.) Our last book club for the first half of the year will be spent discussing this book, drinking tea and snacks, and will be followed by getting a plant to take home as usual.
Date: May 15,2020; 1-4 p.m.