Workshops
GNPS occasionally hosts workshops that focus on topics related to plant identification or plant ecology. Some workshops offer hands-on learning about topics such as pruning or transplanting plants. Educational materials and a chance to practice your new skills are typically provided to give our members more in-depth learning and a way to take home what you learned. Workshops are also conducted by individual chapters.
Check our calendar for listings of upcoming Georgia Native Plant Society workshops. We would love to hear from you if you are interested in leading a workshop or have a topic that you would like to learn more about.
News & Events
Corrective Pruning Workshop
It’s the season to prune your shrubs! The upcoming Corrective Pruning Workshop will teach you how. Details below.
2017 Workshop Schedule
We have a series of great workshops lined up for 2017! The first two are posted to the Events Calendar, and the rest will be posted after the Symposium, with details to follow on the Workshops page.
Feb 18: Native Seed Propagation with Karen McCaustland & Elaine Nash. Stone Mountain
Feb 18: Corrective Pruning with Barbara Dorfman. Stone Mountain
March 11: Native Azaleas of Georgia with Ken Gohring, partnering with the Azalea Chapter. Chattahoochee Nature Center
May 20: Magnolias with Leslie Edwards, partnering with Woodlands Garden, Atlanta
May 27: Birds and Native Plants with Vinod Babu. Kennesaw Mountain
August 19: Composites ID with Ellen Honeycutt, partnering with the Georgia Botanical Society. Chattahoochee Bluffs
October 7: Birds and Native Plants with Vinod Babu. Kennesaw Mountain
October 14: Native Plants and Pollinators with Eddi Minche. McDaniel Farm, Duluth
October 28: Grasses Workshop with Walter Bland.
WGA Chapter Hosts 7th Annual Fall Festival
Mark your calendar for the Georgia Native Plant Society – West Georgia Chapter 7th Annual Fall Workshop. The WGA Chapter has been putting on this free event for 7 years in a row to help the public learn more about native plants.
Registration is from 8-8:45 and the program features 3 presentations:
Gail Woody will speak on “The 3 B’s of a Flower Garden: Birds, Bees, and Butterflies”
Robert Barr will speak on “Container Bog Gardening with Carnivorous Plants”
The keynote speaker will be Wilf Nichols, PhD, director of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Dr. Nichols will talk about “Growing Native Plants-Some Pitfalls, Pratfalls, and Downfalls”
Breaks throughout the day will allow for visiting vendors who will be selling plants and garden items until the event ends at 12:30 pm.
No pre-registration required, free admission ($5 donation to cover costs is suggested).
Native plants will be available for purchase from vendors including:
- Ernest Koone of Lazy K Nursery and Garden Delights Garden Center in Pine Mountain, GA – native azaleas and shrubs.
- Robert and Patsy Barr of Barr Gardens – bog and pitcher plants.
- Night Song Native Plant Nursery – perennials and shrubs.
For location details, please see our calendar event: https://gnps.org/calendar-event/annual-fall-workshop-wga-chapter/
January Workshops and Field Trip
Workshop on January 16 at Northeast/Spruill Oaks Library, Johns Creek: 1:00 pm – Pruning: Every Cut Should Have a Purpose. Learn how to prune ornamental shrubs or trees, whether native or not, to preserve the natural form from landscape consultant Barbara Dorfman. 2:30 pm – Curious about rescuing native plants with GNPS? Marcia Winchester, an experienced rescue facilitator, will discuss how to identify plants, what supplies to bring, how to transplant and holdover plants, and much more.
Winter Woody Walk on January 30 at Big Trees Preserve, Sandy Springs. 10:00 -12:00 pm Join us for a casual stroll among deciduous hardwood trees and shrubs with many opportunities to use twigs, leaves, and bark to ID woody plants.
See the Calendar for more details on both of these learning opportunities.
Grass ID Workshop October 17
Native grasses provide structure, texture, and interest to landscapes and gardens, as well as food and habitat for native wildlife. Once your awareness of grasses has been raised, and you are able to identify them, they can become a vital part of your gardening and restoration activities. This workshop will show you how to identify many native warm season grasses, which bloom and seed in the fall.
Photo by Jim Allison
Georgia has a large variety of warm season grasses, including broomsedges, little bluestem, wood-oat grasses, panic grasses, and much more.
To see more details about the class and to register for the it, please visit the event listing here.