Educational Events Workshops & Hikes Photography Workshops Especially for Teachers Group Programs Educational Resources Geocaching Educational Events Contact Us

Educational Events

Education, The Gardens' founder believed, is one pathway to an enriched life.  Therefore, learning is going on all the time in the Gardens.  Join us at any of the fabulous events listed below.  What better laboratory for these lessons than a natural garden of unending beauty?

Fall Gardening School

October 22, 2011
10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Fall is the best time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials.   Come learn from the experts what, how and when to plant to ensure success with your landscape endeavors.  Join horticulturists Hank Bruno, former Director of Horticulture at Callaway Gardens and now with Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, and Mildred Pinnell Fockele, Horticulture Director of Atlanta Botanical Garden for a fun and information packed day.  We'll even have a "how-to" demonstration for novice gardeners.  If you've got pressing gardening questions or want to know how to grow a certain plant, have your questions (and challenges) ready for the afternoon Question & Answer Session.

Fee:  $55 (includes lunch)  To register, please contact the Education Department at 706-663-5153 or at education@callawaygardens.com. 

Overnight accommodations available.  Contact reservations at 1-800-CALLAWAY (225-5292) and ask for the Special Fall Gardening School $99 rate at the Mountain Creek Inn. 

Nature Naturally^TM Outdoor Weekend

Friday - Sunday, November 11-13, 2011

Looking to do something more than walk through the woods when enjoying nature?  Join us for a family-friendly weekend of outdoor activities and learn how to enjoy Nature Naturally^TM at Callaway Gardens!  Here's your chance to try something new and different or just give you time to enjoy some outdoor activities that are on your list of favorites.  What better place than Callaway Gardens to fly through the trees on our TreeTop Adventure; take a walk with one of Callaway's Birds of Prey; enjoy a round of Light Striker Laser Tag or learn how to geocache, a high tech scavenger hunt; kayaking, canoeing, or biking; and stargaze.

Rate: $179.50 plus tax (based on double occupancy) per person for the entire weekend - includes accommodations at the Mountain Creek Inn, all activities, Friday evening cookout, Saturday lunch, and admission to Callaway Gardens.  Click here to make your reservations or call 1-800-CALLAWAY (225-5292).

** For TreeTop Adventure, you must be 54 inches or taller.  Harnesses hold up to 250 pounds.  Closed-toe, secure footwear is required (no sandals, flip-flops, Crocs, etc.).

26th Annual Southern Gardening Symposium

January 27, 28, and 29, 2012

One of the South's Premier Gardening Events*

Experience this three-day symposium devoted to gardening in the South!  Program includes: in-depth optional pre-conference workshops; optional pre-conference garden tour; a silent auction; a live auction; and garden marketplace, and topics including Dick Bir's Shrubs and Small Trees for Southern Understories; Mike Francis' The Best Maples for the South; Tovah Martin's Infusing the Garden with Personality; Jason Powell's Small Fruit Trees for the Home Gardener; Vincent Simeone's The Ever Changing and Exciting World of Hydrangeas; Charlie Thigpen's Have Fun Gardening; Shawn Walls' Wait for it, wait for it...; and Norman Winter's Hot New Plants and Captivating Combinations.

Spend the day with one of our award-winning speakers.  Our pre-conference workshops are interactive and fun.  A special lunch is included.  Pre-conference workshops on Friday, January 27th, 10 am - 2 pm include: (choice of one) $79 for SGS participants; $99 for non SGS-participants

Option 1:  Part and Parcel: Garden Design Workshop with Shawn Walls

Learn how to break down the parts of the garden into manageable pieces and then figure out how to budget money and time to make the design a reality.  Participants may bring designs they already have or photographs of challenging areas of their landscape. 

Option 2:  Make Your Own Terrarium with Tovah Martin

This workshop leads you through the making of a terrarium step-by-step.  Every participant will create a small world encased in glass by the end of the session.  The workshop begins with an explanation of terrariums and how they work to minimize maintenance and make indoor gardening sparkle.  From there, you will observe a step-by-step demonstration.  And then each participant crafts their own masterpiece.  You will have a fantastic, creative, enabling, rewarding time!  With decades of experience in growing terrariums of all descriptions, Tovah is the expert in this craft and shares exactly how to correctly construct terrariums that live happily ever after.

Option 3:  Tour of Massee Lane Gardens, American Camellia Headquarters (9 am-3 pm)

Have a private tour of Massee Lane Gardens, a 100+ acre botanical garden in Middle Georgia.  The gardens are the historic home of the American Camellia Society and are home to their camellia collection.  Massee Lane Gardens has been designated as "A Garden of Excellence" by the International Camellia Society.  After a tour of the garden with their horticulturist, you will be treated to lunch among the Boehm porcelains.

The weekend schedule:

Friday, January 27, 2012
4:30 - 8:30 p.m. Registration - Mountain Creek Ballrooms Lobby
6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Opening Reception - Renew old acquaintances, meet new gardening friends, visit the Market Place, and have an informal chat with our speakers.  Live Auction! (heavy hors d'oeuvres and cash bar)

Saturday, January 28, 2012
8 a.m. Registration, Continental Breakfast - Mountain Creek Ballrooms Lobby
8:30 a.m. Welcome and Introductions - Mountain Creek Ballrooms
8:45 a.m. Charlie Thigpen, Have Fun Gardening
9:45 a.m. Break - Visit our Market Place - Peach Ballroom
10:15 a.m. Norman Winter, Hot New Plants and Captivating Combinations
11:15 a.m. Jason Powell, Successful Fruit Gardening in the Home Landscape
12:15 p.m. Lunch - Mountain Creek Ballroom Lobby
1:30 p.m. Vincent Simeone, The Ever Changing and Exciting World of Hydrangeas
2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Visit your favorite part of the Gardens on your Own!
6:30 p.m. Banquet Reception, cash bar available (Market Place closes for evening after reception)
7 p.m. Dinner Banquet - Mountain Creek Ballrooms
8 p.m. Tovah Martin, Infusing the Garden with Personality

Sunday, January 29, 2012
8:15 a.m. Continental Breakfast - Mountain Creek Ballrooms Lobby
9 a.m. Mike Francis, The Best Maples for the South
10 a.m. Break - Visit our Market Place (Market Place closes after break)
10:30 a.m. Shawn Walls, Wait for it...Wait for it...
11:30 a.m. Dick Bir, Shrubs and Small Trees for Southern Understories

Fee:  $245 - includes Friday evening reception, two continental breakfasts, Saturday box lunch, Saturday Banquet, Saturday and Sunday programs and materials.  Deadline for registration is Friday, January 20, 2012.

To register for the Symposium or for more information, please contact the Callaway Gardens' Education Department at education@callawaygardens.com or 1-800-CALLAWAY (225-5292), option 5, option 2 or 706-663-5153. 

A special room rate is available for Southern Gardening Symposium Registrants, starting at $79 per room per night at the  Mountain Creek Inn. 

*Early Bird Rates: $25 off the Symposium Registration Rate and buy one night at $127 and get the second night FREE! (Rate is per room, per night based on double occupancy in the Mountain Creek Inn.)  Other lodging rates available.  Early Bird Special is good through October 31, 2011.

Callaway Gardens Annual Plant Fair & Sale
March 22, 23, 24, and 25, 2012

The Annual Plant Fair and Sale scheduled for March 22-25, 2012 offers approximately 19 vendors from our area and surrounding states bringing a wide variety of plants and unique garden items.  This offers exceptional shopping under one roof.  The Annual Plant Fair and Sale is one of the largest fundraising events hosted by Callaway Gardens with proceeds going to the Ida Cason Callaway Foundation in order to support the Gardens and its educational and environmental programming.
Hours are as follows:
Thursday, March 22nd - 3 P.M.- 7:00 P.M.
Friday & Saturday, March 23rd & 24th - 10 A.M. - 6 P.M.
Sunday, March 25th - 10 A.M. - 5 P.M.

Callaway Gardens Gardening School

Thursday & Friday, March 22 - 23, 2012

Launch your spring gardening endeavors with advice from the experts.  Join horticulturist, author, and design expert Erica Glasener for an informative and enjoyable learning experience.  On Thursday, March 22nd, you have an opportunity for a special day-long Landscape Design workshop.  At the close of the workshop you can be on of the early-birds at the Annual Plant Fair & Sale to get first pick at some of the choice offerings.  On Friday, March 23rd, Erica will begin the day with an inspiring garden lecture.  Following that there will be an extensive Question and Answer Session with Erica and other gardening experts from Callaway Gardens and plant vendors.  Space is limited so sign up early to ensure your spot.  Bring your gardening questions and challenges to see if you can get your perplexing gardening issues solved!  If you didn't get to shop on Thursday, you can spend Friday afternoon shopping and browsing at the Plant Fair & Sale.

Erica Glasener has hosted "A Gardener's Diary" on Home and Garden Television (HGTV) for fourteen years and has written a biweekly column on plants and garden design for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  She is the co-author with Walter Reeves of The Georgia Gardener's Guide (re-vised edition published in 2004) and Month-By-Month Gardening in Georgia (revised edition published in 2006).  Her current project is a new book, Proven Plants for Your Southern Garden.  Erica has also served as a contributing editor for Fine Gardening, a Taunton Press publication, and her articles have appeared in New York Times, The Farmer's Almanac, and Atlanta Magazine.

Fees: 

Thursday and Friday - $110.00 (includes two lunches, Thursday workshop, early entrance into Plant Fair, Friday Gardening School lecture and Q&A session)
Thursday Only - $79.00 (includes lunch and Thursday workshop)
Friday Only - $45.00 (includes lunch, Gardening School lecture, and Q&A session)