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Continuing Education
The Garden's Continuing Education department offered 171 classes and day trips and served over 2,600 participants. Building on the popularity of BBG's art classes, offerings were broadened to encompass a greater diversity of media, such as pastels and photography. BBG teamed up with the Brooklyn Museum to offer a new course entitled Weekday Summer Landscape: Durand at the Brooklyn Museum, which allowed students to explore the artistic methods and approaches used by famous artist Asher B. Durand in his paintings of the Hudson River Valley. Other new offerings included a duo of viticulture courses, Growing Grapes in Brooklyn and Wine-Making in Brooklyn, as well as the three-class series Houseplants 101, focusing on indoor plant care. BBG repeated some long-standing favorites, including Designing a Brownstone Garden and the popular Regional American Cooking series led by the Palm House's Sally Morgan Krause.
Over 2,000 adults took continuing education courses at the Garden this year, learning everything from how to create wedding arrangements to how to make their own wine.
In January, the 2007 Student and Art Teacher Art Exhibition and Sale showcased work produced in BBG art classes. For the first time, works of photography and collage were among the 61 pieces submitted. For the sixth year, BBG provided New York City Department of Parks and Recreation gardening staff with horticultural training. Nineteen gardeners who participated in this in-depth training program received instruction in various areas of urban horticulture, including soil management, urban tree and shrub care, and a new course on appropriate plant selection entitled Right Plant, Right Place. In June, BBG president Scot Medbury and New York City Parks and Recreation commissioner Adrian Benepe hosted a festive graduation ceremony for the graduates and their families.
For the first time on the East Coast, BBG, in cooperation with the Manhattan Rose Society, served as the principal host of the Great Rosarians of the World Lecture Series, with special guest speaker and 2007 Great Rosarian honoree Wilhelm Kordes III.
Celebrating her ninety-ninth tour, BBG director emeritus Elizabeth Scholtz led a group of enthusiastic tour participants through Francis H. Cabot's estate in Quebec, Canada. Mr. Cabot, founder of the Garden Conservancy, is the creator of the Gardens at Les Quatre Vents, one of the most breathtaking landscape designs in North America. Scholtz also led a group through South Africa in September to enjoy wildflower gardens and wildlife, and led a tour to Japan in November to sample the delights of its gardens in autumn. Local trips included visits to the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival, the Philadelphia Flower Show, and private gardens of the Hamptons.