Events

The 2024 Dry Garden Design Certificate Program guides homeowners and experienced designers on an exploration of landscape design through the lens of dry gardening — the utilization of a climate-appropriate plant palette.

Join us for a free info session* about the 2024 certificate program!

December 6th, 2023 (Wednesday) at 5pm PT.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89668990911?pwd=TlFPK1NaSXBmSnR0cGxMc2RScXk0UT09

Meeting ID: 896 6899 0911
Passcode: 290057

*The Zoom session will be recorded and available for a later viewing.

Program Description

In this certificate program, students will build a strong foundation of knowledge about horticultural practices, basic design principles, and plant selection in dry garden landscapes.  With each class (primarily online), students will acquire skills to empower them to design, care for and maintain dry gardens as they explore topics ranging from fundamentals of botany and ecology, site selection, and a focus on various plant groups appropriate for dry garden landscapes.  Students will participate in a Final Design Project where they will demonstrate their ability to create and present a lawn-to-garden design.

The Ruth Bancroft Garden began in the 1970s as a pioneering experiment in using exclusively dry-adapted plants — including cacti, succulents, and California natives — in landscape design.  The result was a garden full of dramatic composition  — of form, texture and color — renowned worldwide, that continues to serve as a quintessential model for dry garden design.  The Dry Garden Design Certificate Program utilizes the lessons and unique history of Ruth’s Garden to educate and train today’s homeowners and professional landscapers how to create beautiful, healthy and long-lasting gardens in this climate-appropriate, sustainable manner that is dry garden design.