Mikyoung Kim, FASLA, is the founding principal of MYK, a globally recognized landscape and urban design studio that integrates the latest research in neurodivergent science into the design of our shared experiences. Her work bridges public health policy with environmental stewardship, creating places that foster resilience, connection, and well-being. From large scale urban parks to healing gardens and educational campuses, her projects reflect a deeply human centered and innovative design ethos.
Join Kim and the New York Botanical Garden online on October 28 at 5:30 pm as she shares how landscapes are an important catalyst for public health and urban resilience. Her talk will feature celebrated large-scale projects such as the Regenstein Learning Campus at the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Cheonggye River Restoration Project in Seoul, and the TMC Helix Park in Houston. This talk is the second lecture of the 27th Annual Landscape Design Portfolio Lecture Series. Register for all three at www.nybg.org
Acquire insight into the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s mission to advance health and well-being through horticulture, and the various programs that support this mission. Discover the Society’s work supporting community gardens, planting and caring for thousands of street trees, establishing stormwater solutions, cleaning and greening vacant land, maintaining public gardens and landscapes, and producing the iconic Philadelphia Flower Show.
This Chicago Botanic Garden class on July 9 will be taught online via Zoom. All registrations must be submitted online two days before your class starts. Registered students will receive login instructions one day in advance.
The School’s CEUs=2 hours OPC elective. The lecturer is Andrew Bunting, vice president of horticulture, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. $52 for Chicago Botanic Society members, $65 for nonmembers. Register at www.chicagobotanic.org
Nurture a sunshiny feeling and boost your immune system with foods and herbal remedies for your daily routine to support your health throughout the winter. Recipes and demonstrations are included.
This Chicago Botanic Garden class on January 25 will be taught online via Zoom. All registrations must be submitted online two days before your class starts. Registered students will receive login instructions one day in advance. $32 for CBG members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at www.chicagobotanic.org
Dawn Petter, herbalist, Petalune Herbals is the instructor.
So you think you have a black thumb? Think again! Learn the most important basics of houseplant care from lighting to watering, repotting, and fertilizing. Discover what plants might do best in your home, and how to troubleshoot pests and diseases.
This Chicago Botanic Garden class will be taught online via Zoom. All registrations must be submitted online two days before your class starts. Registered students will receive login instructions one day in advance. The class will take place Monday, January 27 from 7:30 – 9:00 Eastern. $24 for CBG members, $30 for nonmembers. Register at www.chicagobotanic.org
Julia Zoltwosky, horticulture educator is the instructor.
For a garden that stays colorful all season, long-blooming perennials are a great choice. These plants offer consistent flowers from early summer to the first frost, providing lasting beauty with minimal effort. They attract pollinators, add variety, and reduce the need for frequent replanting, making them a practical option for maintaining a vibrant garden throughout the growing season. This Chicago Botanic Garden class on January 23 will be taught online via Zoom. All registrations must be submitted online two days before your class starts. Registered students will receive login instructions one day in advance.
Jacob Burns, curator, plant collections, Chicago Botanic Garden, is the instructor. $32 for CBG members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at www.chicagobotanic.org
The hardest time of year to take care of indoor plants doesn’t have to be hard. Discover tips and tricks to care for your beloved houseplants during the colder, darker, and drier parts of the year.
This Chicago Botanic Garden class will be taught online via Zoom on January 14 at 8 pm Eastern. All registrations must be submitted online two days before your class starts. Registered students will receive login instructions one day in advance.
Julia Zoltwosky, horticulture educator, is the instructor. $19 for CBG members, $24 for nonmembers. Register at www.chicagobotanic.org
The Chicago Botanic Garden is offering three opportunities for you to register for a six week online session on Wednesdays from 2 – 4:30 Eastern time, to learn watercolor techniques. Watercolor is a fresh, beautiful way to express a sunset or the reflection of trees and clouds on a pond. You will learn to make expressive marks, mix colors, and apply water mindfully to achieve the sparkling, sensitive effects watercolor offers. Prerequisite: Beginning Watercolor or similar experience. A supply list will be sent.
This class will be taught online via Zoom. All registrations must be submitted online two days before your class starts. Registered students will receive login instructions one day in advance. Sessions will be held January 8 – February 12, February 26 – April 2, and April 30 – June 4.
Judith Joseph, artist and educator, is the instructor. $279 CBG members, $349 nonmembers. Register at www.chicagobotanic.org
Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) announced that The Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Botanic Garden have been selected to partner with BGCI to host the 9th Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Chicago in summer 2027. The Congress is held every three to four years and is the only global congress dedicated to botanic gardens. This will be the first time it will be held in North America in 27 years.
Delegates from among the world’s 3,000 botanic gardens will participate in the conference with a theme focused on the role that botanic gardens play in habitat restoration in the wild, as well as in urban built environments. “As we navigate the impacts of climate change, there has never been a more urgent need to revive damaged habitats than now,” said Jill Koski, president and CEO of The Morton Arboretum. “This international congress will amplify the research and conservation work being done in the world’s botanic gardens that is essential to ecosystem restoration.”
The Congress will bring together botanic garden professionals and other stakeholders from around the world to discuss the many facets of habitat and ecosystem restoration that botanic gardens are engaged in. “The conference provides botanic gardens with a meaningful opportunity to showcase their expertise in plant science, conservation, horticulture and educational outreach to deliver impactful insights for species and habitat conservation,” said Jean M. Franczyk, president and CEO of the Chicago Botanic Garden. “We’re eager for our colleagues to visit Chicago and share our challenges, showcase successes and innovative new programs, and forge collaborative solutions to address the world’s pressing environmental issues.”
The Morton Arboretum is a globally recognized leader in tree research, conservation, and education, contributing scientific knowledge and technical experience to secure the future of trees locally, nationally and worldwide. The Chicago Botanic Garden is a world-renowned living museum that helps build healthier communities through urban agriculture, offers lifelong learning opportunities, leads pioneering plant conservation research and showcases the beauty of horticulture.
The Congress will be held at a downtown Chicago location, with the Arboretum and the Garden hosting programs and events at their sites during the event. Tours throughout the state will connect attendees with regional hubs of biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration.
“Chicago’s motto is the latin phrase Urbs in Horto, City in a Garden,” Koski said. “We look forward to showcasing the many beautiful and unique natural spaces the city and surrounding suburbs have to offer this international audience of botanic garden colleagues.” For more information visit www.chicagobotanic.org
You’ve probably heard “Save The Bees!” but do you know which bees need saving? Over 4000 species of bees inhabit North America, and most don’t live in hives or make honey. These wild bees come in every size, shape, and color you can imagine, and they live all around us, hiding in plain sight. In this free, online Grow Native Massachusetts lecture on March 6 at 7 pm Eastern, ecologist Dr. Nick Dorian will introduce you to the wild bees of New England. Together, we’ll examine their varied lifestyles, habitat needs, and intricate relationships they have with native flowering plants and other insects. You’ll come away charmed by these tiny pollinators and with clear action items for how to support them in your backyard. Sign up at https://grownativemass.org/Our-Programs/Calendar-of-Events/The-Secret-Lives-of-Native-Bees
Nick Dorian received his Ph.D. from Tufts University, where he co-founded and ran the Tufts Pollinator Initiative, an urban pollinator conservation group that worked at the nexus of habitat creation, community education, and ecological research. Currently, Nick is a post-doc at the Chicago Botanic Garden where he studies how to optimize pollinator gardens for biodiversity conservation.
Learn about the aesthetics of Japanese gardens in a one hour online presentation by Yvonne Wolf, Intercultural Consultant & Founder of Chinese Intercultural, LLD, on Thursday, August 18. The talk is free and sponsored on Zoom by The Japan America Society of Chicago. Yvonne Wolf will give a short background on the aesthetics of the Japanese gardens. Discover Confucian symbolism expressed in gardens and how they are used to relieve stress and cultivate inner peace. Learn the meanings behind paths, ponds, and pavilions. Yvonne will use examples from the Japanese Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Garden of the Phoenix in Chicago, and more. After attending this presentation, you will have a greater understanding and appreciation of Japanese gardens.
Yvonne Wolf, is an intercultural consultant and founder of Chinese Intercultural, LLC. She speaks on a variety of topics that help to clarify elements of Chinese and East Asian cultures in an accessible and relatable context. Yvonne shares the knowledge and skills she has acquired having lived in four different countries where she became fluent in three languages: (Chinese- Mandarin, English, and Danish.) She has also studied Japanese, Greek and Spanish. She has worked with organizations and business executives focusing on communication strategies working with Chinese and East Asian partners. Among her many skills is mediating across cultural misunderstandings.
