Summer School: At the Beach or at the Garden

Posted in Learning Experiences on July 9 2009, by Plant Talk

Take Classes in Amagansett, Learn Veggie Gardening, and More!

Duncan Himmelman, Ph.D., is Program Manager for Continuing Education.

I decided to take advanced physics in the months between my junior and senior years in high school, sensing it would give me a slight edge in the college application process and that it would free up my senior year schedule to pursue extracurricular activities. My friends were aghast: “Nerd” had not yet been coined, but I was certainly viewed as the precursor. Yes, it was difficult, both the advanced physics and loss of fun times with friends and family, but it was taught in such an engaging manner that it galvanized my decision to pursue science in college. Summer school was the key to my future! Who knew?

Summer is the ideal time to take on an academic or leisure time educational pursuit. Continuing Education offers a diversity of programming this summer both here at the Garden and in such far flung places as Amagansett on Long Island. Located in the middle of summer-cottage country, the nearby beaches of Amagansett provide spectacular vistas from which to learn the fundamentals of drawing or watercolor painting. If art is not for you, then learn about garden design or growing roses using a totally organic approach. No matter what, combining the leisurely pace of summer life with a fun course or two can be just what the doctor ordered.

If you are staying closer to home, near the Garden, why not enroll in the one-day Vegetable Gardening for Beginners program on Saturday, July 18. In keeping with The Edible Garden celebration and with the current “grow your own garden” craze sweeping the nation, come get the fundamentals needed to grow a bunch of veggies, from soil preparation and seeding to garden maintenance using strictly organic methods. Summer school was never so much fun.

For those who are more serious-minded about summer school courses, consider signing up for one of the Summer Intensives offered in Botanical Art and Illustration or Floral Design. Located here at the Garden, you will be amazed at the many locations where you can gain inspiration for the Illustration courses and actually sit outdoors to draw. Floral Design, an intensive five-week program, brings you from basic floral techniques through the creative process of designing wedding and “grand scale” arrangements. Perhaps, like my physics summer school course, you’ll find it demanding, but it may also be the touchstone you’ve been waiting for!