Odyssey to Ithaca
Saturday, June 2

Sign up for a new membership or renew your current membership and receive one free class.

Please note that you don't have to choose your free-with-membership class when you renew - if you haven't taken one yet with this year's membership, you can sign up for one at any time.

To register: if you are registering online for other classes and events that require payment, then you can register for a free class  through PayPal - select from the list at the bottom of the page. 

If you aren't using PayPal for payment purposes, you can still register on-line if, on your checkout order form, you choose  "Check or Money Order" (i.e. not PayPal) as your payment method. We will recieve an email with your choice.

You may also register by calling 585-473-5130 or emailing rcgcjh@frontiernet.net.

0517LH Lilac Hill Nursery Tour

Thursday, May 17

6-7:30 pm

Ted Collins (aka Doc Lilac) and his Lilac Hill Nursery have been featured in several publications including Better Homes and Gardens, People Places and Plants, and Martha Stewart Living. Come for a tour of the nursery in Perinton, with its 15 acres of blooming shrubs, some of them enormous – over 300 cultivars, including rare, unusual, and choice. Ted’s passion for these beauties is legendary; he will describe for us the wide range of qualities found in different cultivars and highlight the best, as well as discuss planting and culture. Directions will be emailed (or mailed) before the class.

0605 What’s New at Mount Hope Cemetery?

Tuesday, June 5

6:30-8 pm

Join neighbor John Pearsall, member of Friends of Mt. Hope Cemetery, for a tour of the cemetery featuring the gardens and highlighting the recent changes. Grant money has made possible many improvements to cemetery structures, and there have also been big changes to the gardens, including some gardens removed or simplified for the sake of historical accuracy or access to historic gravesites. Come learn what’s new and improved, and at dusk view one of Rochester’s treasures illuminated by new floodlights. Directions will be emailed (or mailed) before the class.

0619EF Edible Forest and Permaculture Tour

 Tuesday, June 19

6:30-8 pm.

Come for a tour of the one-year-old Edible Forest Garden at Rochester Permaculture Center, at the homestead of Patty Love. Patty will talk about the ideas behind the design and about what is being learned in this unique urban/suburban, forest/creek-edge environment.  She’ll show you the permaculture and edible forest projects which are completed and in the works here, and you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy a nibble of the perennial vegetables and herbs. Patty Love is a permaculture designer, educator, and consultant, owner of Barefoot Edible Landscape and Permaculture, and program director of Rochester Permaculture Center, a project of Seeking Common Ground. Directions will be emailed (or mailed) before the class. Directions will be emailed (or mailed) before the class.

0725EG Gardens of Eastview Tour

Wednesday, July 25

12 noon- 1 pm.

Most of us have noticed the wonderfully exuberant and creative landscaping at the local malls, but not everyone knows that ALL the designs, plant production and upkeep are done by the Wilmorite crew, who manage the malls in our area. Facilities manager Mark Duford will take us on a tour of the gardens at Eastview, highlighting some of the unusual varieties used (there are over 30 different varieties in the large bed at entrance two alone) and discuss the year-round process of growing and maintaining all the plants that are used inside and out. Information on where to meet will be emailed before the class. Directions will be emailed (or mailed) before the class.

0728SR Rock Gardens for Shade

Saturday, July 28

11 am-12 noon.

Explore the possibilities of adding a rock garden to a shady nook in your yard. Rock gardens are generally considered to require full sun, but the rock-garden savvy folks at Bristol’s have recently installed a display rock garden in shade at their Victor store. Come learn about the palette of  rock garden plants that can be used in a shady site, the different types of rock available, and explore the different styles of rock gardens, from traditional to vertical stacked and crevice gardens. Bring pictures of your garden spaces for a consultation or to get ideas after the class. Directions will be emailed (or mailed) before the class.

0808SG Tour Sara's Garden Center Display Gardens

Wednesday, August 8

6-7:30 pm.

Sara’s in Brockport is renowned for their amazing selection of choice perennials – not to mention the carefully vetted collection of especially garden-worthy trees and shrubs and wonderful home-grown annuals. The extensive mixed borders in the display gardens here are bursting with mature examples of the plants that owner Kathy Kepler loves. Come for a guided tour, where you’ll see how these promising specialty plants perform in the garden and learn about integrating perennials, annuals, roses, trees and shrubs into sunny and shady mixed borders. Directions will be emailed (or mailed) before the class.

To register: if you are registering online for other classes and events that require payment, then you can register for a free class  through PayPal - select from the list at the bottom of the page. 

If you aren't using PayPal for payment purposes, you can still register on-line if, on your checkout order form, you choose  "Check or Money Order" (i.e. not PayPal) as your payment method. We will recieve an email with your choice.

You may also register by calling 585-473-5130 or emailing rcgcjh@frontiernet.net.