Calendar of Events › Classes
May 18, 2013
Behind the Scenes Railway Garden Tour
Enjoy the Taltree Railway Garden as if it were your own. This private, behind-the-scenes tour includes a visit to the train room guided by our head engineer. This is the staging area for the dozens of G-gauge trains that run on 3,000 feet of track over nearly an acre of mountains and valleys dotted with detailed vignettes from the Steam Era of American Railroad history.
Enjoy an opportunity to run the digital command control (DCC) operated trains with help from one of our state-of-the-art remote control devices. If you’ve got a passion for trees, all the better! Join our horticulturist for an exclusive exploration of the hundreds of dwarf conifers, diminutive perennials and Japanese maples in the garden.
Cost:
This ticket is for two adults. Each experience is limited to eight guests, so sign up quickly!
Value: $100 for two (2) adult tickets SPECIAL DISCOUNT 50% OFF ($50)
Call the Office at 219-462-0025 to register or PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE
May 10, 2013
National Public Gardens Day
National Public Gardens Day is an annual celebration of the nation’s public gardens to raise awareness of the important role botanical gardens and arboreta play in promoting environmental stewardship, plant and water conservation, green spaces, and education in communities nationwide.
Taltree will offer garden tours, instructional demonstrations, and more!
Get your FREE ADMISSION coupon here
Have you ever wondered how arborists care for trees 80-100 feet in the canopies of our trees? Come watch Matt McBain, Certified Arborist, do a climbing demo and educate you on how he cares for the trees in the arboretum. If you have a gardening question, the Porter County Master Gardeners will be on site to give you answers. Say “Hello” to spring with a new plant. We will have a plant sale in addition to arts and crafts for children. Come check out all our great new merchandise in the store and grab a bite to eat (weather permitting). And of course you can’t visit Taltree without seeing the different gardens. Enjoy a guided tour and learn a little more about Taltree’s past, present, and future.
Thanks to our 2013 Annual Events Sponsors!
May 7, 2013
MASTER NATURALIST: Final Exam
Participants in Taltree’s Indiana Master Naturalist program will be given an open book exam on all of the information covered.
To receive your certificate of completion, you must commit a minimum of one hour of service per hour of coursework. Your service must be for a state or
local park, natural resources agency, or approved local community organization to help with trails, programs, gardening, resource inventory, or other
project that they might have available.
Let’s say you pass your exam. What’s next?
- Complete your volunteer service with a state, city or local natural resources agency. If you’re not sure whether your plans for volunteer service will qualify, check with your course host.
- Provide proof to your course host that you have completed your volunteer service, which you can do here at Taltree (either your volunteer record or a letter from your host/volunteer organization.)
- Your course host will pass along notification of your completed service to the state coordinator, who will issue your pin and your newsletter subscription. Make sure that your sponsor has your current address, phone number and email.
May 4, 2013
They Eat Bugs and Have Spines: From Carnivorous to Cacti
Have you ever seen a Venus fly trap? Touched a sun-dew? Tried to plant a cactus garden? Used aloe on a wound? Come learn about how to plant, care for, and grow your own carnivorous garden, cactus garden, and/or succulent garden! This class will take place in the classroom, in our greenhouse, and will feature a special tour of Taltree’s succulent plants!
May 2, 2013
MASTER NATURALIST: Ecology
Participants will learn about environmental conservation locally, regionally and statewide. This course will include Taltree’s land management process and cover historical figures related to environmental conservation.
April 27, 2013
Tree Planting Demonstration
It’s the perfect time of year to plant trees! Come out to Taltree with your family and plant trees with our certified arborist, Matt McBain. Learn about the types of trees you are planting, what trees work best where, and go home with a tree to plant at your house!
Cost: Entrance Fee ($10 per person)
Demonstrations will take place in two separate time slots:
- 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
- 1 – 3 pm
April 24, 2013
MASTER NATURALIST: Botany
Participants will learn about Indiana’s native wildflower species and their habitats.
April 22, 2013
Earth Day School Hike Special
Earth Day Children’s Group Hike Discount
Celebrate Earth Day by appreciating northwest Indiana’s ecology at Taltree Arboretum & Gardens. Two hikes will be offered at a discounted price on Monday, April 22. Hikers must call to reserve a spot in either the 10:30 am – noon hike or the 1 – 2:30 pm hike.
Hikes will go through Taltree’s woodlands, wetlands and prairies. Cost for this guided Earth Day hike is $1 per child and $2.50 for adults. Teachers can register their entire class and pay only for the students! Hikers must pre-register by calling 219-462-0025. Space is limited.
April 20, 2013
How to Start a Veggie Garden
Dreaming about vegetables? Interested in starting your own backyard garden? Come out and learn the tricks of starting a vegetable garden from our lead gardener, Patty! She will guide you through the types of soil to use, when to plant certain seeds, how Taltree manages their garden, and what to do when pests come.
Earth Day Celebration: Monarch Conservation!
Welcome Monarchs!
Come to Taltree Arboretum & Gardens April 20 and learn about the Monarch butterfly and its migration from Mexico. With stops along their way through the U.S. throughout the spring and summer, they need places to reproduce and feed, and we have an opportunity to assist in keeping this beautiful butterfly alive.
From 10 am to 3 pm April 20, Taltree’s AmeriCorps volunteers will read stories, lead crafts, discuss the lifecycle of a Monarch, and give tours of our gardens, including the Monarch Waystation in the Native Plant Garden.
Monarch larvae rely solely on milkweed plants to feed upon and produce young. Taltree’s Monarch Waystation contains species of milkweed as well as nectar plants for adult Monarchs and other butterflies.
Monarch butterflies are a very important species to Taltree because their populations are declining due to habitat destruction in both their summer and winter habitats.
Taltree will offer milkweed plants for visitors to plant in their own gardens, enabling them to contribute to the conservation of this precious species.
Clean-up Day
Clean-up Day is an annual tradition at Taltree. In honor of Earth Day, come out and help the horticulture staff clean away the leaves and cut back the perennials to make way for new shoots and buds. All levels of garden savvy welcome. This activity is open to families as well! Contact Stephanie Heyer to sign up!
