Are you interested in growing and selling vegetables but don’t know where to start? Denver Botanic Gardens and Colorado State University Extension have partnered to develop a certificate program that will introduce you to the ins and outs of becoming a successful market farmer on five acres or less.

By participating in this program, you will attend seven core curriculum lectures that will cover everything from planning your farm to selling at market. You will also apply what you have learned in the classroom on working farms during five hands-on workshops. Finally, you will have the opportunity to choose up to four advanced, elective classes that cover innovative topics such as seed saving and season extension. Lecture classes and workshops will take place on Fridays, 9-noon and electives will take place in the evening.

Staff from our program will work with you to help find hands-on experiences at local farms. This may take the form of a regular volunteer shift, an internship or an apprenticeship. If you have your own farm already up and running, DBG or CSU Extension staff can work with you over the growing season on any issues or questions that arise.

To complete the certificate you must:

- Attend all Core Curriculum (7 total) & Hands-On Workshops (5 total)

- Attend a minimum of 2 Elective courses (4 offered in 2019, register individually)

- Complete all courses within the 2018-2019 calendar year

All Core Curriculum lecture classes take place at the CSU Extension office located at:

Colorado State University-Denver Extension

888 E. Iliff Avenue
Denver, CO 80210

All Hands-On Workshops will be located an offsite location/farm. Directions and locations will be communicated with students the week before class.

All Beginning Farmers Elective courses will take place at Denver Botanic Gardens located at:

Denver Botanic Gardens

909 York St.
Denver, CO 802016

To register for the Beginning Farmers Certificate Course students will register separately for the Beginning Farmers Core Curriculum & for each of your desired Beginning Farmers Elective courses.

For registration questions please contact the Education Department at adult.programs@botanicgardens.org

For program inquiries including specific dates and program content and information about applying for a scholarship, please contact Brien Darby at Brien.Darby@botanicgardens.org

ELECTIVES (Must complete 2 of 4 courses):

Topics TBD, will take place August-September of 2019

Rocky Mountain Gardening Elective

This course is designed for the Front Range gardener beginner. The basics of what is needed to adjust gardening skills from other climates to the Front Range’s finicky climate are covered. If you have never gardened here before or are looking for more success, this is the class for you! Learn the skills necessary to become an enthusiastic gardener. Annuals, perennials and vegetables are discussed, along with trees and shrubs that thrive in our climate, elevation and varying soils. Plant selection, planting and troubleshooting is discussed.

Subsequent weeks focus on the elements, water needs, fertilizers and organic gardening.

Instructor: Patti O'Neal

Price: $90, $80 members

Special Instruction: Please bring a glass jar of soil to class. (Must be see through glass jar to study layers of your own backyard native soil)

The prairie was designed for growing grasses, such as wheat. It is only natural that a craft grew from that popular crop: wheat weaving. Learn why grasses-especially wheat-are good for weaving, discover some of the many varieties of wheat and make some small items using basic wheat-weaving patterns. Bring a sack lunch. Appropriate for adults and children ages 12 and up.

Price:  Member $15, Non-member $17

Location: Plains Conservation Center, 21901 E. Hampden Avenue, Aurora, CO 80013

Rocky Mountain Gardening Elective

Berries are easy fruits to grow and make luscious-eating whether fresh, frozen or preserved. New developments are increasing the types we can grow here. Come find out the types of berries that do well in our climate and soil, what varieties are recommended, where to purchase and how to manage and prune for best results. Grapes for our area are also discussed.

Instructor: Carl Wilson, Denver horticulturist, speaker and retired CSU Extension Agent

Price: $33, $28 members

Beyond Ordinary

Beauty is in the details, and sometimes in the unexpected! Investigate the less glamorous side of botany: the dead parts, buried parts, dull parts, backs and bottoms. Practice composition, scale and view to find and portray beautiful botanical elements in a finished watercolor painting. Use all your watercolor skills and learn a few new techniques to enhance your work. The results will excite and surprise, and you’ll grow with your new point of view.

Prerequisite: Botanical Illustration in Watercolor I.

Fee: $265 member, $315 non-member.

Date(s):

Tue, Jan. 14, 21, 28, Feb. 4, 11, 6-9 p.m.

Instructor: Laurence Pierson

Cultivate presence through breath-linking movements in this vinyasa yoga class cued in both English and Spanish. Cues will be the same in both languages, and those familiar with yoga will find a common language through the traditional Sanskrit names of the poses. This flowing, dynamic class is beneficial for all practitioners, and teaches important foundations while leaving space for more advanced practitioners to play.

Cultive el hecho de estar presente a través de movimientos enlazados con la respiración en esta clase de vinyasa yoga, instruido en inglés y español ambos. Las instrucciones serán las mismas en ambos idiomas, y para aquellos estudiantes familiarizados con la practica de yoga reconocerán los nombres de las poses en sánscrito. Esta clase fluida y dinámica es beneficiosa para estudiantes de todos niveles, enseña y reafirma fundaciones elementales mientras que al mismo tiempo provee espacio para estudiantes mas avanzados a explorar y divertirse en su tapete!

Price: $10 general public

Instructor: Noemi is a renaissance woman! She created an innovative bilingual yoga class format, based on the language centers of the brain. It’s mission is to serve as a cultural bridge by bringing diversity and inclusivity to yoga rooms around the world! Noemi has worn some fun hats in this lifetime, among those: legal advocate, former competitive gymnast, environmental activist, professional dance performer, beer judge, and her favorite hat as of late: Multilingual Yoga Instructor! Her signature Bilingual Yoga program has been featured by NBC Universal as an impactful grassroots outreach community offering by introducing this wellness practice to underserved demographics. Several editorial articles call Noemi an “Influencer and Inclusionary”, and her work is showcased at art exhibits by world-class museums, cultural and academic institutions.

Noemi’s classes utilize her varied skillset and worldly academic training to deliver an alignment based practice with creative sequencing and fun transitions, while intelligently deconstructing postures safely aided by props, along with soul-quenching philosophy and yogic mythology, sprinkled with breath facilitation and meditation. Her teachings foster a challenge to cultivate respect and empathy both inwardly and outwardly through educational tools. Join her in rising the vibration of your world!

Join us at Chatfield Farms to explore Colorado birds. We will be looking at various bird habitats, exploring citizen science applications, and helping you bring birding as a tool back to your classroom.

Appropriate for K-12 teachers.

Fee: $55 Member/ $65 Non-Member

0.5 semester hours of graduate level relicensure credit from the Colorado School of Mines is available on the day of the class for an additional $40.

Date(s): Saturday, 1/25/2020, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Birds in Graphite and Color

This class teaches common approaches to illustrating birds and how to overcome the challenging proportions and perspective of bird illustration. Start with a how-to session on bird photography and learn how to effectively use photographic references in artwork. The second session takes place at the Denver Zoo, where you will study a moving subject while sketching and photographing it at rest and in flight. Learn bird anatomy and physical characteristics through group instruction and individual attention. Using provided props, reference sketches and/or photos, you will create a sophisticated bird portrait ready to be framed, submitted to an exhibit or included in a portfolio.

Prerequisite: Entry-level color media.

Fee: $265 member, $315 non-member.

Date(s):

Tue, May 19, 26 (Denver Zoo), June 2, 9, 16, 23, 1-4 p.m.

Instructor: Randy Raak

Celebrating the Month of Printing 2020:

Blockprint: Birds and Plants with Hilary Lorenz

Linoleum block printmaking offers an engaging process to make unique and editioned prints of your illustrations. Learn how to transfer your drawing onto the block, carve and print on the press using a variety of papers and techniques. You will learn how to create textures, mix color and use the collage technique of chine-collé.

No prerequisites.

Fee: $370 member, $410 non-member.

Date(s): Fri-Sun, March 20-22, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Instructor: Hilary Lorenz, Brooklyn, NY and Abiquiu, NM

Hilary Lorenz is a Brooklyn-based artist who makes large-scale printed and cut paper installations to explore her relationship with the natural world. Lorenz is the founder of the Moth Migration Project. She is currently artist-in-residence at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Arts Center, Governors Island, NY. Lorenz holds an MFA from the University of Iowa and is a professor at Long Island University - Brooklyn.

Bold and Beautiful: Illustrating the Flora in the Conservatory on Mylar

When it’s cold outside, winter blooms in the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory! Expand your options in colored pencil. Mylar film provides a perfect surface for smooth, brilliant colored pencil work. Learn the skills specific to this surface, including pencil application and layering techniques, how to make the back of the surface enhance the front, and how to erase colored pencil from Mylar for quick corrections and special effects. See how layering your drawing over other surfaces expands the possibilities for your finished work. Beautiful winter blooms provide the inspiration for lush plant portraits and fresh techniques.

Prerequisite: Botanical Illustration in Colored Pencil II.

Fee: $310 member, $360 non-member.

Date(s):

Mon, Feb. 17, 24, March 2, 9, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Instructor: Susan DiMarchi

Botanical Fantasy Footwear

"A shoe has so much more to offer than just to walk." —Christian Louboutin

A cobbler has tools to create a shoe; we have nature's botanical beauty to help create an illustration of the ultimate whimsical footwear! Imagine stretching your sensory vision to fashion a framework of Earth's bounty. You can add shoelace vines, chunky heels of moss and bark, and textural ornaments using fruits, vegetables, leaves and flowers. Embark on a historical journey about footwear: how early man’s crude coverings progressed to become a paramount fashion statement emphasizing exquisite style over comfort. First, we will create a mock-up using live botanical specimens arranged on a provided mannequin foot form. Your final three-dimensional botanical shoe will serve as a model to draw from. Your whimsical mixed media illustration will be the envy of many a shoe collector!

Prerequisite: Botanical Illustration in Colored Pencil II.

Fee: $265 member, $315 non-member.

Date(s):

Tue, March 31, April 14, 21, 28, May 5, 1-4 p.m.

Instructor: Susan DiMarchi

Botanical Illustration in Colored Pencil I

You’ve learned to layer colored pencil; now learn techniques to draw effectively in this medium. Apply your drawing skills and learn new methods specific to colored pencils. Techniques include layering, building and burnishing in color. This versatile, portable medium is perfect for sketching on location as well as producing studio pieces. Learn through instruction, demonstration and practice on small studies of botanical subjects. You’ll be ready to produce a finished plate in Botanical Illustration in Colored Pencil II.

Prerequisites: Light on Form, Color Layering for Colored Pencil.

Fee: $265 member, $315 non-member.

Date(s):

Thu, Feb. 20, 27, March 5, 12, 19, 9 a.m. – noon

Instructor: Susan DiMarchi

Wed, May 6, 13, 20, 27, June 3, 1-4 p.m. (106)

Instructor: Susan DiMarchi

Botanical Illustration in Colored Pencil II

Take your colored pencil skills to the next level and become proficient in this fun, versatile medium. Work through a step-by-step process to create a preparatory layered drawing. Learn techniques to create texture, detail and depth to enhance your subject. Experiment with different surfaces and solvents for blending and shading. Add depth with atmospheric perspective and learn finishing techniques that will make your drawings pop. Individual attention will guide you to create a finished botanical plate.

Prerequisites: Botanical Illustration in Colored Pencil I, Botany for the Botanical Illustrator, Composition for Botanical Illustration, Perfecting Perspective.

Fee: $265 member, $315 non-member.

Date(s):

Tue, March 17, 24, 31, April 7, 14, 6-9 p.m.

Instructor: Susan DiMarchi

Mon, June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 1-4 p.m.

Instructor: Susan DiMarchi

Botanical Illustration in Pen and Ink I- Online with On-site Component

Pen and ink is at the heart of botanical illustration. Expand your drawing repertoire as you learn techniques to create line, form and texture in black and white. Expressive line and stipple  become part of your artistic vocabulary as you practice this traditional medium with modern and versatile technical pens. Step-by-step instruction, demonstration and practice will give you the foundation you need to draw any botanical subject accurately and skillfully.

**ONLINE WITH ON-SITE COMPONENT**

Prerequisites: Light on Form.

Fee: $310 member, $405 non-member

In-class sessions: Fri-Sat, May 18-19, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

**All assignments are to be completed no later than July 20, 2020.**

Instructor: Marjorie Leggitt

The Off-Site Learning Approach

Following the two-day concentrated classroom instruction, three internet sessions cover the remaining course elements. The successful completion of final artwork (a plate) one month (30 days) after the conclusion of the on-site session is the culmination of each of the distance learning courses.

 Students must use a scanner or digital camera to record their weekly achievements and email the high-resolution image to the instructor and the school manager. All student questions, as well as instructor answers, recommendations and suggestions are handled by email. The student must send a scan of the final plate to the instructor and the school manager in order to receive credit for the course.

Botanical Illustration in Pen and Ink II

Take your pen and ink skills to a new level of sophistication. Explore the Gardens’ limitless world of color, texture and complex botany and incorporate this information into black-and-white illustrations. Working with both technical pen and traditional quill, learn advanced techniques to make strokes mimic the fuzz on a fern, the down in a milkweed pod or the mottled colors of a variegated begonia. Learn how to layer and manipulate lines and stipples to develop a full range of value, texture and atmospheric perspective. Pen techniques take on new meaning as you flesh out the final inked illustration of a plant of your choice.

Prerequisites: Botanical Illustration in Pen and Ink I, Perfecting Perspective, Botany for the Botanical Illustrator, Composition for Botanical Illustration.

Fee: $275 member, $325 non-member.

Date(s):

Thu, March 26, April 2, 9, 23, 30, 1-4 p.m.

Instructor: Renee Jorgensen

Botanical Illustration in Pen and Ink I

Pen and ink is at the heart of botanical illustration. Expand your drawing repertoire as you learn techniques to create line, form and texture in black and white. “Expressive line” and “stipple” become part of your artistic vocabulary as you practice this traditional medium with modern and versatile technical pens. Step-by-step instruction, demonstration and practice will give you the foundation you need to draw any botanical subject accurately and skillfully.

Prerequisite: Light on Form.

Fee: $265 member, $315 non-member.

Date(s):

Thu, Jan. 16, 23, 30, Feb. 6, 13, 9 a.m. – noon

Instructor: Renee Jorgensen

Mon, March 16, 23, 30, April 6, 13, 1-4 p.m.

Instructor: Marjorie Leggitt

Botanical Illustration in Pencil I

Learn to draw! Begin with an overview of the specific elements of botanical illustration. Learn the skills of careful observation and realistic drawing in graphite pencil, including line drawing, shading and perspective. Step-by-step added techniques help you render accurate perspective, texture and detail. This is the entry course for every program student and a prerequisite for all required courses to follow. You’ll emerge from this class with the tools you need to draw anything.

No prerequisites.

Fee: $285 member, $335 non-member.

Date(s):

Tue, Jan. 14, 21, 28, Feb. 4, 11, 1-4 p.m.

Instructor: Laurence Pierson

Fri-Sun, Feb. 14-16, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Instructor: Charlotte Ricker

Thu, March 26, April 2, 9, 23, 30, 9 a.m. – noon

Instructor: Renee Jorgensen

Fri-Sun, May 8-10, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Instructor: Charlotte Ricker

Wed, May 27, June 3, 10, 17, 24, 6-9 p.m.

Instructor: Laurence Pierson

Botanical Illustration in Pencil II

Simple and classic, pencil drawing is a timeless art form. Expand on the drawing skills you learned in Botanical Illustration in Pencil I as you reinforce and refine your knowledge of graphite pencil. Learn additional techniques for shading, texture, perspective, depth and composition. A good drawing is the basis of botanical illustration in any medium. Group instruction and individual attention are tailored to help you complete a botanical plate in this subtle and striking medium.

Prerequisites: Light on Form, Botany for the Botanical Illustrator, Composition for Botanical Illustration, Perfecting Perspective.

Fee: $265 member, $315 non-member.

Date(s):

Wed, Feb. 19, 26, March 4, 11, 18, 1-4 p.m.

Instructor: Randy Raak

Botanical Illustration in Pencil II- Online with On-site Component

Simple and classic, pencil drawing is a timeless art form. Expand on the drawing skills you learned in Botanical Illustration in Pencil I as you reinforce and refine your knowledge of graphite pencil. Learn additional techniques for shading, texture, perspective, depth and composition. A good drawing is the basis of botanical illustration in any medium. Group instruction and individual attention are tailored to help you complete a botanical plate in this subtle and striking medium.

**Online with On-Site Component**

Prerequisites: Light on Form, Botany for the Botanical Illustrator, Composition for Botanical Illustration, Perfecting Perspective.

Fee: $310 member, $405 non-member

In-class sessions: Fri-Sat, April 17-18, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

**All assignments are to be completed no later than May 15, 2020.**

Instructor: Charlotte Ricker

The Off-Site Learning Approach

Following the two-day concentrated classroom instruction, three internet sessions cover the remaining course elements. The successful completion of final artwork (a plate) one month (30 days) after the conclusion of the on-site session is the culmination of each of the distance learning courses.

Students must use a scanner or digital camera to record their weekly achievements and email the high-resolution image to the instructor and the school manager. All student questions, as well as instructor answers, recommendations and suggestions are handled by email. The student must send a scan of the final plate to the instructor and the school manager in order to receive credit for the course.

Botanical Illustration in Watercolor I

Become part of the watercolor botanical tradition. Combine drawing skills and your knowledge of color mixing as you discover the delight of putting brush to paper to learn the specific techniques of transparent watercolor. Instruction, demonstration and practical exercises will guide you through a variety of watercolor techniques: flat and graded washes, highlights and drybrush detail. Learn to build washes for depth of tone and shading, and how to create soft and hard edges. With these foundational skills, you’ll be ready to create a finished plate in Botanical Illustration in Watercolor II.

Prerequisites: Light on Form, Color Mixing.

Fee: $285 member, $335 non-member.

Date(s):

Fri-Sun, Feb. 21-23, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Instructor: Constance Sayas

Tue, April 28, May 5, 12, 19, 26, 9 a.m. – noon

Instructor: Laurence Pierson