Barnes Horticulture Certificate Program

Year 1

Mondays, August 25, 2025 through May 4, 2026

8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

$3,700

Areas of study include:

• Herbaceous Plants and Bulbs
• Botany
• Ecology
• Elements of Art
• Garden Appreciation: Field Study and Observation
• History of Gardens and Landscape Architecture
• Introduction to Plant Taxonomy
• Soil Science

Year 2

Tuesdays, August 26, 2025 through May 5, 2026

8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. 

$3,700

Areas of study include:

• Cultivated Trees and Shrubs
• Conifers
• Entomology
• Foundations of Design
• Landscape Management: A Garden Practicum
• Plant Propagation
• Weed Science
• Woody Plant Diseases

Year 1

Herbaceous Plants and Bulbs

Discover over 200 herbaceous plants and bulbs. Learn the history, growth habits, cultural requirements, care and landscape value of a range of ornamental grasses, ferns, culinary and medicinal herbs, native and tender perennials, and long-blooming and unusual annuals. In lectures, in the arboretum, and on field trips, learn to identify, select and integrate herbaceous plants and bulbs into a variety of garden settings.

Instructor: Harriet Cramer, garden designer and lecturer, and Charles Cresson, horticulturist

Botany

Discover the general structure and function of higher plants through the study of typical morphology and physiology at the cell, tissue, organ and plant levels. Topics include cell division; the structure of basic food chains and webs; organisms both classified as plants and historically grouped with plants; the relevance of plants to humans; and the evolutionary advances of seed plants.

Instructor: Louise Clarke, M.B.A., horticulturist

Ecology

This course introduces the major topics of ecology: the interactions of species with their physical environment and with other living things, including predation, herbivory, competition and mutualisms. Explore ecology’s relation to human health, agriculture and horticulture, with a focus on local plants and animals.

Instructor: Jonathan Fingerut, Ph.D., Professor, SJU

Elements of Art

Art is more enjoyable when you understand its visual language and more meaningful when you appreciate its relationship to everyday experiences. Explore the intersection of art and horticulture, discussing the ways painters interpret landscapes in terms of color while learning to look at gardens with a painter’s eye. Consider the principles that underlie all art and discover art’s communicative power. The class culminates with a tour of the galleries at the Barnes Foundation’s Parkway campus. 

Instructor: Christine Stoughton, MFA

Soil Science

Good soils are the foundation of plant health and sustainable horticulture. Learn about the physical, chemical and biological properties that create a dynamic relationship between plants, soils and water. Explore the role of soil amendments, fertilizers and compost, and perform an analysis of a soil sample.

Instructor: Scott Guiser, M.S. in horticulture

Garden Appreciation: A Landscape Analysis
 

In the arboretum and on private garden tours, learn to identify and assess the use of plants in the landscape by observing textures, colors, shapes, scents, growth habits and ornamental features. Become familiar with technical nomenclature, learn to select the best plant for the site and purpose, and identify plants by their family traits and Latin names. Maintain a blog that tracks the growth, seasonal changes and landscape value of plants. In the second semester, use the Barnes archives to conduct group research projects to be archived in the horticulture library.

Instructor: Louise Clarke, M.B.A., horticulturist

History of Gardens and Landscape Architecture

Study gardens throughout history to gain a comprehensive understanding of landscape design and horticulture. Focus on major developments in the history of gardens, from their Eastern and Western origins to contemporary design. Students take field trips to exemplary local gardens to discuss historical influences, special developments, design principles and horticulture.

Instructor: Bess Wellborn Yates, M.L.A., Adjunct Assistant Professor, Temple University

Introduction to Plant Taxonomy

Acquire skills for plant identification by studying the botanical characteristics that distinguish plant families. This course will enable students to understand the relationships between plants and their nomenclature. More than 50 common plant families will be covered, giving students the tools to identify most of the plants that they’ll come across.

Instructor: Karen Snetselaar, Ph.D. professor emerita, biology, SJU

Year 2

Cultivated Trees and Shrubs

Learn basic diagnostic tools to identify and compare woody trees, shrubs and vines in the Barnes Arboretum and on field trips to local botanical gardens. Become familiar with the cultural needs and landscape uses of trees, shrubs and vines. This course also includes an introduction to the identification of common plant families, plant taxonomy and nomenclature.

Instructor: Joe Marano, Horticulturist and Nursery Owner

Conifers

Learn to identify and classify a range of ornamental conifers, including the best species and cultivars for our region. This profusely illustrated course focuses on the major coniferous genera, highlighting identification, growth patterns and landscape uses, from dwarf specimens for containers to large trees for screening. The instructor's Pocket Guide to Conifers is a required text. 

Instructor: William Rein, M.S. Horticulture, Assistant Director of the Barnes Arboretum at SJU

Entomology

Learn to identify and manage common arthropod pests of woody plants in the Delaware Valley. Investigate important facts regarding their life cycles, biology, habitat and preferred hosts. Pest population management will be presented using integrated pest management (IPM) protocols that utilize all suitable techniques: bio rational, chemical, cultural, monitoring with sex pheromone traps, resistant plant varieties, etc. Some of the beneficial insects along with their roles in agriculture, horticulture and ecosystem will also be introduced.

Instructor: Jonathan Fingerut, Ph.D., Professor, SJU

Foundations of Design

An introduction to the fundamentals of landscape design. Students learn to use graphic communication skills to study space and express design intent. Students develop skills through hands-on exercises that illustrate specific design principles, perform site analysis, and identify opportunities and constraints for a specific design site.  

Instructor: Michelle Jacobs, M.L.A.
 

Landscape Management: A Garden Practicum 

Learn hands-on sustainable gardening skills in planning, planting, propagating and maintaining various plants, landscape features, gardens, containers and garden tools. Learn how to write landscape management plans. Additionally, experience an introduction to a range of professional opportunities in the field.

Instructor: Jennifer Walker, ASLA, Principal at Poiesis Design and Planning. Masters in Landscape Architecture, ISA Certified Arborist and TRAQ qualified. Horticultural and landscape management consultant

Plant Propagation

Teaches the practical aspects of plant propagation of herbaceous and woody plants through seed and asexual techniques such as cuttings and division, with the production area of our greenhouse as the laboratory.

Instructor: Samara Gray, M.S.

Weed Science

Weeds exist wherever plants are cultivated. This course addresses the biology and classification of these unwanted plants and covers management options using an integrated pest management approach. Learn about common weeds like crabgrass, poison ivy and ragweed, and more recent invasive species like mile-a-minute, Japanese stiltgrass and giant knotweed.

Instructor: Scott Guiser, M.S. in horticulture

Woody Plant Diseases

Learn to identify signs and symptoms of woody plant diseases, including the most common biotic and abiotic diseases in the Delaware Valley. This course emphasizes the diagnostic process, the importance of performing systematic assessment, and the concepts of abiotic disorder and predisposing stresses. The most commonly observed and serious plant disorders, diseases, insect pests - and more - will be discussed and observed in the field. 

Instructor: Kathryn Belville, master arborist and educator