Wednesdays in June from 9:30*-10:15am

*Please note early start time for the summer season.

Do you have a child 18-36 months old and are looking for a program with structured activities and overarching theme? Garden Buds is a 4-week long program where your child will meet the same friends each week. It is an opportunity to practice social skills in an outdoor setting while developing an interest in nature with hands-on activities. The classes will only use sustainable and natural materials for all craft activities. The program will provide early education in basic plant knowledge, hands-on plant based activities and seasonal experiences exclusive to the Ruth Bancroft Garden.

In June, the focus will be on art, as an homage to the outdoor sculptures in the Garden. We’ll explore art inspired by nature and art made with nature objects. The annual Sculpture Exhibit opens June 16 and will provide additional inspiration for the budding artists.

The price is per child per event series – the June series has 4 classes:

June 5 | 9:30am – Paper Garden

Plants and gardens inspire artists to make art. The French, artist Henri Matisse, was inspired to cut out leaf shapes in colored paper. Just like Matisse, the Garden Buds will use paper and scissors to create unique, plant-inspired art. We will do a Garden walk to find inspiration.

June 12 | 9:30am – Bugging Out

You can be an artist anywhere and with all kinds of material. The Garden Buds will use materials foraged from nature and cardboard to create a whimsical piece of bug art. We will also read Anywhere Artist by Nikki Slade Robinson.

June 20* (Thurs) | 9:30am – Sculpture Show

The annual Sculpture Exhibit opens June 16. The Garden Buds will have their own opening event with juice and cookies. After a walk around the Garden to look at all the sculptures, Garden Buds will create their own sculptures.

*Please note that the Garden will be closed for Juneteenth (June 19th, Wed), so this program will be on Thursday morning.

June 26 | 9:30am – Paint a Masterpiece

Claude Monet, a French painter, is the inspiration for the last class. We will read Monet’s Cat by Lily Murray. The Garden Buds will use a pizza box easel and tempera paint to create a one-of-a-kind painting.

One caregiver can accompany per child. If siblings, one caregiver can attend with two children. The price is per child. The non-member price includes admission to the Garden for 1 caregiver on class dates. Go here for the cancellation/refund policy details.