Creating Memorable Images with Your Digital Camera
Instructor: Hank Siegel
2 Saturdays , May 26 - June 2 | 9 - 12 p.m..
Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens - Adventure Classroom
$125 General Admission

So you've gotten that new digital camera .....NOW WHAT????
This class is designed to introduce the student to basic concepts in digital photography including:
"how to capture the image you want"
"interfacing with the computer to process, organize, share and print"

Designed around the concept that photography is all about "capturing the light", the class will cover three areas:
1. Know the light
2. Know your camera
3. Creative concepts and processes
4. Setting up your camera
5. Setting up your computer
6. Working with your images

Whether you've got a simple "POINT-AND-SHOOT" digital camera or a more complex Digital SLR, you can gain skill and confidence in your ability to create memorable images.

Need to bring: your digital camera and user's manual

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Hydrangeas in a Basket
Instructor: Becky Roberson
Saturday, May 19 | 9-12 p.m.
Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens - Exploration Classroom
$35 Members | $40 Non-Members

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Children's Story Time in The Gardens with Miss Rita

Sunday, May 20 | 2 p.m.
Wednesday, May 30 | 10 a.m.
Sunday, June 10 | 3 p.m.
Wednesday, June 20 | 10 a.m.

Free Admission - No registration required

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Garden Mixology

presented by The Gardens' Junior Board
Instructor: Michael Connors, Mixologist at Dram in Mountain Brook Village
Thursday, June 7 | 6 - 8 p.m.
Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens - Arrington Plant Adventure Zone
$15 Before June 1
$20 After June 1

Raise the "bar" on your cocktails - Come and learn the secrets of master bartender Michael's famous Mojito in "The Zone!" Enjoy refreshing cocktails & learn how to use fresh garden ingredients, such as mint and berries. Michael Connors has been tending bar for five years and is currently serving delicious beverages at nearby Dram in Mountain Brook Village. Dram features Birmingham's most extensive collection of bourbon, Scotch, and various whiskeys.

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The Birds and the Bees
Instructors: Sallie Lee and Greg Harber
Saturday, June 9 | 10-12 p.m.
Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens - Adventure Classroom
FREE - MEMBERS-ONLY

Honeybees play a vital role in pollinating many of our flowers and fruit trees. Plus, they are interesting insects, with their astonishing abilities and complex societies. Honeybees make delicious honey, pollinate our crops and help to make our flowers grow. Birds play less of a roll in pollinating our native plants, but their associations with plants are equally fascinating and integral to a healthy habitat.

In this program Sallie and Greg will give you a whole new appreciation for these busy little workers in your garden and what you can do to help in their conservation.

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Rain Barrel Workshop & Rain Water Conservation
Instructors: Sallie Lee, Hana Burwinkle, and Bob Mead
Saturday, June 23 | 10:00-1:00 p.m.
Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens - Exploration and Arrington Plant Adventure Zone
$5 Program Material
$30 Un-modified Barrel
$50 Modified Barrel

This workshop will frame water conservation issues and methods in general, focus on the use of rain water collection as a low cost, environmentally friendly practice. Also you will learn how to collect rain water from your roof tops into barrels for use in watering gardens, lawns, ornamentals, etc. Early registration is suggested.
Explanation of Costs:
$5 Program material
$30 Program material, plus un-modified barrel (do-it-yourself)
$50 Program material, plus barrel that has been modified with a hole for garden faucet, faucet attachment, and insect screen included. Will demonstrate one way to handle overflow (many ways to do that) with appropriate tools. Will NOT provide overflow pipe, will show you how to attach pipe to demo barrel.

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Backyard Bird Junk
Instructor: Taylor Steele
Saturday, June 30 | 10:00-12:00 p.m.
Location: Birmingham Botaincal Gardens - Exploration and Arrington Plant Adventure Zone
$10 Adult Memebers | $5 Child Non-Members
$15 Adult Non-Members | $7.50 Child Non-Members

We all have some in our garage, basement or even in our house-junk! Come joins us on June 30th to transform what was considered clutter into a functional, or at least conversational piece of birdphernalia. This workshop is for the whole family. Anything that seems to have lost its original purpose will be repurposed in order to provide watering and feeding stations for your backyard birds. Bird feeders create a pleasant atmosphere full of foraging and singing birds. Constant feeding and watering is their sole source of energy and hydration. Anybody can easily make a bird feeder or bird bath themselves and it only takes a junk, and some imagination.

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Kids n' Cameras
Instructors: Hank Siegel and John Shadrick
Saturday, July 7 | 10 - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens
$50 General Admission

This day long "camp" is targeted at middle-school aged children. The objectives of the session are to:
* Get the participants familiar with the concepts of photography that most impact artistic imagery.
* Show participants the basic of how to use their cameras' power to capture the images that they
envision as artisitc.

The experience will consist of four separate sessions:

Session One: Lecture covering (1.5 hours Classroom)
* Physical and artisitc properties of light as they relate to photographic imagery.
* How to operate/control their cameras to capture the images that they see as artistic.

Session Two: Field work in the Gardens (1 hour)
* Particpants will spend the time using their cameras to capture images based on prior lesson information.
* Instructors will be on hand to provide guidance and additional training as requested.

Session Three: Lunch and Images download (1 hour)
* Participants will bring their own lunch.
* Instructors will work with each participants to download the images off of their cameras and select their
two best images for presentation.

Session Four: Presentations and Class Critique (1 hour Classroom)
* Participants will present their images and describe the artisitic and/or photographic techniques used.
* Class members and instructors will critique images.

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From the Garden to the Grill

presented by The Gardens' Junior Board
Instructor: Chef Angela Schmidt, owner of Chef U
Saturday, August 11 | 5 - 7 p.m.
Location: Birmingham Botanical Gardens - Arrington Plant Adventure Zone
$20 Before August 1
$25 After August 1

Fire up the grill and pick your veggies! Join us in the beautiful Enthusiast's Garden to learn how to grill fresh vegetables right from your garden or your local farmers market. Relax and enjoy the class with your favorite wine and beer - samples of prepared items will be provided. Feel free to bring your favorite accompaniments. Chef Angela Schmidt, owner of Chef U, will teach you how to grill fresh, healthy ingredients to perfection. Angela has worked in some of Birmingham's top kitchens, such as Highlands Bar & Grill, Ocean, 26 and John's City Diner, and opened Chef U in 2009 to share her passion and knowledge of food to the folks of Birmingham.