The Gardens of Old Salem
Join us this year in the Gardens of Old Salem as we explore and learn through guided tours, hands-on experiences, and lessons from our very own gardeners!
Special Events and Workshops
These events will have a separate ticket, so look for a link to reserve your spot!
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS!
Friends of the Monarch: Milkweed!
Saturday, April 25th | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
$20 for single workshop or $50 for 3-part Series | Ages 16+
Milkweed is the Monarch butterfly caterpillar’s favorite food! Did you know there are 16 species of milkweed native to North Carolina? Come to the Garden Education Center to learn about what it is and how to plant it, then take one home to plant in your own garden!
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS!
Watercolors in the Garden
Saturday, May 2nd | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
$45 | Ages 10+
Spend the morning in the Gardens with birdsong, cool air, and your paintbrush! Capture the essence of historic herbs, flowers, and crops with gentle instruction. Great for beginners, seasoned painters, and nature lovers alike!
All painting materials will be provided, and you will leave with your very own watercolor painting.
Guided Tours and Activities
These events are INCLUDED with your standard ticket, so click here to get yours!
Umbellifers: A Guided Walk in the Garden
Saturdays | April 4th and April 18th
11:30 AM and 1:00 PM
Join us for a guided walk through the gardens to get a closer look at plants in the Umbelliferae family. Umbellifers come in many forms, and you can find them all over Old Salem – or even in your kitchen at home! Come see the way some of your seasoning and vegetable favorites like parsley and carrots come to be, and explore the way historical gardeners grew and tended to these plants.
Exhibits
Join us in the Garden Education Center this spring for an in-depth look at the Gardens, managing seasonal changes, and so much more!
All exhibits are INCLUDED with your standard ticket, so click here to get yours!
Caffeine Across the Globe
February 11th – March 31st
Visit the Garden Education Center to learn about plant species naturally containing caffeine, how the Salem Moravians used them, and where these plants grow wild around the world!
Late Winter in the Cellar
February 11th – April 30th
Join us in the Garden Education Center to explore our new Cellar exhibit. Find out what produce was being kept in the cellar to ensure fruits and vegetables could still be used in recipes throughout the winter!
Read and Relax: Late Winter and Spring
February 11th – April 30th
Cozy up in our comfortable chair in the Garden Education Center and relax while you explore all our Gardens library has to offer. This season we are featuring books about seeds, garden planning, and cold weather crops!
Umbellifers: Origins
April 1st – May 30th
Visit the Garden Education Center to explore the common names, origins, uses, and ecological importance of plants in the Umbelliferae/Apiaceae family.
Welcome our Monarch caterpillars to their new home by harvesting some fresh snacks for them from our very own gardens! Learn about raising wild caterpillars and the lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly.
Flower Fireworks
Friday, June 26th | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
$40 | Ages 12+
Join our Garden Educators for an evening of hands-on science and crafts. We will be making art using Cyanotype paper and pressing fresh Umbellifer specimens from our gardens to make botanical summer decor! All materials are provided, and attendees will receive their very own plant press.
Girl’s School Botany
Saturday, July 25th | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
$25 | Ages 12+
Botany has been a well-documented passion hobby in Moravian towns for centuries, and schoolgirls were taught relevant botany skills in school such natural history and still-life painting. This program explores both the artwork and the botanical successes and failures of notable Moravian women of Salem and Springplace in the 1800s. We will also give you the opportunity to try botanical documentation through watercolor. This workshop is for people of all watercolor skill levels; materials will be provided. Children must be accompanied by ticketed adult.
Friends of the Monarch: Pollinator Gardens!
Saturday, August 8th | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
$20 for single workshop | $50 for Friends of the Monarch 3-part Series
Ages 16+
Join us for a special tour and lecture on building your own pollinator garden. Finish the three-part series with a packet of seeds – a mix of nectar flowers and host plants native to the Southeast for you to plant at home and attract butterflies to your own garden!
Check back soon for more information!
Read and Relax: Summer Season
May 1st – August 29th
Take a break from the summer sun and relax in our air conditioning while you explore the books in our Garden Education Center Library. This season we are featuring books about pollinators, flowers, and fruits!
Preserving the Summer Harvest in the Cellar
May 1st – October 31st
Before modern refrigeration, we had other methods of preserving food – like the cellar! Step back in time and see how Salem residents kept and preserved their summer harvest.
The Church Street Gardens
May 5th – May 30th
Ever wondered what was behind the homes on Church Street in the 1800s? Gardens, of course! Throughout the month of May, find historical images of those gardens on display in our Conference Room Gallery inside the Garden Education Center. Plus, learn more about who was doing the planting and what types of plants they were choosing!
Monarchs
May 20th – July 11th
To depict the needs of a popular native butterfly species – the Monarch – the Garden Education Center will have fresh-cut nectar and host plants on display in our exhibit room through mid-July. Stop by to learn about how you can help Monarch butterflies and their caterpillar offspring survive in the Southeast! Live caterpillars will be on display inside the G.E.C. beginning June 9th, with mature butterflies being released into the Single Brothers Garden once they emerge from their chrysalids.
Mallows of the World
June 9th – July 31st
From tasty treats to herbal teas and socks on your feet, the Mallow plant family contains something for everyone! Check out our exhibit on Mallows and learn where in the world these textile fiber, snackfood ingredient, and unique fruit species come from.
Red, White, and Blum
July 1st – July 31st
Have you ever wondered how people tracked down non-native seeds and plants for their gardens in colonial times? Learn about historical seed catalogs, seedsmen, and almanacs while you check out this new exhibit in the Garden Education Center.
Revolutionary Recipes
July 1st – July 31st
Experience deconstructed 1700s recipes through an exhibit on colonial ingredients grown in the kitchen gardens and farm fields of Wachovia.
Asters
August 1st – September 30th
Known for their composite flowers, the Asters are one of the largest families of flowering plants! From sunflowers to lettuce, cardoons to coneflowers, species of Asters have origins around the globe! Stop by the Garden Education Center to learn more about Asters in our seasonal exhibits!