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 click each to learn more!
Botany has been a well-documented hobby in Moravian towns for centuries, and schoolgirls were taught relevant botany skills in school. This program explores both the artwork and the botanical successes and failures of notable Moravian women of Salem in the 1800s. We will also give you the opportunity to try botanical documentation through watercolor. All skill levels are welcome, and materials will be provided.
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!
The below programs are hosted and led by our Director of Horticulture Eric Jackson! These are priced on a sliding scale. All proceeds go to benefit the Gardens of Old Salem.
The Gardens of Old Salem are more relevant today than ever. Examine how regionally adapted food crops, locally sourced native plants, and long-standing traditions of stewardship contribute to ecological resilience in the Piedmont and beyond.
Through stories, images, and living examples from the gardens, audiences will gain a deeper appreciation for how Old Salem’s gardens function as both a historic resource and a forward-looking model—where seeds, soil, and knowledge are actively stewarded to keep future options alive.
Join us for an introduction to the art and practice of seed saving. Drawing from our work stewarding the Historically Authentic Seed Collection, this program will explore how plants complete their life cycles, how seeds form, and how gardeners can collect, clean, select, and store seed for future growing seasons.
Learn the basic differences between dry-seeded and wet-seeded crops, self-pollinating and cross-pollinating plants, open-pollinated varieties and hybrids, and heirlooms, landraces, cultivars, and locally adapted seed.
Guided Tours and Activities
These events are INCLUDED with your standard ticket, so click here to get yours!
Mallows
July 11 & 18
11:30 AM & 1:00 PM
Stroll through the garden on a guided tour to learn more about the Mallow plant family, get a closer look at similar structures, and discover which Mallows are present in our everyday lives!
Aromatic Asters
August 1, 15, 29
September 5 & 9
11:30 AM & 1:00 PM
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! Join us for a guided tour from our Gardens educators all about Asters grown in Old Salem, their uses, and more!
Exhibits
Join us in the Garden Education Center 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!
Red, White, and Bloom
July 1 – July 31
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 1 – July 31
Experience deconstructed 1700s recipes through an exhibit on colonial ingredients grown in the kitchen gardens and farm fields of Wachovia.
The Church Street Gardens
July 1 – July 31
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!
Read and Relax: Summer Season
May 1 – August 29
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 1 – October 31
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.
Asters
August 1 – September 30
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!
Join us to learn how to best use your smartphone this autumn to capture the fall-blooming flowers in the gardens of Old Salem!
Read and Relax: Fall Harvest
September 2 – December 31
Escape from autumn breezes and rainy weather and warm up indoors while you read through one of our Garden Education Center Library books. Through the end of the year, our cozy library nook will feature books about fall crops and food preservation.
Spices of the World
October 1 – December 31
Have you ever wondered where your favorite holiday spices actually come from? Visit the Garden Education Center to learn more about the routes spices have taken from their native points of origin to a general store in Salem!
Spend your morning with us constructing a cornucopia with produce grown in the Gardens of Old Salem and using it as a subject for your still-life painting! All materials will be provided, and afterward take home your very own painting along with supplies for your own seasonal harvest decor!
Cornucopia Stamping
November 21 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
$15 | Ages 5+
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, come prepared to make some fall harvest art! Using seasonal fruits and vegetables as our tools, we will create unique paintings by stamping our own cornucopias. This program is geared towards families with art-loving children, but is open to everyone and fun for all ages.
Join us, and learn how to capture photographs of the winter landscape this holiday season in the gardens of Old Salem!
Preserving the Autumn Harvest in the Cellar
November 4 – December 31
Before canning, there was the cellar to stash all your excess produce. Step back in time and see how people in Salem kept and preserved a bountiful fall harvest.
Botanical Pyramid
November 4 – December 31
Check out the botanical elements we have chosen for our Christmas Pyramid in the Garden Education Center to learn about the wild and cultivated plants 18th century Moravians were using for Christmas décor!
Winter Ecosystem
November 24 – December 31
Explore a Wachovia Winter Wonderland through nature-themed Christmas décor in the Gardens Education Center indoor classroom.
Evergreens for Everyone Photobooth
November 28 | December 12 | December 19
Looking for a fun holiday photo? Learn a little about common winter evergreens around Salem while you interact with our holly-jolly winter-themed photobooth-style props!
*No pets, no flash photography, amateur photography only. For professional photographers, please check out oldsalem.org/photography to acquire a permit.*