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!
Click each season to see what’s happening in the Gardens all year!
Special Events and Workshops
These events will have a separate ticket, so click each to learn more!
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.
African American Foodways Lecture
Saturday, May 9th | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
$10 | Ages 12+
To celebrate the upcoming summer harvest, join us for a discussion on African American foodways, with a focus on staple foods of Southern cuisine. These traditions are multicultural, rooted in ingredients like sweet potatoes, leafy greens, peppers, okra, and more!
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 | May 9th, May 16th, May 30th
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!
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.
Friends of the Monarch: Caterpillars
Friday, June 12th | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
$20 | Ages 16+
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.
Join our Garden Educators for an evening of hands-on science and crafts. We will be making art using Cyanotype paper and pressing fresh specimens from our gardens to make botanical summer decor! All materials are provided, and attendees will receive their very own plant press.
Discover the fascinating history of photography while learning to capture the beauty of the Gardens of Old Salem using just your smartphone! Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your skills, you’ll gain valuable tips and techniques to taking amazing photos using just your smartphone and creativity.
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!
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, snack food 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!
Fall Blooms Smartphone Photography
Saturday, October 3rd | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Ages 12+ | $25
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 2nd – December 31st
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 1st – December 31st
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!
Wreath Making Workshop
Saturday, November 14th | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Ages 12+
Get hands-on experience crafting a wreath using dried plant materials from our historic gardens here in Salem. Enjoy the crafting with family or friends, and take home a beautiful piece of history!
Cornucopia Painting
Friday, November 20th | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Ages 18+
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! Our fall harvest is full of surprises, but this program will include educational elements that dive into our historically authentic plant collection. All materials will be provided, and afterward take home your very own painting along with supplies for your own seasonal harvest decor!
Cornucopia Stamping
Saturday, November 21st | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Ages 5+ | $15
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.
Herbal Tea Blending Workshop
Saturday, December 5th | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Ages 16+ | $40
Stock up your pantry just in time for the holidays with a workshop on tea blending featuring herbs grown in the Gardens of Old Salem! After a quick lecture about the available tea herbs to learn about their flavor profiles and traditional uses, guests will be guided through making their own customized tea blends to take home.
Winter Landscapes Smartphone Photography
Saturday, December 26th | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Ages 12+ | $25
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 4th – December 31st
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 4th – December 31st
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 24th – December 31st
Explore a Wachovia Winter Wonderland through nature-themed Christmas décor in the Gardens Education Center indoor classroom.
Evergreens for Everyone Photobooth
November 28th | December 12th | December 19th
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.*