Denver Botanic Gardens is proud to offer an in-depth learning experience for those looking to grow in the Front Range. Regardless of your location, transportation or time constraints, we can prepare you for your best growing season yet. Join us for a better understanding of Colorado's ecology and how to have a successful garden with stunning native plants despite Colorado's short growing season and extreme conditions. Whether you are looking to break into the world of horticulture or want a stunning backyard, we have something for you.
New in 2025, the Rocky Mountain Gardening Short Course Certificate program has two separate courses: in person or online. Both of these options include three live sessions followed by self-paced instructional recordings for you to study on your own time. The in-person course is held at York Street. The online course is held live via Zoom. The day before the course, you will receive a Zoom link.
Price includes all live instruction sessions and access to all recorded instructional programming during the course. Courses are led by Denver Botanic Gardens horticulture staff and longtime instructors.
Course Topics
Live Session 1: Gardening for Resiliency in Colorado
Self-paced, recorded instructional videos:
- Rocky Mountain Horticulture I (3 hours)
- Water-wise Horticulture for the Western Landscape (35 minutes)
- Soils 101 (45 minutes)
Live Session 2: The Basics of Landscape Design
Self-paced, recorded instructional videos:
- Ecology (2 hours)
- Basics of Pruning (25 minutes)
- Colorado Ecosystems (3 hours)
- Perennials for the Front Range (optional additional viewing)
Live Session 3: Native Plants for Colorado
All recorded instructional videos are available for 16 days after the course concludes.
Registration opens mid-November.
Contact us at adult.programs@botanicgardens.org or 720-865-3500 with any questions about the Rocky Mountain Gardening Short Course programs.