STORE HOURS: Mon–Sat 9am–5pm | Sun 10am–4pm
Hands on gardening classes, seasonal workshops and free family weekends at the nursery on Route 64. Everything you need is included, and you carry your work home the same night.
Every class and event on this page is held at the nursery, 41W781 Route 64, St. Charles, IL 60175. Plan your visit.
Our gardening classes all happen on the property, most of them inside the heated greenhouse, and every one is built around doing the thing rather than watching someone else do it. You leave with a finished wreath, a planted pot or a subject you actually understand.
Wasco Nursery has been a working garden center in St. Charles since 1925. The events grew out of the questions people ask at the counter, which is why the classes stay narrow and practical and the workshops send you home with something real.
What we run
An evening in the greenhouse building one thing and taking it with you. Wreaths are 18 inch premium mixed greens with every decorating material and a bow of your choice included. Planters are 12 inch pots filled with premium greenery, pinecones, dogwood twigs and berries, put together alongside our container designers. Materials are part of the price, so you bring yourself and nothing else.
Shorter sessions on a single subject, led by one of our growers or designers. Past ones have covered pruning young trees, choosing native plants that behave in an ordinary yard, getting hydrangeas to bloom, and what a new homeowner should plant first. They run in daylight and they are built for questions.
Once a year the whole property turns into a free family weekend in October. No ticket and no sign up, just come. It is the one event on this page that is not really about instruction, and it is the one small children enjoy most.
On the calendar
Two free days of family fall fun at the nursery on Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18.
Build your own 18 inch premium mixed wreath in the heated greenhouse, with every decorating material and a bow of your choice included.
Fill a 12 inch pot with premium greenery, pinecones, dogwood twigs and berries, guided by our custom container designers.
The same holiday porch pot class, paced for a first timer. No experience needed and none expected.
Build your own 18 inch premium mixed wreath in the heated greenhouse, with every decorating material and a bow of your choice included.
Fill a 12 inch pot with premium greenery, pinecones, dogwood twigs and berries, guided by our custom container designers.
A hands on evening building a holiday tabletop arrangement to carry home, suited to every skill level.
From the last 12 months.
Before you come
Our gardening classes run in the heated greenhouse, so the room is warm but the floor is a greenhouse floor. Wear shoes you do not mind getting dirty and a layer you can take off.
Greens, forms, ribbon, pinecones and every other material are included. If you own gloves and a pair of hand pruners you like working with, bring those. Everything else is waiting on the table.
A workshop is capped by how many people fit around the benches, and the holiday sessions are the ones that go first. If a date matters to you, book it rather than planning to decide later.
Finished wreaths and planters are heavier and wider than people expect. Leave room in the car, and if you are picking up plants the same evening, come early enough to shop the garden center first.
How do I sign up for a workshop?
Each event above has its own Register button. This season the workshops check out on Eventbrite, where you pick how many spots you need and pay by card. Some events are free to attend with no sign up at all, and those show no button.
Do I need any experience?
No. The Beginners Edition workshops are paced for a first timer, and our designers work the room the whole evening rather than demonstrating once at the front.
Where exactly do these happen?
At the nursery, 41W781 Route 64 in St. Charles. Workshops are held in the heated greenhouse. Directions are on the contact page, and the listing for each event names its own location.
Is this the same as the VIG Club?
No, and joining one does not put you on the other. The VIG Club sends seasonal offers and coupons. Event emails go out only when a new event is posted, and you can leave that list at any time from this page.
What if I want to learn between events?
Our gardening guides and plant care pages cover most of what the classes go through, and the staff at the counter will happily answer a question you walked in with. For the research behind the advice, Illinois Extension publishes trial results and pest alerts for our part of the state.
Event emails
New workshops, classes and seasonal events go up on this page. Put your email on the list and we will send a short note whenever one is posted.
One short note when a new event is posted. Nothing else, and no confirmation email to go looking for. Every event email has a link at the bottom that takes you off the list, or call us on 630.584.4424 and we will do it for you.
