Printing With the Sun: Cyanotype Workshop and Book Launch
2026-06-13 10:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington, CT, 06759
Celebrate the release of Printing with the Sun with author and award-winning cyanotype artist Madge Evers in this full-day workshop. Start the morning with a quick look at the history of cyanotype and the essential tools and techniques behind these iconic blue prints. Get hands-on experience coating paper and working with pattern, layering, and composition to create two original botanical prints. Then get ready to experiment as Madge introduces the wet cyanotype process—a playful, unpredictable variation that transforms classic Prussian blue into a range of rich, organic tones. Finally, learn to apply the cyanotype process to textiles. Madge will guide participants through preparing and coating fabric, then printing their designs. You’ll finish with an original cyanotype on a cotton tote bag—a functional, wearable piece of art to take home along with your prints.
The workshop fee includes all materials. Bring a bag lunch. Water and snacks are provided. Madge will be signing copies of Printing with the Sun, available for purchase at the workshop.
Madge Evers is a visual artist who uses alternative photography, mushroom spores, and painting to depict plants and imagined flora. Her work has been exhibited widely throughout the East Coast, and she has participated in artist residencies in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Ireland. Evers lives and works in western Massachusetts and teaches workshops throughout the northeast. Her new book, Printing with the Sun: Capturing the Beauty of Nature with Cyanotypes, explores the cyanotype process, offering artistic inspiration as well as hands-on projects for developing printmaking skills.

HHG Members $130
Non-members $145
RESERVATIONS

Poetry Workshop: What Words for Nature's Beauty?
2026-06-26 14:30 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Experience Hollister House Garden as a place of beauty and a source of poetic inspiration. Woodbury poet laureate emerita Sandy Carlson invites you to explore of the role of nature in poetry. After a short presentation and group discussion, participants will spend time exploring the garden rooms at Hollister House, observing, wandering, and writing as they feel inspired. Participants will go where the Muse takes them–being as contemplative or as playful as they please. Carlson will be available for support and feedback throughout the afternoon. The workshop will conclude with an informal open mic, offering participants the option to share their work with the group while enjoying a beverage. This workshop is for anyone who loves the beauty of gardens and the natural world—no previous poetry or writing experience is required. Bring a notebook and your favorite pen or pencil.
Sandy Lee Carlson is a widely published poet, educator, and Poet Laureate Emerita of Woodbury. She founded the monthly open mic at Woodbury Public Library, and she organizes poetry events in Litchfield and New Haven counties. She edits and publishes poetry anthologies as managing partner of Orenaug Mountain Publishing and hosts the podcast People and Their Poems, featuring conversations with area poets about their work and the poems that have shaped people’s lives. Sandy teaches high school English in Litchfield. A Master Gardener, she spends her free time removing introduced plants wherever she finds them clogging the landscape. Learn more at sandycarlson.net.
HHG members: $45
Non-members: $55
RESERVATIONS

HHG Explorers: Garden Rooms and Fairy Houses
2026-06-27 10:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York) | Hollister House Garden, 300 Nettleton Hollow Road, Washington, CT, 06759
Hollister House Garden Explorers is a series of Saturday morning activities that invite elementary-aged children and their families to experience the summer garden.
Gardens are magical places that feed imagination and inspire wonder. Join us for a kid-friendly guided tour of Hollister House Garden, where we’ll explore some of our garden “rooms,” noticing features that make each space unique. Every garden room has its own mood. How does it make you feel? Is it peaceful, playful, cheerful, or maybe even a little mysterious?
Then, inspired by our walk, we’ll head to the barn for a hands-on art activity with Kent Curiosity Lab. Using natural materials and plenty of imagination, children and families will create their own miniature fairy gardens—designing tiny spaces with moods of their own.

Kent Curiosity Lab is a non-profit organization offering children experiences that spark curiosity and ignite lifelong learning. Located in Kent, Connecticut, the organization provides high-quality enrichment programs that actively engage students in real world and personally meaningful activities and projects. By ensuring every child has access to these opportunities, they work to build a stronger, more vibrant community. Find out more at kentcuriositylab.org.

This program is offered free of charge, but advanced registration is required. Please note that a caregiver must be present for the duration of the program.

Hollister House Garden Explorers - Garden Rooms & Fairy Houses

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Participants should meet in the barn before beginning the garden walk. Please arrive a few minutes early so the tour can start on-time.Parent or care-giver must be present for the entire event.(Required)

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EVENING IN THE GARDEN
2026-07-10 18:00 - 20:00 UTC
As the light fades and day turns to evening, enjoy the company of friends and neighbors and see the beauty of the garden in a different light.
Come have a glass of wine in the barn. Then enjoy a walk in the garden where you will delight in the intimate outdoor spaces, bordered by dramatic hedges and overflowing with exuberant plantings.
A perfect start to a summer weekend.
This event will take place rain or shine. In the event of inclement weather we will enjoy wine in the barn!
RESERVATIONS
Reserve in advance: $20 per person
Pay at the door $25 per person (cash or check only).

HHG Explorers: Who Lives in the Garden?
2026-07-11 10:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York)
Hollister House Garden Explorers is a series of Saturday morning activities that invite elementary-aged children and their families to experience the summer garden.
Gardens aren’t just pretty places for humans to enjoy- they are also home to a variety of animals and insects that signal a healthy garden. Join us for a kid-friendly, guided walk to discover different habitats at Hollister House Garden- then have fun searching for our famous frogs in the reflecting pool! We will learn all about frogs- and other herps- when we head to the barn for an exciting nature program with White Memorial Conservation Center. Through up-close encounters with several live animals, families will learn about the characteristics, habitats, life cycles, and adaptations of various species of reptiles and amphibians throughout CT.
The White Memorial Conservation Center provides year-round environmental education programs for children and adults that inspire understanding, appreciation, and respect for the natural world. Created in 1913 by Alain C. White and his sister, May W. White, the Foundation and Center today comprise 4,000 acres of forest, fields and wetlands in the towns of Litchfield and Morris in northwestern Connecticut.
This program is offered free of charge, but advanced registration is required. Please note that caregivers must be present for the duration of the program.

Hollister House Garden Explorers - Who Lives in the Garden?

InstagramThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.First Name(Required)Last Name(Required)Email(Required)Phone(Required)Number of children planning to attendName and age of each child(Required)Hollister House Garden plans to take photographs during this event.(Required)

I understand the above information.

Participants should meet in the barn before beginning the garden walk. Please arrive a few minutes early so the tour can start on-time.Parent or care-giver must be present for the entire event.(Required)

I understand the above information.
