Name: Plant based watercolors
Start: 2026-07-11T10:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-07-11T12:00:00-05:00
Location: Allen Centennial Garden

Learn how to extract color from seasonal plant parts, strategies to modify colors, and a few watercolor tips.
About this Event

Harvest flowers and leaves, grind with mortar and pestle, add a dash of water, and transfer to a watercolor palette. These simple steps yield remarkably vibrant colors that change throughout the season. We will teach the basics for extracting color and then share the colors around the table. We will provide a brief introduction to some of the most ‘colorful’ plants and provide you the opportunity and tools to harvest and test your own. (Many of these are easy to grow reseeding annuals and perennials.) Finally, we’ll turn you loose with watercolor paper and you will have a relaxing time painting simple, (and possibly, more elaborate) plants and scenes. 90 - 120 minutes.

General Information:

We recommend navigating to the Observatory Drive and Babcock Drive corner. Plan to head north on Babcock Drive. The entrance to the garden is on Babcock Drive. You are welcome to drop off in the circle but we are not allowed to park there. Google maps will sometimes confuse the garden’s address (620 Babcock Dr, Madison, WI 53706) and navigate to Leopold Residence Hall.

Street parking can be found for free on the weekends near the Garden on Babcock Drive (lot 34), near Porter Boathouse on Babcock Drive (lot 35), and near Babcock Dairy (lot 40). There also ticketed by not paid parking in the Observatory Drive Ramp next to Steenbock Library (lot 36). Always refer to posted signage.

More information about parking on campus can be found here: https://transportation.wisc.edu/visitor-parking/

Workshops are held rain or shine. In the event of inclement weather, we will move inside the DC Smith Greenhouses and do things there. Should this need arise before the start of our program, then participants will be notified via email two hours prior to the event. If the weather looks unfavorable please check your email before heading out. All the needed plant materials will be brought to DC Smith Greenhouses (465 Babcock Dr, Madison, WI 53706).