Pruning Program

GJG is thrilled to offer pruning workshops taught by skilled aesthetic pruners.

The pruning program is designed for gardeners and landscape professionals interested in pruning for the health and aesthetics of the plant and landscape, while advancing your pruning and plant knowledge and skills.

Each course focuses on different aspects of pruning in regards to different plant material. See below. Check back often. New courses are added all the time.

Download the current pruning program courses.

Spring/Summer Courses

Maryann Lewis: Instructor

Maryann Lewis is an APA Certified Aesthetic Pruner® and a co-founder and past president of the Aesthetic Pruners Association. She began teaching in 2005 as an adjunct instructor at the Academy of Art San Francisco and in 2012 began teaching various aesthetic pruning classes with the Marin Master Gardeners Pruning Guild. Maryann was a guest instructor for the Fresno Central High School Agriculture Department in 2015 and was a lead instructor for two North American Japanese Garden Association pruning workshops in 2014 and 2015. In 2022 she was one of three pruning instructors for the International Japanese Garden Training Center’s Waza to Kokoro seminar. Maryann has taught workshops and given presentations for the Aesthetic Pruners Association, the American Conifer Society, The Hoffman Center for the Arts in Manzanita, Oregon, the JM Winery in Woodinville Washington, and now the Gresham Japanese Garden.

Spring Candling of Pines: May 3, 2025, 1-3pm: $45

Learn all about the why’s and how’s of pruning and de-candling pines. When should you remove the whole candel, and when should you break the candles. Laura will candle, needle, and prune a shore pine, black pine, and mugo pine at the Gresham Japanese Garden – Tsuru Island.

This workshop is in person. Bring your gloves. Laura may turn the class into a collaborative session.

Laura Dufala

Laura Dufala has been in the nursery business for over 40 years working with Iseli’s Nursery for five years, and then with a local high-end retail nursery for 25 years. Meanwhile, she and her husband Tom, own and operate a niché cloud-pruned pine tree nursery in Boring, Oregon.

Laura is also experienced in bonsai, and aesthetic pruning of maples and other landscape plant material.

Spring Pruning Hands-on Workshop, Onsite: May 10, 2025 10am–4pm – $100

This workshop is designed for the intermediate pruner looking to advance their knowledge through experiential learning. Taught by GJG pruning instructor and owner of Niwa Methods, Francheska Snyder. This workshop will include an analysis of the overgrown and out of proportion pine trees in the Japanese garden: how to approach the issue and where to make the initial cuts. You will prune a variety of plants and trees dependent on the time of year. The workshop will be limited to 12 participants for an optimal experience.

The location is a Japanese garden at Vanport Manufacturing in Boring, Oregon originally designed by Hoichi Kurisu in the early ’80s.

Work Site

We are always on the look-out for work sites. Take a look at the site requirements and if you think that you are a good fit, contact us at administrator@greshamjapanesegarden.org.

Propagating Broadleaf Shrubs, Saturday, June 7, 2025 1-3pm – $55

In this class learn how to successfully propagate deciduous and evergreen plants such as Rhododendron, Ribes and other suitable woody plants from cuttings. Instructor Norm Jacobs will explain plant physiology as it pertains to successful propagation, explain the selection of containers, soil mixes, and the role of rooting compounds. Next Norm will demonstrate and you will prepare stick cuttings from harvested branches. Last Norm will share experience about aftercare and future transplanting of your cuttings. Class includes all the propagation class materials: pots, soil, rooting compound, and plant tags.

​Norm Jacobs, instructor

Norm began gardening at age six, trimming boxwood, pruning roses, and tending his grandparents’ vegetable garden. When his family moved to the Bay Area, CA, he landscaped tract house lots. College was math and physics at Berkeley, but fledgling programs for public “pension gardens” and “edible classrooms” drew his attention. With his botanist-wife he has operated a propagating nursery (Arbutus Garden Arts) for 30+ years.
Norm specializes in Japanese maples, dwarf conifers, Epimedium, and flirts with woodland peonies among other genera, all of which are propagated and grown from plants which have performed well in their SE Portland urban garden and nursery.

Workshop Cancellation Policy

We do not issue refunds on workshop registrations. 

If you register for a workshop and later become unable to attend, we will gladly offer a credit for your registration amount to use toward any future event if you notify us at least 24 hours before the workshop.

To cancel and request a credit, please email us at administrator@greshamjapanesegarden.com. Workshop credits are not redeemable for cash. Please note: Credits cannot be given for registrations for workshops hosted by visiting/out of town instructors. Due to the nature of these one-time-only workshops, all events hosted by special guests are subject to this policy. Thank you for understanding!

In the event a class is cancelled or rescheduled due to inclement weather, or any incident where GJG or its instructors are at fault, you will receive a credit to take another class at a later date.

About Our Policy

Our workshops require a great deal of pre-planning, including ordering supplies and tools, booking staff, and making commitments to pay our instructors — all based on the number of students who register. In fairness to all of our customers we are unable to make exceptions to our policy, including for reasons of illness, travel, or work hours. If you are unable to attend a workshop at the last minute, we suggest giving your spot to a friend!

Thank you for understanding!

The GJG Team