April Events

To submit a garden-related public event for the e-gardens calendar, please e-mail details to events@sperrygardens.com. Deadline is the 15th of the month prior to the event date.

Austin / Travis County
Choose from nearly 300 species at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Spring Plant Sale, Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. The sale provides the best selection of hardy Central Texas plants, shrubs and trees, with butterfly gardening as a special emphasis this year. You can also enjoy guided hikes with Judy Walther, the designer of the Ann and O.J. Weber Butterfly Garden, on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. A members-only sale is scheduled for Friday, April 12. Members receive 10 percent discounts all weekend. Find details at http://www.wildflower.org/plantsale/

Enjoy one-stop garden shopping at Zilker Garden’s 56th Garden Festival on Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily. Activities include the annual Flower Show, live music, gardening talks, food, and kids’ activities. Vendors from across Central Texas will offer everything from plants to birdhouses. Find details and pre-sale tickets here.

Bryan / Brazos County
Shop the Brazos County Master Gardeners’ Spring Plant Sale and Preview on Saturday, April 6, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., in the Demonstration Idea Garden at the Brazos County office of Texas AgriLife Extension, 2619 Hwy 21 West, in Bryan. Plants offered include recommended herbs and vegetables for the area, pass-along plants from Master Gardeners’ private collections, and bulbs selected for Brazos County growing conditions. Find details at www.brazosmg.com.

Corpus Christi
Attend Big Bloom! at the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center on April 13. It’s the annual mega plant sale and garden festival, and it’s Dollar Day (shop and tour the grounds for just $1 per person). The plant sale includes orchid and plumeria sales. Entertainment features include butterfly and ladybug releases, reptile shows, visits with the garden’s exotic parrots and more. Park free; enter through the Rose Garden Pavilion. Visit www.stxbot.org/.

Dallas County / Collin County
See prize-winning blossoms and arrangements at the Plano Garden Club’s Flower Show on Friday, April 4, 1 – 5 p.m., at Pioneer Place Senior Housing. Admission to this National Garden Club Standard Flower Show is free. Location is 1928 Avenue K in Plano.

Bring the family to Celebrate Nature at the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary’s one-day outdoor spring festival on April 6, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Activities will include live concerts, interactive animal presentations, a Blackland Prairie Raptor Show and guided trail tours. Admission: $10 adults, $7 ages 3-12. Visit www.heardmuseum.org.

Shop the Spring Plant Sale at the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney on April 6, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and April 7, 1 – 5 p.m. For more than 20 years, veteran and novice gardeners have anticipated this opportunity to purchase from a large selection of hard-to-find herbs, native and well-adapted plants. Visit www.heardmuseum.org.

Enjoy evening concerts this spring at the Dallas Arboretum, overlooking White Rock Lake. The series begins April 9. Performing groups in April include Emerald City Band, The Spazmatics, Dan Whyms, Blaze of Glory, Petty Theft, Asleep at the Wheel, and A Hard Night’s Day. Find the full schedule of concerts at http://www.dallasarboretum.org/concerts/index.htm.

Submit your entry for the 19th Annual Water-wise Landscape Tour sponsored by Dallas Water Utilities. The tour is open to all landscapes within Dallas city limits and the city limits of Dallas’s wholesale customers or reciprocal cities. Judging criteria include design, water conservation efficiency, and appropriate landscape maintenance. The entry deadline is April 12, and judging will take place in mid-April for the public tour on June 1. Visit www.SaveDallasWater.com to apply online.

Encourage your favorite 2013 graduating high school senior to apply for the $1,000 scholarship to be awarded by the Collin County Master Gardeners Association in May. The award is available to Collin County residents who intend to select as their college major any one of the following: Botany, Entomology, Environmental Science, Forestry, or Horticulture. Application deadline is 4 p.m. on April 26. Full information is available here, or by calling 469-682-6375.

Fort Worth / Tarrant County
Shop the Spring Plant Sale at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, April 6, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. You’ll find cream-of-the-crop perennials, selected especially to stand up to all the challenges of Texas gardening. Find details at www.fwbg.org.

Browse the hardy heirloom and native plant offerings at the Grapevine Garden Club’s Annual Plant Sale, Saturday, April 20, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., at the Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park in Grapevine. Free seminars during the event will focus on topics like composting, perennials, and shade and butterfly gardening. Find details at www.grapevinegardenclub.org.

Visit six beautiful gardens in Southlake during the 2013 Southlake Garden Tour sponsored by the Perennial Garden Society on April 28, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Exhibits will be staffed with experts on water conservation, pond management, square-foot vegetable gardening, tree selection and care, in addition to mosquito control and prevention. Tarrant County Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions in each garden. Advance tickets ($8) will be available at area Calloways, Marshal Grain in Grapevine and the North Richland Hills Farmers Market starting April 10. Find complete details at www.southlakegardentour.org.

Houston / Harris County
Enjoy the April informational presentations at The Arbor Gate, in Tomball. Sessions scheduled include What’s New in the Plant World, How to Use Herbs, Bees, Butterflies and Blooms, and Small Flowering Trees. Special speakers include Kathy Huber of the Houston Chronicle, Dr. Bill Welch of Texas A&M, and Chris Wiesinger, founder of the Southern Bulb Company. Find dates, presenters and directions at www.arborgate.com.

Share a full day of roses at the Houston Rose Society’s Rose Show on April 13, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., at The Arbor Gate in Tomball. The day includes special informational presentations by rosarians. Visit www.houstonrose.org.

Nacogdoches
Attend the April lecture in the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series on Thursday, April 18, when Leo Lombardini of Texas A&M presents “Everything You Wanted to Know About Pecans but Were Afraid to Ask.” The Reeves garden lectures are held in room 110 of the Stephen F. Austin State University Agriculture Building. Refreshments and a rare plant raffle are included. Free and open to the public. For more information call 935-468-1863 or e-mail grantdamon@sfasu.edu.

San Antonio / Bexar County
Find answers to your gardening questions in adult classes at the San Antonio Botanical Garden this month. Topics include Texas-Tough Landscapes, Japanese Garden Design and Native Grasses and Perennials for Your Landscape. Find details at www.sabot.org.