September Events
The innovative, 8-acre Rory Meyers Children’s Garden opens at the Dallas Arboretum this month. The $62 million facility promises not only to raise science education in North Texas to a whole new level, but to set the bar higher than ever for children’s gardens worldwide. Find details elsewhere in this issue of e-gardens and in the Dallas section of this month’s calendar below.
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.
Allen / McKinney / Collin County
Attend the Collin County Fall Home and Garden Show featuring Bravo star Jeff Lewis, Sept. 13-15 at the Allen Event Center. The showroom will feature displays of more than 200 home improvement vendors, plus outdoor exhibits and a Gourmet Food Truck Roundup. Tickets: adults $9, seniors $6, active military free, 16 and under, free. Purchase tickets at the door (cash only) or buy online and receive $1 off. Go to www.showtechnology.com.
Register for the Earth-Kind Water Conservation Conference on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Landing, Myers Park and Event Center, 7117 County Road 166, McKinney. Sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and the Collin County Master Gardeners, the program will include information on drip irrigation, water conservation for the future, and tours of the Earth-Kind Research Gardens. Fee: $20, includes lunch. Phone 972-548-5530 or visit http://collin.agrilife.org/educational-programs/.
Attend meetings of the Plano Garden Club, which meets on the first Tuesday of the month, September through May, 9:30 a.m., at St. Mark’s Parish Center McGivney Hall, 1100 W. 15th St. at Alma, in Plano. New members welcome. Contact: 972-400-0799.
Austin / Travis County
Celebrate Austin Museum Day with a trip to Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Sunday, Sept. 22, when admission is free. You’ll learn all about the new Luci Baines Johnson and Ian Turpin Family Garden, scheduled to open in 2014, get a sneak peek at the Interactive Watering Holes, or hear a plant aphrodisiacs lecture by Dr. Molly Ogorzaly, co-author of Plants in Our World: Economic Botany. See the full schedule at http://www.wildflower.org/austinmuseumday/
Brenham / Washington County
Mark your calendar for the 25th Annual Fall Festival of Roses at the Antique Rose Emporium, Nov. 1-3. Three days of free presentations by experts like Felder Rushing, Greg Grant, and Chris Wiesinger, plus a behind-the-scenes guided tour of 20 acres of rose breeding, led by ARE owner Mike Shoup. www.antiqueroseemporium.com.
Bryan / Brazos County
Join Doug Welsh and local Master Gardeners in a kick-off for their “Harvest Blue — Grow Green” event on Thursday, Sept. 5, 5-7 p.m., at the Brazos Valley Fair and Expo. The group’s water conservation exhibit will be on display daily during the fair, Sept. 5-8. You can meet and talk with experts about water-saving landscapes, irrigation techniques, and more. Contact: cmanthony@ag.tamu.edu.
Mark your calendar for the Autumn Garden Tour sponsored by Brazos County Master Gardeners Saturday, Oct. 12, 9 a.m. — 2 p.m. Tickets: $10, available at the Master Gardeners’ booth at the Brazos County Fair and Expo, or at the Brazos County Office of Texas AgriLife Extension. For a list of gardens, visit www.brazosmg.com.
Corpus Christi
Register for “Beginning Birding ID 101,” a 10-class and three-fieldtrip series led by the entertaining, award-winning birder and naturalist Gene Blacklock at the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. Class size is limited. $200 non-members; $165 members. The series begins Sept. 23. Prepaid registration is required by Sept. 18. Call 361-5558-1829 with questions, or see details at www.stxbot.org/.
Mark your calendar for “Moonlight in the Gardens” at the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center on Oct. 25, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Find details about the star-studded evening at www.stxbot.org.
Dallas / Dallas County
Join entomologist John Watts at Texas Discovery Gardens for a family-friendly guided tour of the Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium. Saturday, Sept. 7, 11 a.m. A behind-the-scenes look at these winged wonders is followed by the daily noon butterfly release. Admission: $8 adult, $6 ages 60+, $4 ages 3-11. Find details at http://texasdiscoverygardens.org.
Enjoy a book signing with Geyata Ajilsvgi, as she presents her new book, Butterfly Gardening for Texas, at Texas Discovery Gardens, Sept. 8, 2 p.m. Free event includes a stroll through the butterfly house and gardens, followed by a Q&A. Books available for sale in the Gift Shop. RSVP to SGardner@TexasDiscoveryGardens.org. Find details at http://texasdiscoverygardens.org.
Buy bearded irises, Louisiana irises and spuria irises at the sale sponsored by the Iris Society of Dallas on Saturday, Sept. 14, 9 a.m. — 1 p.m. (or until all are sold). The sale will be held at North Haven Gardens, 7700 Horthaven Rd. in Dallas. For further info, call 214-352-5416.
Shop the Texas Discovery Gardens Fall Plant Sale Saturday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m. — 2 p.m. Rare, native pollinator-friendly plants are among the features. Members can shop Friday, Sept. 13, and receive 10 percent off plants. Plant Sale Safaris are $15, $10 for members. Admission to the Friday safari allows you to shop at the member sale. Find details at http://texasdiscoverygardens.org.
Take a family-friendly guided tour of Texas Discovery Gardens at the monthly Garden Explorers Walk, Sept. 14. Search for squirrels’ nests, hungry caterpillars, frogs and butterflies in the great outdoors. The tour ends in time for you to catch the Butterfly Release talk at noon in the conservatory. Admission: $8 adult, $6 ages 60+, $4 ages 3-11. See http://texasdiscoverygardens.org.
Celebrate the dedication of the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden at the Dallas Arboretum on Sept. 21. This 8-acre laboratory for preschool to middle school children features 17 outdoor and indoor galleries. It is an amazing and innovative new garden at the north end of the Arboretum on the hillside overlooking White Rock Lake, and is destined to be the gold standard for children’s outdoor educational facilities in the years to come. Find details at www.dallasarboretum.org.
Mark your calendar for the Collin County Master Gardeners’ Bulb and Perennial Mart on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Myers Park and Event Center in McKinney. The bulbs and perennials offered are excellent choices for water-wise gardens. Find details at www.ccmgatx.org.
Fort Worth / Tarrant County
Attend “The Monarchs of Fall,” a free presentation for both children and adults, on Saturday, Sept. 28, 10:30 a.m., at the Grapevine Public Library, 1201 Municipal Way, Grapevine. Jenny Singleton, an educator, Monarch Watch volunteer, and seasoned butterfly tag wrangler, will present a program for those who want to learn about the beautiful monarch butterflies as they magically appear in North Texas the end of September. The program is presented by the Grapevine Garden Club. Call 817-410-3404 for further information.
Houston / Harris County
Have lunch with the experts at The Arbor Gate in Tomball this month. Cynthia Graham presents “Sassy Succulents” on Sept. 11, and Angela Chandler presents “Really Natural Pest Control” on Sept. 25. The Arbor Gate’s class schedule for September includes experts like Gaye Hammond, Linda Crum, Heidi Sheesley, Chris Wiesinger, Jason McKenzie, Bill Adams and Tom LeRoy. Find details at www.arborgate.com.
Nacogdoches, East Texas and Points East
Bring the family to the 15th Annual Haynesville Celebration of Butterflies on Saturday, Sept. 14, in the Butterfly Capital of Louisiana. The festival begins at 9 a.m. with a parade, followed by a day full of entertainment, education and vendor attractions, and ending with an evening concert featuring country, bluegrass and gospel music, all on the Claiborne Parish Fairgrounds. Celebrity guests include horticulturist Felder Rushing, botanist Charles Allen, bluebird expert James Dean and nurseryman Jeff McMillian. For information, call 318-624-1929 or 870-234-4910, or e-mail loicelacy@att.net.
Attend the September lecture in the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series on Thursday, Sept. 19, when Wayne Pianta of Ball Horticultural Co. presents “Plant Breeding, Garden Performance and New Product Development: What Makes the Cut and Why? A Survey of Recent Introductions.” The garden lectures are held at 6:30 p.m. in 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.
New Braunfels / Comal County
Squeeze in one more cooling, lazy day in nature along the Guadalupe River between now and Sept. 22. Find lots of information about Natural Bridge Caverns, historic Gruene, McKenna Children’s Museum and more at www.labordayinnewbraunfels.com.
San Antonio / Bexar County
Watch Starlight Movies in the Garden at the San Antonio Botanical Garden this month. Free movies include Gigi on Sept. 20 and Casablanca on Sept. 27. Gates open at 6:30 p.m., providing guests time to stroll through 38 acres of natural beauty before the movie, which begins at 7:30 p.m. Picnics, blankets and lawn chairs encouraged. Light concessions, including beer and wine, will be available. www.sabot.org.
Capture the excitement of carnivorous plants in the Savage Gardens exhibit at the San Antonio Botanical Garden now through Dec. 31. Find details at www.sabot.org.
Waco / McLennan County
Mark your calendar for the free Children’s Garden Fair at Carleen Bright Arboretum, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2 — 5 p.m. Kids’ fun includes crafts, worm composting, scavenger hunts and much more. Entertainment by the Hale Highland Dancers. Sponsored by the McLennan County Master Gardeners and Carleen Bright Arboretum. The arboretum is located at 9001 Bosque Blvd. in Woodway.