May 2015 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
Celebrate Wildflower Week with a nature walk at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center! The center offers special weeknight and weekend walks during this nationally recognized week, starting Tuesday night, May 5, with a free walk at Willowbrook Reach and including two in the intimate gardens of the Wildflower Center on Mother’s Day. Wildflower Days continue through May 31. Visit http://www.wildflower.org.

Dallas / Dallas County
Attend Dallas Water Utilities’ DIY Drip Irrigation Workshop on Saturday, May 2, 9 -11 a.m., at Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center in Dallas. Patrick Dickinson, horticulturalist and licensed irrigator, will explain how to water slower, deeper and more efficiently and how to convert your spray heads in making your sprinkler system save you money. You will learn how to install drip irrigation tubing from your faucet or how to convert an existing zone to drip. Space is limited. Please register online at www.SaveDallasWater.com or by calling 214-670-3155.

Make memories with Mom on Mother’s Day at the Dallas Arboretum – or sign the kids up now for one of the terrific summer camps being offered at the Arboretum, June through August. Find all the details at www.dallasarboretum.org.

Fort Worth / Tarrant County
Shop the annual plant sale of the Mansfield Garden Club at Mansfield’s spring Wisteria Street Market on Saturday, May 16, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Most plants are passalongs that are tried and true performers in the landscapes of members. This shopping venue will also include a variety of vendors. The address is 106 S. Wisteria Street in Mansfield.

Houston / Harris County
Explore the eight installations that make up Hermann Park’s Centennial art project, Art in the Park. On this tour you’ll view site-specific works, temporary loans, and even a permanent installation in the train tunnel that can only be accessed by riding the Hermann Park Railroad. This tour will give you an opportunity to see different parts of the park that you may not have explored before. Most works are on view in the park for one year or less, so see them before they leave in 2015. Find details at www.hermannpark.org.

Meet the incomparable Felder Rushing at the Arbor Gate in Tomball on Saturday, May 9, when he and other guest speakers are featured at Art in the Garden. Lots of artisans and artists. Find full details at www.arborgate.com.

McKinney / Collin County
Mark your calendar for “A Walk in the Park,” featuring tours of the Collin County Master Gardeners’ award-winning research and demonstration gardens at Myers Park and Event Center, on Saturday, June 6, 9 a.m. – noon. You’ll learn about Earth-Kind® gardening principles and see the plants that survive beautifully without fertilizer, pesticides or excessive irrigation. A Children’s Discovery Area in the Pole Barn will make this an event for all ages. Points of interest will also include the Collin County Farm Museum. Myers Park is located at 7117 County Road 166. Visit www.ccmgatx.org.

Nacogdoches / Nacogdoches and Shelby Counties
Join ornithologist Cliff Shackelford and horticulturist Greg Grant on a bird and nature walk through Greg’s beloved backyard Rebel Eloy Emanis Pine Savanna and Bird Sanctuary in rural Shelby County. With annual prescribed burns, regular thinning, and standing snags, Greg maintains this 8-acre stand of loblolly pines as a habitat for cavity-dwelling birds and pine savanna wildlife. He named it for his outdoor loving grandfather who formerly owned the property. Plan to see brown-headed nuthatches, pine warblers, eastern bluebirds, tufted titmice, Carolina chickadees, Carolina wrens, eastern phoebes, and an assortment of woodpeckers. Prepare to hike approximately 1 mile on dirt trails. Transportation is provided and will leave from the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Center at the SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center (2900 Raguet, Nacogdoches). Group size will be limited. $30 for SFA Gardens members; $35 for non-members. For reservations contact sfagardens@sfasu.edu or call 936-468-1832.

Attend the May lecture in the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series on Thursday, May 14, when Barbara Stump of SFA Gardens presents “My Azaleas Retrospective.” The lectures are held on second Thursdays at 7 p.m. in the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St., Nacogdoches. A rare plant raffle is included. The lectures are free and open to the public, but donations are appreciated. Parking is available at the nearby Raguet Elementary School (with shuttle service). For more information call 936-468-1832 or e-mail sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

San Antonio / Bexar County
Join the staff of the San Antonio Botanical Gardens in celebrating National Public Gardens Day on May 8. The Gardens offers a free, outdoor sustainable film — More than Honey – that evening at sunset. Beekeepers, scientists, and others discuss the world’s declining bee population and what it may mean for modern society. Bring your own seating, a picnic and friends. Gates open at 6:30 p.m., with panel discussion preceding the movie’s start time. Visit www.sabot.com.

Bring the kids to a Rainforest Adventure at the San Antonio Botanical Garden now through Sept. 20. The maze exhibit takes guests inside the rainforest, from soaring canopies to forest floor, with lessons on ecology, biodiversity, adaptability and conservation. Find details about this and other events at www.sabot.com.

Waco / McLennan County
Shop a great selection of plants at the McLennan County Master Gardeners’ Plant Sale on Saturday, May 16, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., in the Westview Bowling Lanes Parking Lot, 4565 W. Waco Drive in Waco. The variety includes flowers, shrubs, vegetables and herbs, plus baskets, color bowls, fairy gardens and compost for sale. The MGs also offer free recycling for your old re-usable pots. Cash, check and credit cards accepted. http://mclennanmastergardeners.org/.