Garden Calendar

Today and Saturday: Wildflower Plant Sale: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at Dixon Gallery and Gardens. A wide range of offerings, from difficult-to-find natives to the latest cultivars of woody and herbaceous plants. Plant list is available in the business office and online (dixon.org). Call 761-5250.

Saturday: Tipton County Master Gardeners present "Gear Up Your Landscape for Spring": 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Brighton Middle School gymnasium, 7785 Hwy. 51 S., in Brighton, Tenn. Admission free. Garden vendors onsite with garden supplies, plants, master gardener demonstrations, etc. Speaker schedule: 9:30-10:30 a.m.: "Vegetable Gardens," with Bill Colvard. 11 a.m.-noon: "Bold Plants in the Landscape," with Carol Reese. 12:30-1:30 p.m.: "New and Underutilized Plants in the Landscape," with Janet Carson. Call 233-2756 or 476-0231 or tiptoncountymastergardeners .com.

Tuesday: Talk on the Terrace Lunch at the Dixon: Noon at Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Galen Gates, director of U.S. plant collections, Chicago Botanic Garden, presents an armchair tour of a recent expedition through northeast China. Includes box lunch. Fee: $25 ($15 for members). Call 761-5250 for reservations. dixon.org.

Tuesday: Memphis Horticultural Society: 7 p.m. meeting at the Memphis Botanic Garden. The program, presented by Galen Gates, is about The Chicago Botanic Garden. $5 for nonmembers.

April 11: Family Egg Hunt: 1-4 p.m. at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Fee $7 ($5 for botanic garden members); children 2 and under free. Call 636-4105.

April 11, 15, 18, 26: Tennessee Ornithological Society, Memphis Chapter: Bird-watching events: April 11: Field trip. Wall Doxey State Park, Holly Springs, Miss. Meet 8 a.m. at parking lot; $3 admission fee. Call 386-5182. April 15: Monthly meeting, 7 p.m. Lichterman Nature Center (5992 Quince). Speakers are Kristen Lamberson, Chad Poe of Strawberry Plains Audubon Center. Topic, "Strawberry Plains Bird Survey." April 18: Field trip. Herb Parsons Lake Wildlife Management Area, Fisherville, Tenn. 7:30 a.m. at boathouse parking lot. Call 755-8013. April 26: Field trip. Peterson Lake Nature Center (WC Johnson Park), Collierville. Meet 7:30 a.m. nature center parking lot. Call 853-3378.

April 16: Herb Growing. 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Hope & Healing, 1115 Union Ave. Master gardener John Peterson will teach a class focusing on how to grow herbs inside and outside. Workshop is free and open to the public. Call 258-4673 ext. 1604.

April 16: Mid-South Hosta Society: Meeting, 7 p.m. at the Memphis Botanic Garden. "Ask the Experts" with Quality Nursery manager Brent Black, Dixon Gardens horticulturist Lorie Emens and Shelby County Extension agent Chris Cooper. Also, club's annual plant exchange; $5 for nonmembers.

April 16: Japanese Flower Arranging Class: 10:30 a.m. Memphis Botanic Garden (Rick Pudwell Horticultural Center). Sponsored by the Bamboo Chapter of Ikebana International. Cost: $15. Call 683-1163 for reservations.

April 16: "Party with the Plants": Plant sale preview party. 5-8 p.m. at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Cost: $35 ($25 for botanic garden members). Staff and garden volunteers will be on hand to assist with plant selection and purchase. Call 636-4131 for reservations.

April 17-18: Houston High School FFA Spring Plant Sale: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. April 17 and 7 a.m.-noon April 18 at Houston High School, 9755 Wolf River Blvd. (by the greenhouse. Houston High School partners with Digger O'Dell Nurseries to offer annuals, perennials, shrubs and hanging baskets. Proceeds will support the horticulture program at Houston High School.

April 17-18: Native Plant Sale: Lichterman Nature Center, 5992 Quince. Choose from more than 250 species of beautiful, unusual and wildlife-friendly plants native to the Mid-South. Admission and parking are free for the plant sale. Call 767-7322.

April 17-19: The Bartlett City Beautiful Commission annual Spring Plant Sale: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. April 17; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. April 18 and noon-6 p.m. April 19 in front of Holliday Florist (6779 Stage), Bartlett. A wide variety of quality plants, shrubs for sale. Commission members will be on hand to answer questions.

April 17-19: Spring's Best Plant Sale: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 17-18 and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 19 at Memphis Botanic Garden. Free admission. Huge assortment of perennials, annuals, tropicals, herbs, shrubs, trees. Expert garden staff and master gardeners on hand, plant care tips. Custom potting by Rick Pudwell and specialty garden items, and other related events. 636-4100. memphisbotanicgarden.com.

April 18: DeSoto Civic Garden Club Plant Sale: 8 a.m. at Goodman Oaks Church of Christ, 1700 Goodman Road, Southaven. Club members have provided plants grown from their yards, yard art, bluebird houses, dish gardens and hypertufas. Funds raised will be used to finance club projects.

April 19: Signs of Spring Walk: 1-3 p.m. at Memphis Botanic Garden. Participants meet at the Visitor Center and walk the grounds with Sierra Club member Judith Hammond, who points out seasonal highlights. Free to members or with MBG admission.

April 20: The Memphis Fern Society: Meeting, 7 p.m. at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Chris Spindel presents a program "Spring into spring with ferns." Call 685-9835.

April 21: Oakland (Tenn.) Area Garden Club: Meeting, 7 p.m. at Oakland City Hall. Bring a garden item to swap if you want. Call 465-4339.

April 23: Memphis Cactus and Succulent Society: Meeting, 7 p.m. Memphis Botanic Garden. The program is a slide of the Heathcote Botanic Garden in Fort Pierce, Fla. There will also be a plant of the month. Public invited at no charge. Bring plants for show and tell. Call 681-0700.

April 23: The Memphis Herb Society: 7 p.m. meeting at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Lisa Bedner, registered nurse and certified Native American herbal medicine practitioner from Nameless, Tenn., speaks on "Native American Traditional Uses of Herbs," and will have medicinal herbs for sale that she raised in her greenhouse. The public is invited; $5 for nonmembers. Refreshments at 6:30 p.m. Call 754-4929.

April 24-25: Spring Plant Sale: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Memphis Zoo. Zoo horticulturists will be available to answer gardening questions. Enter at the zoo's service entrance off North Parkway. No admission required. Visit online at memphiszoo.org for a list of plants.

April 25: Fayette County Extension Seminar: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Somerville United Methodist Church, 202 S. East St., Somerville, Tenn. Registration fee $10. Lunch available for purchase at the seminar. Call 465-5233 for info or to register. Speaker schedule: 9-10 a.m.: "Full Season Friends in the Shade Garden," with Larry Tucker. 10-11 a.m.: "Throw Down a Colorful Rug," with Paul Little. 11 a.m.-noon: "Planting Design by Plant Characteristics," with Daniel Ashworth Jr. 12:45-2 p.m.: "Gardens with Flavor! Sauce it up with Color and Spice," with Carol Reese.

April 25: The 17th annual Fayette Cares Plant Sale: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. First Citizens Bank, 7285 Hwy. 64, Oakland (in front of Kroger). Annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs and more. Proceeds support the Fayette Cares Food Pantry. Call 465-3802 ext. 221. Online at fayettecares.org/calendar/ 2009plantsale.

April 25: EarthFest: Lichterman Nature Center, 5992 Quince. Family-oriented festival includes environmental information, displays, nature walks. Bring a picnic and explore the lake, forest, meadow. Admission is free before noon. 767-7322.

April 28: Memphis Bonsai Society: 7 p.m. meeting at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Bring your own trees to work on, tools and wire. Visitors are welcome.

April 30: Diagnostic Clinic: 3-5:30 p.m. at Munford Park and Recreation, 63 College Street. Come and get all your questions answered about your trees, garden, shrubs, lawn, etc., by Booker T. Leigh and the Tipton County Master Gardeners. Call 476-0231. Other dates: May 14/28; June 11 and July 16.