Garden calendar

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 13, 2001

This week

ORCHID CIRCLE SALE: 9 a.m.-noon today, parking lot at Nick Ferraro and Co., 343 39th Ave. N (behind Durango Steakhouse), St. Petersburg. Sale presented by the Orchid Circle of St. Petersburg Garden Club, with many varieties available and in bloom. Members help with plant problems and offer advice on orchid culture: (727) 896-9020.

ORCHID CULTURE SERIES: 2-4 p.m. today and Oct. 20, Auditorium A, Florida Botanical Gardens, 12175 125th St. N, Largo. Learn what orchids need to grow and bloom, how to diagnose problems and repot. Each participant receives an orchid. $30 for series or $10 a class. Preregistration and prepayment required. Call (727) 582-2124

ORBAN'S OPEN HOUSE: 8 a.m.-noon today, Orban's Nursery, 9601 Ninth Ave. NW, Bradenton. Nursery opens its 15 acres to the public with Fortuniana and Dr. Huey rootstock roses for sale along with thousands of other rose plants and geraniums, flowering and bedding plants. Portion of proceeds benefits Palma Sola Botanical Park Foundation. Call (941) 792-8717 or Palma Sola at (941) 761-2866.

BACKYARD CONSERVATION: 2 p.m. beginning today, Boyd Hill Nature Park, 1101 Country Club Way, St. Petersburg. Five-week series on the benefits of using native plants to create time- and money-saving landscapes, with new topic each week and free native plants to participants. $25 for series. Limited space. Call (727) 893-7326.

HYBRID HIBISCUS: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. today and 11 a.m-4 p.m. Sun., Beckett Lake Nursery, 2251 Montclair Road, Clearwater. Exotic and rare hibiscus varieties for sale with seminars by Curt Sinclair at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. both days. Admission is free. Call (727) 796-7950.

POND TOUR: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. today and Sun. Stop by Aquatics & Exotics nursery, 11896 Walsingham Road, Largo, to register for self-guided tour of private gardens in Pinellas County with ponds or other water features. Upon registration in person (required for security reasons), tour participants receive directions to ponds and water gardens. Free. Call (727) 397-5532.

PLANT FESTIVAL, FERN AND CROTON SHOW: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun., Botanical Gardens at University of South Florida, off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard (southwest corner of USF at Pine and Alumni drives), Tampa. Annual Fall Plant Festival with more than 70 vendors features judged shows, bromeliads, bamboo, fruit trees, cactus and a variety of ferns by the Tampa Bay Fern Club; Croton Society's Croton Fiesta, with hundreds of crotons including rare and unusual varieties for sale, plus advice from the experts. Proceeds benefit USF Botanical Gardens. $2 admission; members and kids under 12 admitted free. (813) 974-2329.

STARTING BONSAI: Suncoast Bonsai Club members will assist in purchasing, trimming and wiring a bonsai tree for $10 (plus cost of purchased pot and tree and Sunken Gardens admission) at workshop, 1-1:30 p.m. today, Sunken Gardens, 1825 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg. Bonsai demonstration 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Call (727) 323-8196.

HIBISCUS SHOW, PLANT SALE: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun. , 10240 Regency Park Blvd., Port Richey. Hibiscus show 1-4 p.m. with statewide entrants and more than 1,000 hybridized bloom varieties from United States and Australia presented by the Suncoast Chapter of the American Hibiscus Society. Plants for sale. Experts on hand to answer questions. Free admission. Call (727) 846-0099.

IKEBANA: 11:30 a.m. Sun. Sunken Gardens, 1825 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg. Keiyo Houlton demonstrates Ikebana, Japanese art form of flower arrangement. Program free with admission. Call (727)551-3100.

XERISCAPING AND ANTIQUE ROSES: Master Gardeners from Hillsborough Cooperative Extension Service present plant clinics on "Antique Roses" 7 p.m. Tues., Temple Terrace Library, 202 Bullard Parkway, Tampa; "Xeriscaping" 10 a.m. Thurs., Austin Davis Memorial Library, 17808 Wayne Road, Odessa. Free. Call (813) 744-5519, ext. 146, or visit Web site hillsborough.extension.ufl.edu/.

PLANT AUCTION: 6:15 p.m. Fri., Florida State Fairgrounds, Charlie Lykes Arena (use Orient Road entrance), U.S. 301 off I-4, Tampa. Auction of shrubs, trees, ground covers, houseplants, annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, other gardening supplies presented by the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Florida Nurserymen and Growers Association. Proceeds benefit youth horticulture activities and scholarship fund. Free admission. Call (813) 744-5519.

Looking ahead

GROWING LOTUS:9 a.m.-noon Oct. 20, Palma Sola Botanical Park, 9800 17th Ave. NW (Take SR 64/Manatee Avenue exit off I-75), Bradenton. Class with Paula Biles on how to grow aquatic lotus plants in backyard ponds and containers. $15; $12 for members. Call (941) 761-2866.

GARDEN FESTIVAL PLANT SALE: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 20 on the Town Hall Village Green at Longleaf, 12959 SR 54, Odessa. Native plants for sale, including trees, shrubs, vines and grasses. Eco tours and talks, butterfly release. Presented by the Florida Native Plant Society. Call (727) 842-8330.

CREATE YOUR OWN BONSAI: 7-9 p.m. Oct. 22, Suncoast Bonsai Club at Millie M. Clarke Annex Building, 5800 77th Ave. N, Pinellas Park. Experts teach the techniques used in ancient art of bonsai and give hands-on help in creating a bonsai. Class covers initial design through final potting. $40, includes tree, pot, bonsai soil, wire and 1-year club membership. Call (727) 323-8196.

FLORIDA-FRIENDLY LANDSCAPING: 10 a.m.-11 a.m. Oct. 23, Lazarillo Park, DeBazan Avenue off Pinellas Bayway, St. Pete Beach. Learn how to design and maintain landscaping by using Florida-friendly practices and xeriscaping. Free. To preregister call (727) 363-9244 or (727) 363-9245.

Address submissions to Garden Calendar, Newsfeatures, the St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Deadline is two weeks before publication.

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