Raleigh

Two of my personal gardening muses, Amelia Lane and Beth Jimenez, have inspired me since the very beginning of my journey as a Southern gardener.

The chance to amble through Lane's wonderful garden on Hermitage Drive, just to watch it grow, is reason enough to include it on my must-do list. Add an art show and I'm there with bells on my happy shoes.

In addition to their own fabulous "Lasting Impressions" garden art of painted concrete leaves, Lane and Jimenez invited several local artists to join them for their second annual Open Garden Plant and Art Sale.

Potters, jewelers, metal artists, botanical artists and birdhouse makers will be waiting among the wildflowers to offer their wares between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. April 12. 4904 Hermitage Drive, Raleigh. Free. www.lastingimpressionsleaves.com

Apex

Rita Mercer opens her amazing woodland garden on April 12 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Situated on a hillside in the small cul-de-sac of Beechtree Court, Rita's Garden has excellent examples of how to use drought-tolerant and shade-loving plant material.

Mercer propagates her most successful specimens and offers them for sale each spring. For her, it's all about sharing her knowledge and the bounty of her garden, and the pricing of the plants reflects her generosity of spirit.

Get there early if you're shopping for plants -- last year hundreds of people showed up.

103 Beechtree Court, Apex. Free self-guided tour. www.ritasgarden.net (click "Nursery" for the list of plants that will be available) or call 244-9303 for directions.

North Raleigh/Wake Forest

The students in the Agricultural Education program at Wakefield High School have filled their greenhouse with student-grown perennials, annuals, vegetables and herbs.

You can purchase drought-tolerant native plants, sedums, agaves, ornamental grasses and a large selection of tomatoes and vegetables. Houseplants and hanging baskets will also be available during the four-day weekend sale.

The greenhouse is officially open for business April 10 through 14. Contact teacher Jodie Songer Riedel at jriedel@wcpss.net to find out how to get in one day early.

Wakefield High School, 2200 Wakefield Pines Drive, Raleigh (directions are available at www.wakefieldhs.net).

Chapel Hill

And don't miss the Chapel Hill Garden Club's spring garden tour to benefit the N.C. Botanical Garden Visitor Education Center.

Gardens on this tour will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 12 and noon to 4 p.m. April 13. Complimentary refreshments will be available both days at the N.C. Botanical Garden on Mason Farm Road.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 20,000-square foot DuBose House at Meadowmont sits on 27 acres overlooking Chapel Hill. The recently restored gardens were deeded by the late Laura Valinda Hill DuBose to UNC-Chapel Hill.

Ancient oaks and rolling hills cascading into breathtaking gardens and meadows have never been open to the public before.

And, if that's not enough, nine more Chapel Hill gardens are on the tour.

The Prather Garden features native plants and wildflowers rescued from endangered sites. In the sloping woodland, you'll find trilliums, jack-in-the-pulpits and fragrant native azaleas along with a stream spanned by three graceful bridges.

The garden of Polly Van deVelde and Jonathan Nyberg includes rare broadleaf evergreens, a delightful orangerie and a woodland studded with birdhouses in a certified backyard wildlife habitat where many of the plants were chosen to feed the critters.

Whimsy is represented in Anne Corrigan's "fantasy retreat garden." You'll find a giraffe wearing a frilly hat and scarf, tropical fish rising out of a meandering dry creek bed, and even a pair of monkeys playing checkers. The designer of Corrigan's garden, Keith Larkin, summed up the entire weekend of fabulous tours thus: "Gardens should lighten the soul, allow people to get lost in nature, and at best be sprinkled with a bit of humor."

Purchase tickets for the Chapel Hill tour in advance at many local stores and garden centers for $15, or $20 the day of the tour. Children ages 7 to 18, $5. For more info, call N.C. Botanical Garden, 962-0522 or www.chapelhillgardentour.net.

So put on your happy shoes and get out there and experience some of the best garden spots in the world. Yes, I am saying world-class gardening is happening right here in our own little Triangle of the planet. Enjoy!