Top drawer

Cool-weather grass

Here's a tip from the Orange County Master Gardeners about fertilizing your cool-season (fescue) lawns: Fertilize on Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. Fescue lawns are green and growing during the cool months of fall, winter and spring. Use a slow-release fertilizer. Over-seeding of fescue lawns should be done between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15. Check the N.C. State Turf grass website for other lawn tips at www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/.

Peek into private gardens

Few things are as refreshing as a leisurely stroll through a beautiful garden on a sun-kissed weekend. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 18 and 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 19, four private gardens will open to the public in Cary and Raleigh as part of the Garden Conservancy's Open Days tour. Highlights include a symmetrical brick courtyard with shaped boxwoods, topiaries, pink begonias and teak benches; an English-style garden of roses and perennials with a footbridge over a small creek; a piazza and quatrefoil fountain and an informal garden of colorful and fragrant plants, winding paths and lake views.

Visitors may begin at any one of the four locations, which are mapped out and described in more detail at gardenconservancy.org/. Click on each garden for driving directions. Tickets cost $5 per garden at each location; children under age 12 are admitted free. Proceeds benefit the Garden Conservancy and the JC Raulston Arboretum. You can also call the Garden Conservancy toll-free 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at 888-842-2442.

Maximizing photos in autumn light

Budding photographers and nature enthusiasts might want to take advantage of a class series blending the two passions. From 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 16, 23 and 30, photographer Jennifer Weinberg will lead classes on how to make the best use of seasonal light and focus on the special techniques you'll need to maximize your pictures as autumn light hangs low in the sky. The series will be at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, 420 Anderson St., Durham. $75; $60 for Friends. Register at 668-5309.

Garden after Hurricane Fran

With the 14th anniversary of Hurricane Fran upon us, the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences' Nature Art Gallery is displaying a series of paintings that tell the personal story of a Raleigh artist who went through the destruction. "FAIR VIEW: Garden Abstracts," by Marriott Procter Little, chronicles the artist's creekside garden's brush with the storm and the restoration that followed. The large canvases in acrylics and/or oils straddle the line between representation and abstraction. Little's work is on display through Sept. 26. The museum is at 11 W. Jones St., Raleigh.