Community Garden plant giveaway
Bring your own box to the 2011 garden plant giveaway in the Christ Community United Methodist Church parking lot. Sign the "Pledge To Share" and pick up 12-15 free plants for your garden. 9 a.m. today. Free. Christ Community United Methodist Church, 1082 Amelia Church Road, Clayton. 602-2271. www.claytoncccumc.org. Create a Living Carpet: Sedums and Succulents
Beautiful container plantings and living wreaths of sedums and succulents are featured in magazines and catalogs. Florist and gardener Jay Stolz will help you create a living wreath, globe or living carpet for your trough or other container with an assortment of succulents. 3 p.m. Thursday. $55. Sarah P. Duke Gardens, 420 Anderson St., Durham. 668-1707. www.gardens.duke.edu. Ferns, Lycophytes and Fern Allies
This course is intended for a broad audience and explores many aspects of the ancient evolutionary history, current distribution, biology, and identification of the "vascular cryptogams." 9:30 a.m. Wednesday and May 25. $125 ($110 NCBG members). N.C. Botanical Garden, 101 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill. 962-0522. ncbg.unc.edu. Franklin County Historic Homes Tour
Get an intimate look at the history of Franklin County through the Historic Homes Tour, 10 a.m. today and 1 p.m. Sunday. Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, 112 E. Nash St., Louisburg. 539-7868. www.personplace.org. Strawberries in North Carolina
The gist of the 40-minute talk will be how plasticulture has kindled an entirely new strawberry industry in North Carolina and throughout the mid-South over the last three decades. The strawberry industry in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia is worth $60 million now and it just keeps growing! 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Free for members, otherwise $5. JC Raulston Arboretum, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh. 513-7005. www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum/calendar/event_details.php?ID=340. Get Your Grass Off Gas: Gas-powered yard equipment trade-in event
Bring your gas-powered yard equipment (mowers, edgers, leaf-blowers, etc.) and trade them in for discounts on all-electric models. Electric yard equipment makes sense for many reasons: reduces pollution, lowers operating costs, easier to start. 10 a.m. today. Varies depending on selected models. C.E. Jordan High School, 6806 Garrett Road, Durham. 560-7999. www.greenerdurham.net. Hosta Party
Grower Barbara Cox will be on hand most of the day to answer your hosta questions. She grows hundreds of hostas and will bring a large selection to choose from. 10 a.m. today. Free. Garden Hut, 1004 Old Honeycutt Road, Fuquay-Varina. 552-0590. Montrose Gardens Tour
This nationally known complex of gardens includes 19th century buildings, rock and scree gardens, several acres of woodland plantings, and large areas of sunny gardens with unique color and planting schemes. 8 a.m. Wednesday. $25. The Arboretum at Johnston Community College, 1240 E. Market St., Smithfield. 209-2052. Montrose Gardens: The Sunny Border
Visit Montrose, a local treasure and a nationally known estate garden, for a tour with owner Nancy Goodwin. Montrose was begun in the mid-19th century by then-Gov. William Alexander Graham and his wife, Susan Washington Graham. 9:30 a.m. May 20. $35. Sarah P. Duke Gardens, 420 Anderson St., Durham. 668-1707. gardens.duke.edu. Mountain Laurels at Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area
Occoneechee Mountain is Orange County's highest point, at 867 feet. We will explore the mountain's chestnut oak forest and enjoy the mountain laurels in bloom. The pace will be easy, but trails can be steep and slippery, so wear sturdy walking shoes. 2 p.m. Sunday. $5/individual, $10/family (free for NCBG members). N.C. Botanical Garden, 101 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill. 962-0522. ncbg.unc.edu. Penny's Bend Wild Indigo Hike
Join Ed Harrison for a guided hike through the spring landscape of this 84-acre natural area surrounded on three sides by the Eno River, in northwest Durham. 9:30 a.m. today. $10 (NCBG members $5). N.C. Botanical Garden, 101 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill. 962-0522. ncbg.unc.edu.
