Coming up: Raleigh Home Show, Open Nursery & Garden Days, more

Raleigh Home Show

The Raleigh Home Show is coming Feb. 17-19 to the Downtown Raleigh Convention Center.

This year’s Home Show has special guests Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge, also known as The Fabulous Beekman Boys; and John Gidding from HGTV shows “Designed to Sell” and “Curb Appeal: The Block.”

The show will also feature the Idea House, a 1,400-square-foot house built right inside the convention center. The Idea House features multiple bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, dining area and more. Guests can get ideas to implement in their own homes.

You can also check out The Recipe Cooking Stage presented by The Recipe and the News & Observer, Homegrown Marketplace and more.

Admission is $7-$10 (free admission on Feb. 17 – Hero Day – for those with valid active or former military, police, fire or EMT ID). Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

Winter Open Nursery and Garden Days

Plant Delights Nursery and Juniper Level Botanic Garden’s Winter Open Nursery and Garden Days take place over two upcoming weekends: Feb. 24-26 and March 3-5.

It’s a chance to shop for native, rare and unique perennial plants and stroll through Raleigh’s Juniper Level Botanic Garden. You can also take advantage of free 15-minute talks in the “Garden Chat” series. The presentations take place during each day of Garden Days, and are led by Tony Avent and PDN staff. The talks will highlight seasonally prominent plants, cultural information and garden design ideas.

The Juniper Level Botanic Garden is a private, not-for-profit, 28-acre campus containing research, breeding, educational and display botanic gardens, funded by 12% of sales revenue from Plant Delights Nursery.

Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 24-25 and March 3-4; 1-5 p.m. Feb. 26. and March 5.

Get more information and directions at plantdelights.com or jlbg.org.

How to buy healthy plants

Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham hosts a “Buy Healthy Plants And Plant Them Well” class as part of its Extension Gardener Series on Thursday, March 2.

Plants stand a better chance of thriving in your garden when they start off healthy. This presentation will review what you should look for when purchasing and planting plants.

Instructor Chris Apple, Durham County Extension master gardener, will discuss plant sources; how to evaluate a plant; how to correctly plant a tree, shrub, groundcover or perennial; and then what is necessary to establish a plant.

The class takes place from 6:30-8:40 p.m. at the Doris Duke Center (no parking fees after 5 p.m.). The event is free but registration is required by calling 919-668-1707.

Vegetable garden workshop

The N.C. Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill will hold a “Soil is Everything: A Vegetable Garden Workshop” from 1:30-3 p.m. Sunday, March 5.

It’s a good hands-on outdoor experience for those wanting to learn more about soil testing and sampling, different soil types, building your soil, the pros and cons of raised beds (with and without edges), the effects of tillage on soils, soil amendments and more.

The class is led by permaculture designer and organic gardener Greta Lee, and Carolina Campus Community Garden educator Claire Lorch. It costs $15 ($10 for members). Get more info at ncbg.unc.edu.

Triad Orchid Society Show

The 2017 Triad Orchid Society Show, “March of Orchids,” takes place March 3-5 at the AB Seed Education Annex (8432 Norcross Road) in Colfax, across from the Piedmont Triad Farmer’s Market.

Regional orchid societies and individual hobbyist growers will exhibit orchid plants in bloom, many in unusual or rarely seen genera and recent hybrids not available at big-box and grocery stores. This is an American Orchid Society judged show with ribbon awards.

There also will be plants and pottery available to purchase from local vendors, plus raffles and prizes.

Admission is $5 for adults, children 12 & under free with an adult. Hours: 1-5 p.m. March 3, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. March 4, 1-5 p.m. March 5.

For more information visit facebook.com/triadorchidsociety or triadorchidsociety.org.

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Coming up: Raleigh Home Show, Open Nursery & Garden Days, more."