Chatham County pollinator garden workshop and tour

Pollinator garden workshop and tour

Chatham County Cooperative Extension is offering three dates for its popular pollinator conservation workshop and garden tour.

You can attend from 1-5 p.m. Sept. 12 or Sept. 17 or 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 20. Classes are limited to 20 people per class to make sure the tour is not too crowded. It costs $25 per person.

Chatham County agricultural extension agent Debbie Roos will give an overview of pollinators and discuss the role of bees in crop pollination. Participants will learn about the principles of planting a pollinator garden and how to select trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, herbs, vines and grasses to attract a diversity of pollinators.

The class will be held in the auditorium of the Agriculture Building in Pittsboro and conclude with a tour of a demonstration pollinator garden at Chatham Mills.

Participants will receive several native perennial milkweed plants grown by Mellow Marsh Farm to take home.

Advance registration is required. Go online: growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu

For more information, call 919-542-8202.

Bee Better Garden Tours

Raleigh garden writer Helen Yoest has organized Bee Better garden tours for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 10.

Seven gardens in Raleigh and Cary are on the tour; the gardens are pesticide-free, and attract birds, bees and butterflies. Tickets cost $10. For details and to purchase tickets, go to beebetter.info.

Bee Better is a nonprofit Yoest created to encourage homeowners to plant pollinator gardens.

Home Depot offers DIY classes

The home improvement store chain offers free workshops each weekend.

Here is a sample of upcoming workshops at Wake County stores: Interior Paint and Dry Wall, 10-11:30 a.m. Sept. 10; Easy Bath Updates, 1-2:30 p.m. Sept. 11; and Door Locks, 10-11:30 a.m. Sept. 17.

They also offer children’s workshops: Back to School Whiteboard, 9 a.m.-noon Sept. 3.

Check individual stores for class schedules: workshops.homedepot.com.

Reminder: Gourd Arts and Crafts Festival

The 75th annual N.C. Gourd Arts and Crafts Festival will be next weekend, Sept. 10-11 at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh.

This festival features displays of gourds from around the world, special gourd workshops, and vendors of dried gourds, gourd seeds, gourd crafts, gourd art, books, T-shirts and crafting supplies. It also includes a variety of competitive categories, a live auction and a free gourd crafting table for children.

For more details, go to ncgourdsociety.org/festival or call 919-696-0744.

The event is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 10 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept 11 at the fairgrounds’ Holshouser Building. Admission is $2 adults or free for children under 16.

This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 7:55 AM with the headline "Chatham County pollinator garden workshop and tour."