Austin/Travis County
Learn from four garden design experts at “Limestone and Water,” a seminar scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 31, at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Registration 8:30 a.m., seminar 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Speakers include Stephen Orr, Scott Ogden, Lauren Springer Ogden, and Dylan Crain Roberson. Co-sponsored by the Garden Conservancy, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the University of Texas at Austin. Cost: $75 general admission, $65 Conservancy and Wildflower Center members, $40 students. See details at www.gardenconservancy.org/events.pl?ID=285 or call 415-441-4300.

Take time to read the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s how-to articles on-line.  Ever wondered how to install a multi-species lawn for less mowing, less watering, less weeding and less guilt? Click here to discover the answers.

Brenham
Attend the 22nd Annual Fall Festival of Roses at the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, Nov. 6, 7 and 8, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. See the details in this issue of e-gardens by clicking here.

Corpus Christi
Learn all about “Putting Plumeria to Bed!” at the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. – noon. Plumeria curator Frank Echols explains the why’s, when’s and how’s of plumeria hibernation dormancy. $6 general admission, $3.50 members. Visit www.stxbot.org/events.htm for details.

Mark your calendar for Kristie Kringle’s Garden Shoppe Open House at the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5-6, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Books, gardening gifts, plants, Mesquite Bean Santas, Trumpet Vine Santas, Gourd Santas and much more. Santa on site 2-4 p.m. both days. Complimentary refreshments. Free admission to the Visitors Center.

Dallas and Collin County
Take advantage of the new Rainy Day Plan at the Dallas Arboretum. If raindrops should occur during your next visit, you can come back on a free pass, good for three months from the original purchase date! There’s still time to enjoy Autumn at the Arboretum: The Great Pumpkin Festival (through Nov. 1) or attend a Harvest Tea (through Nov. 15) at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. The festival boasts more than 150,000 fall-blooming flowers, as well as an entertaining pumpkin patch and hay bale maze. For individuals ages 13 and over, the Arboretum offers seated teas twice a day in the DeGolyer Tea Room. Make reservations for tea by calling 214-515-6610, or find details about the festival at www.dallasarboretum.org.

Attend the 2009 Fall Plant Sale at Texas Discovery Gardens, Saturday, Nov. 7, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Choose from a selection of perennials and annuals at a reduced price as the greenhouse is cleared for the winter. Before the sale, enjoy the annual Texas Trees Garden Walk, led by staff horticulturist Randy Johnson, 10-11 a.m. The walk will end in time for you to shop! Note: There is no member discount in this sale due to already reduced prices.

Join a growing trend and learn how to create a bountiful organic community or backyard vegetable garden at “Modern Victory Gardens,” one in the Vegetable Gardening Educational Series at Texas Discovery Gardens. The class is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m. – noon. Fee is $25 ($20 members). Registration required. Call 214-428-7476, x 240.

Visit the newly renovated exhibit space at the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary for an exhibit of “Treasures from the Earth,” featuring an exotic collection of diamonds, gems, precious metals, rare minerals, pearls and fossils, many from exclusive collectors and some that have never been exhibited in public. Current exhibits include the popular Dinosaurs Alive! animatronic creatures along the sanctuary’s nature trails. Admission: $8 adults, $5 seniors and ages 3-12. See details at www.heardmuseum.org.

Enjoy the grounds of Texas Discovery Gardens and the newly opened Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium (open year-round except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day), 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission (Butterfly House and Garden Exhibit combined): $8 adults, $6 seniors, $4 ages 3-11. See the exhibit “Global Swarming:  Reflection and Exploration of Colony Collapse Disorder” now through Jan. 3. www.texasdiscoverygardens.org.

Fort Worth/Arlington
Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden with a visit to the special display in the Garden Center, now through Nov. 15. The unveiling of a plaque recognizing the garden’s being placed on the National Register of Historic Places is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 30, 4 p.m., at the Rose Garden Shelter House. Guests for the free event will include Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief, Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Director Richard Zavala, and former Director of the National Park Service and Fort Worth native Bob Stanton.

Receive training as a Master Composter, Nov. 7 and 14, at the Texas AgriLife Extension Office in Fort Worth. Fee: $35. Class is limited to 30 participants. Co-sponsored by the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Fort Worth Environmental Management, and Texas AgriLife. Click here for registration information.

Mark your calendar for the Birds’ Christmas Tree, a Fort Worth Botanic Garden tradition for many years, scheduled this year for Saturday, Dec. 5, 11 a.m. Bring the kids to festoon the trees with bird seed "ornaments," see Santa and BG Squirrel and enjoy the other festivities. Visit www.fwbg.org.

San Antonio
Celebrate Halloween by attending “Spiders: Spooky or Cool?” by Texas AgriLife Extension Service expert Molly Keck. Two free programs – one adult (2 - 4 p.m.) and one youth (4:30 - 6 p.m.) – will be presented Friday, Oct. 30, at the Bexar County Agrilife Extension Office, 3355 Cherry Ridge Dr., Ste. 208, in northwest San Antonio. Keck encourages pre-teens to attend the “creepy-crawly” youth program, while inviting teens to benefit from the informational adult program. Call the extension office at 210-467-6575 for more details or to RSVP.

Take the kids to see David Rogers’ Big Bugs at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, now through Jan. 3. The bugs stand as tall as 25 feet and have wingspans up to 17 feet. Regular admission rates apply: $7 adults, $5 seniors, military, and students, $4 children. Visit www.sabot.org.

Learn from David Rodriguez, extension horticulturist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service, this fall at the EarthKind® Landscape Series slated for various Saturdays and Sundays at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Topics include “Winter Landscape Color” on Nov. 22. Fee: $20 per session Visit www.sabot.org and register by calling 210-207-3270.