To submit a garden-related public event for the e-gardens calendar, please e-mail details to events@sperrygardens.com. Deadline is the 15th of the month prior to the event date.

Austin / Travis County
Perk up your winter landscape after attending a free seminar, “Planting for Winter Color,” presented Oct. 18, 10 a.m. -- noon, by Travis County Master Gardeners. Understand the timing and conditions required to ensure success with seeds, bulbs, vegetables, flowering annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. Location: Travis County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office, 1600 B Smith Rd., in Austin. For information, call 512-854-9600 or visit www.tcmastergardeners.org.
 
Enjoy the 2012 Inside Austin Gardens Tour: Edible Gardens, on Saturday, Oct. 20. The tour showcases seven gardens where vegetables and ornamentals not only get along but elevate each other to new heights of design. Presented by the Travis County Master Gardeners in cooperation with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Travis County. All gardens feature water conservation methods, including rainwater collection systems, drip irrigation, mulches and soil composition. Find ticket information and more details at www.insideaustingardens.org.

Take advantage of a one-time Butterfly Gardening Workshop at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and learn about creating a garden to meet the needs of Central Texas butterflies. Go Native U, the University of Texas program of informal classes, offers the class on Oct. 16, 6-8 p.m. Activities include a visit to the Ann and O.J. Webber Butterfly Garden on site. Learn more about this class and register for other Go Native U classes at http://www.wildflower.org/gonativeu.

Bryan / Brazos County
Learn more about fruit and nut growing, even the establishment of commercial orchards, at the Texas Fruit and Nut Orchard Conference, Oct. 11-12, at The Brazos Center, 3232 Briarcrest Dr. in Bryan. The conference will cover critical topics of water, nutrient, disease and insect management, as well as recommended varieties. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension specialists from Fredericksburg, Lubbock, Uvalde, and College Station will present successful growing practices for pecans, figs, citrus, olives and pomegranates. Registration is $80 ($75 through Oct. 2; $45 extension agents). Contact agriliferegister@tamu.edu or call 979-845-2604. Find full information here.

Attend a free seminar sponsored this month by the Brazos County Master Gardeners at the Brazos Center, 3232 Briarcrest in Bryan. “Gardening 101,” Oct. 16, 6:30-8:30 p.m. features Master Gardeners discussing tree care and selection. http://brazosmg.com.

Become a Brazos County Master Gardener by applying before Dec. 1 for the next training program, which begins Jan. 3, 2013. Brazos County MGs gave more than 4,500 hours of service to Texas and their county last year, and you can be a part of this elite group of trained volunteers! The 60 hours of training will take place on Thursdays, 9 a.m. -- 2 p.m., January through May 2013. Registration fee is $185. Applications available at www.brazosmg.com.

Dallas County/Collin County
Tour six distinctively unique gardens in North Dallas featured on the Fall Garden Tour sponsored by Dallas County Master Gardeners, Saturday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m. -- 4 p.m. (rain or shine). Tickets are available from the Dallas County Extension Office Help Desk (10056 Marsh Lane) or from eight Calloway’s Nurseries at a discounted pre-tour price of $15. Tickets on the day of the tour will be $20 at any of the garden locations. Call 214-215-6815 with questions.

Celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney on Sunday, Sept. 30, 1-5 p.m. The afternoon of fun family activities includes exhibits, animal and raptor presentations, raffles and more. You’ll also get a sneak peek at this year’s Dinosaurs Live! exhibit. Tickets ($15) include admission, a hamburger or hotdog and a bottled drink. Find details at www.heardmuseum.org.

Join the fun at Texas Discovery Gardens’ first Creepy Crawl-o-ween festival, Oct. 27, 10 a.m. -- 2 p.m. The insect world’s creepier critters take their masks off and reveal their not too scary side with educational presentations, activities, arts and crafts, and more. Children can also enjoy not so creepy crawly treats. Included with admission to the gardens. Find details here.

Gather the kids and come to Autumn at the Arboretum, now through Nov. 21 at the Dallas Arboretum, where you’ll enjoy the acclaimed Storybook Pumpkin Village and Chihuly in the Gardens. Features also include the Tom Thumb Pumpkin Patch, the Great Pumpkin Search (scavenger hunt), Hay Bale Maze, plus music, teas, and much more. Find details at www.dallasarboretum.org.

Enjoy evening concerts at the Dallas Arboretum this fall, when music is combined with opportunities to view the beautiful lighted glass sculptures of Dale Chihuly. Performing groups in October include the Coppertones, Le Freak, Signed Sealed Delivered, and Dallas Wind Symphony. See details at http://www.dallasarboretum.org/.

Fort Worth / Tarrant County
Enjoy the colors of fall at Fall Festival in the Japanese Gardens, Oct. 27-28, 11 a.m. -- 5 p.m., at the Fort Worth Botanical Garden. Attractions include Japanese dance, music, martial arts demonstrations, papermaking and tea ceremonies. Admission: $5 adults, $3 ages 4-12. www.fwbg.org.

Give your garden a headstart for next summer with a visit to the Fall Plant Sale of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Saturday, Oct. 13, 9 a.m. -- 2 p.m.  Browse through perennials, natives, decorative grasses, shrubs and bulbs. Find details in the events calendar at www.fwbg.org.

Learn to cope with the extremes of Texas gardening by attending "Floods to Drought: Gardening in North Texas," a seminar presented by the Tarrant County Master Gardeners on Saturday, Oct. 13, 8:30 a.m. -- 4 p.m. Speakers range from meteorologist Daniel Huckaby to landscape designer Carol Feldman. Topics will include tree survival, native and adapted plants, rainwater harvesting and much more. Location is the Resource Connection of Tarrant County, 2300 Circle Drive, Bldg. 2300, Fort Worth. Registration fee of $45 includes lunch. Registration ends Oct. 5. Visit www.tarrantmg.org or call 817-884-1296.

Shop the Grapevine Garden Club’s Plant Sale, Saturday, Oct. 20, 10 a.m. -- 2 p.m., at Grapevine Botanical Gardens, Heritage Park. Featured plants include native and well-adapted trees and shrubs. Free seminars on plant selection, planting and plant care. Proceeds will benefit the campaign to build a greenhouse at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens. www.GrapevineGardenClub.org.

McAllen / Hidalgo County
Discover the many pleasures of birding at Quinta Mazatlan, the historical adobe mansion and nature and birding center located in McAllen. The October schedule of events includes backyard habitat sessions, beginning birders workshops, naturalist walks and a botanical illustration workshop. Find the full schedule of activities here.

Nacogdoches
Shop the Fall Plant Sale at Stephen F. Austin Gardens on Saturday, Oct. 6, 9 a.m. -- 2 p.m., at the SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St. The wide variety of hard-to-find, Texas-tough plants will include natives, heirlooms, tropicals, perennials, shrubs, trees, and exclusive SFA introductions. Plan to arrive early and bring a wagon. Visit www.sfagardens.sfasu.edu for a plant list.

Attend the October lecture in the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series on Thursday, Oct. 18, when Dawn Stover presents “Why Dr. Creech Rocks as a Boss!” The Theresa and Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series is normally held the third Thursday of each month at the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture’s SFA Mast Arboretum. A rare plant raffle will be held after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves lecture series endowed fund are always appreciated. Click for details.

Quitman / Wood County
Attend the Fall Plant Sale and Scarecrow Contest at Quitman Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Saturday, Oct. 13, 8:30 a.m. -- 1 p.m. Scarecrow entries are due Oct. 12. Judging takes place on the morning of the plant sale. Participants who wish to can donate their scarecrows to be auctioned in a fundraiser for Friends of the Arboretum. Find details about the event and the scarecrow contest at www.woodcountyarboretum.com.

San Antonio / Bexar County
Stroll the garden in moonlight and enjoy the sounds of live entertainers at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, Saturday, Oct. 13, 7-11 p.m., when
Gardens by Moonlight offers a romantic evening like no other. Headliner will be the Nashville-based progressive bluegrass band The Greencards. Sons of Fathers, Henry Brun and the Latin Playerz, Bonnie Bishop, and Gray Gregson complete the entertainment lineup. Tickets available at all area Starbucks, the Garden Gift Shop, Central Market, and on-line at www.sabot.org/.
 
Take advantage of adult classes at the San Antonio Botanical Garden this month. Offerings include: Firewise Landscaping, Oct. 6; Bugs Every Gardener Should Know, Oct. 16; and Fall Containers, Oct. 20. Fee for each is $20. Full details at http://www.sabot.org/?nd=adults.
 

Waco / McLennan County
Bring the kids to the Children’s Garden Fair at Carleen Bright Arboretum in Woodway on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2 -- 5 p.m. This free event, sponsored by McLennan County Master Gardeners, will include events like rock painting, scavenger hunting, worm composting, and crafts like a make-your-own-sombrero. Call the arboretum for details, 254-399-9204.