Garden shed

First Bloom Celebration

Witherspoon Rose Culture (4800 Garrett Rd) will hold its First Bloom Celebration on Saturday, May 18, 9am–4pm. Ask your most bewildering questions about roses during the Stump The Rose Guy Q&A session at 10am. Compete in the Flower Arranging Competition; drop off your arrangement(s) at 9:30am. Judging starts at 10. The Planting Potted Roses Demonstration will start at 11:30am. Free admission; call 919-489-4446 or visit the Facebook event page for more info.

DPS Hub Farm Spring Festival

The Durham Public Schools’ Hub Farm Spring Festival will be held at 117 Milton Rd on Saturday, May 18, 10am–2pm. Take a tour, see the new apiary (honeybee habitat), taste strawberries from the garden, climb a tree, go boating on the pond, and check out the Northern Ag students’ plant sale. Free admission; click here for more info.

NC State’s ‘Extension Gardener’

Here’s the Summer edition of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s online publication, “Extension Gardener”:

Duke Gardens workshops, tours & shows

SARAH P DUKE GARDENS, 426 Anderson St, Durham,
919-684-3698, gardens.duke.edu; gardening workshops are held in the Doris Duke Center; call 919-668-1707 or 1708 to reserve your spot. Register online or ask questions by writing to gardenseducation@duke.edu. Here’s the link to the fall and winter seminars and workshops (note that parking is free after 5pm):

Walk on the Wild Side—Thursday, March 7, 11am–noon. Take a tour of the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants; $10; register online.
Extension Gardener Series: Straw Bale Gardening—Thursday, March 7, 6:30–8pm; free, register in advance.
GARDENLUST: A Botanical Tour of the World’s Best New Gardens—Thursday, March 21, 7–9pm; $10, free for Duke Gardens members and Duke students.
Walk on the Wild Side—Thursday, April 4, 11am–noon. Take a tour of the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants; $10; register online.
Plants of Distinction: Spring Wildflower Walk—Wednesday, April 10, 10–11:30am; $10, $8 for Duke Gardens members.

Digging Durham Seed Library

A creative partnership of the Durham County Library, SEEDS, the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, NC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners, and the Durham Library Foundation has resulted in the Digging Durham Seed Library. Now you have a place to get free seeds to start your garden, including flowers, vegetables, and herbs. The South Regional, East Regional, North Regional, and Southwest Regional libraries have seed libraries. Contact Margaret Anderson at 919-560-8598 or manderson@dconc.gov for more details.

Tell us your success story about planting a garden using seeds from the Digging Durham Seed Library:

Main Library—300 N Roxboro St, 919-560-0100 [closed; under renovation]
South Regional—4505 S Alston Ave, 919-560-7409
East Regional—211 Lick Creek Ln, 919-560-0203
North Regional—221 Milton Rd, 919-560-0231
Southwest Regional—3605 Shannon Rd, 919-560-8590.

Gardening workshops

Rose Care: Fertilizing—Saturdays, March 9 and 16, and Thursday, March 14, 10am–noon, at Witherspoon Rose Culture (4800 Garrett Rd, 800-643-0315). $5; click here to register.
Master Gardener Talks: Vegetable Gardening—Saturday, March 9, 11am–noon, at the Durham Garden Center (4536 Hillsborough Rd, 919-384-7526). Free; click here to register.
Mushroom Log Demonstration—Thursday, March 28, 6:30–8pm, at the Durham Garden Center (4536 Hillsborough Rd, 919-384-7526). $35; click here to register.