Holden Arboretum in Kirtland will celebrate the grand opening of its 4½-acre Rhododendron Discovery Garden from 11 p.m. to 4 p.m. next Saturday.
The garden will allow visitors to learn about rhododendrons and their close relatives, azaleas, mountain laurel and blueberries, and will teach visitors about rhododendron hybridization and care. The garden is adjacent to Holden’s 20-acre Helen S. Layer Rhododendron Garden.
The family-friendly grand opening celebration, Shades of Brilliance, is included in the Holden admission price ($6; $5 for seniors 60 and older; $3 for children 6-12; and free for members, younger children and active-duty military members and their families with active-duty identification). The celebration will include entertainment, food and an opportunity to talk with Holden’s horticulturists.
That evening, adults can celebrate at Rhodies After Dark, an event from 7 to 10 featuring cocktails, food, entertainment and fireworks. Cost is $55 per person or $90 per couple. Reservation deadline is Wednesday.
For tickets and information, call 440-946-4400 or visit www.holdenarb.org.
Holden Arboretum is at 9500 Sperry Road.
Complimentary admission
Moms are invited to visit Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens for free on Mother’s Day.
The complimentary admission includes a self-guided tour of the Manor House, the Corbin Conservatory, the Gate Lodge and the landscaped gardens and grounds. Accompanying family members pay regular admission prices.
Stan Hywet is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission closes at 4:30 p.m.
The estate is at 714 N. Portage Path, Akron.
Historical home exhibit
Ideas for updating historical homes and other buildings are the focus of an exhibit at the Shaker Historical Society.
The exhibit is called RE imagine + RE vitalize + RE invent: Transforming Shaker’s Houses and Buildings for Modern Living, Working, Playing. It teaches how homes and businesses can be reconfigured to make them more functional, green and up-to-date while maintaining their distinctive characteristics.
The exhibit is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 2 to 5 p.m. Sundays through July 28.
The museum is at 16740 South Park Blvd., Shaker Heights. Admission is $4, or $2 for children 6 to 18. Members and children younger than 6 are admitted free.
Information is at www.shakerhistoricalsociety.org.
Events, programs
• Flower sale, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, Copley and Jacoby roads, Copley Township, and Summit Mall parking lot near Dillard’s, Fairlawn. Sponsored by Copley-Fairlawn Kiwanis Club. Wide assortment of flowers, including thousands of hanging baskets.
• Geranium and plant sale, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Faith Lutheran Church, 2726 W. Market St., Fairlawn. Sponsored by the Gardeners of Greater Akron. Large variety of geraniums as well as other annuals, bedding plants and hanging flower baskets.
• Plant sale, 9 a.m. to noon today, Twinsburg Historical Society’s Mail Pouch Barn, Darrow Road just south of the Twinsburg Square. Sponsored by the Twinsburg Garden Club. Perennials from club members’ gardens, unusual annuals, herbs, vegetables and hanging flower baskets.
• Celebrate Spring plant and trash-to-treasure sale, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, Ohio State University Extension office, USDA Service Center, 6970 State Route 88, Ravenna. Perennials, native plants, vegetables, culinary herbs, succulents and a limited selection of fruits, trees, hanging baskets and annuals, along with used goods. Sponsored by the Portage County Master Gardeners, who will be available to answer gardening questions.
• Plant Discovery Day plant and art sale, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, Secrest Arboretum, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster Township. Hard-to-find annuals and perennials, herbs and woody plants, as well as art for the home and landscape. Guided walks at 10 and 11 a.m. Bug Zoo. Lunch available. Free admission and parking. Plants for sale listed at http://secrest.osu.edu.
• Antiques in the Alley, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, downtown Millersburg. Indoor and outdoor antiques show throughout downtown. www.starlightantiques.com or www.historicdowntownmillersburg.com.
• Hanging basket sale, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, Ode to Joy Center, 480 Ravenna Road, Streetsboro. Sponsored by the Garden Club of Kent. Baskets of locally grown flowers, plus some garden tools.
• Antique Tractor Show, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Lehman’s, 4779 Kidron Road, Kidron area of Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County. (For GPS directions, use Dalton in the address.) 877-438-5346 or www.lehmans.com.
• Designer ShowHouse 2013, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Sunday, Thursday, Friday, and May 18-19, 657 Ridgecrest Road, Akron. Professionally redecorated home is open for tours. $20. www.juniorleagueakron.org or 330-836-4905.
• Cleveland Botanical Garden events, 11030 East Blvd. Mother’s Day Blooms-to-Go (help make arrangements for residents of a women’s shelter), 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. Ask the Gardener, noon to 4 p.m. today. Cleveland Ikenobo 30th Anniversary Show, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Year of Play: The Science of Play-Based Education symposium, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday (morning program is free, but advance registration is required; full-day participation including lunch, parking and educational materials, $35 for members and $42 for others). 216-721-1600, ext. 100, or www.cbgarden.org.
• Warm Up Akron meetings, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mogadore Branch Library, 144 S. Cleveland Ave. Members knit and crochet rectangles that are used to make afghans for needy people in the Akron area, and they’ll teach others the skills. 330-699-3252 or http://warmupakron.webs.com.
• Vegetable Gardening for Beginners, 7 p.m. Tuesday. Webinar presented by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. Free. Register by Monday at http://OurOhio.org.
• Bee webinar, 9-10 a.m. Wednesday. Topic: Broodmapper, citizen science for beekeepers. Free. Part of the Ohio State University Bee Lab webinar series. To participate, join the Bee Lab mailing list at www.osupollination.com. Webinar will be recorded for later viewing. 330-263-3723 or ellsworth.2@osu.edu.
• Starting a Tall Spindle Orchard, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Spicy Lamb Farm, 6560 Akron-Peninsula Road, Peninsula (accessible from West Boston Mills Road). Free. 330-657-2012 or www.thespicylamb.com.
• Plant sale, 4-7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 18, Gardeners’ Center, 5154 S. Prospect St. (state Route 44), Rootstown Township. Sponsored by the Portage County Gardeners. Perennials from members’ gardens, herbs, vegetable plants including some heirlooms, annuals, hanging baskets, planters and exotic spring-flowering bulbs. Bake shop, raffles, food. 330-673-0577.
• Organic plant sale, Friday through May 19, Crown Point Ecology Center, 3220 Ira Road, Bath Township. Members-only sale, 4-7 p.m. Friday (new members may join at that time). Sale open to general public, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 18 and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 19. More than 230 varieties of organic vegetables, herbs and perennials grown at Crown Point, plus vegetable seeds and organic fertilizer. Sales of breakfast foods the morning of May 18 and garden supplies all weekend. Garden design talk by Mari Keating, founder of the Cleveland chapter of Food Not Lawns, 10:30 a.m. May 18. www.crownpt.org or 330-668-8992.
• Plant Expo, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 18, Exhibition Hall, Stark County Fairgrounds, 305 Wertz Ave. NW, Canton. Sponsored by the Master Gardeners of Stark County. Sale of locally grown perennials, vegetables, fruits, native plants and herbs. Experts available to answer gardening questions. Programs: Attracting Hummingbirds, Butterflies and Other Pollinators to Your Garden at 9 a.m.; Extending the Growing Season: Cold Frames, High Tunnels and Succession Planting at 10:30 a.m. Free admission and parking.
• Plant sale, 9 a.m. to noon May 18, Columbia Woods Park Pavilion, 4070 Columbia Woods Drive, Norton (off Greenwich Road, behind the Norton Community Center). Sponsored by Twinbrooks Garden Club. Perennials, herbs, daylilies, hostas, grasses and more, priced at $1 to $5.
• Regional Clock & Watch Show, 9 a.m. to noon May 18, Lakeland Community College, state Route 306 just south of Interstate 90, Kirtland. Display and sale of clocks, watches and related items, plus seminars and entertainment. $5. www.nawcc28.org.
• Urban Homesteading Day, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. May 18, Stone Cottage Farm & Garden, 2580 Northampton Road, Cuyahoga Falls. Information on designing an urban homestead, creating raised-bed organic gardens, caring for backyard chickens, keeping bees and more. $125. Registration: 330-657-2542 or www.cvcountryside.org (click on “Community,” then “Workshops”).
• Community Garden Seeding, 10 a.m. May 18, Feeding Medina County Community Garden, 901 Lafayette Road, Medina. Volunteers will plant a garden for Feeding Medina County’s hunger outreach programs. To volunteer, call 330-421-4816 or email info@feedingmedinacounty.org.
• Plant and garden sale, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 18, 244 Chestnut Blvd., Cuyahoga Falls. Sponsored by the Garden Forum of Greater Akron. Annuals, grafted tomatoes, perennials and garden-related items. 330-630-9625.
Submit notices of classes, programs and events two weeks in advance to mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com or Home and Garden News, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640. Please include name and phone number. All events must be open to the public.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.