Totally Texas -- Ready to spring up and bloom

It’s spring in Texas--which means the weather is great for getting outside and playing in the dirt. I’m talking about adults playing the dirt. Dirt’s not just for kids anymore, and a slew of local plant sales are here to cater to the down and dirty in all of us.

(Nothing against kids. They’re great excuses for getting that little red Radio Flyer wagon out of the garage. They’re also the right height to save parents and grandparents the trouble of bending over to set small potted plants in that red wagon.)

North Texas has lots of excellent plant nurseries. But what I have in mind are the garden club and nonprofit group sales, offering natives, the unusual, the rare-- plants it’s often not feasible for commercial nurseries to provide. And although I’m providing ending times for these, arrive as early as possible for best results. They go fast.

April 5 -- Daylily Growers of Dallas spring sale, 9 a.m. - noon, North Haven Gardens, 7700 Northaven Road, Dallas. For information, call 972-820-1131.

April 5 -- Keep Flower Mound Beautiful, Trash Off & Environmental/Health Fair, 8:30 a.m. - noon. Registration at Home Depot parking lot, 352 International Parkway, Flower Mound. Participating groups include Trinity Forks Chapter Native Plant Society, with more than 1,000 plants. See www.kfmb.org/home/going_green_matters_fair/.

April 5 -- Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s spring plant sale, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., 3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard, Fort Worth. Annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines, citrus and more. For information see www.fwbg.org/.

April 5 -- A little further afield, but worth a trip, is Stephen F. Austin State University’s Garden Gala Day plant sale from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. At the SFA Pinewoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St., Nacogdoches. (Hey, you’re on your way to East Texas anyway for Canton Trades Days and Tyler’s Azalea Trails, right?) See plant list at www.sfagardens.sfasu.edu/.

April 11-13 -- Heard Museum plant sale, Hear Natural Science Museum, 1 Nature Place, McKinney. Opens April 11 with pre-sale from 4-7 p.m. for members only, April 12 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., and April 13 from 1-5 p.m. Memberships are available at the sale, for those who want to take advantage of the members’ pre-sale. Information, including plant list, at www.heardmuseum.org/plantsale/.

April 25-27 -- Texas Discovery Gardens plant sale, with adapted and native plants, including butterfly attractors. Members preview sale 4-7 p.m. April 25, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. April 26-27. At Fair Park (tell parking attendants you’re here for the sale to get free parking), turn right past the gate and follow the signs to the back of the greenhouse. For plant list and more information, see http://texasdiscoverygardens.org/plant_sale.php/.

May 3 -- Native Plants & Prairies Day, Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake, 521 E. Lawther Dr., Dallas, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Includes information and plant sale by Dallas Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas. See http://ntmn.org/.

And for more native plant sales across the state, visit http://npsot.org/.

(Next Friday -- how are the bluebonnets doing? I visit Ennis, the Official Bluebonnet City of Texas, for news about the blues.)

Totally Texas -- Fling into spring!

From the many spring festivals in North Texas, I’ve picked a sampling to help plan your season. As always, I favor outdoor events, preferably free. This post lists annual or semi-annual festivals. A selection of recurring events follows next week.

March:

Currently through April 7 -- Dallas Blooms, at Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road. Sixty-six acres of gardens decked out for spring, on the shores of White Rock Lake. Open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily. For ticket information and discounts, see www.dallasarboretum.org/.

Currently through April 7 -- Tyler Azalea and Spring Flowers Trails. Miles of self-guided driving trails begin at the Tyler Convention and Visitors Bureau, 315 N. Broadway. Related events include walking tours and arts and crafts exhibits, many free. For map and schedules, see www.tylerazaleatrail.com/.

April:

April 6 -- The Celebrate Nature Festival, Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, 1 Nature Place, McKinney, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Includes interactive animal presentations, music, nature-inspired arts and crafts, and more. The Heard’s spring sale of native plants also returns April 5-7. Free for members. For schedule and nonmember ticket prices, see www.heardmuseum.org/.

April 6 - May 27 -- Scarborough Renaissance Festival, Waxahachie at 2511 FM 66. Thirty-five acre “village” with events drawn from the reign of England’s King Henry VIII. Saturdays, Sundays and Memorial Day, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Adult admission $24, but numerous discounts available. See www.srfestival.com/.

April 20-21 -- Spring Festival in the Japanese Garden, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard, Fort Worth. Traditional Japanese dance, music, martial arts, and more. Open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. April 20, noon - 5 p.m. April 21. Tickets $6 for adults, $3 for children ages 4-12. See
http://fwbg.org/.

April 20-21 -- Ennis Bluebonnet Trails Festival, Ennis, various locations. Arts and crafts, food, entertainment, and of course, bluebonnets. The bloom season usually starts the first week of April. Free. For information and to check on bloom, see www.visitennis.org.

April 20-21 -- April in Edom, downtown Edom (at the crossing of FM 279, 314 and 2339, southeast of Canton. Old-fashioned street fair with children’s activities, music, car show and pet parade. Free. Hours 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., with April 20 street dance until 8 p.m. See www.aprilinedom.net/.

May:

May 4-5 -- Cottonwood Art Festival, Richardson, at Cottonwood Park, 1321 W. Belt Line Road, one block east of Coit Road. A juried art fair with food, music, and children’s activities. Free. Open 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. May 4 (music until 8 p.m.) and 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. May 5. See www.cottonwoodartfestival.com/.

May 17-19 -- Wildflower! arts and music festival. Richardson’s Galatyn Park Urban Center, at U.S. 75 and Galatyn Parkway. Art, music, food, and kids’ activities. Ticket sales start April 15. Adult one-day pass $20, children 5-12 $3. Discounts for multi-day passes and for Richardson residents. See
www.wildflowerfestival.com/.

Totally Texas -- Fall into beauty at Japanese Garden

Fall Festival in the Japanese Garden

Fort Worth Botanical Garden

3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard, Fort Worth

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It’s all too easy for me, living in East Dallas, to make quick trips to the Dallas Arboretum and overlook the metroplex’s other great public garden to the west -- the Fort Worth Botanical Garden. This is almost a sin anytime, but especially during the fall festival in the Japanese Garden at the Fort Worth location.

Descending the pathways into a world of lush plantings, with pavilions overlooking waterfalls and koi-filled ponds makes me forget I’m in Texas -- in the best possible way. The annual festival this coming Saturday through Sunday, October 22-23, adds events that make the setting come to life like a scene out of traditional Japan.

Amid displays of flowering chrysanthemums, visitors can see sakura dancers moving to traditional music; watch martial arts demonstrations; and attend a tea ceremony. Children’s activities include calligraphy, origami, face painting and paper making.

The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, October 22, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, October 23. Admission is $3 for those age 13 and older and $1 for children ages 4-12. Admission is free for children under four. Remember also to bring plenty of quarters for the fish food dispensers located strategically near the garden’s ponds. The huge, colorful and sociable resident koi are so used to being fed they head straight toward shore when they see visitors.

Free parking for this year’s festival parking is in the Linden Avenue lot off the Montgomery Street entrance closest to the Japanese Garden. See http://fwgarden.com or call 817-871-7677 for additional information.

The remaining outdoor portions of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden are open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. during daylight savings time, so visitors may extend their stay to enjoy the other garden attractions.

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Also this week -- October’s Free Third Thursday at the Trinity River Audubon Center, October 21, has an Owl-O-Ween theme. The day’s 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. all-owl activities include close-ups of live native owls and more, at 6500 Great Trinity Forest Way (formerly South Loop 12), Dallas. See www.trinityriveraudobon.org/

Also free on Thursdays this month, the Dallas Angelika Film Center at 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane (in Mockingbird Station), screens classic Hitchcock films 8 p.m. in the outdoor atrium. See http://www.angelikafilmcenter.com

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Upcoming -- Halloween at the Heard Museum in McKinney. It’s this Saturday, October 22.  Tickets available online at www.heardmuseum.org