Home & Garden Calendar

SEPT. 11

The Orlando Home & Garden Show takes place each winter and fall at the Orange County Convention Center and showcases hundreds of exhibits for builders, contractors, and DIY projects for kitchens, baths, garden displays, landscapes, windows, solar, and more. The Fall Show will take place on Friday, Sept. 11, from noon to 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Home & Garden Show celebrities for the September 2015 event include Jeff Lewis of Bravo’s “Flipping Out” and Anne Rue of HGTV’s “Design Star.” Admission is $9 for adults (ages 17 and up), $6 for seniors and free for those 16 and under and for active military. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/OrlandoHomeGarden

SEPT. 12

Learn about the biology and natural history of the most economically important insect on Earth. Discover how to get started with your own adventure in beekeeping from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Leu Gardens, located at 1920 N. Forest Ave. in Orlando. Bring all your questions for their master beekeeper instructor about honeybees and how you can have a great relationship with colonies of venomous insects! Only those registered for the class will be permitted in the classroom. Childcare services are not provided. For more information, call 407-246-2620 or visit leugardens.org

SEPT. 16

Learn how to create and maintain a lush rose garden at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Winter Park Garden Club, located at 1300 S. Denning Dr. in Winter Park. Robert Bowden, Executive Director of Harry P. Leu Gardens for the last 21 years, will share the simple techniques that have been so successful at Leu Gardens. For more information, visit winterparkgardenclub.com

SEPT. 17

Where did all the bugs come from? They weren’t in the vegetable garden last year! Learn basic information about integrated pest management from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, at the Jesse Brock Community Center, located at 310 N. Dillard Street in Winter Garden. The class covers everything from the first steps of identifying the pest, determining if there is a need for control and the most environmentally friendly control methods to use for insect and disease problems in the home vegetable garden. Cost of admission is $5. For more information and to buy tickets, visit http://bit.ly/GardenBugs

September is the time to think about gardening for the fall and winter. If you love to garden and want your yard to have healthy flourishing plants but not empty your wallet, then come out from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, for a class on budget gardening at Leu Gardens, located at 1920 N. Forest Ave. in Orlando. Learn from a veteran gardener how to keep your garden green and flourishing on a tight budget. The class presentation will focus on adding free to inexpensive plants to your yard; reducing the cost of fertilizing the plants; budget friendly ways to control insects and weeds, and money saving water conservation techniques. For more information, call 407-246-2620 or visit leugardens.org

SEPT. 19

The winters can be unpredictable in Central Florida, but we should prepare our landscapes for the worst. Learn how to prep your lawn and landscape plants to get them through the winter months, including how to protect them from frost and freeze, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the UF/IFAS Extension Orange County Office, located at 6021 S. Conway Road in Orlando. This is a free event. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/WinterGardeningClass

SEPT. 22

Herbs are plants grown for the special flavor and aroma of their various parts. They have been grown in backyard gardens for centuries and are used to season, enrich, or otherwise improve the taste or smell of certain foods. Learn about those that will grow successfully and when to plant them in the Central Florida garden from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the UF/IFAS Extension Orange County Office, located at 6021 S. Conway Road in Orlando. Cost of admission is $5. For more information and to buy tickets, visit http://bit.ly/AllAboutHerbs

SEPT. 23

Learn how to create a stunning fall arrangement at class starting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at the Winter Park Garden Club, located at 1300 S. Denning Dr. in Winter Park. Plant materials will be provided; please bring your own clippers. Cost for materials is $25. Please pay by Sept. 16. For more information, visit winterparkgardenclub.com

SEPT. 26

Are you tired of stuffing your houseplants into plain old pots, containers, and recycled tubs? Come join a class at Leu Gardens from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 26, as instructor Pinky Ormand shows his version of enclosing a plant’s root mass in moss. Kokedama literally means “moss ball,” and is the practice of removing a root system from its container, wrapping the root mass in moss and then winding the whole thing in string. After you have made your kokedama, you may display it on a surface or you may decide to make a string hanger and suspend it! All supplies will be furnished, and you will leave with your own “moss ball.” For more information, call 407-246-2620 or visit leugardens.org

There are as many as 200 croton varieties and 30 kinds of ti plants. Join a class from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Leu Gardens where you’ll discover gorgeous alternatives to the commonplace, then pinpoint just the right plant that fills your need, satisfies your budget, and most important will succeed on your site. Using a combination of PowerPoint and many plants on hand for reference (for sale after class), expert croton and ti plant growers Mark and Deirdre Peters reveal and identify the few varieties that perform well in 90 to 100 percent sun; many more that thrive in 60 to 80 percent sun, and a surprising number that prefer 20 to 50 percent sun. Identify selections that want to grow tall and fast to provide privacy or hide a fence, and slow growers, which tend to stay shorter and lower to the ground including dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties — perfect for patio containers or bordering the circular base of a palm tree. Care and maintenance is fairly easy, and will be discussed during class. Only those registered for the class will be permitted in the classroom. Childcare services are not provided. Leu Gardens is located at 1920 N. Forest Ave. in Orlando. For more information, call 407-246-2620 or visit leugardens.org

OCT. 1

Add color to your landscape with Annuals and Perennials. Learn to keep them healthy and pest free with some low maintenance tips from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1, at the UF/IFAS Extension Orange County Office, located at 6021 S. Conway Road in Orlando. This event is free. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/AnnualsandPerennials