The theme park in Williamsburg debuts its Ready, Set, Grow program on April 19-20 and 26-27, which will feature tours of the park's greenhouses and Italy gardens, how-to clinics and demonstrations. Speakers include a tulip expert from the Netherlands and folks from the National Wildlife Federation, who will give tips on gardening with native plants and making your backyard wildlife friendly. Admission to the program is included with park admission, but advance registration is required for most tours. Call (800) 343-7946 to make reservations or visit buschgardens.com for more information.
North Carolina
Asheville's Biltmore Estate — America's largest home — features gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture who also designed Central Park in New York City. Highlights include 50,000 tulips in the Walled Garden and a 20-acre azalea garden. Biltmore's 23rd annual Festival of Flowers runs from April 5 through May 18, when you can get inspired by indoor floral arrangements, a container garden exhibit, wine seminars, workshops, live music, children's activities and guided garden walks. Call (800) 411-3812 or visit biltmore.com.
Also in Asheville, check out the 434-acre North Carolina Arboretum, which features daily Segway tours ($45/$55) and self-guided hikes through the gardens and woodland areas. "Dr. Entomo's Palace of Exotic Wonders," an exhibit of live and mounted insects (including scorpions and tarantulas), is on display through May 11. Call (828) 665-2492 or visit ncarboretum.org.
Want a taste of France? Check out the Parisian Promenade on May 4 in Greensboro, which will recreate the sights, scenes and smells of a spring afternoon in Paris. The afternoon will feature sidewalk artists, live music, a sidewalk cafe and children's activities in the city's blooming Bicentennial Garden. Admission is free. Call 373-2199 for information.
Community Arboretum
You've driven past it a million times before. Now it's time to actually park the car and explore the Community Arboretum at Virginia Western Community College, a beautiful place to relax, take a photo or host an outdoor gathering. The 2-acre gardens — filled with 700 plant species — are open from sunrise to sunset every day, and admission is free. According to Lee Hipp, Virginia Western's horticulture program head, the best time to enjoy the flowers is the first week of May, when the red buckeye, white Japanese snowball viburnum and very fragrant Korean spice viburnum are in full bloom.
As for events, a plant sale is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon on April 26, and gardening seminars are planned throughout the summer (check the schedule of classes for details). The arboretum is located near the overhead pedestrian bridge crossing Colonial Avenue. 857-7120, www.vw.vccs.edu/arboretum.
Wildflowers
Take advantage of a free, guided wildflower tour of Wildwood Park in Radford on March 29. Radford University biology professor Gary Cote will lead the 9:30 a.m. tour, which will feature Persian speedwell, star chickweed, toothwort and more. E-mail gcote@radford.edu for details.
Natural Tunnel State Park in Scott County will feature a Wildflower Symposium on April 12. The park — about 20 miles north of Kingsport, Tenn. — claims to have the most diverse species of wildflowers in Southwest Virginia. Free talks about flowers and native plants, a plant sale and guided hikes will all be featured. Camping and cabins are available. For more information, call (276) 940-1643 or visit www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/nat.shtml.
If you like to hike for your flowers, plan for a trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn., for the 58th annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage on April 23 through 27. This annual event in Great Smoky Mountains National Parks — the longest running wildflower festival in the country — features access to some of the nation's leading botanical experts, guiding hiking tours, natural history walks and indoor seminars — more than 150 programs in all. For more information or to register, visit springwildflowerpilgrimage.org or call (865) 436-7318, ext. 222.
Greenbrier State Forest near Lewisburg, W.Va., offers a variety of Show-Me-Hikes on April 26, which will feature wildflowers that grow along the Greenbrier River. Camping and cabins are available. Call (800) CALL-WVA or visit greenbriersf.com for details.
Admire the blooms on the hike to see waterfalls during the Wildflower Weekend on May 10 and 11 at Shenandoah National Park, which stretches from Waynesboro to Front Royal. A variety of trail hikes, birding walks and speakers, including "habitual hiker" Leonard Adkins, author of "Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains," among other books. Camping is available. Download a program schedule at www.nps.gov/shen or call (540) 999-3500.
Historic Garden Week
Check out the oldest and largest statewide house and garden tour event in the nation — Virginia's Historic Garden Week, celebrating its 75th anniversary season April 19 through 27 at more than 250 gardens, homes and historic landmarks throughout the commonwealth.
In our region, tours are planned throughout Lexington (463-5047) and Roanoke (343-4519) on April 26. On April 23, the Martinsville Garden Club (276-638-6006) will feature an unusual stop on its tour — the Martinsville Speedway. Schedules and ticket prices are available at vagardenweek.org.
Cherry blossoms
Most of the cherry trees circling the Tidal Basin should be in peak bloom when the National Cherry Blossom Festival begins next week, according to the National Park Service.
The park service's chief horticulturist, Rob DeFeo, said that most of the 3,700 trees will be bursting with pink and white blossoms from March 27 through April 3. The entire blooming period lasts for several weeks.
More than 1 million people are expected to attend the two-week festival, which begins March 29. Highlights include a kite festival, fireworks and a 10-mile run. A parade will be held April 12 featuring giant balloons, floats, marching bands and a performance by Miss America Kirsten Haglund.
Details at nationalcherry blossomfestival.org.
— Associated Press
Virginia Tech seminars
The Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech continues its series of workshops and lectures through May. On the schedule:
"Some Like it Hot: Tropical Plants for Temperate Gardens," a March 27 lecture by writer/photographer Pam Baggett about tropical plants that bloom in Virginia. $20.
"Woodland Wildflowers: Jewels of the Forest," a May 1 lecture with William Cullina, director of horticultural research at the New England Wildflower Society. $20.
Both events are from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Fralin Auditorium at Virginia Tech.
There's also a Digital Horticulture Photography workshop on April 12 ($25) and a spring plant sale April 24-26.
For more information or to register, call 231-5970 or visit www.hort.vt.edu.
Botanical gardens
There are a handful of noteworthy gardens within a few hours' drive:
The Norfolk Botanical Garden features 20 theme gardens on 155 acres and some of the largest collections of azaleas, camellias, roses and rhododendrons on the East Coast. You can tour the gardens by foot, boat or tram. Highlights include the Bicentennial Rose Garden, featuring more than 250,000 blooms from mid-May through October, a 2-acre butterfly garden, a hydrangea garden showcasing more than 200 varieties, a 3-acre interactive children's garden and a 6-acre Virginia Native Plant Garden. Find unusual plants at bargain prices during its spring plant sale May 9-11. Call (757) 441-5830 or visit norfolkbotanicalgarden.org.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond offers 40 acres of gardens and a conservatory. Gardeners would appreciate the new and rare daffodils joining its collection this year. Families would enjoy the children's garden with a tree house and the self-guided Kid Quest treasure hunt. Artists might appreciate the "Art in Bloom" exhibit, featuring an installation of picture frames throughout the garden to "frame" landscape vignettes, and visiting "en plein aire" artists during the weekends in April and May. Call (804) 262-9887 or visit lewisginter.org.
If you're headed to Myrtle Beach for a vacation anytime soon, take note of Brookgreen Gardens, located between Myrtle Beach and Pawleys Island, S.C. Founded in 1931, Brookgreen features more than 900 sculptures displayed on 50 acres of landscaped settings — its Web site calls it "the most significant collection of figurative sculpture, in an outdoor setting, by American artists in the world." Besides the gardens and sculpture exhibits, there's a zoo on the premises — the Lowcountry History & Wildlife Preserve. Brookgreen's popular Diggin' It Spring Garden Festival and Plantacular Sale is planned for April 5 and 6. Call (800) 849-1931 or visit brookgreen.org for more information.
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden near Charlotte, N.C., just opened its 8,000-square-foot Orchid Conservatory, featuring one of the largest indoor displays of bromeliads in the East. Call (704) 825-4490 or visit dsbg.org.
Speaking of orchids, the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., is featuring its annual orchid exhibit through April 13. Starting May 24, look for its "One Planet –Ours! Sustainability for the 22nd Century." Call (202) 225-8333 or visit usbg.gov for details.
