TODAY AND THIS WEEK

Blithewold Garden Programs, Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum, 101 Ferry Rd., Route 114, Bristol. 253-2707; www.blithewold.org.

•Today. Open Greenhouse. 1-4 pm. Included with admission: $10, seniors/full-time students $8, free for visitors 16 and younger accompanied by an adult.

•Next Sat. Bamboo Trellis Workshop. Blithewold grounds manager, Fred Perry, gives a brief history of bamboo, discusses its creative applications in the garden and highlights popular trellis and support designs. Perry will also demonstrate stalk preparation, fastening techniques and the trellis building process and participants will build their own trellis out of bamboo harvested from Blithewold. 10 am-noon. $25, members $30. All materials provided. Advance registration.

Casey Farm, 2325 Boston Neck Rd. (Route 1A), Saunderstown. 295-1030; www.historicnewengland.org. 18th-century homestead overlooking Narragansett Bay.

•Today. Plant Sale and Open House. Vegetable, flower and herb plants, children’s activities. 8 am-4 pm. Free house museum tours after 10 am.

•Sat. Coastal Growers’ Market Opens. Local produce, meat, flowers, bread, seafood, cheese and more. Season will feature children’s activities, yoga classes, alpaca visits, chef and craft demonstrations. 9 am-noon. For schedule of events, visit www.coastalmarket.org.

Flower Power, Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Rd., Framingham, Mass. (508) 877-7630; www.newenglandWILD.org. Children and an adult companion learn the features of flowers. Next. 1:30-3:30 pm. $9, members $7. Advance registration.

Foliage Plants with Color, Texture and a Long Season of Interest, Tranquil Lake Nursery, 45 River St., Rehoboth. (508) 252-4002; www.tranquil-lake.com. Warren Leach, landscape horticulturist/co-owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery, explores a diverse palette of perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees with foliage that add interesting architecture, structure, texture, form, pattern and freshness to the sunny or shady border through the summer and into the fall. He will offer designs tips to help make pleasing plant combinations using complementary foliage and texture for a long season of garden interest. Sat 11 am. Free.

Garden Club of Buzzards Bay “Gardening For All Seasons” Plant Sale, St. Mary’s Church Parish Center, 783 Dartmouth St., South Dartmouth, Mass. (508) 991-6844. Sat 9 am-noon.

Garden Thyme Program: Trash Into Treasure, Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Rd., Sturbridge, Mass. (800) 733-1830; www.osv.org. Sat 10 am.

Lecture/Workshop: ABC’s of Veggie Gardening, Young Family Farm, 260 West Main Rd., Little Compton. 635-0110, 339-7460. Sat 10 am. Free.

Low-Maintenance Gardening Program, South Kingstown Parks and Recreation, Tri-Pond Nature Center, Tri-Pond Park Nature Center, Asapond Road (off Curtis Corner Road), South Kingstown. 789-9301; southkingstownri.com/parksrec. Participants will learn low-maintenance techniques like weed suppression, proper staking and water conservation techniques. Bring garden gloves and eye protection. Learn the Tue 6-7:30 pm. Advance registration.

Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 900 Washington St. (Route 16), Wellesley, Mass. (617) 933-4900. Next Sun 10 am-3 pm. $5 per vehicle.

•Society Row Plant Sale. “Ask the Experts” can add to your collection of rare and unusual plants sold by the growers themselves.

•American Rhododendron Society Sale and Truss Show in the Manor House. Silent auction.

Newport Showhouse Guild’s 14th Anniversary Designer Showhouse, at the home of Judge Frank Caprio and his family, 545 Ocean Rd., Narragansett. Theme of the show house is “Inspired Design” with more than 30 interior and landscape designers working on the property. Through June 8, daily 10 am-4 pm. $25. Benefit for Washington County Children’s Coalition and the Rhode Island Foundation. The Showhouse Guild is still looking for show house volunteers; call Diane at 749-2989 or visit www.newportshowhouse.org.

Rhode Island Wild Plant Society Walk: Habitat Changes and the Forest, Sprague Farm, Pine Orchard Road, Chepachet. www.riwps.org. or e-mail office@riwps.org. Thousand-plus acre preserve includes striped maple, chestnut oaks and an Atlantic white cedar swamp. Walk may include sightings of spring ephemerals in bloom. Next Sun 1 pm. $5, members $3. Register with walk leader Gary Plunkett at 624-2549.

Southside Community Land Trust Rare and Unusual Plant Sale (16th annual), City Farm, Dudley and West Clifford Streets, Providence. 273-9419; www.southsideclt.org. More than 14,000 organically raised plants available including culinary and medicinal herbs for kitchen windowsill gardens; vegetables for backyard and container gardens; flowering annuals; assortment of perennials for window boxes, flowerbeds and rooftop gardens. Rare and unusual plants available in limited quantities and are available for sale on a first-come, first-served basis. Sat-next Sun 10 am-2 pm. Free admission. Benefit for SCLT’s mission to help people grow their own food.

Roger Williams Park Botanical Center Programs, Dalrymple Boathouse, 1000 Elmwood Ave., Providence. 785-9450. Advance registration.

•Sat. Gardening Secrets. Workshops focuses on easy planting methods, tools to use, time-saving tricks and some relaxation techniques. 9 am-noon. $45; includes all materials. Part of the KISS & Tell: Secrets of a No Fuss Gardener series.

•Sat. Can You Dig It? A Tree and Shrub Planting Workshop. Hands-on workshop focuses on the right way to plant and maintain a variety of woody ornamental plants. Students will participate in the installation of both balled and burlapped and containerized specimens on the botanical Center grounds. Brian Maynard, workshop instructor, discusses how to select a healthy plant, the principles of root pruning and girdling roots and the correct techniques for bracing and mulching. 1-3 pm. $20. Dress for the weather. Be prepared to get dirty.

•Next Sun. A Safe (!!!) Introduction to Carnivorous Plants. John Phillip Jr., founder and president of the New England Carnivorous Plant Society, discusses carnivorous plants and shows how easy it is to cultivate and maintain them, reviews their general care and preferred environment and dispels common myths about their feeding needs and habits. Each adult participant will take home a specimen plant, complete with care instructions to successfully raise his or her plant. Each adult registered for this program is invited to bring one child with them (age 14 and younger) at no additional charge. 1-2:30 pm. $25, includes materials.

ONGOING

Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway (Route 203), Jamaica Plain, Mass. (617) 524-1718; www.arboretum.harvard.edu. National Historic Landmark. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the country’s first landscape architect and the designer of Boston’s “Emerald Necklace,” as well as New York’s Central Park; 265 acres of rolling hills, 15,000 trees, thousands of varieties of plants, 4,500 species; Bonsai House with plants that date as far back as 1737. Grounds open daily, sunrise-sunset.

Attleboro Farms Nursery and Greenhouse, Route 120, North Attleboro. (508) 695-7200; www.attleborofarms.com. Mon.-Sat 9-6, Sun 9-5.

Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum, 101 Ferry Rd., Route 114, Bristol. 253-2707; www.blithewold.org. 45-room mansion overlooking 33 acres of landscaped grounds, with gardens, bamboo grove and a 90-foot giant sequoia; views of Narragansett Bay from paths and 10-acre lawn. Self-guided mansion and garden tours Wed-Sun 10 am-4 pm. $10, seniors/full time students $8, free for visitors 16 and younger accompanied by an adult. Grounds and gardens open daily 10 am-5 pm; admission charged.

Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University, 315 Harborside Blvd., Providence. 598-2805; www.culinary.org. A museum devoted to every aspect of the culinary arts. Ongoing exhibits include Diners, Still Cookin’ in the 21st Century; A Pantheon of Chefs; Kitchen Stoves: From the Open Hearth to the Microwave and Decorated Cakes and Bread Showpieces. Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm. $7, seniors $6, college students w/ID $4, children 5-18 $2, younger children free, group rates available.

Frerichs Farm and Greenhouses, 43 Kinnicutt Ave., Warren. 245-8245; www.frerichsfarm.com. Nine greenhouses feature annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetables; custom planting service. Tue-Sun 9-5 pm; open Monday holidays.

Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Rd., Framingham, Mass. (508) 877-7630; www.newfs.org. New England Wild Flower Society’s 45-acre botanical garden and native plant nursery, with 1,500 native varieties, including 200 rare and endangered species and 11 special destination gardens including flying saucers and a labyrinth by landscape master W. Gary Smith. Daily 9 am-7 pm. Tours Mon-Fri 10 am, Sat-Sun 2 pm. $8, students/65+ $6, youth 6-18 $4, members/children 2 and younger free. Pets not allowed.

Lyman Greenhouses, Lyman Estate, 185 Lyman St., Waltham, Mass. (781) 891-4882, ext. 244. Open for tours, Mon-Sat 9:30 am-4 pm; grounds, Mon-Sat 9 am-5 pm.

Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum, 396 County St., New Bedford. (508) 997-1401. An 1834 Greek Revival mansion and its landscaped grounds. Tue-Sun 10-4 pm. $4, elderly $3; children 12 and younger $2.

7 Arrows Herb Farm, 346 Oakhill Ave., off Route 152, Attleboro. (800) 496-7860; www.sevenarrowsfarm.com. Display gardens, uncommon plant nursery, tea room. Thu-Sun 11 am-5 pm.

Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Worcester County Horticultural Society, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Mass. (508) 869-6111; www.towerhillbg.org. Tue-Sat 10 am-5 pm. $8, 65+/youth 6-18, $5, children 5 and younger free.

Tranquil Lake Nursery, 45 River St., Rehoboth. (508) 252-4002; www.tranquil-lake.com. Display gardens, 10 acres of day lilies (mid-May to Oct., peak about July 20), Siberian Iris (mid-May through June, peak about June 1) and Japanese Iris (mid-June through July, peak about July 7). Also perennial borders, mixed perennial and shrub gardens, ornamental vegetable garden, thyme bench, container herb garden, an entry garden, an ornamental grass garden, a pond-sided water garden, a bog garden, a dry-scree garden, container gardening plantings with annuals and perennials and a purple garden designed to attract hummingbirds. Daily 10 am-5 pm.