Classes, Tours & Virtual Plant Clinic

Events In Person and Online

Classes and Events will return after the new year! Check back regularly for additions.

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Pollinator Plant Tours – All Locations

Saturday, June 17

Tours will be offered at 10 am and 1 pm

Merrifield Location: Caitlin Akkerhuis
Fair Oaks Location: Louis Vogtman

Gainesville Location: Andy Johnson

Join us for a tour of our Pollinator Week Butterfly display. Caitlin will review some of our most common local butterflies as well as the plants to support their caterpillars, in addition to showing off some other great native plants for native bees and other pollinator species. If you are interested in creating a full pollinator garden, supporting the environment, or simply attracting a few more butterflies, this will be a great tour for you.

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Pollinator Week for Kids and Family

Saturday June 17 – Sunday, June 18
All Locations
During Regular Store Hours

Stop by any of our three stores to visit our butterfly display, view our native caterpillars and pick up our pollinator week children’s activity book! These book is both educational and fun, enjoy it with your children and grandchildren at the store or take it home to work on later!

We are anticipating a variety of monarchs and swallowtail butterflies and their caterpillars available to view and enjoy in our butterfly habitats at all three stores. We encourage you to stop by with your family to see them and have a look around our garden beds for other butterfly and bee species in the garden center!

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Pollinator Plant Tours – All Locations

Sunday, June 18

Tours will be offered at 1 pm

Merrifield Location: Caitlin Akkerhuis
Fair Oaks Location: Louis Ratchford

Gainesville Location: Andy Johnson

Join us for a tour of our Pollinator Week Butterfly display. Caitlin will review some of our most common local butterflies as well as the plants to support their caterpillars, in addition to showing off some other great native plants for native bees and other pollinator species. If you are interested in creating a full pollinator garden, supporting the environment, or simply attracting a few more butterflies, this will be a great tour for you.

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Stone lantern in Japanese Garden

Japanese Gardens

Sunday, July 16, 1:00 pm
Kim Scott, Merrifield Plant Specialist
Fair Oaks Store

Drawing on her experiences living in Japan and her love of their distinct garden style, Kim will share the plants, design elements and concepts you can use to introduce a Japanese garden style to your own landscape. Join her at the Fair Oaks store for an inspirational class.

This class will take place upstairs in the Fair Oaks store classroom.

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Hydrangea macrophylla, Shrub

Hydrangea Care

Saturday, July 22, 10:00 am
Paul McLane, Merrifield Plant Specialist
Fair Oaks Store

Learn how to select new hydrangeas, identify the hydrangeas you have and care for Big Leaf, Smooth, Panicle, Oakleaf and Climbing hydrangeas in this class. Paul will cover pruning, fertilization and other care tips, including what these hydrangeas have in common and what is different for each one. For anyone who loves hydrangeas, this will be a great class.

This class will take place in the Fair Oaks store classroom on the second floor of the store.

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Sweetspire native shrub

Native Plants for Shade

Sunday, July 30 1:00 pm
Louis Ratchford, Merrifield Plant and Design Specialist
Fair Oaks Store

Learn about the best native plants for shade in this woodland garden inspired class! Louis will discuss blooming and foliage plants you can use in shady spaces of your garden that are native to our region. Whether you plant all natives or are looking to incorporate some into your garden for the first time, this will be a great class.

This class will take place in the Fair Oaks store classroom on the second floor of the store.

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