Find nature, gardening programs
Gardening events are starting to perk back up again now that summer is gradually drawing to an end and harvest time is approaching. Learn how to preserve some of the goodies from the garden in a program with OSU Extension, or admire the fruits of others' labors at a largescale dahlia show.
If you want to learn how to put your garden to bed or improve your chances with next year's efforts, master gardeners may be able to help.
And this week has plenty of opportunities for kids as well, from the songs of naturalist Michael Frogman at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, to an afternoon devoted to monarch butterflies at Dawes Arboretum.
• If you have more fruit and vegetables than you know what to do with, and you want to continue enjoying the harvest into the winter, check out the free webinars at the Franklin County Extension Office. The class from 4 to 5 p.m. Aug. 31 will be devoted to making and preserving pie filling. Future classes include one on Sept. 14 devoted to hot peppers, and how to marinate, pickle and jelly them for future enjoyment. For more information, call 614-866-6900 or visit franklin.osu.edu
• Blooms will be everywhere at the 55th Annual Dahlia Show of the Greater Columbus Dahlia Society, held from 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 4 and 1 to 4 p.m. Sept. 5 at the Marysville YMCA, 1150 Charles Lane, Marysville. Hundreds of dahlia blooms will be on display, competing for cash prizes, along with floral arrangements and photographs of the flowers. Admission is free. For more information, visit columbusdahlias.com.
• Looking for expert garden advice and hands-on experience? Take part in the monthly “Coffee with Master Gardeners” from 8 to 10 a.m. Sept. 4 at the Kunze-brundige Building, 2548 Carmack Road, and expect to get out into the garden there. September's session will be devoted to “Planting the Fall Garden,” and the workshop will allow participants to experience planting a fall garden in raised beds. The cost is $15. For more information, call 614-8666900 or visit franklin.osu.edu
• Naturalist Michael Frogman will be hopping into the Children's Garden at the Franklin Park Conservatory from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 4. Expect lots of lively music, tree hugging, tunes about pawpaws and the opportunity to dance like a crayfish. The show, which will take place at the Learning Pavilion in the Children's Garden, is free with conservatory admission. For more information, call 614-715-8000 or visit www.fpconservatory.org
• Monarch butterflies will take center stage at the “Magic of Monarchs” drop-in program from noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 4 at the Red Barn Reserve area of the Dawes Arboretum, 7770 Jacksontown Road, Newark. Tour the pollinator spaces of the arboretum, net some butterflies, tag and release butterflies and take home a pollinator craft. The program is free with arboretum admission. For more information, call 740-3232355 or visit www.dawesarb.org.
Email Margaret Quamme at margaretquamme@hotmail.com.
Have a gardening event to list? All submissions must be received 10 days in advance of publication date. Send to margaretquamme@hotmail.com.