Garden calendar
Garden clubs
• The Garden Club of Inverness starts its 67th year and first meeting of the season at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at All Saints Lutheran Church, 630 S. Quentin Road, Palatine. Subsequent meetings continue on the third Thursday of the month. Call (847) 381-2727 for more information.
• The Arlington Heights Garden Club meets to discuss ornamental grasses at 7 p.m. Monday at the Arlington Heights Library, 500 N. Dunton St., Arlington Heights. Call (847) 962-9909.
Demonstrations
• The Planter's Palette's Autumn Showcase at 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield, hosts a series of free demonstrations at 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 30. A session on fall containers is today and accessories for the fall garden on Saturday. Call (630) 293-1040, ext. 2, or www.planterspalette.com.
Celebrate fall
• The Growing Place hosts a Fall Harvest Festival at 2000 Montgomery Road, Aurora, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. Demonstrations, tractor rides, pumpkin painting and other activities are in the mix. Call (630) 820-8088 or visit www.thegrowingplace.com.
• The Chicago Park District hosts a Fall Flower Show on the Garfield Park Conservatory's Blue Stone Terrace, 300 N. Central Park Ave., Chicago. The show, which runs through Nov. 5, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays. Admission is free. (312) 746-5100
Chicago Botanic Garden
The 27th Roadside Flower Sale features one-of-a-kind displays and sales of handmade plant and floral arrangements from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today
The Lakeshore African Violet Society Show and Sale is noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 23. Go see more than 100 juried exhibits and get tips on how to grow the dainty flower indoors.
The garden is at 1000 Lake-Cook Road, just east of the Edens Expressway in Glencoe. Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Admission is free. Special event fees apply. Parking is $15, $7 on Tuesdays for seniors 62 and older.
For more information, call (847) 835-5440 or visit www.chicagobotanic.org.
Morton Arboretum
The Asian Celebration features Taiko Japanese drumming, demonstrations by the Prairie State Bonsai Society, Japanese flower arranging and more activities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sept. 23.
REI hosts a Map and Compass Orienteering Clinic at 1 and 2 p.m. today.
The arboretum is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The entrance is on Route 53 just west of I-355 and north of the Reagan Tollway.
Admission is $9 for ages 18-64, $8 for those 65 and older, $6 for children 3-17 and children 2 and younger are admitted free. On Wednesdays, admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $4 for children 3-17. For information, call (630) 968-0074 or visit www.mortonarb.org.
-- Scott C. Morgan