Spring Gardening Events in San Antonio!

Spring in San Antonio means fun events for gardeners, so I plan to attend as many as possible.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Next Saturday, April 9, is the annual Watersaver Landscape Tour.  Usually held in the fall, the tour was postponed due to rain.  Last fall I visited The Mozersky's serene courtyard garden where I will be a volunteer docent from 9 am to noon.  It was also featured recently on Central Texas Gardener.

The Bhatia's stunning modern garden is one I look forward to seeing again.

This year's spring tour timing gives tour goers an opportunity for a different view of local gardens than normally seen in the fall.  The gardens on tour are all located in the gated community of Inverness and a shuttle is provided at the Barshop Jewish Community Center on NW Military Hwy.  To ensure you get on the shuttle when you arrive, you can sign up for a time here.

Gardening Volunteers of South Texas (GVST) will have volunteer experts on hand to answer your gardening questions while you wait for the shuttle.  You can also learn about GVST's Watersaver Landscape Design School scheduled for April 30th at Phil Hardberger Park.  The half-day school teaches you the basics of watersaving landscape design.  The program includes a one-on-one design consultation where experts will answer your garden design questions.

Also on April 9th and just around the corner from the tour, The Native Plant Society of Texas San Antonio Chapter will be holding a plant sale at Phil Hardberger Park.  The park is very close to the garden tour staging area so I'd recommend stopping by the plant sale early and then heading over to the tour.

April 21-23, the San Antonio Cactus and Xerophyte Society will hold their annual show and sale at the San Antonio Garden Center just across the parking lot from the San Antonio Botanical Garden.  It's a great opportunity to see many varieties of low water plants in one location and pick up an interesting plant or two for your own garden.  I try to arrive early on Thursday for best selection.

May 28th brings the annual Festival of Flowers at the Shrine Auditorium on Loop 1604.  In between gardening seminars you can shop the vendor floor for plants and garden-related items.  The city-wide plant exchange sponsored by GVST is a great place to exchange your extra plants for ones you'd like to have.

Pam Penick is scheduled to speak at this event about her new book The Watersaving Garden: How to Grow a Gorgeous Garden on a Lot Less Water.  Pam will have copies of her book available for sale and will sign them for you at the author's table (usually near the entrance.)   You can read my review of the book here.  I typically volunteer in the afternoons at the GVST information booth answering questions about GVST and the Watersaver Landscape School mentioned above.

Lots of great garden events in the next few months, so I'll see you there!