THINGS TO DO

Feb. 22: Two free gardening events at Toronto Botanical Garden

Two gardening events for the price (free!) of one.

Toronto Botanical Garden is hosting two garden events on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

One event, Get the Jump on Spring, is the garden’s annual open house with more than 30 exhibitors, including horticultural societies, garden clubs and environmental organizations.

Also featured are free talks and demonstrations, a used gardening book sale and gardening advice from Toronto Master Gardeners, as well as a floral design competition and show.

Admission is free, although a $2 donation is appreciated and qualified the donor for free prize draws.

The other event is Seedy Saturday, where where gardeners from the community share their heirloom seeds and help to preserve our horticultural heritage.

To participate in the seed swap, bring your extra, open-pollinated or heirloom seeds in envelopes labeled with plant name (common and botanical name if you know them both), the year of harvest, the place of harvest (postal code), your name if you wish and a bit about where the seed came from if you wish.

Register and then you can browse the seed exchange tables to see what others have brought.

You can also buy seeds from the vendors to use for swapping

Also at the event, organized in partnership with the Ontario Horticultural Association (Garden Ontario), local seed growers and vendors present their stock and, and conservation organizations teach about seed saving.

The Toronto Botanical Garden is at 777 Lawrence Ave. E., west of Leslie Street.

See the TBG website for more information about the event.