This week’s events: Garden Club of America Flower Show, Boutique — Thursday, May 8, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday, May 9, 8 a.m.-noon, Hilton New Orleans Riverside, 2 Poydras St. — The Garden Club of America’s 101st annual meeting will include the “Rhythm of the Rivers” flower show and boutique, featuring displays by garden clubs and more than 30 vendors selling art, crafts, clothing and jewelry. Admission: free. The annual meeting is co-chaired by Barbara Bush of the New Orleans Town Gardeners and Julie George of the Garden Study Club.

National Public Gardens Day at City Park — Friday, May 9, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., New Orleans Botanical Garden, City Park — The New Orleans Botanical Garden is joining in a nationwide day honoring public gardens. Tours of the garden are at 11 a.m., 1:30 and 3 p.m. and are free with paid admission. Arrive at least 15 minutes before the tour begins. Admission: $6. More information: SCapley@nocp.org or 504.483.9473.

Madisonville Art Market — Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Water Street, Madisonville — Painting, mixed media, photography, jewelry, wood carving, sculpture, stained glass and more will be featured. More information: madisonvilleartmarket.com or 985.643.5340.

Lagoon cleanup at City Park — Saturday, May 10, 9 a.m.-noon, 1009 Harrison Ave. — Volunteers are needed to help clean up City Park’s lagoons from canoes or along the banks. The park will have a few spare boats, but participants are encouraged to bring their own if possible. Neworleanscitypark.com

New Orleans Recycling Drop Off Day — Saturday, May 10, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., 2928 Elysian Fields Ave. — Orleans Parish residents may bring the following items for recycling: newspapers, junk mail, phone books, catalogs, office paper, plastics (No. 1 through No. 7), small metal cans, cardboard, boxboard (cereal boxes), waxboard (juice boxes), Mardi Gras beads, E-waste (computers, laptops, cell/telephones, telephone systems, cables, game devices, MP3s, DVRs, DVDs, circuit boards, GPS, ink/toner cartridges, digital cameras/picture frames, fax machines, beepers, pagers, stereos, security systems, televisions (limit four), batteries, light bulbs and tires (limit four). More information: call 311.

Beneficial Bugs — Saturday, May 10, 9 a.m. to noon, Parkway Partners, 1137 Baronne St. — Zack Lemann, Animal and Visitor Programs Manager at the Audubon Butterfly Garden Insectarium, gives a presentation on beneficial bugs at the Parkway Partners Second Saturday program. Also available in the greenhouse will be beneficial bugs and their favorite plants.

Why Birds Matter — Saturday, May 10, 9 a.m., Longue Vue House and Gardens, 7 Bamboo Road — Longue Vue House and Gardens and the Orleans Audubon Society host a morning birding expedition for children ages 8 and older. Admission: $12 ($8 for members). Longuevue.com.

Piety Street Market — Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., 612 Piety St. — Piety
Street Market celebrates the Wetlands Art Tour, with a live performance
by the Cajun band Petit et la Petat and vendors selling
wetlands-related merchandise, from nutria-fur fashions to swamp-inspired
artwork and crafts. More than 30 vendors offer art, jewelry, crafts,
homemade goodies, vintage collectibles and flea market finds. More
information: 504.269.3982 or creemccree@gmail.com.

Old Mandeville home tour — Sunday, May 11, 2-5 p.m., Old Mandeville — Nine historic homes in Old Mandeville will be open for tours. Admission: $20 for adults; $12 for students; free for children under 12. Tickets available at Das Schulerhaus, Mae’s Antiques, Scott’s Coffee Tapas Bar, Vianne’s Tea House and Oldmandevillehistoricassociation.com.

Squash those Mosquitoes — Tuesday, May 13, 6-7:30 p.m., Madisonville Library, 1123 Main St. — Bryan
Massery with St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement will show residents
how to protect themselves and their pets from mosquito bites as part of a
presentation that will include live mosquito larvae and bug control
equipment. Admission: free, but registration is recommended at
sttammanylibrary.org or 985.845.4819.

Harrison Avenue Marketplace — Wednesday, May 14, 5 to 8:30 p.m., 801 Harrison Ave. — Arts, crafts and food vendors will be featured. More information: info@harrisonavenuemarketplace.org.

Urban Organic Fertility Tomato Project — Wednesday, May 14, 6 p.m., Garden Study Center, New Orleans Botanical Garden, City Park — Bobby Fletcher Jr. of the LSU AgCenter will discuss a two-year study to determine the value of an organic fertilizer as a substitute for conventional fertilizer for the urban agriculture. Admission: $15. To register: 504.483.9473 or scapley@nocp.org.

Looking ahead

French Quarter courtyard home tour —  May 18, 4-7 p.m., 523 St. Ann St., on Jackson Square — Several Vieux Carre homes and gardens as well as a wine tasting at Madame John’s Legacy (632 Dumaine St.) will be featured on the Friends of the Cabildo’s self-guided home and courtyard tour. Also included with the ticket price are tours of Madame John’s Legacy and admission to the Louisiana State Museum exhibit “The Palm, the Pine and the Cypress: Newcomb Pottery of New Orleans.” Admission: $40 per person, ($30 Friends of the Cabildo members) at friendsofthecabildo.org or the 1850 House Museum Store, 523 St. Ann St.

Faubourg Marigny Home tour Festival — May 18, noon, Washington Square Park, 700 Elysian Fields Ave. — The Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association presents self-guided tours of area bed and breakfasts and a festival featuring an art market, music and food. Admission $20. More information: faubourgmarigny.org or 504.948.1859.

Super Plants gardening demo — May 20, 9 a.m.-noon, Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, City Park — The Master Gardeners of Greater New Orleans and the Greater New Orleans Iris Society will plant and fertilize new spring Louisiana Super Plants. The public is invited to participate. More information: 504.658.4153.

Orchid Society meeting —  May 20, 7 p.m., Garden Study Center, New Orleans Botanical Gardens, City Park —  Ian Hiler gives a presentation on miniature orchids. The Orchid Basics program begins at 7 p.m., followed by the meeting at 7:30 p.m. Admission: free. Visitors welcome. neworleansorchidsociety.org.

Hibiscus Show and Sale — May 25, 1-4:30 p.m., Ursuline Academy, 2635 State St. — Enter flowers for judging from 8-11 a.m.; the hibiscus sale and flower exhibit will be open to the public from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Members of New Orleans chapter of the American Hibiscus Society will answer questions about plant care. Admission: free.

Orchid Society show and sale — May 30-31, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., June 1, noon-4 p.m., Lakeside Shopping Center, Metairie — Hundreds of orchids will be on display and sold, and society members will answer questions about orchid care. Admission: Free.

New Orleans neighborhoods lecture series — May 28-June 25 on consecutive Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m., Old U.S. Mint, 400 Esplanade Ave. — Learn about the history of New Orleans area neighborhoods — from the Vieux Carre to the north shore — in a five-week lecture series offered by the Friends of the Cabildo and the Louisiana State Museum. Each session will look at different neighborhoods. Facilitators include Historia President Dr. Charles Chamberlain, Louisiana State Museum historians Joyce Miller and Karen Leatham and Historic New Orleans Collection curator John Magill. Admission: $200. More information: 504.523.3939 or friendsofthecabildo.org

Researching your New Orleans property — June 21, 10 a.m., Old U.S. Mint, 400 Esplanade Ave. — Architect Robert J. Cangelosi Jr., an adjunct lecturer at the Tulane University School of Architecture, will present an in-depth program on historic home research hosted by The Friends of the Cabildo. Cangelosi will outline how to research the history of your property, using primary sources. A concise architectural history will be included to help identify the style of your property. Admission: $30 ($20 for Friends of the Cabildo members). Reservations: 504.523.3939.

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Have an item? To have your home or garden event listed, send a fact sheet at least two weeks before the event to insideout@nola.com.