The Garden Club of the Back Bay

Celebrate the arrival of spring with a visit to the annual herb sale at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses in Waltham, from Thursday, April 29 – Sunday, May 2, and again on Saturday and Sunday, May 8 and 9, from 10 – 4.  Thousands of naturally grown culinary, medicinal, and ornamental herbs will be on sale.  Scented geraniums, herbal topiaries, pottery, and garden gifts are also available, and the horticultural staff will be on hand to offer expert advice.  Free admission.  Call 781-891-1985, or log on to www.historicnewengland.org for directions and more information.

You can have a beautiful garden or lawn without using harmful chemicals.  Certified horticulturist Jim McSweeney demonstrates some safe, pesticide-free methods, and explains which “bio-rational” products really work.  The demonstration will take place at Nasami Farm in Whately, Massachusetts, and is sponsored by The New England Wild Flower Society.  You may register at www.newfs.org ($22 NEWFS members, $26 nonmembers).

Whole Foods again will sponsor a movie screening as part of its Let’s Retake Our Plates film series, this time on Thursday, April 29, at 6:00 pm at the Showcase Cinema de Lux Legacy Place, 950 Providence Highway in Dedham.  The film, What’s On Your Plate?, sees our food supply through the eyes of two 11-year-old city kids on a mission to discover where their meals really come from.  The budding food activists explore New York City, from farmers’ markets to school lunchrooms, and provide a fresh look at how a younger generation can influence what and  how we eat.  $10.  For more information, log on to www.letsretakeourplates.com.