Clear your calendars for a fun and family-oriented day of botanical activities this Saturday, April 7. Baton Rouge is embracing the sunshine and warm weather with a Spring Plant Fling Sale at LSU Hilltop Arboretum and Story Time in the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens.

The LSU AgCenter is hosting an extra special Healthy Families Day with cooking classes, yoga, nature trail hikes and storybook readings. The event will take place at the LSU Botanic Gardens on April 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Not too far away, Hilltop Arboretum is hosting its annual Spring Plant Fling.

“Our plant selection committee, all avid gardeners, ordered a large selection of plants from Louisiana, Texas and Alabama growers,” says Peggy Coates, executive director at Hilltop.

The Spring Plant Fling will feature an extensive collection of native trees, shrubs and perennials as well as a great selection of adapted plants that thrive in the Baton Rouge area. Specialty vendors will be selling herbs, flowers, fruit trees, garden tools, koi fish and even handmade wood garden furniture. Bring your carts and wagons for plenty of spring plant shopping.

“Hilltop’s Hodge Podge volunteers have been preparing for this spring plant sale since January,” says Coates. “The Spring Sale is an important fundraiser for the Friends of Hilltop Arboretum, a nonprofit organization that raises the funds for daily operations. Plant sales are one of the many ways that we provide opportunities to educate the public about plants.”

To support Hilltop Arboretum and learn more about the Spring Plant Fling, visit www.lsu.edu/hilltop. For more information about the LSU AgCenter’s Healthy Families Day, visit this link.