Axe ’Em, Jacks!
Community events are always in bloom
SFA Gardens offers a wide variety of outreach and education events throughout the year, from our popular native plant sales to our guest lecture series to tours and special events. Check out some of our most popular offerings below:
Plant Sale - every spring and fall
NOTE: Registration is required.
Stop by our popular plant sales to find a variety of hard-to-find, native plants, including heirlooms, perennials, shrubs and trees.
March and October - Pineywoods Native Plant Center
Plant sales are open to the public and free admission.
Proceeds from the sale help support educational programs offered by SFA gardens. View our list of plants or call 936.468.4404 for more information.
Azalea Trail - guided tours
There’s nothing like the sight of our Azalea gardens in full bloom. Join us during peak color season (mid-March through mid-April) for a guided tour through the 11-acre Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden. For more information and to reserve your spot, contact the Nacogdoches Convention & Visitors Bureau by calling 1.888.OLDEST.TOWN.
Little Princess Tea Party
Grab your tiara and get ready for a magical day of treats, fairy gardens, magic and merriment at the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden.
Date TBA
Admission is $30 per person, and seating is limited. Reserve your seats online!
Garden Seminars
Most seminars are held in the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building in the Pineywoods Native Plant Center. Discounted admission is available for SFA Gardens members. To learn more about upcoming seminars or to make reservations, call 936.468.1832 or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.
The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series
Typically 45 to 50 minutes in length, the lectures are held in the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building in the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.
Free and open to the public
6:30 p.m. - social
7 p.m. - lecture begins
Every lecture is followed by an exciting rare-plant raffle. For more information, email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.
2020 Lecture Series
Jan 9: Everything you wanted to know about fruit growing but were too timid to ask.
Tim Hartmann, Texas Agrilife Programs Specialist, College Station Texas
Feb 13: Pecans – Past, Present and Future.
Dr. George Ray McEachern, Professor of Horticulture, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Mar 19: Plant treasures in the Pineywoods of the Gulf South.
Rick Lewandowski, Shangrila Botanical Gardens, Orange, Texas
Apr 9: Common Ornamental Plant Diseases; What Every Gardener Needs to Know.
Sheila McBride, Lead Diagnostician & Extension Program Specialist, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
May 14: Creating a Pollinator Paradise that Your Neighbors will Love.
Lauren Simpson, University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas
Jun 11: The Oklahoma State University Campus; Thinking Outside the Box with Trees, Native Plants and Design.
Steve Dobbs, Director of Landscape Services, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Jul 9: Pushing the Envelope with Plant Material in a Hostile Environment.
Matt Welch, The Madrone Group, Austin, Texas
Aug 13: Favorite Perennials for Tough Conditions; Don’t Ask if we Flooded.
Jennifer Buckner, Shangrila Botanical Gardens, Orange, Texas
Sept 10: Garden Adventures in the Land of Crawfish and Creole.
Mark Wilson, LSU Extension Horticulture, Shreveport, Louisiana
Oct 8: What I Wish I Had Known About That Plant; Collector Gardens That Stand Out as Special Without Offending The Neighbors.
Keith Hansen, retired Texas A&M University Extension, Tyler, Texas
Nov 12: Natives vs. Exotics; Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?
Carol Reese, Ornamental Horticulture Specialist, University of Tennessee, Jackson, Tennessee
Dec 10: Tips and Tricks for Surviving as a University Garden; Is it Really All About the Plants?
Dave Creech, Director SFA Gardens, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas
Are you interesting in signing up your child(ren) for camps? Visit our Youth Programs page for more information.
SFA Gardens also hosts programs available for school field trips.