Datebook: events, classes, exhibits for the week ahead

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We’ve listed select home and garden events below. Suggest your own via reader comments. Submissions must be fewer than 50 words and must be for one-time events with legitimate value to other readers. No store promotions, no frivolous links, please. L.A. at Home staff will determine which submissions will be made public, but we will not be editing the postings.

Oct. 8: The fall Thursday Garden Talks With Lili Singer series continues with “The Art of Pruning With Fran West.” Learn what tools to use, how to make proper cuts and more. 9:30 a.m. to noon. $20. Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. (626) 821-4623.

Oct. 9: Descanso Gardens’ first Horticultural Fair and Fall Plant Sale includes garden accessories, a farmer’s market and workshops. Sponsored by Monrovia Growers. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Oct. 11. Free with regular admission of $3 to $8. 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge. (818) 949-4200.

Oct. 9: Hands-on sessions on flower arranging cover beginning design principles. Bring scissors and gloves. 9 a.m. to noon Friday and Oct. 30. $130. Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge. (818) 949-4200.

Oct. 10: The South Pasadena Preservation Foundation is offering two versions of its annual fall home tour, which features five properties. A progressive dinner is set for Oct. 10. The dinner tour is limited to 60 diners in each of two tiers: a Twilight Tour that begins at 5:30 p.m. and a Starlight Tour that starts at 7 p.m. $80. A traditional self-guided home tour is set for Oct. 11. The homes will be open from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. $20. For reservations, click here or call (626) 799-9089.

Oct. 10: Garden expert John Lyons lectures on how to design a patio-to-plate kitchen garden touching on soil conditioning, raised beds, companion planting, composting, organic pest control and plant choices. 9 a.m. to noon. Repeats Oct. 17. $75 to $85. Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge. (818) 949. 4200.

Oct. 10-11: The Huntington Botanical Gardens’ annual fall plant sale will feature distinctive foliage plants and autumn-blooming flowers as well as bulbs, perennials and shrubs to plant now for blooms in the spring and summer. 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Free. 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. (626) 405-2100.

Oct. 11: The Glendale Historical Society hosts this docent-led tour of six architecturally significant homes in Glendale’s three historic districts: Royal Boulevard, Cottage Grove and Ard Eevin Highlands. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets will be available at the Assistance League of Glendale building, located at 314 E. Harvard St., Glendale, beginning at 10:30 a.m. $20 to $30.

For more events, click to the jump.

Oct. 11: Docents will guide visitors through five historic houses built between 1911 and 1931 on Harvard Avenue in Claremont in the Claremont Heritage Tour. All of the houses are within walking distance, and part of Harvard Avenue will be closed to accommodate strolling musicians, workshops and Claremont artists. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. $20 to $25.

Ongoing: “Harrison McIntosh: A Timeless Legacy.” American Museum of Ceramic Art presents this retrospective on Harrison’s beautifully crafted pottery and sculpture. Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, through Jan. 9. $2 to $3. 340 S. Garey Ave., Pomona. (909) 865-3146.

Spider Pavilion: Visitors can get up close with non-venomous spiders in this outdoor, walk-through exhibit on the Natural History Museum’s South Lawn. Reservations are required. Tickets are sold in half-hour intervals throughout the day. $1 to $3. Through Nov. 8. 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 763-DINO.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credits: Examples of plants that will be on sale at the Huntington’s Fall Plant Sale courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens. From left: Hermannia verticillata, Ampelopsis brevipedunculata, Pentas lanceolata.