Datebook: Events, exhibits, classes 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 contain fewer than 75 words and must be for one-time events with legitimate value to other readers. No store promotions and no frivolous links, please. L.A. at Home staff will determine which submissions will be made public, but we won’t edit the comments.

Thursday: Horticultural historian Bob Hornback will present a program titled ‘The Horticulturist’s Alice: A Garden Tour of Wonderland’ at 7:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Southern California Horticultural Society. $5. Friendship Auditorium near Griffith Park, 3201 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles.

Thursday: Horticulturist John Schoustra of Greenwood Gardens explains the difference between pelargoniums and geraniums and discusses the best choices for Southern California. 2:30 p.m. Free. Friends’ Hall, Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. (626) 405-2100.

Friday: Friends of Robinson Gardens will present the 22nd annual benefit tour showcasing five private gardens and a spring festival at the Virginia Robinson Gardens and Home. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $200. 1008 Elden Way, Beverly Hills. (310) 550-2068.

Friday: The Epiphyllum Society of America will host its 51st annual flower show and sale. 9 a.m. $6 to $8. Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. (626) 821-4623.

Friday: The California Rare Fruit Growers, the Iris Society, Riverside County Master Gardeners, Inland Empire Master Gardeners, Gates Cactus and Succulent Society, Granite Hill Gardens Nursery and others will offer information and plants for sale at the 10th annual Green Faire. The sales area will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday; the show takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Jurupa Mountains Cultural Center, 7621 Granite Hill Drive, Riverside. Free. (951) 685-5818.

Saturday: Native plant expert Bart O’Brien speaks on growing California sages in a talk organized by Nopalito Native Plant Nursery. 1 to 4 p.m. $10 to $15. Calvary Christian Fellowship Church, 4221 E. Main St., Ventura. (805) 844-7449.Saturday: The California Strawberry Festival features interactive exhibits, cooking demonstrations, gooey contests, arts and crafts and a wide selection of strawberry foods and beverages. 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Strawberry Meadows at College Park, 3250 South Rose Ave., Oxnard. For shuttle and other festival information visit www.strawberry-fest.org.

Sunday: For Museums of the Arroyo Day, select cultural institutions will be open for free. They include the Gamble House and Pasadena Museum of History in Pasadena, as well as Heritage Square Museum, the Lummis Home and Garden, shown at top, and the Los Angeles Police Historical Society Museum, all in Highland Park. (213) 740- 8687.

Sunday: The Los Angeles chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers hosts a five-stop home tour on the Westside from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Featured homes designed by Amy De Vault, Fernando Diaz, Susanne Furst, Quentin Rance and Nan Werley. $50. Proceeds benefit People Assisting the Homeless. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.asidla2010hometour.org or on the day of the tour at PATH, 2346 Cotner Ave., Los Angeles. (310) 659-4716.

Sunday: The Huntington’s 36th annual spring plant sale will include thousands of rare varieties, many difficult to find at nurseries. Edibles will include heirloom tomatoes, chioggia beets, white alpine strawberries, purple string beans, herbs for teas, even hops for the home brewer. Free. 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. (626) 405-2100.

-- Lisa BoonePhotos, from top: Lummis Home museum in Highland Park. Credit: Los Angeles Times. Boy at an earlier California Strawberry Festival. Credit: Los Angeles Times