HortusScope | What’s Up in the Central Indiana Gardening Community | Image courtesy University of Delaware Library Daily thru December 27 Conservatory Crossing at Garfield Conservatory See the Conservatory decked out in a brilliant display of poinsettias and enjoy running model trains, a train village, and thousands of twinkling lights. Suitable for all ages, this display is provided in partnership with The Indiana Rail Road Company. Special event admission: $2/adults, $1/seniors and youth, $5/family. 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily (extended to 8:00 p.m., December 19 thru 23). Friday, Dec 18: Candlelight Crossing Enjoy the holiday train and poinsettia show during an evening reception with holiday treats. Relax with a cup of cocoa and enjoy the tropical Conservatory alive with lights! $5/person or $15/family. Registration required. 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Garfield Conservatory, 2505 Conservatory Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana 46203. www.garfieldgardensconservatory.org Thursday, December 3 Daubenspeck Community Nature Park Annual Meeting Daubenspeck Community Nature Park is a 501-c-3 charitable non-profit organization that is 100% volunteer run. The park's mission is creating and protecting a precious, native greenspace where nature and the community can enhance each other. 7:30 p.m., location TBD; email [email protected] for an update. For more about the park, visit www.DaubPark.org. Thursdays, December 3 & 17 Christmas at Lilly House & Greenhouse Open House Hundreds of flickering luminaria in the gardens transform the landscape of Oldfields into a winter wonderland. Warm up inside a Country Place-era home—Christmas at Lilly House features holiday décor from the 1930s and ‘40s. Enjoy a hot beverage and pause to hear live seasonal music. At the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse, shop for a special gift in a festive atmosphere complete with live music. Free. 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Road, Indianapolis. www.imamuseum.org/calendar/lillyopenhouses Weekends, December 5-6 and 12-13 IWF Environmental Habitat Steward Certificate Program Indiana Wildlife Federation is conducting workshops designed for professional landscape architects, planners, architects, engineers, contractors, and developers. Participants will learn fundamental concepts in habitat management and current practices that can be used to preserve or enhance habitats, the object being to increase the amount of environmental habitat that is preserved and/or enhanced during human development projects. The program consists of two weekend workshops, each weekend comprising two eight-hour days, for a total of 32 hours of environmental training. (Additional workshops are scheduled in January, February, and April.) 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day, Fort Harrison State Park, Indianapolis. For more information, contact Ben Reinhart at [email protected] or 317-875-9453. Download registration brochure at www.indianawildlife.org/workshops.htm. Saturdays, December 12 and 19 Christmas on the Farm at Traders Point Creamery This third annual event features sleigh-hayrides and visits with Santa, live reindeer, and special guests from the North Pole! Enjoy live music and caroling with Lathan's Holly Duo; children are invited to ring jingle bells and participate in the show. Shop the Christmas Farmers Market for organic foods, fresh baked goods, make-your-own gift baskets, and artisan crafts. Donations to the Traders Point Giving Tree will benefit United Way of Central Indiana's Christmas Service to Indiana Families in need (tax-deductible contributions can be made until December 20). Free. 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., 9101 Moore Road, Zionsville. www.tpforganics.com Thursday, December 17 Winter Solstice at the IMA Dress for the weather and celebrate the longest night of the year with outdoor entertainments. Enjoy ice carvers, wintry animals, bonfires, and art-making on the grounds. Warm up in the Greenhouse and Lilly House with music, decorations, and holiday shopping. Enjoy hot beverages from Nourish Café. Free. 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., Indianapolis Museum of Art Lilly House & Greenhouse Parking Lot. www.imamuseum.org/calendar/wintersolstice/0 Saturdays thru April 24 Indy Winter Farmers Market WANTED: you and your neighbors, friends, co-workers, to be regular and loyal patrons to support all the growers and producers bringing their products to market. Indy Winter Farmers Market is bringing the market back for a second season in a fabulous new location. Growers and producers have worked hard to grow, raise, and otherwise plan to supply the market through the winter. Now it is up to you to sustain the marketplace for the market! 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., The Chatham Center, 901 N. East St., Indianapolis. Park on both sides of East Street, in the parking lot just south of the Chatham Center, or in the parking lot of the Church of Christ at Park & 10th St. Bicycle/stroller parking on rack at the front door. Please do not park on residential streets in the neighborhood. www.indywinterfarmersmarket.org Bee Savvy Lured by the promo for their full color 2010 Native Bee Calendar, I was led once again to explore the Xerces Society’s intriguing website. They’re a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. The calendar order deadline was November 30 for holiday delivery, but it’s worth pursuing if you’re intrigued by full- page pin-ups of a different native bee genus each month, accompanied by a brief summary of its preferred plants, nesting needs, and notes on how to identify it. On a related site, I found a nifty Bee Quiz, with info on how to tell bees from wasps and flies. Photo Notes Two weekends of fabulously balmy weather have spurred me on to new heights of fall bed preparation. Having cleared my tired old raised beds of masses of weeds and assorted perennial divisions, I’m now dreaming of home-grown vegetables! Of annuals for cutting! Of trying to grow blueberries for the first time! Funny how gardening never ceases to generate new passions. The seed catalogs are arriving just in time to stoke the fires. Happy catalog shopping to all! HortusScope, an e-bulletin for the Central Indiana gardening community, is published the first of every month as a public service by Wendy Ford. To submit news items, add or update your e- mail address, or remove your name from the HortusScope e-mail list, please drop me a note at [email protected]. Supporting donations gratefully accepted at 6911 Cabernet Way, Indianapolis, IN 46278. .