DURHAM, N.H. – Usher in spring with a visit to the University of New Hampshire Macfarlane Greenhouses during the annual open house Friday and Saturday, March 22 and 23, 2013. This year's event will again provide displays and plenty of information to help chase away winter blues and welcome spring. The greenhouses will be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. both days.

UNH faculty, staff and students will present colorful displays and educational lectures of interest to home gardeners and landscapers. Visitors can attend seminars to explore new gardening ideas in depth, including gardening in small spaces, safely controlling plant pests and diseases, making a meadow or wildflower garden, and using small fruits or native trees and shrubs in the landscape. The very popular seminar on cooking with herbs returns again this year, along with a new presentation on cooking with mushrooms that will be complemented by a lecture on identifying, picking and cultivating edible and culinary mushrooms. 

Garden show-quality displays will showcase Springtime on Main Street New England and A Cabin In The Woods, and poster displays will highlight UNH research and other engaging gardening topics. Visitors may also participate in guided explorations of the conservatory or aquaponics research. UNH experts and Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions that help get gardens off to a great start. Publications by UNH authors also will be available for sale.

Other open house activities include a plant sale hosted by the Thompson School horticulture program and tours of both the Macfarlane Greenhouse and the UNH high tunnels, two greenhouse-style structures associated with the sustainable agriculture and food systems program where students produce greens for on-campus consumption. The popular scavenger hunt and coloring activity for children also return this year. And the Greenhouse Café, hosted by the Thompson School Horticultural Club, will serve coffee, lunch, and delicious home-made treats to fund the club’s trip to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.

The UNH Greenhouse Open House is free and open to the general public. On Saturday, March 23, it coincides with the Seacoast Home and Garden Show at the UNH Whittemore Center Arena.

The UNH Macfarlane Greenhouses (part of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station) are located off Main Street on the west end of Durham. Seminars will take place in Putnam Hall across the parking lot from the greenhouses. On Friday metered parking is available at the UNH Visitor Center across from the greenhouses; parking on Saturday is free. Handicap parking spaces and short-term parking for plant pickup will be available near the main greenhouse entrance. The greenhouses are also served by Wildcat Transit’s free shuttle service: www.wildcattransit.com.

For more information, please visit http://www.thompsonschool.unh.edu/events, https://www.facebook.com/UNHMacfarlaneGreenhouses, or call 603-862-2061.

The UNH Greenhouse Open House is sponsored by the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, the Thompson School of Applied Science, UNH Cooperative Extension, and UNH Biological Sciences and Sustainable Agriculture programs of the College of Life Sciences & Agriculture.