This weekend in the arboretum brings a program on armchair birding — about how you can sit back and enjoy the sound and movement of birds in your garden.

But first you need to know the kinds of plants to put in. The arboretum can help with your selections (and advise on what kinds of birds may fly in).

The program, Armchair Birding: Plants in Your Yard, and the Feathered Friends Who Visit, is scheduled from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday (Aug. 4) at the Arboretum Terrace Garden, next to the former Borders bookstore in the Davis Commons shopping center, First Street and Richards Boulevard.

MORE AT THE ARBORETUM

Folk Music Jam Session — Pull out your fiddles, guitars, mandolins, penny whistles, pipes, flutes, squeezeboxes — you name it! — and join your fellow musicians during the lunch hour for a little bluegrass, old-time, blues, Celtic, klezmer and other world music. All skill levels welcome. Listeners, too! Noon-1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, 17 and 31. Wyatt Deck.

The Redwood Grove, So Cool! — Enjoy the cathedral-like cool and quiet of the redwood grove and learn about the plants of the redwood forest understory. 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, Wyatt Deck.

Oak Ink and Beetle Juice: Painting with Mother Nature — Artist, illustrator and biologist Ane Carla Rovett leads this all-ages workshop, offering instruction in making oak ink and using a variety of plant pigments in painting. Co-sponsored by the Davis Art Center and the Center for Ecoliteracy. Two sessions: 10 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, gazebo. Space is limited; registration required with the Davis Art Center: (530) 756-4100, publicity@davisartcenter.org, or in person, 1919 F St.

Exploring Native Plants — A program on gardening with native plants. It can save water and energy, support pollinators, and create a sense of place. 10-11:30 a.m., Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center.

Plant Sale Preview — See the kinds of plants, in a garden setting, in their mature seizes, that will be available at the arboretum’s fall plant sales. 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, Arboretum Teaching Nursery.

All programs are free and open to the public. More information on arboretum events: (530) 752-4880 or arboretum.ucdavis.edu (for directions, click on “Plan Your Visit”).

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