Come learn and share in the 'art' of growing giant pumpkins from the world's best growers. With a few special seeds and tips from those who know best, you could grow a giant pumpkin just like the pros! Lunch catered by the Pride of Laguna Creek Lions. Features panel Q&A session, seed giveaway, and prize raffle. Registration available online, in person at Cosumnes CSD customer service locations, or by phone.

Opening day of strawberry picking season. Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate. Educational farm experience with agricultural learning opportunities.

In this seminar, we look at the staggering biodiversity of the pine forest floor, which can host up to 40 different plant species in a single square meter. We will discover a world where carnivorous Venus Flytraps and Pitcher Plants hunt insects beneath the towering pines, and where rare orchids bloom in the wake of fire. You will learn how this specific ecosystem supports specialists found nowhere else on Earth, from the Red-cockaded Woodpecker to the Gopher Frog, and why the restoration of the Longleaf Pine is the key to preserving the incredible "hidden" world that lives in its shadow. Audience Target: All Ages, Parental supervision required for children under 10. No refunds for participant cancellations, reschedules, or missed attendance.

From lantana to poinsettia to Clerodendrum and more, Longwood's experts transform flowers and vines into stunning tree forms--known as standards--through years of meticulous care. These iconic plants are more than artistic displays--they're living examples of scientific precision and horticultural skill. Join Longwood Floriculture Manager Kevin Murphy to uncover the science behind the training, the species that make these designs possible, the design techniques that add height, and the teamwork that brings each display to life. Explore how research, patience, and creativity combine to turn horticultural science into breathtaking beauty.

At Longwood, beauty is more than an outcome--it's a catalyst for curiosity, creativity, and scientific discovery. Join Longwood Associate Director of Science Communications Jessica Turner-Skoff, Ph.D., and explore how visually compelling landscapes, elegant plant forms, and artful design sharpen observation, inspire research, and enrich the scientific process. Drawing from Longwood's tradition of display-driven discovery, and global examples where aesthetics and science intersect (from botanical art that advances taxonomy to garden design experiments that reveal ecological patterns), consider how beauty helps us see more clearly, think more imaginatively, and pursue solutions that connect people, plants, and place. This talk invites you to consider beauty not as ornament, but as an essential partner in scientific exploration.