So many seedlings

TOMATOES on the mind? Think ‘Green Velvet,’ ‘Golden Mama,’ ‘Black Krim’ and Cuban yellow grape. They will be among more than 300 unique heirloom and classic hybrid tomato plants featured at this weekend’s annual Tomatomania! Billed as “the world’s largest tomato seedling sale,” this second of four Southern California events will be held at the Tapia Bros. Farm Stand at 5251 Hayvenhurst Ave. in Encino. The sale runs Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information, call (818) 905-6155. For details about upcoming sales in Beverly Hills and Arcadia, visit www.tomatomania.com.

TODAY

Arboretum sampler:

Marc Hall’s talk on the arboretum’s unusual plants will cover their heritage, peculiar traits, special adaptations and how to use them in gardens. Part of the series Thursday Garden Talks With Lili Singer. 9:30 a.m. to noon. Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. $20 at the door. (626) 821-4623.

UCLA Extension hosts the first of two courses on solar-energy solutions: “Harnessing Solar Power in the Home and Office,” Thursdays, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., runs from today to May 8 in La Kretz Hall, Room 100, on the UCLA campus. The fee is $400. The instructor is Rodney W. Bergen, a registered professional engineer and president of Quantum Sciences Inc. For more information, call (310) 206-1548 or e-mail ceisman@uclaextension.edu.

FRIDAY

Elena Manferdini’s “Merletti ” installation at the Southern California Institute of Architecture will be discussed by the L.A.-based Italian architect and Eric Owen Moss. Manferdini’s project explores the intricacies of lace on a huge scale. 7 p.m. Free. SCI-Arc Gallery, 960 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles. (213) 613-2200, Ext. 328 or www.sciarc.edu.

SATURDAY

Marta Teegan of Homegrown hosts a class on growing tomatoes in raised beds in her Mount Washington garden, 10 to 11:30 a.m. $35. Learn the basics as well as trellising methods, growing in the ground versus in pots and what not to do with tomatoes. This session will be followed by a separate workshop on starting an organic kitchen garden that focuses on soil, water, companion planting and harvesting, noon to 2 p.m. $60. Classes are limited to 10. To register, e-mail marta@homegrownlosangeles.com. The classes will be repeated April 12.

– Lisa Boone

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