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 28 and 29, 2014. 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 lectures to explore new gardening ideas, including seed saving, sustainable weed management, drip irrigation for the home garden, and soil testing. The very popular seminar on cooking with herbs returns again this year. Garden show-quality displays will showcase vertical gardening, and New England - Farms to Forest. Poster displays will detail the latest in UNH research on cutting-edge genetics, vegetable and fruit breeding, tree disease research, and more. Visitors will also learn about new hydroponics research and can participate in a hands-on study of the botany of much-loved plants.

UNH experts and Master Gardeners will be on hand to 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 again this year. The Greenhouse Café will serve coffee, lunch, and delicious home-made treats. The café, hosted by the Thompson School Horticultural Club, helps fund the club's spring trip to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.

The UNH open house is free and open to the general public. On Saturday, March 29, the open house coincides with the Seacoast Home and Garden Show at the UNH Whittemore Center Arena and the Little Royal Livestock Show held at the W.C. Skoglund Riding 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, Biological Sciences and Sustainable Agriculture programs of the College of Life Sciences & Agriculture, and UNH Cooperative Extension.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

Photographs available to download:
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Caption: The annual open house at the University of New Hampshire's Macfarlane greenhouses, a popular rite of spring, is March 28 - 29, 2014.
Credit: Mike Ross, UNH Photographic Services

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