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The year ahead
What's on: United States
Flower shows, festivals and awareness days for the next twelve months. Dates shown in green were confirmed against the organiser's own website; everything else shows the month it usually falls in.
December
World Soil Day
A day for the living material everything in the garden depends on. Healthy soil is the whole game.
The December solstice
The shortest day in the northern hemisphere and the longest in the southern. The turning point of the year for daylight.
January
The Great Big Home + Garden Show
One of the country's biggest home shows, held in Cleveland each winter, with a garden showcase of planted displays among the home exhibitors. A chance to gather ideas for spring while the ground outside is still frozen.
February
World Wetlands Day
A day for the marshes, bogs and ponds that hold water and life. Even a small garden pond does a version of the same job.
The Orchid Show
The New York Botanical Garden fills its Victorian glasshouse with orchids through late winter and spring.
The Orchid Show, Chicago Botanic Garden
The Chicago Botanic Garden's yearly orchid show, with thousands of blooms filling its display greenhouses through late winter. Each year has a new theme.
Cleveland Botanical Garden Orchid Show
Cleveland Botanical Garden's yearly orchid show fills its indoor gardens and glasshouses with orchids in late winter, under a new theme each year. A good place to see orchids that grow well indoors and pick up care tips.
Blooms & Butterflies
Franklin Park Conservatory's yearly exhibition of tropical butterflies flying free among its glasshouse planting, from late winter into summer. A close look at which flowers butterflies feed on.
Northwest Flower & Garden Festival
One of the first big shows of the American year, held in Seattle in February when most of the country is still frozen.
March
World Wildlife Day
A day about wild plants and animals and the habitats they need. Gardens are a surprisingly large share of that habitat.
EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival
A months-long festival of topiary and display planting running through the American spring.
Philadelphia Flower Show
The oldest and largest indoor flower show in the United States, run by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society since 1829.
Indiana Flower + Patio Show
Indianapolis's spring home and garden show at the State Fairgrounds, with feature gardens built for the show alongside garden and outdoor-living exhibitors.
Butterflies Are Blooming
Thousands of tropical butterflies released into the Frederik Meijer Gardens conservatory each spring, a show that has run for more than 30 years. The conservatory planting is worth the visit on its own.
Phipps Spring Flower Show
Phipps Conservatory fills its Victorian glasshouse rooms with spring bulbs and flowering plants, under a new theme each year. One of several seasonal flower shows Phipps puts on through the year.
The March equinox
Day and night are close to equal length everywhere. Spring begins in the north, autumn in the south.
International Day of Forests
A day for trees and what they do for us. A single garden tree still provides shade, shelter and food for wildlife.
World Water Day
A day about fresh water and using it carefully. Worth a thought for anyone with a hose or a water butt.
April
Arbor Day Plant Sale
One of the largest spring plant sales in the Chicago region, with trees, shrubs, perennials, natives, vegetables and herbs picked to grow well in local gardens. Arboretum experts are on hand to help choose.
Earth Day
A worldwide day of environmental action, marked since 1970. Composting, planting or simply leaving a corner wild all count.
Arbor Day
America's tree-planting day, observed on the last Friday in April in most states and dating back to 1872.
May
International Day of Plant Health
A day about keeping plants free of pests and disease. Most plant problems travel on plants we move about ourselves.
World Bee Day
A day for bees and the other pollinators most of our food depends on. A patch of flowering plants is a real contribution.
International Day for Biological Diversity
A day about the variety of life and why it matters. A mixed garden supports far more of it than a tidy one.
June
World Environment Day
The United Nations' biggest day for environmental action, marked since 1973.
World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
A day about land drying out and losing its fertility. The principles that hold soil together in a garden hold it together anywhere.
The June solstice
The longest day in the northern hemisphere and the shortest in the southern. From here the daylight turns the other way.
National Pollinator Week
A week in June encouraging planting and habitat for bees, butterflies, birds and bats.
July
World Mangrove Day
A day for the coastal forests that hold shorelines together and shelter an enormous amount of marine life.
September
World Ozone Day
Marks the treaty that repaired the ozone layer — one of the clearest cases of an environmental problem actually being fixed.
The September equinox
Day and night are close to equal length again. Autumn begins in the north, spring in the south.
October
World Food Day
A day about how the world is fed. A vegetable bed is a small answer to a very large question.