The arboretum is only one place on or near campus where you can get outside and enjoy nature. The UC Davis-managed Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve is another. See separate story for the announcement of the fall schedule of events at Stebbins Cold Canyon.

AT THE ARBORETUM

Folk Music Jam Sessions — 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 today (Oct. 1), and Oct. 15 and 29, Wyatt Deck.

Great Container Gardens — A program on creating gardens in small spaces, and enlivening decks and patios, by planting in multiple layers and grouping a variety of containers of different types and sizes, to create depth and density. 11 a.m. Oct. 2, Arboretum Terrace Garden, east side of Borders bookstore in the Davis Commons shopping center, First Street and Richards Boulevard.

Poetry in the Garden: Xico González — Gonzáles, who teaches in the Department of Chicana/o Studies, is an artist, poet, and political and cultural activist from Sacramento. He founded Revoltoso Books in 2000 and has published four poetry chapbooks, including The Indígena Poems (2003) and Poesía revoltosa (2004), as well as works in various literary journals. Noon Oct. 6, Wyatt Deck (or 126 Voorhies Hall, in the event of rain)

Science Café: Chumash Traditional Medicinal Uses of California Plants — With James D. Adams, a phamacologist, and Cecilia Garcia, a Chumash healer. They are the co-authors of Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West: Cultural and Scientific Basis for Their Use, and other works, and teach a course in Chumash healing at the University of Southern California, where Adams is an associate professor in the School of Pharmacy. 5:15 p.m. Oct. 6, Wyatt Deck (or 146 Environmental Horticulture in the event of rain). Light refreshments.

Plant sale preview — 2 p.m. Oct. 9, Arboretum Teaching Nursery, Garrod Drive south of La Rue Road (the nursery is just beyond the Unitrans bus yard and across from the School of Veterinary Medicine). Beginning and experienced gardeners alike are invited to learn about the best plants for the Central Valley's climate, and to see examples of great plant combinations. If you see something you like, chances are you will be able to buy it the next week, during the second fall plant sale (see below).

Opening Night: Readings by Creative Writing Faculty — Award-winning fiction writers and poets celebrate the new academic year, by reading from their works. The list of participants includes Lucy Corin, Greg Glazner, Pam Houston, Joe Wenderoth and Yiyun Li. Sponsored by the arboretum and the Department of English. 7 p.m. Oct. 14, Wyatt Deck (or 126 Voorhies Hall in the event of rain).

Plant sale — "Fall Is for Planting," with experienced gardeners available to help you choose the best plants for your garden designs and conditions. Organizers said the sale will include many California native plants and Arboretum All-Stars, plants selected for their beauty, reliability, heat and drought tolerance, and value in attracting butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 16, Arboretum Teaching Nursery, Garrod Drive south of La Rue Road (the nursery is just beyond the Unitrans bus yard and across from the School of Veterinary Medicine). Members of Friends of the UC Davis Arborertum receive a 10 percent discount; you can sign up at the gate, thereby receiving the discount as well as a free plant. (See below for membership details.) Admission is free.

Birds That Winter in the Arboretum — This program, about bird-friendly gardening, including plants that attract birds, comes at a time when most of the fall migration should be completed, and birds have settled in to the arboretum for the winter. The program will start with a photo slide show of birds you might see in winter in the arboretum, and, then, weather permitting, the program will move outside to look for some of those birds. 11 a.m. Oct. 17, arboretum headquarters, La Rue Road.

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

Annual membership: $15 student, $40 individual, $60 family/household. Membership can be arranged online, or call (530) 752-4880.