Literature comes to the arboretum’s Wyatt Deck this month — with visits by three local writers and a student theater troupe. The latter plans four presentations of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

WRITERS IN THE GARDEN

May 12 — Mike Madison, farmer, botanist and essayist (Walking the Flatlands: The Rural Landscape of the Lower Sacramento Valley, Blithe Tomato and No Time to Nap). 7 p.m.

May 19 — Hannah Stein, poet (Earthlight; Schools of Flying Fish; and Greatest Hits of Hannah Stein, 1981-2004). 7 p.m.

May 28 — Clarence Major, poet, novelist and painter. Noon.

Location for all three programs is the Wyatt Deck. Admission is free. People are invited to bring picnic lunches or suppers.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Performed outdoors by Studio 301 Productions, the only independent student theater group at UC Davis. 8 p.m. May 14-17 and 21-23, and 2 p.m. May 24. (The printed edition of Dateline inadvertently omitted the May 14-17 performance dates.)

Tickets: $10 general admission, $8 for students, $7 for children; tickets sold at the performances (cash only, please). For seat reservations, e-mail Studio301Productions@gmail.com with your name, contact information and number of seats requested; or call (408) 838-7551.

MORE AT THE ARBORETUM

Tour — Roses and Companion Plants. 11 a.m. May 9, gazebo, Garrod Drive. Free parking along Garrod Drive and in Lot 55.

Walk With Warren — With Warren Roberts, arboretum superintendent. Noon, May 13, Arboretum Teaching Nursery, Garrod Drive, south of La Rue Road. Parking $6 in Lot 55.

Folk Music Jams — Play or listen. Noon May 15 and 29. Wyatt Deck, adjacent to the redwood grove, Old Davis Road. Parking $6 in Lot 5, Old Davis Road and A Street.

End of Season Clearance Plant Sale — 9 a.m.-noon May 16, Arboretum Teaching Nursery, Garrod Drive, south of La Rue Road. Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum receive a 20 percent discount on purchases; anyone can join at the gate. Also, every new member receives a free plant. Free parking along Garrod Drive and in Lot 55.

Tour — Simple Secrets for Great Container Gardens. 11 a.m. May 16, Arboretum Terrace Garden, First and A streets. Free parking behind the shopping center.

Tour — Design Your Garden to Survive the Drought. 11 a.m. May 23, Arboretum Terrace Garden, Davis Commons shopping center, First and A streets. Free parking behind the shopping center.

Tour — Ethnobotany of California Native Plants, about connections between human cultures and their natural environment. 2 p.m. May 31, Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center, Old Davis Road. Free parking in Lots 1 and 2 and the south entry garage, south of the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

All events are open to the public, and all are free except for A Midsummer Night's Dream. More information: (530) 752-4880 or arboretum.ucdavis.edu.