Follow farm routines and traditions passed down for generations, from helping put the animals to bed to listening to stories by the fire. Visitors get a sound sleep in the upper chamber of the manor house, sleeping in a bedrool (sleeping bags will do), as children did for centuries. Adults may bring air mattresses or pads. Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, MA. Registration required, $19 for Historic New England members, $26 for non members. For more information, call 978-462-2634.

Celebrate the arrival of fall at Cogswell’s Grant in Essex, Massachusetts. Families will enjoy horse-drawn wagon rides, choose pumpkins to decorate, compete in a pumpkin pie-eating contest, do craft activities, play games, and try cider pressing. Enjoy hot mulled apple cider and homemade pumpkin pie. The historic house is open for tours. Free to members of Historic New England, $6 for non members, $4 for children. For more information, call 978-768-3632.

In the newly-renovated space in the Heritage History Museum, see a traveling exhibition from Historic New England, Lost Gardens of New England, supplemented by a special addition about the lost gardens of Cape Cod. Visitors will be transported into a secret garden featuring historic photographs and paintings of what once were some of New England’s most beautiful gardens. The exhibit also features exquisite examples of antique garden seating and statuary. Heritage Museums and Gardens, 67 Grove Street, Sandwich, MA 02563. For times and information, call 508-888-3300.

Lyman Estate Greenhouses, Waltham, MA. Hundreds of orchid plants are for sale, including many hard-to-find varieties. Visit these antique greenhouses and enjoy gorgeous floral colors, shapes, and scents. Among the many varieties on display and for sale will be Cattleyas, Laelias, Oncidiums, Paphiopedilum, and Phalaenopsis. Free admission. For information call 781-891-4882, ext. 244.

The Community Outreach Group for Landscape Design (COGdesign) is presenting a different kind of garden tour – Touring Urban Wilds and Gardens: On the Bus – from 1pm to 4:30 pm. Transformed from neglected lots and urban blight to lush gardens and tranquil places, tour sites in Brookline and Boston have been touched and renewed by COG designers and their community clients. Highlights include a gloriously colorful perennial garden, designed for a windy seaside site, overlooking sparkling Dorchester Bay, a quirky neighborhood park featuring native shrubs and trees, stonedust path for strolling, meadow and orchard, plus a destination for rock climbing, and a sunken urban terrace with arbor and ornamental trees for privacy, leafy gardens, and a ten foot tall stone wall. Afternoon tea will be served at the historic Shirley Eustis Carriage House, once owned by Isabella Stewart Gardner and meticulously rebuilt on its current Roxbury site. Ticket price is $40, which includes the tour bus and tea. Limited seating. Visit www.cogdesign.org to register, or call 781-642-6662. Proceeds benefit community greening projects.

The Fenway Garden Society invites us to attend FensFest garden harvest festival on Saturday, September 20 (rain date Sunday, September 21), from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Fenway Victory Gardens on the central green. Enjoy live music, free cookout, plant swap, white elephant sale, raffles, and garden awards. For additional information email Victoria@notelevision.com.

The Esplanade Association hosts this spectacular event to raise funds to restore and care for the park, repair docks, landings, statues, initiate landscape renewal and preservation projects, renovate athletic facilities, support community outreach, cultural, recreational and educational park programs. For tickets ($750 individual ticket price), call 617-227-0365 or email info@esplanadeassociation.org.

Please join the Charles River Conservancy for a dinner reception to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox following RiverSing – Bridging the Charles with Voice and Light. RiverSing is a free participatory celebration staged in cooperation with Revels from 6 – 7:30 pm at the Weeks Footbridge. Wear comfortable shoes to fully enjoy dancing in the Parklands. This year the Dinner Reception will be held on the banks of the Charles River at the Weld Boathouse, between Anderson and Weeks Bridges in Cambridge, and will feature Live and Silent Auction items. Dinner tickets are $175 and benefit The Charles River Conservancy. To purchase tickets on line, visit www.TheCharles.org before September 12. For parking information, email crc@TheCharles.org. Telephone 617-608-1410.

The Middlesex Conservation District will be holding its annual Fall Bulb and Perennial Sale on Friday September 19 (3-6 pm) and Saturday September 20 (8am – noon) at the 4H Fairgrounds, 51 South Chelmsford Rd, Westford, MA. Items will include tulips, daffodils, alliums, unusual bulbs, perennials and garden supplies. All items may be ordered in advance through September 2 by visiting our website at www.middlesexconservation.org. We also welcome “drop-in” shoppers as we have plenty of excess first quality stock! All proceeds benefit our conservation programs. For more information please visit our website or call 978 692 9395.

Elm Bank Horticulture Center will host the 12th Annual Massachusetts Marketplace Festival from 10 – 4 on Saturday, August 9 (Rain Date Sunday August 10). Over 60 vendors will offer new and locally produced food, products, crafts, garden ornaments, and gifts. There will be a plant sale and garden tours, tours of the Manor House, and a flower show. Admission $4 for members, $6 for non-members, $2 for children under 12. Tickets are available on site the day of the event. Produced by MassHort with in-kind support from the MA Department of Agricultural Resources and the MA Specialty Food Association. For more information call Jen Courtney at 617-933-4982, or email her at jcourtney@masshort.org.