Datebook: Events, classes, exhibits for the week ahead

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We’ve listed select home and garden events below. Suggest your own via reader comments. Submissions must be fewer than 75 words and must be for one-time events with legitimate value to other readers. No store promotions and no frivolous links, please. L.A. at Home staff will determine which submissions will be made public, but we won’t edit the text.

Thursday: Palm Springs Modernism Week kicks off, featuring a series of events including a modernism expo, home tours, design lectures and films. Through Feb. 27. (760) 832-3202.

Thursday: Landscape architect Shirley Kerins, curator of the Huntington Botanical Gardens’ herb garden, will discuss flowering and herbal flora in the latest installment of the Thursday Garden Talks With Lili Singer series. 9:30 a.m. to noon. $20. Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. (626) 821-4623.

Thursday: Interior designer Thomas Janye will discuss and sign his new book ‘The Finest Rooms in America’ at 6 p.m. Rose Tarlow Melrose House, 8540 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. Free. (323) 651-2202.

Saturday: Jo Ann Carey leads a class on square-foot gardening, where vegetables are planted in a grid, as opposed to rows. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. $25 to $28. Register: (626) 821-4623.

Saturday: Landscape architect Amy Nettleton leads an illustrated talk on how a landscape affects the physical and emotional qualities of an area. 9:30 to 11 a.m. Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants, 10459 Tuxford St., Sun Valley. $20 to $30. (818) 768-1802.

Saturday: Urban farmer Jimmy Williams and writer Susan Heeger will discuss their book, “From Seed to Skillet: A Guide to Growing, Tending, Harvesting, and Cooking up Fresh, Healthy Food to Share with People You Love.” 11 a.m. Free. Barnes and Noble Bookstore, 1201 3rd St., Santa Monica. Also appearing Feb. 26 at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden.

Sunday: The Family Bird Fest at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden highlights the behaviors and physical traits that enable birds to survive. Birdwatchers of all ages are welcome, and activities will be geared for beginners as well as enthusiasts. The annual event also features exhibitors, identification tips and Native American storytelling.10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 1500 N. College Ave., Claremont. Included in regular admission of $4 to $8. (909) 625-8767.

Sunday: Christy Wilhelmi of Gardenerd.com leads a workshop on garden planning. Learn tricks for successful plant placement and healthy soil, and discover the best places to get seed. 10 a.m. to noon. $40. Registration: (310) 773-4806.

ONGOING Ackerman, Aguiñiga: “A Marriage of Craft and Design: The Work of Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman” includes examples of ceramics, tile mosaics, wood carvings, textiles and other crafts from the Culver City couple. “Crossing the Line: A Space by Tanya Aguiñiga,” is a site-specific structure made by the artist best known for felted furniture. Ends May 8. Craft and Folk Art Museum, 5814 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. $5 to $7. (323) 937-4230.

Bischoff exhibition: The retrospective “Gardens and Grandeur: Porcelains and Paintings by Franz A. Bischoff,” features Bischoff’s early hand-painted ceramic works and landscape paintings. Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, through March 20. $5 to $7. Pasadena Museum of California Art, 490 E. Union St., Pasadena. (626) 568-3665.

Brown Bag Tuesdays: The Gamble House, the Arts and Crafts landmark designed by Charles and Henry Greene, allows visitors to picnic on the rear lawn or terrace of the 1908 estate between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Twenty-minute docent-led tours will be given at 12:15 and 12:45 p.m. for $5. 4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena; (626) 793-3334. Reservations: (626) 449-4178.

Installation: “Light Frames,” an outdoor installation by Los Angeles architect Gail Peter Borden, consists of a hand-assembled dome and an enclosed “chapel” built out of translucent vinyl plastic. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily through mid-March. Free. Materials & Applications, 1619 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 739-4668.

Kahn in Venice: An exhibition of travel sketches by Louis Kahn documents the time in Italy spent by the architect whose work includes the Salk Institute in La Jolla. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays (closed from 1 to 2 p.m.), 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Ends March 19. Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Los Angeles, 1023 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles. (310) 443-3250.

Technology and design: Opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. for the Architecture and Design Museum of Los Angeles exhibition ‘Soupergreen,’ which explores the way that technology can promote architecture and the environment. Exhibition open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Ends April 14. $2 to $5. 6032 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 932-9393.

Wexler show: “Steel and Shade: The Architecture of Donald Wexler” is a survey of drawings, photographs and models by the noted architect. They are augmented by professional photographs and new models fabricated by Cal Poly students, including a full-scale sectional steel model illustrating the prefabrication system that Wexler used in his steel houses. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, noon to 8 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Ends May 29. $5 to $12.50. Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs.(760) 322-4800.

— Lisa Boone