A tour of two cities

Considering a move to the city or to a different urban neighborhood? You can see how homeowners have reinvented their older residences, as well as explore urban communities, at the Minneapolis & St. Paul Home Tour. More than 50 homes representing a wide range of housing styles, old and new, will be open for free tours from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Guides with descriptions and addresses are available at www.msphometour.com.

Get growing

Blooms Day can help you start a rain garden or mix more native plants into your existing beds. The event features a native plant sale, environmental programs, door prizes, garden exhibits and a rain-garden workshop. Admission is free; rain-garden workshop is $10. Blooms Day is 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Kenny Elementary School, 5720 Emerson Av. S. Go to www.metroblooms.org.

New math

Many of today's most striking buildings are nontraditional free-form shapes. "Mathematics in Modern Architecture" explores the emerging field of digitally designed architectural geometry at a free lecture sponsored by the Institute of Mathematics, 7 p.m. Tuesday, 2-650 Moos Tower, 515 SE. Delaware St., on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus. For information, visit www.ima.umn.edu.

Riot of art

Art in Bloom is an amalgam of floral design, fashion and masterpieces at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The annual festival, Thursday through Sunday, May 4, includes self-guided or docent-led tours of more than 150 floral arrangements inspired by artwork from the MIA's permanent collection. Or you can attend a lecture with topics ranging from "New Inspiration in the Garden Style," by Laura Dowling, chief floral designer for the White House, to the "History of Flower Arranging from the Egyptians to the Present."

Flowers after Hours presents a fashion show with dresses created entirely out of flora, followed by live music, 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday. For kids, there's a scavenger hunt and crafts at a family event, 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Art in Bloom hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. The MIA is located at 2400 3rd Av. S., Minneapolis. Most events are free; lectures are $30. Order tickets at www.artsmia.org or call 612-870-3000.

LYNN UNDERWOOD

Architectural dining

Here's a tasty way to celebrate Preservation Month. The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota and the Red Stag Supper Club in Minneapolis have teamed up for a series of "Heritage Menus" throughout May. Each menu, created by executive chef T.J. Rawitzer, will feature items based on an architectural style or era, with a new themed menu each week. May 5-11 will focus on the Victorian era, followed by the bungalow era (May 12-18), the Tudor era (May 19-25) and midcentury modern (May 26-June 1). For more details, visit www.redstagsupperclub.com/red-stag-menu.

KIM PALMER