The College of Science and Mathematics' fourth annual Twilight Garden Party will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. in the garden near the center of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

"The garden party is the perfect opportunity for people to take a break out of their busy lives and relax and enjoy a peaceful, natural setting," said Brian Houck, CSUN's Botanic Garden and Greenhouse manager.

The evening will feature wine tasting, fine music, a showing by scientific and natural history illustrators and garden tours.

The garden is operated by the university's biology department and serves as a field site for botany, entomology, photography, painting and other classes. In addition to outdoor landscaped and natural botanic environments, the garden also features a greenhouse where rare and unusual plants are grown. The garden is open to the community.

"The party is a chance for the public to see the garden at its best," Houck said. "But members of the community are welcome to visit us at any time for ideas they can take back to their own yards. The San Fernando Valley can be a difficult place to grow things. What we do here is try to find the boundaries of what we can grow."

Advance tickets for the Twilight Garden Party are $25 per person or $45 per couple. After Aug. 10, tickets will be $30 per person and $55 per couple.

To purchase tickets or to get more information, call (818) 677-3496 or 677-6699, or visit the Web site http://www.csun.edu/~bh20424/tgp.html.