Manito Receives Rosy Recognition

Kudos to Manito Park’s Rose Garden and the gardeners who maintain the roses. The garden has been awarded the 1995 All-American Rose Selections Award for Outstanding Maintenance. The award honors gardens nationwide that exceed the AARS standards for rose care and presentation.

The Rose Garden boasts 1,500 rose bushes and is among 138 AARS public gardens. Of course, it’ll be a few months before we can check out this award-winning garden.

Specialized planting tool: Now gardeners with arthritis or hand disabilities, and anyone who has difficulty handling the tiny seeds of plants like lobelia, pansies and geraniums, have a tool available to help with planting.

The Tiny Tim Seed Dispenser looks like a big hypodermic with an adjustable spout. By applying pressure on the knob, gardeners regulate the number of seeds dispensed.

For information, contact Nicol & Associates, 15 Windy Acres Road, Huntington, CT 06484. To order a dispenser, send your address along with a check for $5.95, which includes postage and handling.

Thinking fruits and veggies: Those who shopped for produce in the Spokane Valley farmers’ markets in the years that area was substantially more rural will probably remember Hearts of Gold cantaloupes. They’re juicy and sweet and no longer widely available. So, why not grow your own? The seeds for Hearts of Gold, as well as other varieties of fruits, vegetables and flowers popular in this area, are available from Local Favorites, a Spokane seed company.

This seed company also recycles unsold seeds that are a year-old, donating them to charitable agencies and the County Extension office. The seeds are still viable, they simply aren’t fresh enough to be sold to Local Favorites’ customers.

For a copy of the seed catalog, contact Local Favorites, P.O. Box 14911, Spokane, WA 99214. Or write the company if your charitable agency wants to distribute seeds to needy people. , DataTimes