Gardeners’ party

Annual Garden Expo unofficially kicks off the growing season

Thu., May 7, 2015

By Susan Mulvihill inthegarden@live.com

If you go

Spokane Garden Expo 2015

When: Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Spokane Community College Lair Student Union building, 1810 N. Greene St.

Details: This event features more than 250 garden-related vendors, free seminars and demonstrations, and door prizes given away hourly. Free admission and parking.

More info: Visit www.tieg.org or call (509) 535-8434.

Schedule

Plan your visit to Garden Expo around the talks you don’t want to miss.

Seminars

10 a.m. – “Gardening Through the Seasons” with Kurt Madison

11:30 a.m. – “Growing Heirloom Vegetables” with Susan Mulvihill

1 p.m. – “Gardening with Japanese Maples in the Inland Northwest” with Barry Hoffster

2:30 p.m. – “A Seasonal Journey Through the Garden” with Phyllis Stephens

Demonstrations

10 a.m. – “Straw Bale Gardening” with Bruce and Diane Moriarty

11 a.m. – “You Don’t Need a Psychiatrist, You Need a Juicer” with Sean Smitham, Ph.D.

1 p.m. – “Flower Types for Spokane” with Jan Baker

2 p.m. – “Ikebana for Spokane” with Ellen Krehbiel

3 p.m. – “The Fur-friendly Garden” with Nancy Hill

Book signing

Pat Munts and Susan Mulvihill, newspaper columnists and authors of the “Northwest Gardener’s Handbook,” will be signing copies of their book throughout the day at Garden Expo. Their table will be located inside the Lair Student Union building.

Have you been eager to do some serious planting in your garden? One sure sign the garden season is officially underway is the arrival of Garden Expo.

It takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, in and around the Spokane Community College Lair Student Union building.

Billed as “the show for gardeners put on by gardeners,” 2015 marks the 16th year this free event will take place. It is put on by the Inland Empire Gardeners.

As club president, ViAnn Meyer, explained, “the club is a volunteer organization dedicated to the presentation of this premiere gardening and horticultural event in the Inland Northwest.”

This year’s theme is “Four Seasons Gardening – Happy Everything!” and I can guarantee that thousands of happy gardeners have it marked on their calendars.

Garden Expo will feature over 250 garden-related vendors selling plants, bulbs, garden art, tools, products and furniture. Examples of nurseries represented at Garden Expo include Blue Frog Garden Nursery, Heavy Petal Nursery, Rogerson Clematis Collection, the Blueberry Lady, Northland Rosarium and Cedar Mountain Perennials.

Items you’ll find include garden signs, Japanese maples, bird feeders, water gardening supplies, hanging baskets, native trees and shrubs, succulents and much more. To plan your shopping strategy, there is a vendor list on the club’s website at www.tieg.org.

The WSU/Spokane County Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your gardening questions and you’ll have the opportunity to chat with representatives from many local garden clubs.

Attendees can choose from a wide assortment of seminar topics and demonstrations throughout the day, which take place in the Lair auditorium and Lair conference room, respectively. Refer to the schedule below.

If you work up an appetite from your shopping spree, the SCC cafeteria will be open as well as other food vendors located throughout the show.

The Inland Empire Gardeners meet at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month except December at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Pl., in Spokane Valley. The club will also put on its popular Spokane in Bloom garden tour on June 20. For more information about the club and their events, visit their website.

Susan Mulvihill is co-author, with Pat Munts, of “Northwest Gardener’s Handbook.” Contact her at inthegarden@live.com or find her online at susansinthegarden.blogspot.com.