Garden Expo

This time of year, I have friends who make a day of visiting all their favorite nurseries and garden centers. They take the car with the largest trunk, or a truck, and make the rounds until they either run out of daylight or money. Next to actually playing in the dirt, this is what they live for.

With gas prices the way they are this year, they and gardeners all over the area are looking for ways to reduce the gas expense so they can use the money for plants and other stuff instead of putting it in the gas tank.

Well gardeners,get ready for Saturday is the best opportunity to have one-stop shopping for all things garden:

The sixth annual Garden Expo sponsored by The Inland Empire Gardeners is set for the campus of Spokane Community College, with this year’s theme being, “One Green World.” This is the largest event of its kind in the Inland Northwest and the only one focused entirely on gardening. Last year’s event saw 270 vendors and an attendance of 12,000 people.

This year’s event will feature more than 200 vendors (and counting) from as far away as the Puget Sound region and Oregon. Some of the best local specialty nurseries will offer rare and unusual plants not normally available in our area.

Other vendors will offer gardening services, crafts and one-of-a-kind garden art.

Local gardening organizations will be on hand to share information about their programs and ways gardeners can join up with like-minded folks.

There will be a series of free seminars and demonstrations to help gardeners get the most out of their efforts. And, as is traditional at any Inland Empire Gardeners event, there will be door prizes throughout the day.

This annual event is a community service project of The Inland Empire Gardeners of Spokane, a group of more than 400 gardening enthusiasts who range from beginning gardeners through Master Gardeners and is dedicated to promoting the joys of gardening in the community.

“One of the strengths of our club is the diversity of our membership, not to mention their enthusiasm,” says ViAnn Meyers, president. The group also sponsors the annual Spokane in Bloom Garden Tour the third week in July and the Plant a Row for the Hungry Project.

Local nurseries new to this year’s Expo include Clementines, Forever Flowers, Garden Gate Lavender, Green Bluff Green House, Green Empire, Latah Creek Nursery, Mountain View Farm and Wild Sunflower Herb Farm to name a few.

Some returning local nurseries include Plants of the Wild from Tekoa, and Rimrock Nursery which both specialize in native plants, as well as The Secret Garden with hanging baskets and perennials, Davis Dahlias with what else? – great dahlias, and Wabi Sabi Japanese Nursery with Asian-themed plants.

Community gardening groups of all kinds will be at the Expo to help you connect with other gardeners. The best way to learn and expand your gardening prowess is to share experiences with others. The WSU-Spokane County Master Gardeners will be there with their timely region-specific gardening books and free handouts along with lots of free advice. The Inland Empire/North Idaho Dahlia Society, the Washington State Federated Garden Clubs, the Associated Gardens Clubs, Gardeners of Spokane and the Inland Empire Water Garden and Koi Society will share their particular interests and help you get started on that idea you have had for the backyard for way too long.

The Spokane Lilac Society will sell the brand new lilac named for Spokane. Lilac “Spokane” has large trusses of very fragrant double-magenta-colored blooms that turn a lighter pink-silver-white when fully opened. The shrub itself is vigorous with dark green foliage that is tipped with burgundy bronze when new. Come early for this as quantities are limited and only one plant per family is allowed.

Craftspeople and garden artists include Wandering Willow with bent willow furniture and trellises, Falcon Forge with metal art, Fowl Art with bird and critter art from castoff tools and other objects, and Barnwood Products with benches, signs and birdhouses.

Seminars and demonstrations include a talk by Phyllis Stephens at 3:30 p.m. on adding whimsical and human touches to the garden, Ray Entz of the Kalispel Tribe of Indians discussing amphibians in the garden, and Janice Dysinger speaking on working with nature in the rose garden. Heather Figg of Clementines will talk on using clematis in the garden and Jeff Bloom of Green Empire will discuss seed-saving techniques.

The Garden Expo will also feature the fine efforts of many of Spokane’s finest educational community organizations. The Spokane Community College Horticulture Program will show off their plant-growing expertise at the Greenery. Funds raised go towards expanding the college’s well-respected programs in horticulture, green house and landscape management.

The Spokane Regional Solid Waste System will help you learn how to reduce and reuse garden waste to the benefit of your garden and our environment. Spokane Tilth will be available to explain how to grow organic landscapes and vegetable gardens. Other groups that plan to be at Expo include CASA Partners Bee Kind Garden for Abused and Neglected Children and Spokane Neighborhood Action Program.

Plant a Row for the Hungry Program, an awareness program sponsored by the Garden Writers Association and locally by The Inland Empire Gardeners, will hand out information on how to donate your extra home garden produce to local food banks.

To keep you going through this all-you-can-handle gardening extravaganza, the Garden Cafeteria will be open for nominally priced meals and snacks. After all, shopping is serious work and takes lots of fuel to maximize the opportunity.

“The fun, festival atmosphere of the Expo is the perfect way for the Inland Northwest to kick off the start of our planting season,” says Meyers.