Show off your garden

Tue., May 9, 2006

Pat Munts Correspondent

Do you have a beautiful garden? Would you like a chance to show it off to the community? If you do,The Inland Empire Gardeners’ (TIEG) Garden of the Month contest is for you. TIEG is looking for great gardens in the Spokane area, grown by gardeners of all types who are willing to show off their stuff.

No matter how big or small your garden is, if you are proud of it, pick up an application at any Northwest Seed and Pet location and enter.

The contest runs May through August with the first deadline for submittals on Monday. . We’ll profile the winners in the Home section, who will also get a gift certificate to Northwest Seed and Pet, as well as a selection of other prizes.

Garden expo

Garden events are happening all over the region now that spring has come. Garden Expo will bring more than 200 vendors from all over the Northwest to the campus of Spokane Community College Saturday. This year’s theme is “Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue,” to celebrate America’s gardening traditions.

The vendors will bring plants, gardening products and services, garden crafts and one-of-a-kind pieces of garden art. It’s just like going to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, except without the travel – and who needs that anyway?

There will be lots of free seminars and demonstrations put on by gardening and other community organizations, throughout the day.

I will speak at 11 a.m. in the Lair Auditorium on “Why We Garden the Way We Do and Why It Matters.”

In appreciation of military families, event hosts will have a free gift for every family that shows military ID at the main information booth.

Garden Expo is free. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the SCC campus, 1810 N. Greene St.

Gardening for Good Health

Gardeners know how a few hours among the plants can lift one’s spirits. On May 20 you can find out just how important this is at the Gardening for Good Health open house at the Washington State University Spokane County Cooperative Extension Office.

This free event draws on the expertise of specialists in a variety of health fields to provide the tools you need to reap the physical and mental health benefits of gardening and to grow gardens that are as healthy as they are practical. The event is presented by WSU Master Gardeners, Group Health Cooperative, Spokane Regional Health District, St. Luke’s Rehab Center, Northwest Seed and Pet, and River Ridge Hardware and Nursery. Dr. Sarah Fitzpatrick, and physical therapist Craig Smith of Group Health will give presentations on the mental and physical benefits of gardening. Other groups will present techniques to get you into the garden and keep you there for life, cooking your fresh produce, organic gardening, gardening with kids, planting containers and more.

The Saturday event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cooperative Extension Office, 222 N. Havana St. There is no need to preregister. For questions, call 477-2048.

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