From greenhouse to you

Prep your gardens: It’s time for the Spokane Valley Senior Center’s spring greenhouse plant sale. They’ve been preparing for the event since the end of last year when they took cuttings from mother plants and raised them in the greenhouse. Since then, they have planted starters and lovingly tended to the sprouts.

Three full-timers and more than a dozen others volunteer in the greenhouse at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place. Proceeds will benefit the senior center in CenterPlace and its many events.

There will be a wide variety of annual flowers, including geraniums, marigolds and petunias. There will be lots of herbs, vegetables, ornamental grasses, hanging baskets and the lovely passion vine that the volunteers regularly untangle.

Volunteers spend up to 20 hours a week planting, watering, clipping dead leaves and learning. Volunteer Nancy Johnson joked, “They could be planting marijuana and I wouldn’t know the difference. I used to think that if it’s green, it must be a plant, but I’m learning a lot and making friends.”

“Coming here keeps me from getting in trouble,” said volunteer Betty Hanson. She transplanted purple millet, which she had never seen before, and she’s looking forward to seeing it at full growth. “It will grow to about 3 feet tall.”

While some are new to gardening, others have planted and canned for years and will be on hand to help buyers select their greens and give growing tips.

At the groups’ recent boardroom meeting, volunteers discussed the upcoming sale. Topics included aprons versus senior center T-shirts, no tax, no counting pennies, price lists and if you don’t know the answer, direct them to someone who does. Chuck Chandler ended the meeting with thanks and appreciation. Chandler started the sale last year and has been instrumental in the inner workings of the greenhouse. He has quite a garden of his own.

“Last year we learned a lot,” said Chandler. “This year we have a greater variety.” Rich and Karen Hill are the other full-timers who do a lot of the grunt work but love every minute of it. “It’s all grown with love,” said Karen Hill, “and it’s fun to watch them grow.”

Watching the volunteers work, their joy is obvious. Over dirt, they joke and bond with each other and they laugh over the sound of spraying water. Volunteer Lillian Ravine said, “It’s a nice place to work. It’s cheery.”

All of the volunteers are members of the Spokane Valley Senior Center and while they bring life into the greenhouse, the greenhouse has brought life into many of them. Many had gardens but no longer, and they are happy to be getting their hands dirty again while nurturing young plants and friendships.

Chandler, the Hills and other volunteers also have brought their knowledge – as well as cookies – to horticulture students at Spokane Valley High School, 2011 N. Hutchison. The students also will begin their plant sale on Monday.