Gardeners in spotlight at ‘Bud & Blooms’

What’s next? “Dancing with the Farmers?” “Horticulture Tonight?”

My Uncle Hoot runs a cherry orchard, but nobody’s chasing him around with a camera. Nonetheless, the city of Federal Way, Wash., claims there is such a thing as a “gardening celebrity.”

And it’s assembled quite a lineup for “Buds & Blooms,” a new spring garden festival scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend, May 10 and 11.

Author and Seattle Post-Intelligencer gardening columnist Marianne Binetti will reveal the latest gossip during Saturday’s “Secrets of a Dirt Cheap Lazy Gardener,” followed by “Gardening Tips and Techniques” with the Mick Jagger of cultivation, Ed Hume.

On Sunday, you can catch Richie Steffen’s “2008 Great Plant Picks” and “Gardening with Ciscoe.”

By “Ciscoe” they mean Ciscoe Morris, “a favorite radio and TV gardening celebrity” in Seattle.

I’m just not watching enough television.

There’s plenty more than star-gazing at Buds & Blooms, including workshops on such topics as flower arranging and beekeeping, an exhibition of traditional Asian ink-and-brush sumi-e paintings, live music, children’s activities and more.

Free shuttle service will deliver you to five showcase venues.

The Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection displays nearly 60 bonsai trees, and The Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden – one of the world’s largest collections of the state flower – should be near its full glory over the weekend.

If diversity is what you’re looking for, PowellsWood Garden can accommodate. Its privately owned three acres play home to almost 1,000 varieties of trees, flowering shrubs and plants in eight themed garden “rooms.”

Visits to the Federal Way Farmers’ Market and West Hylebos Wetlands Park also are on the docket. The latter features Barker Cabin, Federal Way’s oldest original structure, along with the prospect of bird and wildlife sightings.

You’ll find a complete schedule of events at www.federalway.org. Or see what the chamber of commerce can tell you at (253) 838-2605.

Diamond in the rough

Mom’s probably a woman, so she qualifies for even more May fun at K-Diamond-K Guest Ranch’s first annual Women’s Weekend, May 15-18.

A family-owned and operated working cattle ranch near Republic, Wash., K-Diamond-K will celebrate all things feminine with a weekend’s worth of trail rides, campfires, themed dinners, a hayride, a wilderness survival class and more.

The nightly rate of $150 per person, double occupancy, includes lodging, meals and all activities. I have it on good authority the food is home-cooked, organic and local whenever possible.

Try www.kdiamondk.com or (509) 775-3537 for more information.

Polishing their image

Time to whip out your camera and win.

The Oregon Parks and Recreations Department will conduct its “2008 Go Click! Photo Contest” through Aug. 1.

A clever ruse to lure you into the 102,000-acre state park system, the contest holds out the hope of a free two-week camping stay and the fame that comes with an appearance in the 2010 Go Click! calendar.

The grand prize winner gets the cover and 11 honorable mentions go inside.

Everyone gets a 24-month day-use pass for Oregon’s state parks and a showing at the Oregon State Fair in Salem in August.

That’s a lot of glory for one fine picture, and it seems plenty of amateur photographers want it. Last year’s contest generated 1,700 entries, and five of the winners hailed from Washington.

Get the details and take a look at last year’s calendar at www.oregonstate parks.org. Call (800) 551-6949 with your questions.

Pull of the tugs

It all happens on the waterfront.

The 2008 Seattle Maritime Festival, May 8-10, promises you a chance to “thrill to the power of the world’s biggest tugboat races!”

I’ve been waiting for that.

I’m not alone, it seems. More than 25,000 people usually show up for the Waterfront Chowder Cook-Off, free harbor tours, a boat building competition, a sea-air rescue demonstration, events just for kids, sea stories, survival suit races and more waterborne fun.

Find out more at www.seattlepropellerclub.org or (206) 284-8285.

Regional events

•Holland Days, May 2-3, Lynden, Wash. Apparently known as “A Little Bit of Holland,” Lynden’s rolling out traditional Dutch song, dance, music and food, along with a flower-and-entertainment-filled marketplace. ( www.bellingham.org/ 360-354-5995)

•Annual Essexpress Railfan Weekend, May 2-4, Essex, Mont. The historic Izaak Walton Inn’s doing it again: train slides, train talk, train chasing and more. ( www.visitmt.com/406-888-5200)

•South Central Washington Orchid Society Annual Show and Sale, May 3, Kennewick. Just like the name says: orchids, orchid supplies and orchid advice. ( www.visittri-cities.com/509-628-8184)