Home and Garden calendar for Snohomish County and beyond

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 4, 2017

Plant sales

Growing Veterans: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 6, Starbird Farm, 21025 Starbird Road, Mount Vernon. Wide variety of organic vegetable plant starts, including heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and more. Growing Veterans staff will be on hand to answer questions on how to successfully transplant your starts, organic fertilizing and water saving irrigation techniques. Proceeds help fund the Growing Veterans “Dirt Therapy” program. Growing Veterans is a nonprofit veteran organization that combines veteran reintegration with sustainable agriculture. The program provides comprehensive peer support and teaches veterans valuable new skills in the agriculture industry. More at www.growingveterans.org.

Snohomish County Master Gardeners: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 6 at WSU Snohomish County Extension, McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE, Everett. Extensive selection of perennials, shrubs, trees, vegetables, berries, grasses, herbs, annuals and native plants. The sale is famous for its selection of tomato varieties. Call 425-357-6010 for more information or go to www.snomgf.org.

Garden variety

Let it rain: Walking tour of rain gardens in north Everett. See examples of how rain gardens help homeowners manage drainage issues and learn about the city’s rain garden rebate program. The tour starts at Washington Oakes at 5:30 to 7 p.m. May 4, 1717 Rockefeller Ave. More at www.everettwa.gov/raingardens.

Watershed Fun Fair: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 6. Free community event is for adults and kids of all ages at Willow Creek Hatchery, 95 Pine St., Edmonds. More at www.pilchuckaudubon.org or garden@pilchuckauaubon.org or call 425-771-8165.

Hummingbirds: Snohomish Garden Club, 7 p.m. May 8, Snohomish Senior Center, 506 Fourth St., Snohomish. Robin Haglund will speak on “Growing a Year-round Hummingbird Habitat Garden.” For more, go to www.snohomishgardenclub.com.

Rain barrels: The city of Everett’s “Make it, Take it” workshops are 7 p.m. May 9 and 10 a.m. June 3, 3101 Cedar St., to make your own 55-gallon barrel for $40. RSVP for the workshop at 425-257-8992. More at www.everettwa.gov/LetitRain.

Ecosystem talk: “The Qwuloolt Restoration Project: Implementation and Initial Recovery” by Kurt Nelson, Tulalip Tribes environmental division manager, 7 to 8:30 p.m. May 12, Everett Firefighter’s Hall, 2411 Hewitt Ave. Presented by Pilchuck Audubon Society. Free. The Qwuloolt Restoration Project in the Snohomish River Basin has started to deliver multiple ecosystem benefits, including salmon access to 354 acres of developing wetlands and improving access to 16 miles of upstream rearing and spawning habitat. More at www.pilchuckaudubon.org.

Work party: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 13, Willow Creek Hatchery, 95 Pine St., Edmonds. Help with clean-up, weeding, mulching and garden maintenance. Tools and garden gloves, training and supervision, coffee, juice and snacks will be provided. It is also a good opportunity to learn about native plants first hand. Everyone welcome. More at www.pilchuckaudubon.org.

Solar energy: Free workshop about solar for home, farm, business or off-grid site, 6:30 to 8 p.m. May 11, Skagit Valley Food Co-op, 202 South First St., Room 309, Mount Vernon. Learn about evaluating your home for solar, the federal, state and utility incentives to bring down the cost, USDA grants for farms or businesses, battery-backup and do-it-yourself kits. More at www.skagitfoodcoop.com.

Docent training: The Adopt A Stream Foundation seeks docent naturalists to give interpretive tours at its Northwest Stream Center, McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE, Everett. An orientation is 1 to 3 p.m. May 15 or 7 to 9 p.m. May 16. Required training runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 19 or 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 20. An application and background check are required. No formal education in natural resources is required. More at www.streamkeeper.org, 425-316-8592.

Art in the garden workshop: Nancy Moore and April Richardson will share their experience and knowledge about native plants, field sketching and drawing, and creating dyes from local native plants, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. May 20, Willow Creek Hatchery, 95 Pine St., Edmonds. Practice and create your own art. Sketch and draw the plants and flowers blooming in the garden. ore at www.pilchuckaudubon.org.

Great plant picks: noon to 1 p.m. May 20 at Evergreen Arboretum at Legion Memorial Park, 145 Alverson Blvd., Everett. Learn about the comprehensive palette of outstanding plants that have been chosen for the master gardener bed at the arboretum. This program recommends outstanding plants for the maritime Pacific Northwest. Meet at the front entrance of the arboretum.

Summer pruning workshop: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 17. Free to members, $20 for non-members. The arboretum is at Legion Memorial Park, 145 Alverson Blvd., Everett. More at www.evergreenarboretum.com or by calling 425-257-8597.

Get wild: The Camano Wildlife Habitat Project, sponsored by Friends of Camano Island Parks, hosts public presentations the third Wednesday of the month. For more, call 360-387-2236, visit www.camanowildlifehabitat.org or email camanowildlifehabitat@gmail.com.

Scholarships

Floretum Garden Club of Edmonds is offering a $1,500 scholarship to a 2017 high school graduate, community college student or individual planning a career in a horticultural field. The applicant will be selected based on interest in horticulture, floral design, landscape design, botany, forestry or a related field. The recipient may attend any community college, college or university in Washington. Scholarship application forms are available from the school’s scholarship office, horticulture department or by emailing JoyceJohnson310@comcast.net. Deadline is May 8.

Mukilteo Way Garden Club is offering a $1,000 scholarship for classes in the horticulture department of Edmonds Community College for the 2017-18 academic year. Applicants are not required to be seeking a degree in horticulture. Graduating high school seniors are eligible to apply as well as adult learners and current horticulture students at EdCC. More at www.mwgc.org; info@mwgc.org; or by written request to Mukilteo Way Garden Club, P.O. Box 1361, Mukilteo, WA 98275. Must be postmarked by May 31.

To submit calendar items, contact Andrea Brown at 425-339-3443 or abrown@heraldnet.com.