Nuts and Bolts
Published 4:57 pm Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Free, wild time: The Camano Island Backyard Wildlife Habitat Garden Tour, now in its second year, will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 27.
Gardens on the free tour include forested and waterfront properties large and small, simple and extravagant. All will demonstrate how to live in harmony with nature while creating wonderful gardens.
Master gardeners will be on hand to answer questions along with other experts who will share information about native plants, wildlife, composting, challenges faced on particular properties and the Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary program of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Orchards Nursery in Stanwood will sell native plants as part of the event, which is sponsored by the Camano Wildlife Habitat Project of Friends of Camano Island Parks.
Camano Island is certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Community Wildlife Habitat with more than 700 properties listed as Backyard Wildlife Habitats.
Pick up maps at the Camano Multipurpose Center, 141 NE Camano Drive, Camano Island. Contact Sandy Koffman at 360-387-1615 or sandy@koffman.net with questions.
Attention grandparents: Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens on Whidbey Island invites grandparents and their grandchildren to enjoy a special day of adventure with stories, experiments, games and seeds to take home.
Grand Adventures tours are available from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Fridays in July and must be scheduled two weeks in advance. Cost is $10 for adults and $6 for children. To schedule a tour, contact Deborah Smith at 360-222-3382 or deborah@meerkerkgardens.org.
Visitors to the gardens at 3531 Meerkerk Lane, two miles south of Greenbank, can explore 10 acres of display and educational gardens enveloped by 43 acres of woodland preserve. Four miles of trails are made of gravel, mulch or grass and some portions are wheelchair accessible.
Guided horticultural tours, which last about 90 minutes, are also available at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. for groups of 10 or more with registration two weeks in advance by calling 360-678-1912.
Summer garden hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Regular admission is $8 and free for ages 15 and younger when accompanied by an adult. See www.meerkerkgardens.org for more information.
Early warning buzzer: July is a hot month for garden touring in Snohomish County. Here’s a look ahead at three of the biggest events to help you plan your summer of botanically inspired ooohs and aaahs.
Tickets are $12 and are available at www.mukilteogardenandquilttour.org; The Needle &I, Pacific Fabrics &Crafts, Pacific Stone Co., all in Everett; Aunt Mary’s Quilt Shop at Smokey Point; Emery’s Garden in Lynnwood; Gallery Homes Real Estate in Mukilteo; Gathering Fabric Quilt Shop in Woodinville; Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville; and Sky Nursery in Shoreline. Call 425-361-0757 for more information.
Tickets are $15 and are on sale now at the Frances Anderson Center, Garden Gear and Bountiful Home, all in Edmonds; Sky Nursery in Shoreline; and Wight’s Home &Garden, Emery’s Garden and Espresso Buono, all in Lynnwood.
For more information, go to edmondsinbloom.com or call 425-778-4964.
Longtime local horticulturalist Gil Schieber of Borealis Landscape &Design will give a free talk, “Putting the ‘Food’ Back into Horticulture,” for the first 75 people to arrive at the Snohomish Library by 10:30 a.m. on the day of the tour.
Tickets go on sale July 1. Tickets purchased by July 19 will cost $12 at Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville, Molbak’s in Woodinville, Emery’s Garden in Lynnwood, The Weed Patch in Bothell, and Machias Nursery, Kusler’s, Joyworks and McDaniel’s Do It Center, all in Snohomish.
Tickets will be $15 the day of the tour at the Snohomish Library, 311 Maple Ave., Snohomish. Ages 17 and younger can take the tour for free with wristbands obtained at the library.
For more information, go to www.snohomish gardenclub.com or call Sue Ferslov-Jensen at 360-568-7913.
Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037, sjackson@heraldnet.com.
