In brief

Garden talks: The Snohomish County Master Gardener Foundation is hosting its second annual garden talks featuring experts from the Puget Sound region.

Classes are 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE, Everett.

Tickets are $65 for entire series or $12 per session.

For information, call 425-357-6010.

* “Tough Perennials for Tough Places,” with Marty Wingate, Friday.

* “Mediterranean Inspirations: Creating Low Wateruse Gardens with Style,” with Phil Wood, April 15.

Spring planting: A spring planting event will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday to revitalize Brier Park’s wooded area.

Participants should bring gloves and a shovel or trowel. Free hotdogs and sodas will be served.

For information, call 425-771-2062 or visit www.ci.brier. wa.us.

Lewis and Clark plant discoveries: Native Northwest plants documented during the Lewis and Clark Northwest exploration will be highlighted during a free guided tour of Seattle’s Washington Park Arboretum at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The 90-minute tour will feature native plants and include a visit to the recently planted “Native Knoll” area.

The tour is free and reservations are not required.

For information, call 206-543-8801.

Everett Home &Garden Show: The Everett Home &Garden Show returns for its second year April 15 through 17 to the Everett Events Center.

Hundreds of local companies will be on hand to bring creative ideas for the home and garden to visitors.

Tickets are $7 and $6.50 for seniors and are only available at the door.

Everett Events Center is at 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett. For information, visit www.everetteventscenter.com.

FlorAbundance: Dozens of specialty nurseries and vendors offer a vast plant selection at the Arboretum Foundation’s 56th annual spring plant sale.

The sale is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 23, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 24 at Warren G. Magnuson Park Special Events Center, building 27, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle.

Parking is free. No admission is charged. For information, call 206-543-8800.

Mother’s Day flower and garden show: Country Village will be hosting a Mother’s Day Flower and Garden Show featuring items from specialty nurseries, cut flowers and garden art from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 7 and 8 in the center parking area.

There will be garden-related demonstrations and Mother’s Day specials. Fancy Frocks and Fairytails is presenting a fashion show and there will be children’s classes.

Country Village is at 23716 Eighth Ave. SE, Bothell. For information, call 425-483-2250 or visit www.countryvillage bothell.com.

Whidbey tour: A collection of rare rhododendrons at their blooming peak is among five private Whidbey Island gardens the public can tour 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 30.

The 10th Annual Whidbey Island Garden Tour also includes a one-acre garden featuring a collection of rare and unusual plants including epimediums, hellebores and foliage plants; a landscape with edibles, an outdoor dining room sheltered by an arbor, and bathhouse; a Japanese-inspired landscape with an unusually complex watercourse; and 11 acres offering extraordinary plant compositions that vary by seasons.

Admission to Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens is included in the tour. Tickets cost $20 and $10 for children under 12. Tickets are available by mail from Whidbey Island Garden Tour, P.O. Box 164, Freeland, WA 98249 and at the following island businesses: Bayview Farm and Garden, Clinton Nursery, Flowers by the Bay (Langley and Freeland) and Sally’s Garden in Coupeville.

The organizers, the Whidbey Island Garden Tour Inc., is a nonprofit group that raises money for groups that work toward the improvement of the island’s habitat.

For more information, visit the group’s Web site at www.wigt.org.

Garden classes: The Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington announces its spring schedule of classes and lectures April through June.

The Center for Urban Horticulture is at 3501 NE 41st St., Seattle. Registration required.

To register or for information, call 206-685-8033.

* Native plants and ethnobotany of the Pacific Northwest, 1 p.m. Sunday.

* Miller Library and Green Building tour, 7 p.m. April 4, May 2, June 6.

* Spring perennial maintenance, noon April 7.

* Advice from the tomato expert, 7 to 8:30 p.m. April 28, $10.

* Solar tour of Seattle, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 30, $65.

Herald staff and news services