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another season of planting and growing. To harness the growing energy and to bring local gardeners together for the purpose of learning and fellowship, (and don't forget the partying) Lake Spokane Garden Club has planned a season full of distinguished speakers for its monthly meetings. The official season begins tomorrow, March 25th, with a blockbuster speaker.

Garth Davis of Spokane County Conservation District will start the season with a lecture on proper tree selection and care in our climate and soil condition. Davis, Forest Program manager, will present information on Spokane County Conservation District's forest program and urban forestry. There will be a well of information regarding tree care and volunteer opportunities. This lecture will be especially relevant for the club's upcoming tree seedling project on April 9-10. The lecture is on March 25th.

April's club meeting promises to bring an evening full of oos and ahs, as speaker Carol Newcomb shares

her recent trip to David Austin's show garden in England. Whether you are a rose aficionado or new to the playing field, this definitely is not the one you want to miss. Carol will wow the audience with a slide show of those heavenly English roses in the garden that the lesser mortals like us can see only from David Austin's English Rose catalog.

Newcomb, owner of Northland Rosarium, will also have some of her own-root roses for sale at the meeting.

In May, the speaker is Steve Nokes. Nokes is a master gardener from WSU and has a long history of affiliation with Lake Spokane Garden Club. The topic is on xeriscape, a style of landscape with local and native plants that require low water maintenance.

In June, the club will hold a series of workshops in the garden of Linda Fuller. The workshops consist of

many relevant topics ranging from how to dry any kind of vegetable, to how to plant a tea garden and make your own tea from it. Not only do you want to know how to preserve harvest the easy and low tech way, but also you want to see Fuller's garden, which boasts of hundreds of meticulously tended roses. July is Phyllis Stevens' time. The local gardening guru will fill you in with do's and don'ts of small ornamental yard trees.

in the plant world. King, known to local gardeners as “plantaholic”, is an inexhaustible source of information

on, well, everything related to plants. If you have been to Judy's, you know who he is. Wrapping up the season in September is Steve Nokes. Yes, again. “Because we love him,” club president Karen Hubert says. “We don't care what he talks about. He can teach us how to watch paint dry and we would still enjoy his talks.” Apparently Nokes charms his audience with humor and wit. So prepare yourself for an evening

of fun and laughter with him on topic of “How to attract wild life to your back yard.” (No, not deer. Nokes knows better. He is talking about birds, bees and bats. (Yes, there is such a thing called bat houses.)

All these presentations take place the last Thursday of the month beginning tomorrow. Throughout the

season, the club welcomes new members at any time.

Membership fee is $12 for individuals and $15 for a family. The membership comes with many benefits, including discounts at 9 Mile Feed Store, Northland Rosarium, NW Seed and Pet, Aprils' Garden in Deer Park, Smart Gardens, and Suncrest Rental. It also comes with an informative newsletter. You can sign up at any of the club meetings or send your check to Lake Spokane Garden Club at 6513 Long Lake Dr, 9 Mile Falls, WA 99206. All meetings start at 6:30 at Suncrest Family Worship Center, unless otherwise notified.

All these for $12, not to mention the endless partying with some very caring men and women, young and old, fun volunteer opportunities, like the plant sale, Farmers' Market, and community tree seedling project. What are you waiting for?