Plant sale this week; pollinator kits to follow
Residents in the region will have two opportunities this month to add native plants to their garden.
First, the 13th annual Native Plant Sale, organized by the White Pine Chapter of the Idaho Native Plant Society, is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday in Moscow. The sale includes almost 3,000 plants and 100 different plant species.
An online catalog of the plants is available now at whitepineINPS.org, and residents can learn about and purchase plants online, then pick them up in person Thursday and Friday at the Depot Building of the Latah County Fairgrounds in Moscow. An in-person sale of remaining plants (and some reserved for in-person sale only) is scheduled for Saturday at the fairgrounds, where local experts will be on hand to address questions.
In addition to the plant sale, the Palouse Prairie Foundation is offering Palouse Prairie Pollinator Plant Kits for the first time. These kits are designed for people new to growing native plants, according to a news release from the foundation.
Each kit contains 20 native forms of nine different species chosen to bloom across the seasons. The plants can be transplanted from 10-inch tubes. The plants were grown from seed by Pleasant Hill Farms in Troy. The kits will be available in mid-May for $25 each. Residents can reserve a kit (plants and instructions) by emailing secretary@palouseprairie.org with name, phone number or email, and city or town.
According to sale organizers, good examples of native plants can now be seen at the Moscow Federal Building flagpole, and in the courtyard of the Appaloosa Horse Club in Moscow. Tours of other locations are scheduled for later in the season and those dates will be available at whitepineINPS.org.
Artists to socialize, read at ‘Cascadia’ library event today
Neill Public Library in Pullman will celebrate the release of the book, “Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry,” with a social hour and book reading tonight. The events are designed “to build community and express joy for the natural beauty in which we live,” according to a news release from the library.
Attendees will be able to meet some of the book’s creators — editors Derek Sheffield and CMarie Fuhrman, poets Alexandra Teague, Stacy Boe Miller and Michael McGriff, and artist Cori Dantini — at the event, which is free and open to the public. A social hour is scheduled at 4:30 p.m., before a 6 p.m. book reading from the artists. Refreshments will be served.
The book is a collection of works from more than 50 artists. Cascadia is the region stretching from southeast Alaska to northern California and from the Pacific Ocean to the Continental Divide. Neill Public Library is at 210 N. Grand Ave., Pullman.
Mental health awareness walk Thursday in Moscow
The Mental Health Awareness Walk is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday. The walk will start and end at the Palouse Mall parking lot in Moscow.
Participants will walk to Moscow’s Friendship Square for a noon event to include water and snacks, resource tables and speakers to include Nathan Weller, Jen Andrews, Jolene Cliff, Charice Guzman and Tina Baldwin, who will address mental health issues in the community.
Mural artist Isobel Grace Baca will be creating a chalk mural on the importance of self care.
Following the presentation, participants will continue their walk back to the mall. The total distance is about 3 miles.
This event will be hosted by Latah Alliance on Mental Illness, Disability Action Center NW, and Project WRAP. Residents can register and learn more at givepul.se/w91uqr.
Carper to discuss Palouse photography at Pullman Depot
Pullman photographer Ken Carper will give a presentation titled “Photographing the Palouse” from 7-8 p.m. Thursday in the Freight Room of the Pullman Depot Heritage Center, 330 N. Grand Ave., Pullman.
Carper is a retired professor of architecture and construction management. His interest in photography began during his career at Washington State University when he was inspired by beautiful photographs of the area that were taken by others. Since his retirement in 2010, he has had the time to devote to his photography.
For more information about the depot and its upcoming events, visit pullmandepot.org.
