Pollinators and your garden
Want to attract more bees to your garden? Beekeeper and master gardener JoAnne Sabin will give a talk on Monday at 7 p.m. Sabin will discuss recent honeybee decline and its causes and how gardeners can help by creating a pollinator-friendly landscape around the home or workplace. A question-and-answer period will follow.
The talk is sponsored by the Dakota County Master Gardeners, and will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 13900 Biscayne Av., Rosemount. The event is free and open to the public.
Native Plant Expo
If you're looking for low-maintenance, pollinator-friendly plants, go native. Native plants are adapted to Minnesota's growing conditions, so they rarely need watering, mulching or protection from frost, once they're established, They also provide a buffet of nectar, pollen and seeds for insects and birds.
Here's a convenient way to shop for plants. About a dozen local growers of natives are coming together for Landscape Revival: Native Plant Expo and Market, a one-stop source for native plants, plus accessory products like organic compost, rain barrels and native plant seed.
Sale hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Rainbow Foods Community Pavilion, at the corner of Larpenteur Avenue and Fernwood Street in Roseville.
Perennial Festival
Want to increase your garden know-how? Gertens is offering a free Perennial Festival, aimed to help gardeners of all skill levels. Visitors will learn about plants that bring nature into your garden, how to grow fruit and berries and what to do with your harvest. Workshops will focus on plants for shade, for sun, creating garden interest year-round, perennial care and what's new in perennials for 2014. Free expert design coaching also will be available.
The Perennial Festival will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Gertens, 5500 Blaine Av., Inver Grove Heights.
Kim Palmer
