Rain garden giveaway

Rain garden giveaway Go to a $10 rain garden workshop and you could come home with a rain garden installation kit worth $1,000.

Metro Blooms has been holding low-cost rain garden workshops since 2005. To celebrate the program's success, the nonprofit organization partnered with Ecoscapes Sustainable Landscaping to design and plant a rain garden for the 5,000th person attending an upcoming workshop.

The kit includes compost, mulch and plants, as well as excavation and installation. The winner just has to provide the site.

Metro Blooms rain garden workshops are offered in two parts and are scheduled at various dates and times through June 24. Cost is $10. Register now; workshops are filling up -- and will soon hit the 5,000-attendee mark. Go to www.metroblooms.org or call 651-699-2426.

Yard-care boot camp Want to take a trip to an undisclosed location, get your hands dirty, learn more about lawn care and do something good? Apply for the Yard Smarts Boot Camp. The 12 "recruits" selected for the weekend camp, sponsored by Briggs & Stratton, will be "whisked away to an undisclosed location in early fall 2010." Under the guidance of "Yard Doctor" Trey Rogers, they'll learn how to beautify a community green space.

To apply, submit a brief video (up to 2 minutes) or series of photos (up to four images) plus a written explanation (200 or fewer words) of why you'd like to be part of the experience to www.Yard SmartsBootCamp.com.

In addition to a weekend of hard labor, recruits will receive a new lawn mower and pressure washer, as well as a $200 gift certificate toward the purchase of shovels, rakes, loppers and other basics. If you want to skip the work, you can just nominate a public garden that needs a little TLC.

Group gardening Want to get your book club, walking group or neighborhood kaffeeklatsch into the garden? The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum can help. The arb is offering "Get the Dirt on Spring Planting" classes especially for groups. Experts will demonstrate planting techniques and give tips on garden design. Participants can plant flower seedlings to take home and transplant into garden beds or pots.

The one-hour classes will be held through June 11 at the arboretum in Chaska. The $19 fee includes arboretum admission. Call 952-443-1422 to set up a time and day for your group.