Annual sale features plants from the xeriscape garden in Riverfront Park
Antsy gardeners, your wait is almost over: The annual WSU Master Gardener Plant Sale is Saturday, April 27.

Pick up some new penstemons (like the one at right), echinaceas and agastaches for landscape color. Or try a new variety of heirloom tomato or sweet pepper. Hosted by the Master Gardener Association of Chelan County, the sale offers an assortment of vegetables, herbs and perennials well suited for our climate.

A special addition this year are plants from the xeriscape garden in Riverfront Park. This waterwise garden, maintained by the Master Gardeners through a partnership with Chelan County PUD, showcases drought-tolerant plants, emphasizing their beauty and color.

The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Gesa Credit  Union, 1005 N. Wenatchee Ave. The sale is the largest fundraising event of the year for local Master Gardeners; proceeds support the Community Education Garden, diagnosis clinics and other public events.

This yellow sedum is drought-tolerant and requires no mowing whatsoever.

If you’ve just put your mower away for the winter and are thinking about how to avoid that tedious chore next year, tuck this away for safekeeping: You can replace your lawn with less hassle than you might expect.

A colleague pointed us toward a how-to article in Green Builder magazine that uses cardboard and mulch essentially to smother the lawn. After six to eight weeks, the lawn can be replanted with drought-tolerant plants.

(We have some suggestions for those: Visit Chelan PUD’s Xeriscape page to view plant listings, or visit the Riverfront Park Xeriscape Demonstration Garden beautifully maintained by  Chelan County Master Gardeners.)

The article points out that lawns are water-wasting, time-consuming and expensive to maintain. Yep.

If you’re feeling especially adventurous, Green Builder has another interesting feature on How to Build a Green Roof.

A workshop on Landscaping for Low Impact Development (LID) is being offered through Washington State University Chelan County Extension on Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Tree Fruit Research Center, 1100 Western Ave., Wenatchee.

The focus of the program is on soil amendment, plant material selection and maintenance, including the use of pesticides and fertilizers.  

Paula Dinius, urban horticulturist for WSU Chelan County Extension, will present the workshop. By following  natural ecological processes  “we can create diverse, productive, interdependent systems to improve urban landscapes through bioretention for water quality, and manage snow melt and storm water runoff at the source and on the surface,” she said.

The afternoon portion of the program will be held in Riverfront Park.

This is the third in a series of horticultural program offered this year. The fee is $10. A brochure and registration form is here. For more information contact Dinius at (509) 667-6540 or pdinius@wsu.edu.

Grass is the most durable plant for traffic areas, but it also requires the most water. (You know this, right?) In fact, water consumption can be 10 times greater in the summer due to irrigation. (You suspected this, didn’t you?)

To make matters worse, grass usually is the most labor intensive part of your landscape. The Chelan County Master Gardeners recommend you evaluate your lawn needs and consider replacing some grass with decks, patios and water-wise plants.

A new variety of lawn, Ecoturf, is becoming popular, according to Terry Anderson, Chelan County Master Gardener and coordinator of the Riverfront Park Demonstration Garden. Ecoturf combines grass and low-growing perennials. 

Don’t feel like re-doing your yard just yet? Here are some tips for maintaining what you have:

• Aerate. Punch holes in your lawn if it is compacted by traffic or the soil is heavy clay.  Adding grass seed will build up the turf.
• Remove thatch. Thatch – last year’s dead stems and roots — can prevent air, water and nutrients from reaching the ground. Remove it with a sturdy rake or rent a power thatcher.
• Mulch. The fine grass clippings will act as mulch to retain moisture. As it breaks down, it will form a natural fertilizer that can meet a quarter of your lawn’s nutrient needs.
• Mow, but not too much. Mow often, but don’t cut shorter than 2 inches. The longer grass will shade the roots and retain moisture.
• Water, but not too much. Overwatering can cause diseases and loss of nutrients from your lawn. Design a system that waters evenly and deeply. Watering thoroughly, but infrequently, makes roots grow deeper and more drought resistant. Grass is best watered with sprinklers that deliver large drops of water close to the ground. Overlap the sprinkler patterns for good coverage. Adjust your watering to compensate for changing seasons and weather conditions.

To keep a lawn healthy in spring and fall, 1½ inches of water per week is sufficient. When temperatures exceed 85 degrees, increase watering to 2 inches or more. This amount of water should penetrate 6 inches into the earth. Check periodically and adjust the schedule accordingly.

(This article is extracted from a longer article on the Chelan County PUD website.)

Kniphofia uvaria, also known as "Red Hot Poker," is one of several colorful new plants in the Xeriscape Demonstration Garden.

Purple leaf sand cherry, shrubby cinquefoil, Siberian squill… Venture into the Riverfront Park Demonstration Garden in Wenatchee to get up close and personal with these drought-tolerant plants. The Chelan County Master Gardeners who lovingly weed, mulch, fertilize and prune the garden have added about a dozen varieties of plants for your perusing pleasure this season.

While at the garden, pick up a brochure identifying the plants and take it home. Then when you shop for your own Xeriscape plants, you’ll have a handy guide. You can also view all the plants on the Chelan County PUD website.

The garden was designed and planted by the Master Gardeners in partnership with Chelan County PUD. It’s a continual showcase for the great variety of plants that require minimal water and survive the harsh weather conditions in Chelan County. Each season produces a new display of flowers.

Find a map, plant details and Xeriscape basics here.