Drought-tolerant Coreopsis in bloom

Are you paying through the hose to water your lawn and garden? You can have big, beautiful blooms without using lots of water. Begin now by choosing drought-tolerant plants to create your Xeriscape (low-water-use) garden.

Chelan County PUD publishes a full-color brochure featuring more than 70 flowering plants and grasses that grow well in our region. The brochure is available at PUD offices and at the Riverfront Park Demonstration Garden. The garden is a cooperative effort of the PUD and WSU Chelan County Master Gardeners, who design, cultivate and maintain this showcase landscape.

The PUD website includes a database of Xeriscape plants searchable by name, color and season. Once you’ve visited the garden you can plan your own using this guide.

Personal favorites: Check out festive Gay Feather, bright yellow Coreopsis, and the elegant Karl Foerster ornamental grass.

Pybus Public Market will encourage water conservation, local foods, recycling, paperless operations

Promoting sustainable enterprises that benefit local residents is a key component of the proposed Pybus Public Market. 

Mike Walker, owner of the Eagle Group companies, has committed to spending as much as $2 million to build the proposed market and run it for up to five years. The market that Walker envisions will have a strong sustainability component, he said. 

Working with the Chelan County Port District, Walker plans to convert the old Morse Steel warehouse at the foot of Orondo Avenue in Wenatchee to a year-round public market. Outdoors, it would become the permanent home of the Wenatchee Valley Farmers Market. Indoors, the building would be speckled with spaces for eateries, retail sales, community gatherings and live music. 

In an email, Walker elaborated on the plans.  

“While it’s early in the game and we don’t have all of our ducks in a row yet, we do have some specific goals in mind that relate directly to sustainability,” he said. They are:  

• Provide local food bank centers with fresh produce unsold during the daily markets.  Produce will be held in refrigerated cold storage at the market until distribution occurs.
• Create an infrastructure that makes nutritious food available, accessible and affordable to all, which encourages local production to replace nationally or internationally produced items.
• Offer a demonstration kitchen for cooking classes on the preparation and use of local fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Sell products that sustain people.
• Nurture our human capital.
• Encourage a paperless business model.
• Use our smarts responsibly to help people flourish.
• Establish rain gardens that allow rainwater runoff from impervious areas like roofs, driveways, walkways and parking lots the opportunity to be absorbed into the ground.
• Create mixed-use vegetable garden areas in landscape.
• Maximize use of indigenous plants in landscape design to conserve water.
• Repurpose 30,000+ square feet of concrete slabs remaining from building demolition into parking areas and space for the local farmer’s market.
• Sponsor a community solar project. 

Work on the building’s exterior is expected to begin in September, with space ready for tenants by next summer.  

Related
Eagle Group owner puts up $2 million for Pybus (Wenatchee World)
 

It must be spring:  The Master Gardeners’ plant sale and fund-raiser returns Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot of Gesa Credit Union, 1005 N. Wenatchee Ave. 

The sale, sponsored by the Chelan County Master Gardener Foundation, supports education programs, the Master Gardeners’ booth at the Wenatchee Valley Farmers Market, and special projects. The Foundation supports the new Community Education garden at Western Avenue  and Springwater in Wenatchee.

Plants raised by the Master Gardeners are selected for our climate and for hardiness and ease of care.

Choices include xeric and drought-tolerant perennials, annuals, vegetables including heirloom tomatoes and spicy pepper plants, and herbs.

Details are available on the Master Gardener website.

Spend an evening learning to love lavender in what the WSU Chelan County Master Gardeners are calling a “casual class” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 14 in the Xeriscape Demonstration Garden in Wenatchee’s Riverfront Park. Participants will exchange plant care tips, craft ideas and even recipes.

For more information, phone (509) 667-6540 or visit the Master Gardener website.

Land Trust publishes handbook
A handbook to help residents do their part to preserve the natural attributes of Chelan County is now available through the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust.

The 40-page book covers such backyard basics as living in harmony with wildlife, protecting homes from wildfire, landscaping using xeric and native plants, and composting. Protecting water supplies, co-existing with orchards, and residential and controlled burning is discussed. There is a section on commuting, and extensive information on local recycling options.

A county map is included, along with a guide to recreation opportunities and seasonal outings. There are extensive references to additional sources as well as Web links and phone numbers for parks information.

The handbook features full-color photographs by well-known local contributors including John Marshall, Andy Dappen and Gretchen Rohde.

The Chelan-Douglas Land Trust had newcomers in mind when it designed the handbook, but long-time residents will also find it very useful, said Sharon Lunz, communications and outreach director. The Land Trust will distribute the book to new home buyers, and anyone else who is interested in a copy.

The free handbook is available by contacting the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust at (509) 667-9708 or by e-mail. It’s also available on the Land Trust Web site.

The Chelan County Natural Resources Department, the Community Foundation of North Central Washington, the Rotary Club of Wenatchee and Chelan County PUD provided support for the project.