An invitation to Mukilteo Community Garden’s 15th year birthday bash

By Molly Brazier

To celebrate its 15th birthday, the Mukilteo Community Garden board invites everyone to a party. Come to the Garden on Saturday, Aug. 17 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. to enjoy kids’ activities, gardening demonstrations, and of course, birthday cake.

Visitors should bring their gardening questions. With over 50 types of vegetables, herbs, and fruit growing throughout the Community Garden, there is a good chance an experienced Garden member can help.

Are pole beans better than bush beans? What’s the best way to stake tomatoes? Can we grow corn in our area? What type of garden bed will work in my yard? Bring these questions, and more, to the party.

Volunteers will lead tours and talk about features such as the variety of beds used, the greenhouses, the compost bins, and the ring of pollinator plants surrounding the Garden.

Throughout the day, birthday cake will be served to guests. As a special treat, a Menchie’s food truck will be set up adjacent to the Garden, where visitors may purchase frozen yogurt treats to eat with their cake. At several intervals during the event, a proclamation from Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine, honoring the contributions of the Garden to the community, will be read. Garden founders will be introduced, and Jeanne Crisp, the Garden’s current president, will speak briefly about the future of the Garden.

Several garden partners will offer education, entertainment, and children’s activities. These include:

• The Mukilteo and Lynnwood food banks have received over 26,000 pounds of organic produce since 2009. They will have information as well as fruit roll-ups to hand out.

• Marni Swart is a certified sustainable urban agriculturist with a passion for teaching others how to sustainably grow their own food. She will share information about her business, Growing Roots Together, which offers edible gardening classes, plant starts, personalized garden coaching, and design service. For those considering a fall/winter garden, she’s a good resource.

• Keith Canedo, author and musician, will read from his children’s picture book “Have You Seen Green?” and play live acoustic guitar background music. He will also offer fun giveaways and activities, and drawings for free books.

• Kim Palmer of Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit that has been tracking imperiled pollinators throughout North America, will have literature and pamphlets available on how to make your garden friendly to bees and butterflies.

• Kris Hammer of Nature Together, a Mukilteo-based outdoor school whose students have their own plot in the Community Garden, will provide free crafts and stickers for kids.

• The Mukilteo Library will provide gardening books and resources for people interested in learning more about gardening.

• The Kiwanis Club of Mukilteo will be sharing information about their club as well as promoting its 17th annual salmon bake, coming up during the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival Sept 6-8. Kiwanis was a founding partner of the Garden and continues to provide support.

Some unusual plants will be found in renter beds this year, including dragon tail, a radish-like plant grown for its tasty purple seed pods. There is also sweet fennel, red vine sorrel, lovage, and white borage growing among a vast variety of tomatoes, beans, squashes, herbs, and more.

The Garden is near the intersection of 44th Avenue West and 76th Street SW at the trailhead to Japanese Gulch. More information: www.mukilteogarden.org