TODAY IS THE North Olympic Land Trust’s 11th annual StreamFest.
It’s at the fabulous Ennis Arbor Farm, located directly across the street from
the entrance to the Peninsula Golf Club, 824 E. Lindberg Road, in lovely Port Angeles.
Hosted by the very community-minded Jim and Robbie Mantooth, StreamFest runs from noon to 6 p.m. today.
Admission is free, with proceeds from food and drink sales and a silent auction going to the land trust.
Delicious food — including grilled salmon, meatballs, steamed clams, barbecued oysters, sweet and sour stir fry, summer salads from Nash’s Organic Produce and corn on the cob from Sunny Farms — will be served from noon to 4 p.m. (desserts and drinks until 5 p.m.), with the smorgasbord costing $15 a plate for adults and $7 a plate for kids.
Don’t worry about parking.
Take a free shuttle!
Shuttles provided by All Points Charters and Tours and 7 Cedars Casino will provide free transportation between the Eagles club’s parking lot, at the corner of U.S. Highway 101 and Penn Street, and Ennis Arbor Farm, about a mile away.
People with special needs also can be dropped off and picked up by shuttles or their own transportation just outside a gate by the Mantooths’ driveway, at the east end of Lindberg Road.
There will be a golf cart so Land Trust volunteers can provide rides for those not feeling up to walking the approximately block-long trail.
StreamFest is a great event for kids and adults, with plenty of hands-on eco-experiences throughout the day.
There is a costume parade, so dress your little one up and join the
“Procession of the Species.”
Various booths will have kid activities, there will be live music and you can mill about the silent auction items.
I will be at StreamFest, too — from noon to 4 p.m. as the “plant doctor.”
So bring your questions about gardening and landscaping — what plants to have and when to plant.
You can also ask about the hardscape (soils, rocks, berms, pathways, etc.).
How many rocks, what size and what source are valid questions, as are those about the myriad nutrient requirements for plants, application amount and timing of the feedings.
And don’t forget your pruning questions, which by far are the No. 1 problem people commit on their plants.
So, with your free admission to StreamFest, you also get me.
All you need to do is bring in the questions.
And whenever someone seeks expert advice, it a good idea to bring enough data, pictures, plant parts, soil, mulch and watering information.
If you seek free advice from me today about pruning a tree, bring photos from three or four angles.
A single snapshot makes it very hard to determine which branch actually crosses over where.
If your plant is doing poorly and you want to know why, bring in a good piece of the plant, a bad piece of the plant, the soil that it is in and any information on fertilizer and watering schedule.
A diagnostic opinion can be only as good or bad as the relevant information provided.
The vast majority of problems I am called on to consult at homes or businesses are most often caused by simple problems that could have been totally avoided at the time of the installation or construction.
This is why it is so wise to always get some type of expert opinion before starting big projects, because it will pay for itself numerous times over and for the long term, too.
So please, load yourself up with pictures, soil, mulch, labels and wheelbarrows of questions — and come to see me at StreamFest.
It will be a beautiful and profitable way to spend the last Sunday of August.
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Andrew May is an ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily news, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or e-mail news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
