Plastic pots: What's a gardener to do?

Every gardener has a dirty little secret. Those plastic pots that our plants come in? They end up stacked in the garage, behind the tool shed, or quelle horror! We take them to the landfill. Unfortunately, plastic plant pots aren't allowed in our curbside recycling, so what's a gardener to do?

Magnolia Garden Center has designated Saturday and Sunday, August 13 and 14 as "Recycle Pot Days." Drop off your stacks of plastic pots-black, empty, unbroken, one gallon or larger, please-between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the garden center. For your environmentally conscious efforts, the garden center will give you a coupon for 20 percent off your plant purchases that day. And no, the garden center doesn't take them to the dump! The pots are passed along to a local grower who can sanitize and reuse them.

Magnolia Garden Center is located in Seattle at 3213 West Smith Street. For more information about Recycle Pot Days, call 284-1161.

You've got questions? They've got answers!

The Elisabeth C. Miller Horticultural Library is one of the best horticultural libraries in the country (and yes, there is more than one horticultural library in the United States!). The library staff operates a Plant Answer Line, designed to get you quick answers to any and all of your gardening questions. Call the library with your gardening questions from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at (206) 897-5268-that's (206) UW-PLANT for those of you who enjoy memory aids. You can also submit your questions via a form on their Web site: see millerlibrary.org. These folks are good.

I need more land! Where to get my own veg. bed?

At last count, Seattle has 54 p-patch community gardens. That's over 1,600 plots and 4,500 urban gardeners! You're welcome to grow-organic gardening only-vegetables, flowers, herbs, and small fruits in your space. The only requirement is the annual fee ($31 for 100 square feet up to $61 for 400 square feet) and a minimum eight hours of community garden time a year. And you need to take care of your plot, but that goes without saying. The garden season generally begins as soon as the soil is workable in early spring and goes through October 31. To sign up, fill out the P-Path Garden Wait List on the City of Seattle Web site: seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch/waitlist.htm.

I've done all of the public gardens in Seattle! How do I get into private gardens?

The Northwest Perennial Alliance sounds haughty-cultural, but the organization caters to both beginning and advanced gardeners. Besides their annual study weekend-notorious among avid gardeners-NPA runs a nearly year-round garden open tour of its' members' gardens. The list of open gardens is lengthy and organized geographically. You could literally spend every weekend from spring through fall touring private gardens, all for a membership fee of $25. For more information, visit their Web site at northwestperennialalliance.org.

There are so many gardening events in Seattle. How do I know which ones are worth attending?

The list of classes, seminars, tours, workshops, and symposia overwhelms even those gardeners who constantly thirst for knowledge. Here's how I choose: the Northwest Horticultural Society (northwesthort.org) has a splendid educational program, and any of their offerings are going to be quite good. In particular, their Wednesday evening Lecture Series and symposia tend to be top notch. I also like to keep an eye out for events co-sponsored by magazines or national organizations, such as Horticulture magazine's symposia series. Their next one is going to be at Heronswood and is titled "The Great Plants, The Great Plantspeople." This is a two-day event with lectures, workshops, tours, and "exclusive plant-shopping privileges." Visit Heronswood's Web site for details: heronswood.com.

You will also find affordable-often free-classes at your local garden centers. Both Swanson's and Sky Nurseries have predictably good speakers.

I hope you'll take advantage of these inside scoops.