The annual Ballard Art in the Garden Festival returned to the Ballard P-Patch from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 21.

Hundreds of Ballardites roamed amongst the beds of sunflowers, artichokes and tomatoes while listening to music and admiring pieces from 25 local artists.

A lot of people in the neighborhood don't know the Ballard P-Patch, located at Northwest 85th Street and 25th Avenue Northwest, is there, said Mark Cooper, who tends a plot in the garden.

Art in the Garden is a great way to get attention for the P-Patch, Cooper said.

In addition to music, art and, of course, the gardens, the festival featured a flower sale, children's painting, a bake sale, a puppet show, a barbecue, a silent auction and more.

Cooper said, though it's cliched, a community garden is not really about the garden, it's about the community.

"It's great to be among fellow gardeners," he said. "There's a real sense of community to it."

Click the image above for a slideshow from the 2010 Art in the Garden Festival.