The Clarks, a Mill Creek family, have rented out the Edmonds Theater for a free showing of the award winning documentary, “Lolita: Slave to Entertainment” on September 29, 2013 at 7 pm. Their goal is to raise public awareness of Lolita’s situation and to help “retire” the oldest living captive Orca.

As I mentioned earlier this month, September often finds me conflicted as to what to change in my garden and what to nurse along for another month. But as good as some of my containers still look I find that in reality I am sick and tired of them and ready for a change whether they are or not. I need to put a close to the summer season and welcome in the fall season.

Where did we all come from? I don’t mean where do babies come from, I mean what are our origins? Some of us can trace their ancestors back to the Mayflower or to Christopher Columbus. Some weren’t born here. Yet it seems that millions of people want to come here, illegally or legally. To them, it does not matter, just getting here is what counts.

Okay folks, here is a topic that finds gardeners either wildly enthusiastic about or totally repugnant. This is the time of year when we start selling so called “flowering” cabbage and kale as container plants for the fall and winter. When grown properly they can be very effective as winter interest annuals that will survive most northwest winters just fine. Combine them with other hardy perennials like violas, dusty miller, ornamental grasses or trailing vinca and you can have a wowzer of a container for the winter. So why is there such disdain from gardeners for these colorful plants? Here are some thoughts.