Photos highlighting environmentally friendly lawn and landscape practices are being sought for the Summit Soil and Water Conservation District’s Clean Water photography contest.
Entries may be submitted through Sept. 1. This year’s theme is “Keeping your yard green and our waters clean in Lake Erie, the Ohio River, and beyond.”
The contest is open to anyone living in or owning land within Summit County. Each person may submit up to three photos.
Prizes of $100, $50 and $25 will be awarded. The winners may also have their work displayed on billboards.
Rules and an entry form are at www.summitswcd.org.
HGTV contest
HGTV is awarding a high-tech home in Nashville in its Smart Home 2014 Giveaway.
The winner will receive a prize package worth more than $1 million, including the English country-style home.
You can enter once a day through June 9 at www.hgtv.com.
Events, programs
• Spring Barn Sale, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Portage Trail Barn, 151 Portage Trail Extension W., Cuyahoga Falls. Handmade and repurposed gifts and items for the home and garden. www.PortageTrailBarn.com.
• Crafty Mart: The Mom & Pop Shoppe, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, Musica, We Gallery and Uncorked Wine Bar, 51 E. Market St., Akron. More than 40 vendors from Greater Akron offering handmade and upcycled goods. Free admission. Free parking on the street and in the library deck at High and Market streets. www.facebook.com/akroncraftymart.
• Beginning Weaving, 2-4:30 p.m. Saturdays or by arrangement, Peninsula Art Academy, 1600 W. Mill St. $32 per class ($30 for PAA members) plus an initial $20 materials fee. Registration: 330-657-2681 or caroladams@en.com.
• Knitting and Crocheting Circle meetings, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and next Saturday, Highland Library, 4160 Ridge Road, Granger Township, Medina County (330-278-4271 or 330-239-2674); 1-3 and 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Medina Library, 210 S. Broadway (330-725-0588); and 6 p.m. Thursday, Seville Library, 45 N. Center St. (330-769-2852).
• Wilderness Center events, 9877 Alabama Ave. S.W., Sugar Creek Township near Wilmot (for GPS directions, use Navarre). Spring Walk, 2 p.m. today, free. Foxfield Mother’s Day Bird Watch, 9-10 a.m. next Saturday, free. Homesteading Skills Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. next Saturday, $20 (lunch included); advance registration required. 877-359-5235 or www.wildernesscenter.org.
• Knitty Gritters knitting club meeting, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Lake Community Branch of Stark County District Library, 11955 Market Ave. N, Lake Township. 330-877-9975.
• Scrapbooking, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Brunswick Library, 3649 Center Road. Create four scrapbook pages. $8. Bring adhesive. Register at the library or at www.mcdl.info/events.
• Book Pages Bouquet, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Brunswick Library, 3649 Center Road. Create flowers using pages from discarded books. For adults and teens. Free. Registration: www.mcdl.info or 330-273-4150.
• Warm Up Akron meeting, 2 p.m. Thursday, Danbury of North Canton, 181 Applegrove St. NE. Members knit or crochet squares that are used to make afghans for needy people in the Akron area. Information: 330-699-3252 or http://warmupakron.webs.com.
• Twinsburg Garden Club meeting, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Twinsburg Community Center, 10260 Ravenna Road. Program: Wildflowers and Waterfalls by photographer Denny Reiser. 216-310-7413 or www.twinsburg-garden-club.com.
• Terrific Tomatoes, 7 p.m. Thursday, Eastwood Preserve House, 4712 Streetsboro Road, Richfield Township. Presented by the Richfield Parks and Recreation Department in conjunction with the Summit County Master Gardeners. $5. Registration: 330-659-5818.
• Copley-Fairlawn Kiwanis Club plant sale, Thursday through next Saturday, two locations: Copley and Jacoby roads, and in the Summit Mall parking lot next to Dillard’s. Hanging baskets, flowers in flats and pots, vegetable plants. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. next Saturday.
• Kiwanis Club of Medina flower sale, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. next Saturday, near Starbucks in Medina Shopping Center, 897 N. Court St. Hanging baskets, flats of annuals.
• Gardeners of Greater Akron geranium and plant sale, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Saturday, Faith Lutheran Church, 2726 W. Market St., Fairlawn. Geraniums, other annuals and bedding plants, hanging flower baskets.
• Doylestown Garden Club plant sale, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. next Saturday, Doylestown Gazebo on Portage Street. Perennials, annuals, herbs and trees.
• Twinsburg Garden Club plant sale, 9 a.m. to noon next Saturday or until plants are sold out, red barn on state Route 91, adjacent to the Twinsburg square. Plants including those native to Ohio.
• Mother’s Day basket and planter sale, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. next Saturday, Portage County Gardeners’ Center, 5154 S. Prospect St. (state Route 44), Rootstown Township. Hanging baskets, patio pots. Sponsored by the Portage County Gardeners.
• Plant Discovery Day, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. next Saturday, Fisher Auditorium, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster Township. Plant and art sale. Free admission. Details and lists of available plants at http://secrest.osu.edu.
• Antiques in the Alley, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. next Saturday, Millersburg. Antique and craft vendors throughout downtown. www.starlightantiques.com or www.historicdowntownmillersburg.com.
• Container Gardening, 10 a.m. next Saturday, Quirk Cultural Center, 1201 Grant Ave., Cuyahoga Falls. Learn how to grow food and flowers in containers. Residents $22, others $24. Registration: 330-971-8225.
• Garden Chat, 10 a.m. next Saturday, Brunswick Library, 3649 Center Road. Medina County master gardeners will answer questions. Bring extra seedlings to share. www.mcdl.info or 330-273-4150.
• Plant a Free Gift for Mom, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. next Saturday, Copley Feed & Supply, 1468 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road. Children can decorate a flower pot and plant a flower in it for a Mother’s Day gift. First potted flower free; each additional is $1. 330-666-4741.
• Garden Fest, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. next Saturday, Beech Creek Gardens, 11929 Beech St. NE, Washington Township, Stark County. Garden art and craft show, plant sale, gardening seminars and workshops, spring wildflower nature hikes, music, food, games. Free admission. Supply fee for workshops. www.beechcreekgardens.org or 330-829-7050.
• Film screening and book signing, 3-5 p.m. May 11, Shaker Historical Society & Museum, 16740 South Park Blvd., Shaker Heights. Screening of Pepper Ridge Rd: The Vision of Robert A. Little FAIA and signing of the book Cleveland Goes Modern by authors Nina Freedlander Gibans and James Gibans. $5; members free. Reservation deadline is Friday. Registration: 216-921-1201.
• Exploring the Small Farm Dream, 6-9 p.m. Wednesdays, May 14 to June 4, Church in the Valley, 2241 Everett Road, Peninsula. Course is designed to help you decide whether owning a small farm is right for you. $100 per person or $150 for two business partners. Registration: www.cvcountryside.org.
• Bee Friendly: Native Bee House Workshop, 6-8 p.m. May 21, Brushwood Pavilion, Furnace Run Metro Park, 4955 Townsend Road, Richfield Township. Learn about native bee pollinators and pollinator conservation, and build a pollinator house. $25. Registration deadline is Wednesday. Mail-in registration form at http://tinyurl.com/beeprogram. Program will be repeated from 10 a.m. to noon May 31 at Wolf Creek Environmental Center, 6100 Ridge Road, Sharon Township. Presented by the Ohio State University Extension of Media and Summit counties.
Submit notices of classes, programs and events two weeks in advance to mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com or Home and Garden News, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640. Please include name and phone number. All events must be open to the public.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckABJ and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.