The first day of fall is Monday, Sept. 22 but you can get an early start on the season Saturday at Point Defiance Park.

The W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory is holding a fall plant sale from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Point Defiance greenhouses at 5402 N. Shirley.

Hardy herbs, garden mums, perennials and houseplants will be on sale.

I talked with conservatory manager Mary Anderson today. She said they'll have a wide variety of quality plants on hand. Most of what is on sale is grown specifically for the fall plant sale.

"We actually grow things for the sale that we know people want," Anderson said. But some are excess that were grown for parks.

Some of the houseplants are grown from cuttings taken at the conservatory.

Generally speaking, 3 1/2-inch pots will sell for $3.50 and gallon sized plants are $5, she said.

Proceeds will benefit the Conservatory.

Call 591-5330 for more info.

An interesting story on the McClatchy-Tribune wire today about kids mowing the lawn. What age should they start?

I do most of the yard work (which explains why my yard is so haphazard, haha), but I do pay a neighbor kid (thanks Jake!) to cut the lawn every week. My son is 7. In three years, I imagine he'll be putting Jake out of business.

Your thoughts on how old kids should be when taking over the lawn mowing duties? E-mail a comment or post here:

The story from MCT:

You’re ready for the kids to mow, but are they?

By Brian McTavish
McClatchy Newspapers

Whether seen as a rite of passage or merely a seasonal chore, one thing’s for sure: There’s still time to cut the grass, kids.

But at what age can youngsters safely mow the lawn?

“There are kids mature enough to handle it by 9 or 10,” said lawn disciple Jerry Moore, senior manager of the local Grass Pad Warehouse chain.

Moore’s father taught him to mow at an even earlier age.
“The first season or two, Dad had to start the lawn mower and I had to push it,” he said. “And the next year I had to start it.”

What motivated him to keep mowing?
“It was Economics 101,” Moore said. “If I wanted money in my pocket to buy candy or go see the county fair or take Lulu to the movie, I had to earn it by mowing the lawn.”

Besides being physically able to perform the job, a clear sign of mowing readiness is how a child responsibly maneuvers a bicycle. That’s how Moore decided his two daughters were prepared.

“When they rode their bike and they were poised and confident and cautious — and not just totally fearless of all bodily injury — then I put them on the riding lawn mower,” Moore said.

Learning how to mow isn’t only about the lawn. It can also be a life lesson.

“A parent has the opportunity to instill in the child a sense of pride in completing a task,” he said. “That’s what you have to teach them.”

Do his girls still look forward to the task?

“Well, my girls are now 18 and 21 and in college, and I have relegated myself back to lawn mowing,” Moore said.

“So parents should take advantage. Once your children drive and discover the opposite sex, lawn mowing is a little harder to enforce.”