With Water Awareness Month under way, the Water-Wise Plant Exchange on Saturday, May 8, at California State University, Fresno will offer local gardeners a chance to collect the best plants for a Fresno-friendly garden. And a workshop the same day will provide information on worm composting that also will help home gardeners.

The plant exchange, presented by the Department of Horticulture in the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology with the city of Fresno and several other community partners, will be 8 a.m.-noon at the university farm’s greenhouses (3150 E. Barstow Ave. east of Chestnut Ave.).

The event is free and open to the public.

A worm-composting workshop, which costs $25 per person, is 10 a.m.-noon in the same area of campus.

For the Water Wise event, gardeners are encouraged to donate plants. Cuttings, bulbs and seeds will be available and will be accepted. A limited supply of water-wise plants will be available. Master gardeners will be on hand to offer advice regarding garden maintenance and water management.

“In our current water conditions, using water-wise plants for landscaping and gardening has become crucial,” said Dr. John Bushoven, a plant science professor. “The Water-Wise Plant Exchange underscores the need to conserve our precious natural resources.”

Along with Fresno State’s Horticulture Unit and International Center for Water Technology, partners in the plant exchange include the city of Fresno Water Conservation Program, Central Valley Water Awareness Committee, Fresno County Women’s Chamber of Commerce, University of California Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Program, California Native Plant Association, Clovis Botanical Gardens, Tree Fresno and Water-wise Landscape Design.

For a list of water-wise plants, gardening tips and ways to protect the water supply, visit www.fresnowater.org or request a free brochure by calling the Fresno Water Conservation Program at 559.621.5480.

For more information about the Water-Wise Plant Exchange, contact Bushoven at 559.278.7391 orjbushoven@csufresno.edu.

For more about the worm composting workshop, visit www.auxiliary.com/AGF/farmmarket/index.shtml.

(Copy by University Communications news intern Sadie Thomas)