It's time to stash the Crocs for the Kamiks

From galoshes to a 300th birthday to the "wow factor" to ghosts in the garden, October is bursting with interesting gardening finds and happenings. Here are a few.

Galoshes Go Hollywood

It's time to put the perforated Crocs away in favor of footwear that will keep your feet warm and dry when you're out there planting bulbs next month. If you're dreading transitioning to dull, heavy boots from lightweight clogs that pull off easily when you run into the house for a minute, take heart. Bright colors and the ease of slip-ons can still be yours with Kamik Doodles, a glammed up, psychedelic version of old-fashioned galoshes.

Don't be misled by their stylish swirling print, however, for these are waterproof, lug-soled rubber gardening shoes. When you're digging bulbs into the muddy ground, take comfort from the fact that Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Reese Witherspoon all wear Kamik Doodles, or so says the boots' publicist.

And when the weather really turns nasty, there are knee-high Kamik Ellies, also 100 percent waterproof and lined with snug Polartec. See the summer and winter collections at www.kamik.com. (To see the Doodles, go to "summer collection," then "products," then "Doodles.")

Join the celebration

Carl Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy, turns 300 this year, and even though we may curse the impenetrability of the system he created, we all use it. It's difficult to even think of the natural world around us without using the names and rankings Linnaeus assigned to its myriad forms three centuries ago.

Two public displays this month celebrate not only Linnaeus's lasting contributions, but also the history of botany.

The Elisabeth C. Miller Horticultural Library at the University of Washington (3501 N.E. 41st St., Seattle, 206-543-0415) has created a display of plants, posters and books about Linnaeus' own garden and travels as well as about his work, including material from the Linnaean Society.

The Seattle Public Library downtown branch also has an exhibit devoted to the famed botanist. Both exhibits continue through mid-October. See www.millerlibrary.org for details and directions.

The WOW Factor

Pamela Harper, venerable gardener and colorist extraordinaire, is among four impressive speakers at the Northwest Perennial Alliance's symposium Oct. 27. "Color, Texture and Light: Create the WOW Factor In Your Garden" focuses on these intangible, yet crucial, elements of design.

Graham Gough and Lucy Goffin Gough, of England, will discuss their richly textural display gardens at their nursery in East Sussex. Lucy Goffin Gough is a textile artist and painter, and Graham Gough is a plantsman and garden designer.

The fourth speaker, Bernard Trainor, a hip Monterey, Calif., garden designer, is known for his masterful use of light in the landscape.

It's time to register for this daylong (8 a.m.-4 p.m.) garden extravaganza at Bastyr University, 14500 Juanita Drive N.E., Kenmore. You can sign up online at www.northwestperennialalliance.org.

Rankin is Miller lecturer

How does the Miller Memorial Lecture always manage to attract the world's finest gardeners to Seattle?

At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, Graham Rankin will discuss the lore of a 400-year-old garden — complete with ruins and ghosts — that he's restoring at Aberglasney in Wales. .

The lecture and reception are free, courtesy of the Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

For information and tickets, email info@millergarden.org, or call the Miller Garden at 206-362-8612.

Valerie Easton also answers questions in Wednesday's Plant Talk in Northwest Life. Write to her at P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, or e-mail planttalk@seattletimes.com with your questions. Sorry, no personal replies.