2020 San Juan County WSU Master Gardeners Gardening Workshop Series

Registration is now open for the 2020 San Juan County  WSU Master Gardener Gardening Workshop Series. The lectures are a series of webinars, provided by Zoom. We hope you will join us! Register by October 14th.

We are offering eight (8) one hour presentations with additional time after each for questions and discussion.

The sessions will be held in October, starting with two sessions on Saturday morning, October 17, and continuing every Tuesday and Thursday at noon until the end of the month. The cost is $25 for all eight presentations.

Saturday, October 17
9:00 am  Keynote Speaker: Robin Haglund
Growing a Year-Round Hummingbird Habitat Garden

Robin will discuss crafting and maintaining a garden that hummingbirds love and thrive in, inclusive of plants that not only support the birds but provide all year interest in NW gardens. She discusses many native and non-native plants and their place in the garden.  The presentation takes viewers through the seasons, illustrating plants that look fantastic even in the dead of winter. And, as a bonus, she will share day-by-day images and the story of following a nesting hummingbird from the beginning of nest building through the babies fledgling. 

Garden Mentors® founder Robin Haglund is a pioneering garden coach and award-winning Seattle garden designer with a passion for cultivating beautiful, functional, organically-focused, native-inspired, often edible, sustainable outdoor spaces. Her enthusiasm for empowering individuals in their own garden spaces is the guiding principle upon which Garden Mentors® was founded.

Saturday, October 17
10:15 am
Cut Flowers from the Garden – Amy Sanderson, Horticulturalist

There is an abundance of flowers and foliage available through the seasons in most gardens, if we learn to see it. Cutting from the garden as a whole not only puts gardeners in touch with how plants interact in the vase, but how they are, or could be, combined in the garden. Historically, gardeners such as Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd did not have designated cutting gardens, instead creating thoughtful arrangements from their mixed borders. This tradition is carried on today in private and public gardens, celebrating the form and color of perennials, trees and shrubs. In this talk, I will explore how arranging from the garden is reflective, expressive and aspirational; discuss favorite plants; and share best practices for the cutting and care of flowers and foliage.

Amy Sanderson is a gardener and owner of the specialty nursery Stellata Plants on Vancouver Island. Since childhood, her interest in gardening has been indistinguishable from a desire to arrange flowers. Working as an event florist, and undertaking several placements in English gardens including Beth Chatto’s and Great Dixter, only strengthened the synthesis between garden and vase. With a passionate interest in the future of ornamental horticulture, Amy coordinated the international Beth Chatto Symposium: Ecological Planting for the 21st Century in 2018. Her writing and floral work have been featured in publications in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, and can be found at amysandersonflowers.com.

Tuesday, October 20
12:00 noon
Bee best! How home gardeners can help conserve the diversity of the intrepid native bees of Western Washington – Chris Looney Entomologist

Join entomologist Chris Looney (Washington State Department of Agriculture) for an overview of bee biology and diversity in San Juan County. We will revisit some of the threats bees face (including invasive bumble bees and hornets!) and how gardeners can help preserve life as we know it. Chris will also introduce the Pollinator Health Task Force, a statewide initiative to protect bees and bee habitat across Washington.

Chris received an MS in Entomology from Washington State University in 2000, and a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Idaho in 2007. He became interested in insects as an undergraduate when he realized that there are so many different species of insects that he would never have to work on the same one twice. His graduate work documented insect biodiversity at the Hanford Site and on the Palouse in Washington State. He joined the Washington State Department of Agriculture in 2009, where he manages the WSDA Entomology Laboratory in Olympia. The WSDA Entomology Lab provides identification services for Washington stakeholders, supports exotic pest surveys across the state, and conducts research on exotic insect species and their native relatives. Some current bee projects in the lab include research on how exotic pest traps impact bee populations, the spread of Bombus impatiens in Cascadia, and the biology and distribution of Asian giant hornets in Washington State.

Thursday, October 22
12:00 noon
Using Plant “Logic” to Vegetatively Propagate Your Landscape & Garden – Deborah Mitchell, Whidbey Island Master Gardener

If you understand WHY your cutting develops roots, it becomes logical as to HOW you take cuttings. This is a logic-based class on vegetative plant propagation with demonstrations of the various types of cuttings.

Deb Mitchell is a past President of Whidbey Island Master Gardeners. She has a BS in Horticulture. As she ages, her more physical hobbies have fallen by the wayside, but she still gardens in a more sedate manner. Preferring to know WHY something works, rather than memorizing long lists, she uses plant morphology to direct her propagation methods. She’s happy to pass that logic on to the next generation of citizen scientists and gardeners.

Tuesday, October 27
12:00 noon
Fruit Trees 101: What to Know When You Grow – Monica Maggio, Portland Oregon Horticulturalist, Garden Educator and Master Gardener

A detailed overview of the essential 10 things to know to grow your own fruit trees successfully!

1:15 pm
Fruit Tree Pruning -– Monica Maggio, Portland Oregon Horticulturalist, Garden Educator and Master Gardener

Learn the techniques, tools, and tips to prune your fruit trees for maximum health, beauty and abundance!

For the past 20 years, Monica’s mission has been to cultivate her inner plant nerd in ways that benefit the greater Pacific Northwest community. Monica’s experience ranges from work as a Master Gardener graduate and instructor, former Arboretum Manager for the Home Orchard Society, and local fruit growing expert. She is the owner of Core Home Fruit, a local business based in Portland. She has seen firsthand how people take better care of plants once they know they can eat them! Her teaching and coaching combines Permaculture principles, university research, and 15+ years of practical on-the job experience to help people successfully grow their own fruit.
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Thursday, October 29
12:00 noon
Greenhouse Gardening for Home Gardeners – Carol Miles, WSU Professor

If you are wondering how to utilize a greenhouse with minimal problems to efficiently start your transplants, and keep your garden going through our mild winters, Dr. Miles will share her tips for successful greenhouse growing throughout the year.

Carol Miles is a Professor in the Department of Horticulture at Washington State University, and is the Interim Director of the Washington State University Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center. Carol is a Horticulture Specialist and specializes in vegetable crop production as well as cider apple production, and has a strong interest in alternative crops and organic production. Carol has her Ph.D. in vegetable crops from Cornell University.

1:15 pm
Raised Bed Gardening – Craig Cogger, WSU Professor (Ret.) and Soil Scientist

Dr. Cogger will discuss situations where raised beds are beneficial (shallow soils, high water tables, contaminated soils, high risk of runoff, improved accessibility, gardening with children), choosing soils and framing materials for raised beds, considerations for gardening in raised beds, and drawbacks of raised beds.

Craig Cogger is a retired soil scientist from WSU. Craig’s work has focused on recycling organic wastes in agriculture – including animal manure, yard debris, compost, and bio-solids. Craig and his colleagues have also studied organic amendments to urban areas as a way to improve urban soils. He also collaborated with other scientists on organic farms to study the effects of organic amendments on plant disease suppression.  In addition to his research, Craig taught basic soil science to Master Gardeners throughout western Washington.

Registration costs $25 for all eight presentations. Registration closes October 14. Register Here