Meet WDFW and USDA Wildlife Biologists! |
From Cascade Water Alliance and Saving Water Partnership:
Please
join us for our Spring classes – March through June – throughout King County.
All classes are free and guaranteed fun.
Check
out new topics such as food forests, drip irrigation design, landscape planning
for the advanced gardener and creating gardens without automatic irrigation.
Please
note that most of these classes require pre-registration
through Brown Paper Tickets. Just click on the link for each class and register
online or call Brown Paper Tickets for friendly help. These classes are brought
to you by the Saving Water Partnership, Cascade Water Alliance and the many
local water utilities that comprise these organizations.
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Edible Landscapes for the
Homeowner
Jessi Bloom,Owner and lead designer of N.W. Bloom EcoLogical Landscapes Would you like to grow your own food but think it’s too much work or takes too much time? Join award- winning landscape designer Jessi Bloom and learn how to employ design strategies from nature, so you can grow easy peasy edibles that are low maintenance, resilient, and sustainable. Plant once and enjoy the harvest from your edible landscape for years. Jessi will cover basic food forest design and show her favorite low maintenance edibles for the Pacific Northwest. This class is guaranteed fun!
Grow Your Own Food
Forest
Kimberly Leeper and Jacqueline Cramer, Landscape professionals and permaculture designers / educators Learn how to incorporate fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, and much more by mimicking a forest. This will take you beyond planting annuals to incorporating trees, shrubs and perennials that bear fruit year after year. The class will cover key concepts, design and site preparation steps, and examples of plants to create your own food forest. We'll begin with an interactive presentation (10am - 11:45am) in the Community Center. Then meet from noon - 1pm to enjoy a tour of the new Beacon Food Forest at Jefferson Park. Plus, you'll have an opportunity for hands-on experience in sheet mulching and planting berries and groundcovers. Please bring garden gloves, a trowel, weather-appropriate gardening clothes and a sack lunch.
Secrets of Companion Planting in Your
Edible Garden
Laura Matter, Seattle Tilth Everything in the garden is connected! Instead of combining plant varieties that compete with each other for water and nutrients, learn how to choose communities of plants that grow well together and encourage each other’s growth. In this class, we will discuss characteristics of your annual and perennial food crops, and how to group them together into mutually beneficial plant communities for maximizing space and harvest. We will explore the permaculture concept of “guilds” and use nature as a model for expanding your garden.
Sustainable Veggie
Gardening
Emily Bishton, Landscape designer and environmental educator or Ladd Smith, Co-owner of In Harmony Landscape Services Growing your own organic food is a fun and delicious way to garden in the Pacific Northwest. Vegetables, berries, and fruit trees need special care to thrive, but your time and energy will pay off with great tasting, nutritious home-grown food. Best of all, food crops can be incorporated into your existing landscape, large or small! This class will teach you how to make your yard produce great food for you and your family.
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Designing the Northwest Garden
Greg Rabourn, Educator, radio personality, author Thoughtful garden design creates a healthy, relaxing space for people, pets, and wildlife. Whether you are starting from scratch or just want to improve your existing landscape, Greg Rabourn will show you how to design a true northwest garden that will allow your family time to relax and enjoy their surroundings while keeping maintenance time low.
Favorite Northwest Natives for Sun
and Shade
Greg Rabourn, Educator, radio personality Add beautiful color, texture and wildlife benefits to your garden by incorporating stunning northwest natives. Greg Rabourn will show you different plants that will thrive in sunny hot spots or shady corners. Follow Greg's tips and you will be amazed at the birds and butterflies that visit your garden while also reducing your yard maintenance.
Landscape Planning for the Advanced
Gardener
Meghan Fuller, Horticulturist and landscape designer Do you want to plan a beautiful and healthy landscape that is resource efficient and environmentally sustainable? Then this is the class for you. Class elements will include:
This
class is not for beginner gardeners, and will not address hardscapes or
structures. Attendees should have solid gardening experience and a functional
knowledge of plants, soils, and basic garden design.
Native Splendor in the
GardenEmily Bishton, Landscape designer and environmental
educator
Learn about Pacific Northwest native plants that are beautiful, easy to care for, and thrive in our unique climate and soil conditions. We’ll focus on plant selections for a variety of growing conditions including challenges such as dry sun and shade, how to use natives as the foundation for a new landscape or incorporate them into an existing landscape, and maintenance practices that keep them healthy and growing strong.
Sustainable Garden
Design
Jessi Bloom, Owner and lead designer of N.W. Bloom EcoLogical Landscapes Landscapes and gardens offer a wealth of benefits if designed and managed well. Jessica will teach you how to look at your garden as an ecosystem and explore the possibilities to make your space more sustainable. She will cover building healthy soils, good design and planning, as well as proper maintenance strategies to reduce work while preserving our natural resources. The class will go through the design process, how to choose plants and prioritize uses for your space. You’ll see examples of beautiful, sustainable landscapes for inspiration. After taking this class you will have the tools to begin a journey towards making your own garden more sustainable.
Sustainable Gardening…a
better way to beautiful
Peggy Campbell, Horticulturist Healthier gardens of easy-care plants with fewer weeds, less watering, and no chemicals? It’s possible! Learn from horticulturist Peggy Campbell successful techniques and practical tips for transitioning your garden to a sustainable one. And discover how to select plants that will thrive in your garden.
Transform Your Dry Shade into Lush
Beauty
Marianne Binetti, Radio host, author, columnist Dry Shade? No Problem. Learn how to add color and drama to your landscape even in the most difficult situations such as the north side of your house or under cedar and fir trees. We’ll discuss key ingredients for success such as improving your soil, selecting the right plants, and practical watering methods. The class will include beautiful photos and a plant list that will inspire you to love your shade.
Unbeatable Plants
Marianne Binetti, Radio host, author, columnist Find out which plants survive our winter freezes and hefty winds and also thrive in our dry summers. Learn about trees and shrubs that are not only beautiful, but are super tough in our northwest climate. Marianne will share key steps for successful planting and timely spring advice as well.
Wildlife-Friendly Gardening for
Beauty and Sustainability
Emily Bishton, Landscape designer and environmental educator Welcome songbirds, butterflies, and beneficial insects into your yard while conserving natural resources at the same time. Discover how urban wildlife can provide you with year-round natural pest and weed control and better pollination. Then, learn about design techniques and maintenance practices that can attract and nurture beneficial wildlife in your garden for years to come.
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Advanced Soils
Ladd Smith, Co-owner of In Harmony Landscape Services Healthy soil is the key to our planet’s future. This class will cover the biology and structure of soil and show you how to introduce, nurture and replenish beneficial organisms that will help your soil produce a beautiful and healthy landscape.
The Dirt on Dirt
Meghan Fuller, Horticulturist and landscape designer Healthy, beautiful, long-lived plants are the result of healthy soil. Attendees will learn everything they need to know about soil to create an environment where plants will thrive. The class will cover what soil is made of, what lives in the soil, the importance of pore space, soil tests, and how to use mulch to improve and protect your soil, while conserving water.
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Natural Yard Care
Ladd Smith, Co-owner of In Harmony Landscape Services By working with Mother Nature, you can have a great looking landscape that’s easier to care for and healthier for families, pets, wildlife, and our great Northwest environment. Come learn what Natural Yard Care is all about and how to create a healthy, beautiful yard.
Strategies for Weed Control
Ladd Smith, Co-owner of In Harmony Landscape Services Strategies for weed control; learn about Integrated Weed Management. This class will explain why weeds are the toughest pests to control in gardens. Long-term success with weed control means understanding why weeds are successful and then developing a plan using a variety of weed control methods. Learn how certain weeds are Mother Nature’s signs of underlining challenges in the landscape.
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Drip Irrigation 101
Susie Egan, Owner of Cottage Lake Gardens, Master Gardener or Carey Thornton, Seattle Tilth Drip irrigation can be 50% more efficient than a regular sprinkler system. This class will teach you how to install a simple, inexpensive drip system without electrical wiring or the need for a professional. Plus, all the components are available at your local hardware or home improvement store. Your plants will be healthier with drip, and you won’t have to worry about dragging around hoses, turning on sprinklers or having your water bill break the bank.
Drip Irrigation
Design
Carey Thornton, SeattleTilth In this workshop we’ll delve more deeply into designing a drip irrigation system that makes sense for your home garden. We will practice calculations and troubleshoot different design scenarios that include containers, raised beds and ornamental gardens. This class is for gardeners who already understand drip but need help with design details. If you are new to drip irrigation, we recommend you attend Drip 101 or Drip Irrigation for the Home Gardener beforehand. Please bring a scaled drawing of the area you plan to install drip irrigation including the location of your outdoor spigot.
Drip Irrigation for the Home Gardener
Carey Thornton, Seattle Tilth This class will cover the basics of design, installation and use of a drip irrigation system in the home garden. Carey will discuss how to decide if a drip system is right for you. Then, she’ll walk you through what parts you’ll need, how to put it all together and finally get it running. Soaker hoses and other low-pressure options for your garden will also be discussed. This class will include indoor and outdoor components, please dress for the weather.
Northwest Gardens without Automatic
Sprinklers
Marianne Binetti, Radio host, author, columnist Wet winters and cool summers give us a climate where many plants thrive without summer water. Learn from Marianne’s tried and true experiences how you too can enjoy a colorful, lush garden free of automatic watering.
Rain Barrels and Drip Irrigation: A
Perfect Pairing
Carey Thornton, Seattle Tilth and Dan Borba, Owner of Natural Rain Water Rainwater is pure, plentiful and your plants love it. Best of all, it’s free! Rainwater harvesting is the practice of collecting and storing rainwater for use in your yard. Drip irrigation is an extremely efficient and effective way to water your plants. This class will teach you how to utilize both technologies to help you save money and keep your landscape looking great!
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