Winter Speaker Series: The Snohomish County Master Gardener Foundation annual series features Northwest garden personalities in eight sessions Friday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30. Lectures are held in the Social Hall of the Mukilteo Presbyterian Church, 4515 84th St. SW, Mukilteo. Sessions are $20 at the door. Go to www. garden lectures.com for a complete listing of dates, speakers, topics and how to register. Up next: March 10, Bill Thorness “Cool Season Gardening.” Other speakers: March 17: Bess Bronstein, “How to Successfully Prune Any Shrub.” March 31: Dan Hinkley, “Heronswood: Past, Present and Future.” April 7: Jennifer Hahn, “Pacific Feast: Where the Wild Things are Delicious.”
Rain gardens: The City of Everett will offer $2,500 rebates to qualified homeowners who install approved rain gardens as part of the city’s “Let it Rain” program that promotes reducing stormwater runoff, flooding and surface water pollution. Attend a one-hour workshop to learn about the program and request a site assessment of your property. Workshops are free and no registration is required: Dates are 6:30 p.m. March 7, Everett Public Library, 2702 Hoyt Ave.; 10 a.m. March 18, Everett Public Works, 3200 Cedar St.; and 7 p.m. March 23, Eisenhower Middle School, 10200 25th Ave. SE. More at www.everettwa.gov/raingardens.
For the birds: Pilchuck Audubon Society presents “Birds in our Midst, Creating Gardens Filled with Life” by Julie O’Donald and Jim Clark, 7 to 8:30 p.m. March 10, Everett Firefighter’s Hall, 2411 Hewitt Ave., Everett. Overview of the elements that create beautiful gardens for birds and people. Best native plants for birds and design features that create habitat will be emphasized. Jed Holmes will close the talks with an overview on the society’s project getting backyard habitats registered for homes in Everett/northern Snohomish County. Val Schroeder will bring a display about the Camano Island program. Sylvia Kawabata will have a poster or display to share about what is happening in the Mukilteo area. More at www.pilchuckaudubon.org.
Island life: “Living on an Island: Camano 101 Open House,” 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 11, Island County Multipurpose Center, 141 NE Camano Drive, Camano Island. Are you new to Camano Island or want to learn more about where you live? Learn about our public beaches, parks and trails, shellfish, native plants, living with septic tanks and wells, nature and wildlife, noxious weeds, recycling/waste reduction, conserving land and more. Connect with volunteer groups. Door prizes and refreshments provided. Sponsored by Snohomish Conservation District and WSU Island County Extension. More at kathryn@snohomishcd.org/425-377-7024 or schase@wsu.edu/360-678-8239.
Have a field day: Winter Field Day by Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation, 8:30 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. March 4, Washington State University Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center, 16650 State Route 536, Mount Vernon. Grafting and mason bee workshops, pruning demonstrations and tours of the 6-acre fruit display garden of large collection of antique apple trees. Free for members of WWFRF; $15 per person or $30 per family for non-members. More at www.nwfruit.org.
GARDEN VARIETY
Coming up roses: Seattle Rose Society hosts its annual rose pruning demonstration, noon to 3 p.m. March 4, Rose Garden at Woodland Park Zoo, 5500 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle. Gain insight into the world of roses and how to care for them, and get answers to your questions by rosarians. The Rose Garden has 2.5 acres of grass pathways with bush roses, hybrid teas, floribundas and grandifloras. The demonstration and admission to the Rose Garden is free. Parking is $6 in the zoo’s Hippo Lot at N. 50th St. and Fremont Ave. N. More at www.zoo.org/rose-garden; 206-548-2635 or rosegarden@zoo.org.
Everett Home & Garden Show: March 10, 11 and 12, Xfinity Arena, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett. Hours are noon to 7 p.m. March 10, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 11, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 12. More at www.everetthomegardenshow.com.
March Mania Plant Sale: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 11, Aaron Education Center at Bellevue Botanical Garden, 12001 Main St., Bellevue. Sale features many specialty nurseries/growers that are generally not open to the public.
Get wild: The Camano Wildlife Habitat Project, sponsored by Friends of Camano Island Parks, hosts public presentations the third Wednesday of the month. “Identifying the Birds in your Backyard and Beyond,” 7 p.m. Joe Meche, writer/photographer and past president of the North Cascades Audubon Society in Bellingham, will present a virtual tour of the island, focusing on its natural beauty and some of the birds that can be found here during different times of the year. For more, call 360-387-2236, visit www.camanowildlifehabitat.org or email camanowildlifehabitat@gmail.com.
Plant trees: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 18, Kenmore Waterfront Activities Center, 7353 175th St., Kenmore. Volunteers needed to plant 400 trees and shrubs that will be used to restore natural streamside vegetation benefiting salmon. Go across Swamp Creek by canoe. Team up with the Adopt A Stream Foundation, the Sno-King Watershed Council and the City of Kenmore. Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board funds were used to purchase the trees and shrubs and to prepare the Swamp Creek streamside area for planting. More at www.streamkeeper.org.
Good seeds: “The Triumph of Seeds” by Thor Hanson, award-winning author and conservation biologist, is 1 p.m. March 26, Aaron Education Center at Bellevue Botanical Garden, 12001 Main St., Bellevue. Hosted by Northwest Perennial Alliance. Hanson’s presentation weaves science and culture to show how these common wonders shape our world and touch our lives every day. Doors open at noon for Far Reaches Farm plant sale and book signing by Hanson. NPA members $5, non-members $20. More at www.northwestperennialalliance.org.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Monroe Garden Club is offering a $1,000 scholarship to a high school senior or a college student pursuing a degree in some aspect of horticulture at an accredited college or trade school. Studies may include forestry, botany, landscaping, floral design, etc. Applicants must reside in or within about 20 miles of Monroe. Deadline for application is May 1. For more information or to request an application packet, call 360-217-8417.
Arlington Garden Club is offering a $2,000 scholarship to a graduating high school senior who plans to attend an accredited university or college in Washington during the 2017-18 academic year. Applicants are required to be enrolled full time (12 or more credits) in a program related to one of the following: horticulture, agriculture, forestry, husbandry or environmental science. Eligible high schools are Arlington, Darrington, Lakewood, Lake Stevens or Stanwood. The application is at www.arlingtongardenclub.org or by request at Arlington Garden Club, 526 N. West Ave., PMB 55, Arlington. Deadline for submission is May 1.
PLANT TALKS
Winter Speaker Series: The Snohomish County Master Gardener Foundation annual series features Northwest garden personalities in eight sessions Friday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30. Lectures are held in the Social Hall of the Mukilteo Presbyterian Church, 4515 84th St. SW, Mukilteo. Sessions are $20 at the door. Go to www. garden lectures.com for a complete listing of dates, speakers, topics and how to register. Up next: March 10, Bill Thorness “Cool Season Gardening.”
Growing Groceries Education Series: Classes designed to help you learn how to grow your own food. Classes are Wednesday evenings from 7 to 9:30 at WSU Snohomish County Extension’s Cougar Auditorium, 600 128th St. SE, Everett. Cost is $20 per class. Register online at growinggroceries.eventbrite.com. For more, go to snohomish.wsu.edu/growing-groceries, call 425-357-6024 or email kate.ryan@wsu.edu. March 22: “Seed Starting & Growing Transplants.” Save money and raise the varieties that do best here.
Evergreen Arboretum Classes: Evergreen Arboretum monthly classes. Most classes are free. The arboretum is in American Legion Memorial Park, 145 Alverson Blvd., Everett. More at www.evergreenarboretum.com or by calling 425-257-8597. March 18: “Rediscover Rhododendrons,” noon to 1 p.m. Trevor Cameron, Sunnyside Nursery manager and Arboretum president. Class will include planting, care, fertilization, pruning and pests/diseases for azaleas and rhododendrons. Live demonstration with planting of new specimens in the arboretum. Meet at the front entrance to the arboretum.
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