You can learn how to make your gardening easier, help pollinators, grow organic food, house mason bees and change your landscape with gardening workshops offered this fall.
Here is a selection of upcoming classes. You can always find listings of upcoming classes in the news and events page on our website.
Fall and Winter Chores to Make Your Spring Gardening Easier. September 15, 10-11 am. New Start Community Garden, 614 SW 120th St., Burien. The fall is the best time to prepare for the spring! In Harmony co-owner Ladd Smith will teach fall natural yard care techniques that will ease your spring labor. Learn what to do if you have poor soil, how to improve your soil with mulch, the benefits of trees and native plants, and the best practices for planting in the fall. To register: email kirstena@kcwd90.com or call (425) 255-9600.
Our Gardens: Alive! September 21, 9 am-3:30 pm. Bellevue Botanical Garden and online. Take a deep dive into pollinators in this symposium, a fundraiser for Heronswood and Bellevue Botanical Garden. Learn about pollinators through an ecological lens. Experts explore topics such as how climate change is affecting native plants and pollinators, which garden plants support the greatest diversity of pollinator species, native predatory wasps and more. Find out more on the Bellevue Botanical Garden website. While the in-person event is full, you can still register for the virtual event or join the waitlist for the in-person event.
Fundamentals of Organic Gardening. September 12 online and September 14 at McAuliffe Park. Want to grow your own food but don’t know where to begin? Learn how to start your organic garden, and continue caring for your crops, so you can eat fresh, healthy food year-round. This two-part, 5-hour introduction to fundamental organic gardening topics includes a weeknight interactive Zoom session, followed by an outdoor, hands-on class in the garden on the weekend. Presented by Tilth Alliance.
Fall Mason Bee Workshop, September 21, 11 am – 12:30 pm. Sky Nursery. Orchard mason bees are an often-underappreciated, highly effective pollinator that works alongside people to increase fruit production. Did you know they pollinate 120 times more effectively than a honeybee? Come learn more about these amazing beneficial insects, how to get started with your own cocoons, and the best way to safely store them for winter. Then next years’ cocoons will be healthy and ready to hatch when your fruit trees start to bloom!
Turf Out! October 11, 11:00, Gray Barn Nursery, Redmond. Learn the process of designing a turf free landscape. Jessi Bloom, owner of NW Bloom EcoLogical Services, will take you through the process of design, plant selection, and implementation. Presented by Cascade Gardener. Register here.
Check out our website for more gardening workshops. You can also find upcoming classes listed on the Garden Hotline website and on websites of sponsoring organizations, such as UW Botanic Gardens, Bellevue Botanical Garden, Tilth Alliance and some local nurseries.