Home and Garden calendar for Snohomish County and beyond
Published 1:30 am Thursday, January 5, 2017
Eagle watch: See hundreds of eagles in the winter salmon runs. Weekends through Jan. 22, trained volunteers with the Eagle Watchers program will be posted along the upper Skagit River to help visitors learn more about the wintering bald eagle population. Volunteers will be available to answer questions about bald eagles, salmon and the Skagit watershed at Howard Miller Steelhead Park, 52804 Rockport Park Road, Rockport, and the Marblemount Fish Hatchery, 8319 Fish Hatchery Road, Marblemount, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Binoculars and spotting scopes available for visitor use. For more information, go to www.fs.usda.gov/mbs.
A gardener’s best friend: The Monroe Garden Club hosts Missy Anderson of RentMasonBees.com at its noon meeting on Jan. 9, at the Monroe United Methodist Church, 342 S Lewis St. Anderson, local expert and queenbee of the bee rental business, will present a lecture titled “Bees are the Easiest Friend a Gardener Could Have.” Call 360-863-6160 for more.
Display garden tips: Snohomish Garden Club, 7 p.m. Jan. 9, Snohomish Senior Center, 506 Fourth St., Snohomish. Speaker Kirsten Lints from Gardens Alive Design will share her approach to “Creating a Display Garden for the Northwest Flower and Garden Show.” More at www.snohomishgardenclub.com.
Wildlife management: Karen Awrylo, owner of Critter Control, will share some wildlife management practices in a Floretum Garden Club workshop held 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 14 in the meeting room at Coldwell Banker Bain of Edmonds, 108 Fifth Ave. S. Workshop is free, though donations are welcome. Learn more at www.edmondsfloretumgardenclub.org.
Natural yard care: Learn how you can plan a beautiful, healthy yard at Brightwater Center workshops. King County is partnering with the Snohomish Conservation District to offer a series of three classes to help people create a healthy, sustainable landscape. Classes are 10 a.m. to noon, free to attend, and there will be giveaways for attendees. Go to for one, two or all three classes at the Brightwater Center, 22505 Hwy. 9 SE, Woodinville. Jan. 14: “Jumpstart Your Yard.” Design and plant your yard to work for you. Feb. 4: “The Foundation of Your Yard.” What soil is made of and how to make it work better for your landscape. Feb. 25: “Watering Wisely.” How watering your landscape effectively can save you valuable time and money. Pre-register at http://www.kingcounty.gov/services/environment/brightwater-center/events.aspx. Call 206-263-9412 for more.
Field sketchers group: Sessions are 6 to 8 p.m. at Edmonds Library, 650 Main St., Edmonds. Jan. 25: make leaf print cards, suitable for Valentine’s Day. More at garden@pilchuckaudubon.org.
Forest steward: Want to learn how to lead your own forest restoration project, get other volunteers involved and bring some much-needed TLC to a park you love? Become a forest steward. Find more at greeneverett@forterra.org or 425-238-0065.
Be a master: The master gardener program is accepting applications for 2017 training. Classes start in January. Training focuses on learning how to use resources to research, educate, mentor and answer horticulture questions for the general public in a collaborative environment. All training is open book and no memorization is expected. Training involves about 80 hours of classroom and workshop instruction once a week on Thursdays, from Jan. 12 through March 30. Tuition is $275 plus a volunteer commitment of 40 hours each year for two years with other volunteers on a variety of horticultural and environmental educational projects. Without the volunteer commitment, tuition is $775. For more information and an application, go to extension.wsu.edu/snohomish and look under “Calendar” or call the Extension Office at 425-338-2400.
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 a.m. beginning Jan 6. Lectures are held in the Social Hall of the Mukilteo Presbyterian Church, 4515 84th St. SW, Mukilteo. A pass for the complete series is $85; single sessions are $20 at the door. Go to www. garden lectures.com for a listing of dates, speakers, topics and how to register. Jan. 6: Steve Smith: “Banish Boring Yards Once and For All.”
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. Jan. 18: “Planning Your Garden for Success.” Success starts with good planning including site selection. Feb. 1: “Small Fruits, Big Harvests.” Strawberries, cane berries, blueberries and other small fruit.
