It’s time to begin our 2011 countdown to spring.

As of today, it’s only nine days until spring. That’s March 20, according to my calendar.

Yes, you can count that number on your own two hands.

Today, I offer you a photo from my yard, a camellia of unknown variety blooming right next to my front door. Isn’t that color the most delicate of pinks? I love it.

I’ll be posting more photos from my yard right her during our countdown to spring. Send me your photos here if you have some to share, too.

But that is not all I have to share. No, that is not all. Here are three, count them, three classes to check out in the coming week to get inspired to get growing.

Make plans now, if you haven’t already.

Off to Australia: The Monroe Garden Club’s monthly meeting at 12:30 p.m. Monday will feature club member and master gardener Mary Palmer, who will deliver a presentation on the plants of Australia.

Meetings, held at Monroe United Methodist Church, 342 South Lewis St., Monroe, are free and open to the public. Donations to the Sky Valley Food Bank are requested. Call 360-793-1829 for more information.

Speaking from experience: The Snohomish Garden Club’s monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Monday will feature guest speaker George Lasch, the owner of a small company that helps gardeners develop and maintain their gardens.

Lasch, who also teaches horticulture at Edmonds Community College, is serving as the border supervisor at the Northwest Perennial Alliance’s large mixed border at the Bellevue Botanical Garden.

Meetings, which are free and open to the public, are at the Snohomish Senior Center, 506 Fourth St., Snohomish. See www.snohomishgardenclub.com or call 425-374-8622 for more information.

Butterflies and more: Learn how to attract butterflies and other beneficial insects to your garden at 7 p.m., Wednesday at the Camano Multipurpose Center, 141 East Camano Drive.

Master gardeners Rosalie Myers and Virgene Link, curators of the insect collection at the Skagit County Washington State University extension and experts in integrated pest management, will identify beneficial and harmful insects and help gardeners choose a combination of tactics to prevent problems and keep pest populations under control.

Their “Love Your Bugs” presentation is part of a public education series hosted the third Wednesday of the month by the Camano Wildlife Habitat Project, sponsored by Friends of Camano Island Parks as part of the Island County watershed project.

See www.camanowildlifehabitat.org or call 360-387-2236 for more information.