Home and garden events and resources around Snohomish County

Great Backyard Bird Count: A training for the Great Backyard Bird Count is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 8 at the Edmonds Wildlife Habitat Native Plant Demonstration Garden, 95 Pine St., Edmonds. The annual Great Backyard Bird Count will be held Feb. 14-17. Training will include time to practice outdoors, so bring binoculars. No experience necessary. Kids welcome. Email garden@pilchuckaudubon.org or call 425-771-8165.

Winter Speaker Series: The Master Gardner Foundation’s annual Winter Speaker Series runs through April 3. All classes are from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Mukilteo Presbyterian Church, 4515 84th St. SW, Mukilteo. The charge is $20 per class or $85 for the series. Call 425-357-6010 or go to www.gardenlectures.com for more information. The presentation schedule: Feb. 14, with Bess Bronstein on “Renovation and Renewal of an Aging Garden;” Feb. 28, with Monica Van der Vieren on “Plant it and They Will Come: Wildlife in a (Mostly) Native Landscape;” March 13, with Marilyn Glenn on “How to Select, Grow and Prune Clematis, the Queen of the Vines,” March 20, with Dan Hinkley on “Forgotten Elements of Good Design;” and April 3, with Jairul Rahaman on “Plants and Fungi: A Match Made in Heaven.”

Pruning and tool-sharpening workshop: Attend a gardening class about pruning noon Feb. 15 at Evergreen Arboretum and Gardens, Horticultural Classroom No. 105, 145 Alverson Blvd., Everett. Pick up winter pruning tips from Trevor Cameron, Sunnyside Nursery’s general manager. Bring your dull tools to be sharpened with Cutting Edge Knives and Sharpening owner Russ Casteel. Learn which cuts keep maple trees and other plants in tip-top form. Class begins with a slide show indoors, then goes outside for hands-on demonstrations. Dress for the weather and bring pruners and tools you want sharpened. Tool sharpening costs are separate. Call 425-257-8597 to RSVP. The event is free for members, $10 for non-members. More at www.evergreenarboretum.com.

Spring Show: February’s Seattle Home Show is from Feb. 15-23 at the CenturyLink Field Event Center, 1000 Occidental Ave. South. The 22nd anniversary of the biannual housing expo features displays of home and garden products. (There is another show in October.) There are daily seminars, cooking demonstrations, landscape displays, arts and crafts, and home decorating ideas. Admission is $13 for adults, $9 for seniors and military, and $3 for juniors. Kids 6 and younger get in free. More at www.seattlehomeshow.com.

Mukilteo Lighthouse Quilters: The Mukilteo Lighthouse Quilters hosts speaker Ted Hoffman at its Feb. 18 meeting. Hoffman’s presentation will cover the Seattle-based Clothworks and American Made Brand. Monthly meetings feature a guest speaker, trunk show or charity event and are held at 6:45 p.m. on the third Tuesday at the Rosehill Community Center, 304 Lincoln Ave., Mukilteo. Non-members are welcome. Email MLQuilters@outlook.com for more information. More at www.mlquilters.org.

Whidbey Gardening Workshop: Now in its 32nd year, the Whidbey Gardening Workshop is scheduled for March 13 and 14 at Oak Harbor High School, 1 Wildcat Way, Oak Harbor. More than 45 classes and four field trips explore a wide range of gardening topics on garden basics, garden design, maintenance and sustainability, ornamentals, and fruits and vegetables. The keynote speaker is Richie Steffen, executive director of the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle. The workshop costs $55; each field trip costs $20. More at www.whidbeygardening.org

Native Plant Sale: The Snohomish Conservation District is hosting its 35th annual Native Plant Sale from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 21 at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds, 14405 179th Ave. SE, Monroe. The brochure and plant list are available via www.theplantsale.org. Call 425-335-5634 ext. 4 for more information.

Classy camellias: Attend a gardening class on camellias from 1 to 2 p.m. March 21 at the Evergreen Arboretum and Gardens, Horticultural Classroom No. 105, 145 Alverson Blvd., Everett. Cherished for their masses of colorful flowers and long-blooming varieties, camellias keep a garden classy through winter. Learn everything you need to know about selection and care from camellia expert and arboretum vice president Wayne Walker. Class includes a tour of the arboretum, featuring camellias that bloom November through April. Call 425-257-8597 to RSVP. Free for members, $10 for non-members. More at www.evergreenarboretum.com.

Master Gardener Hotline & Diagnostic Clinic: Call 425-357-6010 to talk to a master gardener or visit Snohomish County’s walk-in clinic at the WSU Extension office in McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE, Everett. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, April through September, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, October through March. More at www.extension.wsu.edu/snohomish/garden/master-gardener-program.

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