Seminars on Friday, February 17, 2012

Ways to demystify flower arranging featuring handmade little bouquets from the garden in all seasons. Learn how to plant a garden, however small, for flowering arranging. Photos and bouquets from Val's new book Petal & Twig show are from her little but mighty garden in Langley on Whidbey Island.

As owner and manager of Bauman's Farm and Garden, Brian asked local gardeners for their favorite plants at his container trials last summer. Hear the results and see some of the exciting new plants for northwest gardens.

Let's face it – some plants behave better than others. Here's a whole group of tidy garden performers that play well with others. Unlike certain "vigorous" out-of-bounders that manage to drape themselves over everything by summer's end (you know what I mean), these neat easy-going plants keep their shape and deliver beautiful flowers, foliage and fruit. And they do it with a lot less time and effort – just what every gardener needs.

Planting a garden grown from seed is easy, economical and allows a great selection and variety in your garden. Rose Marie will demonstrate both sowing for transplants and direct seeding in the garden.

If time and Mother Nature aren't on your side in the garden join Lucy as she explores strategies for restoring, re-claiming and re-visioning your garden. Destruction from a fallen tree, marauding and overgrown plants, an aging body or the urge to re-design your garden symbolizes opportunity knocking on the garden gate. Let's take a walk down the garden path and look at creative ways to revise our gardens.

Take a world tour of hydrangeas and their relatives. Learn what hydrangeas are still popular today and get a sneak peak at future cultivars available in the near future.

How to make your own plot of land more interesting and inviting. Features include garden rooms, hedges, taller flowering shrubs, garden gates, arbors, natural fences, curtains of color and more! Nicholas will share an array of fabulous visual ideas, and as the Director of New Plant Introductions for Monrovia, highlights a bevy of plants, new and not so new.

In these long months leading up to spring, what better way to spend the time than making plans for spring. An overview of off-season garden planning, including choosing and deciphering seed catalogues, creating garden timelines and calendars reading a seed packet, writing a garden journal, choosing the right crops to grow in your situation, planting in succession, and rotating crops.

Sean looks at why we yearn for and need to grow so many different kinds of plants from divergent global locations and climates. He'll identify traits that help break plants down into categories and guide you in satisfying your plant lust, knowing how to locate and care for plants from far-flung places, keeping it simple, cost effective and intuitive.

Put on your Kozy Koat and warm up to gardening during our cool season. Starting in early spring and picking up again in late fall, the kitchen garden can be producing a variety of delectable edibles. Expand your vegetable gardening year 'round and serve broccoli for Valentine's Day and carrots on St. Patrick's Day. Along with insulated gloves, cool-season gardening requires a few specialized contraptions, different techniques and some extra planning. Learn what garden structures protect your plants from winter and how to build them, proper timing and planting techniques, and what grows well in our maritime winter.

Innovative ways to turn your outdoor space into a peaceful retreat, including design ideas and solutions using the right buffer, barrier or screen for your garden.

Demonstration of the basic methods to make a beautiful, living sedum wreath.

Instead of thinking of roses as flower factories on thorny sticks, why not select roses that operate as multi-season shrubs with an array of charming and interesting traits? Think fall fruit and color, bark effects, ornamental thorns and disease resistance. Stop spraying, praying and slaying!

Join Eamonn as he explores the many ways of incorporating a water feature into your garden. He discusses and illustrates how to build everything from a small water bowl to a large pond and waterfall and shares the techniques that can help you create a tranquil and serene water feature in your garden.

Discover effective, nontoxic ways to tackle weeds, pests and plant diseases. See how a few simple steps for preventing problems early on can save a lot of work. Learn the latest techniques for managing problems safely and find out where to go for reliable information. You can make your yard beautiful and safe for children, pets, wildlife and waterways. Includes free consumer guides on sustainable gardening for the region.

Airplants are all the rage, and for good reason! Join us for a fun demonstration hour as you leara bout all the cool things you can do with a tillandsia or airplants. Since these plants don't require soil to grow, they are able to live in ways and places that few other plants can. From aeriums to terrariums, grape wood plantings to wall hangings, JJ De Sousa will show you how to create living sculpture, miniature living worlds and hanging vertical gardens. You will also learn how to easily take care of your special new plant friends and keep them healthy for years to come!