Author: Whatcom Hort Society

  • Natural Yard Care

    ByWhatcom Hort Society
    natural yard care

    The city selected the topic “Natural Yard Care” to educate residents about the value of natural yard care techniques that protect our water quality as part of their 2019-2024 NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit process. They then narrowed their scope to managing weeds naturally. They began by developing and promoting the “Manage Weeds Naturally” website. Collaborating with Whatcom County and WSU Extension, they created a Gardening Green: Sustainable Landscaping workshop series. They have since created and updated beneficial materials available to the public, including the informational booklets listed below (also available from the WHS Links page). Having reached the end of the permit cycle, they are seeking to review the impact and discuss the effectiveness of their efforts, hoping for valuable feedback from the public regarding additional varieties of materials that may be preferred. If you’re curious, there’s a regional webpage for Natural Yard Care here: Natural Yard Care Neighborhoods.

    Take the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZVH28KP until September 30, 2024. Your feedback is vital in helping us create a vibrant, healthier Bellingham and keeping our waterways clean!

  • Fall Lecture ~ October 3 ~ Gary Lewis

    ByWhatcom Hort Society

    Gary Lewis

    “The Complete Talk on Ground Covers”

    Thursday October 3, 2024
    Whatcom Museum • 121 Prospect Street
    7:30pm • Doors open at 7
    Tickets: $10 Members • $15 General

    Ground Covers Handout


    Online ticket sales are closed, please pay at the door.

    Gary Lewis

    “If ever thought that ground covers were simply a utilitarian strategy for covering dirt and outpacing weeds, you would have been awestruck by our speaker, Gary Lewis!” Poco Garden Club Newsletter

    In this lecture, you’ll see photographs from gardens on four continents and an amazing array of different plants, styles, and designs. Ground covers offer a diverse range of beautiful and intriguing options with a variety of colors, textures, and forms. They can unify a landscape, knit together plantings and hardscape, along with adding extra layers of beauty, dynamism, and surprise. As a replacement for lawns, they can reduce our use of water, fertilizer and pesticides, and transform a yard into a diverse landscape and habitat. Gary will include tips and tricks for designing with ground covers to take your outdoor space to the next level.

    While completing a Master of Science degree in Botany, Gary became the owner of Phoenix Perennials. This dynamic, award-winning, destination nursery in Richmond, BC, has over 5000 different plants, many of which are grown there from plant material sourced from around the world. Gary is an avid traveler and leads botanical tours to Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia. His book, The Complete Book of Ground Covers, will be for sale at our lecture. https://www.phoenixperennials.com/

  • September 19, 2024 ~ Workshop: Create an Autumn Bouquet

    ByWhatcom Hort Society

    2024 Fall Members Only Meeting

    “Workshop: Create an Autumn Bouquet”

    Thursday September 19, 2024
    Our Savior’s Lutheran Church Social Hall
    1720 Harris Avenue Bellingham
    7:30pm • Doors open at 7
    Materials fee $45 – pre-registration online is required!
    Seating is limited, this event will fill up fast.
    You must be a current member to attend, join or renew online or at the door.

    Register Now

    We’re back with one of our favorite member events – making your own arrangement! We’ll have a similar set up as before with many, many thanks to the Lutheran Church in Happy Valley for providing a place.

    Kelly Swordmaker from A Lot of Flowers in Bellingham will guide us in creating our own seasonal fall bouquet. We ask that you check your garden and help with flowers, greens, grasses and other seasonal plant material. Suggestions: any flower, salal, miscanthus seed heads, rose hips, ferns, unique evergreens, ilex (please strip and bring in a bucket if possible).

    The Social Hall of the church is on the lower level and  can be entered from the large parking lot on the corner of Harris and 18th. Registration is now open – pre-register and pay online asap as seating is limited, and we need to know the amount of flowers to purchase.

    Bring with you: clippers, gloves, vase, and box to carry your arrangement home in. We will provide floral and greens, inspiration, chicken wire and floral tape.

    Please help with clean up: wipe surfaces, sweep, recycle, put away tables and some chairs (round tables stay up).

    Bouquet Workshop Registration

  • Spring Lecture Series ~ June 13 ~ Bess Bronstein

    ByWhatcom Hort Society

    Bess Bronstein

    “Tough Trees and Shrubs for Tough Times”

    Thursday June 13, 2024
    Whatcom Museum • 121 Prospect Street
    7:30pm • Doors open at 7
    Tickets: $10 Members • $15 General
    Get your tickets at the door using a check or bankcard, online ticket sales is now closed.

    Bess Bronstein

    Bess’s talk will focus on some wonderful woody plants that can fit the bill as we garden into the future. Gardeners continue to seek out woody plants that can thrive in our Pacific Northwest. Ideally we want plants that now tolerate hot dry summers and wet winters, as well as the occasional winter freeze or lengthy drought period that have become more common as our climate changes. And it doesn’t hurt if these trees and shrubs are also resistant to common pests and diseases, require minimal care and provide multi-season interest.

    Bess Bronstein is an educator, horticultural consultant, and ISA Certified Arborist® from the Kitsap Peninsula. She has over 35 years of experience in arboriculture, landscape management and garden design. Bess holds an A.T.A. degree in Ornamental Horticulture, and an M.Ed. from UW. She was an instructor for the Edmonds College horticulture program, with a focus on courses in pruning and tree care, plant identification, plant pests/diseases and diagnosis, and soils. Bess frequently teaches arboriculture and horticulture courses and does training for WSU Extension Master Gardener programs.

    Hardy Shrubs
    Hardy Trees

  • Spring Lecture Series ~ May 2 ~ Jennifer Jewell

    ByWhatcom Hort Society

    Jennifer Jewell

    “Cultivating Place”

    Thursday May 2, 2024
    Whatcom Museum • 121 Prospect Street
    7:30pm • Doors open at 7
    Tickets: $10 Members • $15 General

    Jennifer Jewell

    We invite you to join us for this inspiring talk by the amazing Jennifer Jewell. Jennifer is passionate about the power of horticulture, empowerment, and cultivating place. She is the creator and host of the award winning program: Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History & the Human Impulse to Garden. Her books include: The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants, Under Western Skies: Visionary Gardens from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast, and What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological Significance of Seeds.

    As an interviewer, writer and keynote speaker, her greatest passion is elevating the way we think and talk about the culture of gardening, the empowerment of gardeners, and the possibility inherent in the intersection between places, environments, cultures, individuals, and the the gardens that bring them together.

    Jennifer’s books will be for sale at the lecture, listen to her podcasts and find out more at www.cultivatingplace.com

  • October 26, 2023 ~ “Gardening with Spectacular Native Plants” ~ Linda Cochran

    ByWhatcom Hort Society

    Linda Cochran, accomplished plantswoman and long time Pacific Northwest gardener, had an acclaimed Bainbridge Island garden known for its a lush, tropical style. It was featured in many books, magazines and TV shows. 10 years ago, she went in the opposite direction, moved to Port Ludlow and created an amazing new garden. We’ll enjoy her stunning photography while she tells us about this drought tolerant garden that features many plants native to the arid west.

    Linda now spends much of her time in the summer traveling to wildflower hot spots in the region and photographing wildflowers. Her goal is to grow as many of these native wildflowers as she can. She has spoken to many groups, both in the region and elsewhere, including internationally, on the subject of our region’s amazing wildflowers.

    For more information about Linda go to https://lindacochran.blogspot.com or check out her Instagram at Cochran4131

  • #1 Ganga & Neal Engledow

    ByWhatcom Hort Society

    When Ganga and Neal moved into their house late in 2009 it was surrounded by huge cedars and a swath of Leyland cypresses. Although past landscaping of the property had left them with some nice shrubs, trees, and stones, it also left them with a lot of English ivy, Neal removed 60 full landscape bags from one berm alone! They began by moving the stones to the back yard where they built a small pond, and over the next 4 years they removed all the cypresses and limbed some of the cedars to allow some light into the garden.

    As the years progressed Ganga designed and planted the various beds while Neal, a master craftsman, created the pathways, arbors, benches, planter boxes, birdhouses and plinths throughout the garden. As any gardener knows, being able to get enough light into a shady woodland garden can be tricky, but as the neighbors removed trees over time Ganga has been able to plant roses (35!), succulents and other sun loving plants.

    The pond which was enlarged 8 years ago is home to Jimi Hendrix, Rosanna, Rosanna Danna, and a handful of other creatively named koi and goldfish. The garden includes a small greenhouse, fruit trees, a raised bed for veggies along with small patch of the difficult to find Wasabi. As you follow the winding paths through the garden you will find Neal’s creations tucked in here and there and depending on the seasonal plantings bright spots of color. An additional treat is that Ganga is an accomplished quilter and some of her beautiful art quilts will be displayed (and for sale).

    Artist Vendors

    Ganga Engledow at Garden 1

    Our garden owner Ganga, an accomplished quilter, is inspired by the world around her to make beautiful things. You’ll see some of her larger quilts displayed and smaller works for sale. “On cold and wet days, I quilt. My quilts often represent my love for the eccentricity of nature”.

    Georgia Donovan at Garden 1

    “My art work is designed to make you smile. I create art for pleasure, my own and that of others. My titles often precede the actual work and always enhance understanding of the painting. I generally paint in vibrant acrylic colors on canvas. My quirky sense of humor and whimsical approach to painting is the hallmark of my work. Creating art is following my bliss.” https://georgia-donovan.pixels.com/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”All Gardens” color=”primary” align=”center” link=”url:%2Fcategory%2Fgarden-tour%2F|||”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • #2 Sarah and David Ulis

    ByWhatcom Hort Society

    The English style garden of Sarah Ullis was an empty lot filled with clay soil and lots of rocks when she first started working on it in 2013. Now, 10 years later, it is a beautiful and serene space overlooking a small lake.

    Inspired by the gardens of her home in Devon, England, Sarah has incorporated many aspects of English gardening into the property. On one side of the house a long herbaceous border is filled with a variety of perennials, vegetables, and herbs. A dry creek bed meanders through this area with strategically placed moss-covered boulders. The rocks from the property are creatively used in the garden beds on the right side of the house. There are gates and arbors that David built which not only support the climbing roses and clematis but give definition to the different areas. Traditional garden art such as gazing globes, classical urns and statuary add focal points in the beds. Peonies, iris, poppies, and many other English favorites are included in the lush plantings.

    The white bed that borders the lake is a newer addition with spring bulbs, foxgloves, and lilies. Along with the rocks, this garden was challenging for Sarah as it is the largest space she has ever designed. But that made it possible to include a large meadow with apple trees and a pergola that adds to the peacefulness of the garden. Sitting on the wraparound back porch while watching the wildlife on the lake and the visiting the birds in the garden is an additional treat.

  • #3 Wally and Paul Greenough

    ByWhatcom Hort Society

    When Wally started her garden in 2019 she was planning on having a low maintenance garden and she was also planning to be on the 2020 Garden Tour, as an example of a new garden. Fast forward to 2023 and while she might not consider it low maintenance, she will finally be on the tour!

    Growing up on a 40-acre orchard in Canada gave Wally gardening skills early on and it’s a good thing as her new garden came with some challenges. The north side is a combination of dry/sunny, dry/shade, and wet/shade while the south side is darker and has a wet area. However, as you wander the garden it is easy to see that she has adapted to the challenges and her garden has thrived.

    Heading down a shady path there are hostas, ferns and trilliums interspersed with red Japanese maples. Although Wally’s last garden was full shade this one has areas of full sun too, so she can indulge her love of sun loving perennials. Daylilies, irises, monkshood and a climbing hydrangea overlook the 7th green along with a myriad of her other favorites. As the garden evolved Wally has been able to incorporate plants gifted to her, as well as rescued plants, and even Paul’s favorite poppies!

  • #4 Marit Aldrich and Bob Storms

    ByWhatcom Hort Society

    Marit began work on this garden six years ago but only after she spent four years ripping out plants and removing lava rock and landscape cloth. Her first project was creating an elegant entry by replanting the curved driveway. She added border plantings that change with the seasons so that no matter the time of year, you are welcomed by color, repetitive pattern, and drama. The boxwoods, hydrangeas and cherry trees accomplish this in a wonderful way.

    The mixed borders in the front became a tapestry of delightful plant combinations with stand outs of agapanthus, tree peonies and iris pallida ‘Varigata.’ Marit loves roses and as you walk towards the front door, you’ll see a beautiful one climbing on the garage and courtyard archway. This is Rosa Sally Holmes that she brought from her Vancouver white garden.

    A colorful courtyard holds much to see. Boxwood balls border a corner planting bed, an orange bench draws the eye, and a glorious purple wisteria covers the dining area arbor. The fascinating bathtub water sculpture was created for Bob to represent his jazz band, Bathtub Gin. Walk down the steps to enjoy the big view of Mt. Baker and the valley below. Be sure to continue around to see the greenhouse constructed of old windows from the house. Enjoy your trip through this rich and colorful garden.