Gardening Classes—Standing Room Only 

Here at Sunnyside Nursery we have been teaching classes for years.  This is not unique to our garden center.  No matter where you live in the Puget Sound region you should be able to find a garden center nearby that offers gardening classes, many of them for free or at the most a modest fee of $5.00.  Over the years attendance at these classes has ebbed and flowed but for some reason this year it is absolutely off the chart.

Of all the classes I teach, by far the most popular has always been pruning.  Typically I can expect to see 20-30 people at this class but last fall when I offered it there was standing room only.  We had in excess of 100 gardeners in attendance.  It was absolutely mind-boggling.  I assured myself that this was some kind of fluke, perhaps caused by the syzygy of several planets or the magnetic pull of a solar flare.  It would never happen again.

Well, low and behold, just a few weeks ago when we once again offered the pruning class it was the same scenario all over again; close to 100 attendees.  And the next week when I talked about growing fruit trees it was 80-90 in attendance.  This coming weekend we have a class on growing small fruits and berries, grapes, kiwis and currants and I can only imagine how many will show up for that.   One can’t help but ask, “What the heck is going on?”

While I must admit I have a charming personality and a vast reservoir of horticulture knowledge I can’t take all the credit for these large influxes of students.  It is happening in nurseries all over the region.  People want to learn how to garden and all I can say is: “More power to them!”  Under my breath I might also say; “It’s about stinking time!”

It’s a known fact that in tough economic times we tend to stay closer to home and spend more time improving our houses and yards.  Instead of taking that expensive vacation to Disney World we elect to build a deck, install a pond, erect a gazebo, plant a vegetable garden, put in a sport court, construct an outdoor kitchen or any of several other outdoor do-it-yourself projects.  If we are going to be stuck at home then by golly we are going to surround ourselves with a pleasant landscape.  This plan of action is not only rewarding, it is also a sound investment.

But I think that there is also another force that is driving people to learn more about gardening.  They have finally come to realize that there is a basic human need that is filled when we connect with the earth and the whole magical process of growth.  Planting a seed is an act of faith.  It gives us a reason to believe in the future.  Watching that seed turn into a living organism reminds us of the miracle of birth and growth.  And observing it completing its life cycle by flowering and producing more seed helps give us a sense of the rhythms of life and of the order that exists in our universe.  In a time of instability spending time in the garden can be very reassuring . 

I think to a large extent it is this reassurance that people are craving when they turn to gardening.  Learning to grow fruits and veggies so that we can produce some of our own food is a way to reassure ourselves that we won’t starve.  Understanding how to prune and care for our landscapes empowers us to be less dependent on others for those skills.  And quite frankly, the physical exercise we expend in the process of gardening helps us produce endorphins which make us feel better physically and emotionally.

In addition to the classes nurseries offer you can also find lots of valuable gardening information online from an assortment of websites.  One of the best references I have found is from Washington State University.  “Hortsense WSU” is a fabulous site for looking up bugs and diseases of ornamentals and fruits and vegetables.  Also, most of our counties and cities have online resources.  Snohomish County Solid Waste division has a ton of information available on lawn care and sustainable gardening.  If you want to attend an informative lecture series then set aside the 4^th Wednesday of every month for a Bugs and Blights session at the WSU Extension office on 600 128^th street SE in Everett.  Call 425-338-2400 for times.  Sharon Collman is the instructor and she is always very entertaining.