In 2025, the Foundation celebrates its 26th year of the Yard & Garden lecture series. Mark your calendar for January 11, 18, 25, and February 1, 8 and 15. Sessions will be live from 10 a.m.–12 p.m. at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
Buy single tickets for $15, or buy the entire series for $75. To purchase ticket online, visit 2025YardAndGarden.eventbrite.com. Tickets can also be purchased on the day of the lecture.
| 2025 Yard & Garden Lecture Series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 11, 2025: Richie Steffen “In Search of Excellence: Great Plant Picks for the Garden” | Richie Steffen is the executive director for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden, overseeing the development of the garden, its programs, and the rare plant collections. His expertise comes from over 35 years of experience in the horticultural field, with the last 25 years spent at the Miller Garden. The Miller Garden works with expert horticulturists from around the region to select the best garden ornamentals through the Great Plant Picks program www.greatplantpicks.org. During his talk, Richie will share the process for how Great Plant Picks are selected and his insight on collecting plants from around the world. | |||||
| January 18, 2025: Mark Turner “The Beauty of Weeds” | Mark Turner is a freelance editorial photographer specializing in botanical subjects, especially Northwest wildflowers and gardens. He is the photographer, and co-author with Phyllis Gustafson, of the award-winning Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest. His second book, Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest, was co-authored by Ellen Kuhlmann and published by Timber Press in 2014. His latest book for Timber, Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, was co-authored by Sami Gray and published in 2024. Mark’s presentation will focus on the plants we didn’t ask to join our gardens: weeds. But just because they’re weeds doesn’t mean they’re ugly. In fact, some of our weeds are quite beautiful. Come on a journey showcasing some of our most unwelcome plants and get a few tips on controlling them, too. | |||||
| January 25, 2025: Sue Goetz “Edible Garden Landscape Design” | Sue Goetz, CPH, ecoPRO, provides clients with an array of services from garden coaching to complete landscape design to personalize outdoor spaces. Her work has earned gold medals at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, specialty awards from Sunset and Fine Gardening magazines, and awards from The American Horticultural Society. Sue shares her love for the garden by offering seminars and hands-on workshops, and through her books, The Complete Container Herb Gardening, A Taste for Herbs, and The Herb-Lover’s Spa Book. In her talk, Sue will encourage gardeners to incorporate edibles — some with incredible color and texture — in landscape design. She’ll provide down-to-earth tips for cultivating successful edible landscapes, as well as guidance for which edible plants mingle well with ornamental shrubs, trees, and perennials. | |||||
| February 1, 2025: David Allen “Real Plants for the Real World” | David Allen has been working in the fields of restoration and plant propagation for more than 35 years. He started Shore Road Nursery (Port Angeles) from a hay field in 1990 while performing environmental consulting work in California. In 2008, he began working for Olympic National Park where one of his primary assignments was to run the native plant nursery for the Elwha River Restoration Project. He has since retired and is now focused on the nursery where he strives to produce a wide selection of high quality container-grown native plants. David plans to talk about how to create a dynamic year-round garden featuring native plants that attract pollinators, birds and other wildlife. | |||||
| February 8, 2025: Dr. Karen Wright “Native Bees of Washington State” | Dr. Karen Wright is an entomologist and researcher. She received her Master’s degree at Oregon State University in entomology, then she moved to New Mexico where she started her career working on native bees. She received her Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico on the Evolution of Diet Breadth in Melissodes bees. After that, she was curator of the insect collection at Texas A&M University for six years until she saw the job listing for the Washington Bee Atlas. She was hired February 1, 2023, by the Washington State Department of Agriculture to develop and manage the Washington Bee Atlas. Karen will talk about native bees (Washington has more than 600 species) and how they differ from honey bees and wasps, and provide an introduction to the Washington Bee Atlas that was formed in 2023. | |||||
| February 15, 2025: Clay Antieau “The Importance of Being Evergreen” | Clay Antieau, MS, is a horticulturist, botanist, and environmental scientist. Clay has 40 years’ experience in teaching courses in plant identification, wetland science, and restoration science at the University of Washington and other colleges in Washington. He is past president, former chapter chair, and former member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Native Plant Society; a past president of the Society for Ecological Restoration Northwest Chapter; and a research associate at the University of Washington Herbarium at the Burke Museum. Clay’s presentation will focus on “Evergreen-ness,” a concept that helps explain why certain plant species are invasive, and why certain plant communities can be invaded. Deploying Evergreen-ness in your vegetation management and restoration strategies in forests, rights-of-way, and ornamental landscapes also yields multiple subsidiary benefits in managing stormwater; creating a sense of place; and supporting healthy, diverse soil food webs. | |||||