The Garden Hotline

10/09/2026

Garden Hotline Presents: Fall Groundwork in the Natural Garden

Get a jump on spring by taking care of the garden in fall!

The Seattle Public Library
High Point Branch
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
1:30 – 3:00 pm

We'll cover the maritime northwest climate and microclimates, how to protect your soil for the winter with mulch and cover crops, types of mulch, fall planting, how to do it and why this is a good season to plant, plant choices good for the northwest, lawn care tasks to do now that will save you time in the growing season and tips for winterizing your garden. Samples of cover crop seed will be shared!

Sign up online with Seattle Public Library!

10/01/2026

Autumn is a great time of year to plant perennials. Even drought tolerant plants establish their roots systems better during the rainy season. Today's plant highlight is Yarrow, a native species to the Pacific Northwest. Yarrow features flat-topped clusters of white, yellow, or pink flowers with soft, ferny foliage. Grows about 2 feet tall and wide.it thrives in full sun to partial shade; handles poor, dry soil effortlessly. Yarrow is beneficial for bees and butterflies.

09/28/2026

Celebrate fall Cascade Water Alliance and their free Cascade Gardener series!

Stretch your creative side and appreciation for fall colors tomorrow with

Cascade Gardener Presents Karen Chapman! Celebrating Fall

September 29, 2026
7:00 pm-8:00 pm
Zoom

Join designer Karen Chapman as she invites you to age gracefully! Learn how to combine bold brushstrokes of color, unexpected accents, and intriguing, textural layers to create rich, autumnal scenes that you will look forward to every year.

Then dig into gardening topics from Fall and Winter Container Gardening, starting flowers and veggies from seed, and Texture & Colorful Favorites of Fall!
Every Tuesday in October.
Sign up here: https://cascadewater.org/water-efficiency/cascade-gardener/

09/25/2026

Join us tomorrow with City of Bothell Government for Sustainamania!

Saturday, September 26th, 2026
10am to 2pm
Bothell City Hall

Sustainamania is a free event for the whole family. Bring all your organic gardening questions to our Garden Hotline educators and learn best sustainable gardening practices while the kids make crafts, touch a truck and listen to live music.

Learn more here:
https://www.bothellwa.gov/227/Sustainamania

09/25/2026

Join us next Saturday for a fall gardening workshop! We will be hosting a discussion and seed planting activity at the Cedar City Tree Facility in NW Seattle.

Saturday, October 3rd
10 am to 12 pm.

Join us to talk about soil health activities, planting in the fall, and getting ahead of pest, w**d, and disease issues that could crop up next spring. We will be sharing seed gathered by from their native plant nursery and landscape to plant and take home to grow for your own gardens.

Please register at the Eventbrite link here:

Join a discussion about what to do in the garden this fall to close the season and get the garden ready for spring.

09/24/2026

Food prevention week is September 28th - October 4th. The WA State Department of Ecology has a great Toolkit you can share with your community, youth programs, classrooms, church etc. Here's all teh details:

Join the global campaign to reduce food waste and make a positive environmental impact.

09/22/2026

Share your thoughts on urban farming in Puget Sound. It only takes a few minutes and the data is important to address needs for space, funding and food scarcity.

09/20/2026

One of the most endearing bees in our gardens, Bumble Bees are fun to watch and important for many plants we grow. Learn more about how to identify who is visiting your flowers from the Xerces Society and take time to investigate who is frequenting your garden.

Once you learn how to recognize a bumble bee, you may wonder whether you are encountering a queen, female worker, or a male bumble bee. With a little practice, you […]

09/19/2026

Are you interested in garden design for healing spaces? Sign up for the UW Center for this Nature and Health Community Dinner where Amy Wagenfeld and Daniel Winterbottom will talk about their book, Therapeutic Gardens: Design for Healing Spaces. Tuesday, September 22, 2026 6pm to 8pm.
Nature and Health Community Dinners include:

A plant-based dinner
Drinks
Networking
Short talks from a wide variety of professionals, including researchers, community leaders, policy-makers, program managers, etc.

Our quarterly community dinners welcome anyone with a curiosity about expanding access to green space to support health and well-being, environmental and health equity, people-nature reciprocity, and climate change resilience. Students, professionals, and community members from many different discip...