WSU Master Gardeners in Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties in Washington undertook two native plant projects.
One was to renovate a native plant garden next to the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco, on the Long Beach Peninsula where the Columbia River meeting the Pacific Ocean. (If you check the Lewis & Clark Expedition journals you will find that this is where they camped in November 1805 before crossing the Columbia to winter at Fort Clatsop, in Oregon.)
The other project was to design plant identification cards for Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano, which is nestled in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains.
The Discovery Garden Project
The garden in Ilwaco was an overgrown native garden full of weeds. A multi-year plan to redesign the garden was developed. Besides restoration and adding new features to the garden, the plan includes quarterly public presentations given in the Museum’s meeting room.
Presentations & Work
After the presentations the attendees move to the garden to practice the skills just presented. The public has attended the workshops with enthusiasm and increasing participation. After the August session a couple of people remarked on how much everything had grown since they pruned the trees & shrubs in February! The presentation topics included Pruning, Weed Suppression & Mulching, Native Plants & Water-wise Gardening, Winterizing the Garden and Landscape.
Native Plant Identification Activity at the Museum Garden
Part of the Native plant workshop was to identify the name of the numbered native plants in the garden. One person asked how long the numbers would remain next to the plants because he wanted to bring someone so that both of them would try to identify all of the plants! *This will become a museum activity. The plants will be numbered and the museum gift shop will post the answer key so people can check how many plants they correctly identified. Both the museum and the garden benefit from the increase in people using the area.
More about the discovery garden (click photos to enlarge)….
Weclome to the Discovery Garden!
The existing garden is on the left and the long term plans for specific areas are on the right.
The garden was very overgrown.
Weeding and mulching helped.
Lake Sylvia Project
Master Gardeners developed a plant identification card for the native trees and shrubs at Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano. The most common trees and shrubs in the park were identified and the work began on photographing or finding photos of the trees, their bark, cones or flowers, leaves, and other identifying features. Included on the card are the scientific name and common name as well as the pictures. The conifers are on one side and the broadleaf & shrubs are on the other. Once the cards (8 ½ “ x 11”) were printed and laminated, they were taken to the park’s information area to be used. Other future possible photo sheets include ferns, spring wild flowers, berries, mosses & lichens. Here in the rainy northwest, we have lots of them!
The Native Plant Identification Cards
Click photos to enlarge…
The Broadleaf and Shrub identification card.
The most prominent conifers at Lake Sylvia State Park.
Both of these projects are great for public education, increasing the public’s awareness of master gardeners, and can be replicated by other groups. Have fun trying these activities.
-Mary-Jean Grimes, Master Gardener Grays Harbor-Pacific Counties, Washington State
