Upcoming Events
Club Meeting - Gardening Under Mature Trees w/ Christina Pfeiffer
Trees are long-lived plants that provide the greatest long-term impacts to our gardens, the landscape, and the environment. They provide shade, habitat, structure and screening. Some may also provide Spring flowers, Summer fruit and/or Fall foliage. Installing new plantings and maintaining old gardens within the shade and root zone of mature trees can present challenges for the trees and companion plantings alike. Misunderstandings about mature trees and their roots can impact the health of prized older trees. Grass and other plantings can decline under increasing competition for light and soil space with trees. Drawing from decades of experience and expertise, Christina will share some cost-effective techniques to improve the long-term success for all plants in these landscape situations.
All are welcome to attend this event; since space is limited, please RSVP to deborah.sherwood@snovalleygc.org. Attendance is free for club members; a suggested donation of $10 for guests will be collected at the door.
Bio: Christina Pfeiffer is a horticulture educator and author who has enjoyed a long career in landscape horticulture. Sustainable and efficient landscape techniques are a special area of interest and expertise. Now mostly retired, she brings her past work as a horticulturist at public gardens and as a consultant diagnosing tree and landscape and health issues to her current lectures. She holds degrees in horticulture from Michigan State and the University of Washington, and is an ISA Certified Arborist ®. Her book Pacific Northwest Month-by-Month Gardening guides readers on how to tap into the cycle of the seasons so that our gardening efforts become more of an enjoyable experience and less of about doing battle.
4th Annual Oaktoberfest
The Garden Club is seeking friendly volunteers to help staff our table at this year’s Oaktoberfest. You don’t need to be a plant expert to participate! Whether you're passionate about gardening or simply enjoy connecting with the community, you can help by sharing general information about the Garden Club and what we do.
It’s a great way to meet neighbors, support sustainable gardening, and represent our club in a fun, festive setting. Contact us at info@snovalleygc.org.
Club Meeting - Annual Business Meeting & Elections
Join us for our Annual Business Meeting as we celebrate everything we’ve accomplished together over the past year and take a look at what lies ahead. We’ll review key highlights from this year before turning our focus to shaping the future of our organization, beginning with the presentation, discussion, and vote on the 2027 budget. We will also be holding elections for all executive officer roles - President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary - as well as open trustee positions. Once official business wraps up, we’ll transition into some well-deserved fun with a few lively rounds of Plant Bingo, giving everyone a chance to win new leafy additions for their collection!
In addition to elected positions, we need volunteers to work the membership table during meetings, increase our social media presence, provide tech support during meetings & organize fundraising. At this time, we have not received any new nominees or volunteers for any of the positions. We do truly need you! Of note: we are changing Board Meeting times to the evening (4th Tuesday of each month at 6PM-8PM) to accommodate those who work full-time.
4th Annual SVGC Progressive Dinner and Garden Tour
Members, come tour three beautiful gardens and enjoy a potluck-style progressive dinner along the way. You’ll only need to bring one dish to one of the three garden destinations. We’ll provide the drinks and utensils—you bring the deliciousness!
Check your email for a Sign-Up Genius email from Melody Granillo for details, including locations and sign-up for potluck. Hope to see you there!
Club Meeting - ‘Forensic Botany: When Plants Become Silent Witnesses’ with Lydia Pozzato
Join us for our August Club Meeting:
RESERVE TICKETS HERE (space is limited)
Your purchase supports scholarships for Mount Si High School Seniors, Encompass Children's Sensory Garden, amazing educational opportunities for the public, and much more!
Club Meeting - Gardening with Medicinal Herbs and Native Plants with Lea Dyga
Join speaker Lea Dyga for an inspiring look at Pacific Northwest medicinal and native plants. How to grow them, how to use them, and how they can support everyday wellness. Lea will demonstrate how to make simple healing teas using locally native plants. Attendees are encouraged to bring their favorite teacup for sampling. It’s a hands‑on, garden‑to‑cup exploration of plants that nourish, heal, and thrive in our region.
Please RSVP to deborah.sherwood@snovalleygc.org.
Anyone is welcome to bring snacks to share to monthly meetings. Let Deborah know if you plan on bringing something when you RSVP.
A special event for club members
Join at us Encompass on Wednesday, March 25th as we celebrate the arrival of Spring with a relaxed evening of Bingo!
Enjoy great conversation, tasty snacks, and YES - BINGO with prizes!
Please bring a favorite finger food to share (coffee, tea & ciders provided), as the Social begins at 6pm, with Bingo kicking off at 6:30p.
We’re excited to host this special gathering for our garden club members only.
Please RSVP to Deborah at deborah.sherwood@snovalleygc.org so we can be sure to have plenty of bingo cards and prizes for everyone.
Encompass Volunteer Opportunity
Let’s garden together! The Encompass Child Development Center plays a vital role in our community, offering invaluable support to children and families. They graciously allow us to host our monthly meetings in their beautiful facility. As a token of our appreciation, we assist in maintaining the enchanting Children’s Sensory Garden.
Club Meeting - Gardening with Pollinators - with Melody Granillo
Discover the fascinating world of our local pollinators and the essential role they play in our gardens and ecosystems. This presentation explores the diverse pollinators found in our region and how their unique abilities support plant reproduction and garden productivity, with special attention to the challenges facing honey bees. Learn practical ways to create a more pollinator-friendly landscape, reduce common threats to pollinators, and foster a healthy productive yard. Whether you grow vegetables, flowers, or simply enjoy watching nature at work, you’ll leave with ideas and inspiration for supporting pollinators while enhancing the beauty and vitality of your garden.
Encompass Volunteer Opportunity
Let’s garden together! The Encompass Child Development Center plays a vital role in our community, offering invaluable support to children and families. They graciously allow us to host our monthly meetings in their beautiful facility. As a token of our appreciation, we assist in maintaining the enchanting Children’s Sensory Garden.
Club Meeting - Tree Care and Maintenance with Phil Bennett
We enjoyed Phil's last presentation so much that we simply had to bring him back! And this time he’s diving even deeper into the wonderful (and occasionally wild) world of tree care. He’ll walk us through what our trees really need during spring and summer, share the do’s and don’ts of pruning, and help us avoid those well‑intentioned mistakes that make our trees sigh dramatically. Expect practical tips, a few “aha!” moments, and plenty of good humor as we learn how to keep our leafy giants happy and thriving.
Spring Plant Sale Spectacular
🌸🍅Spring Plant Sale Spectacular! 🌸🍅
29 Tomato Varieties • Dahlia Tubers • Hydrangeas • Perennials
Come wander and discover something wonderful!
Choose from Patti’s impressive collection of 29 tomato varieties—healthy, thriving, and ready in gallon containers for your garden.
Leola is bringing some of her beautiful hydrangeas along with a curated selection of perennials, and Melody’s famous dahlia tubers will be on hand—just waiting to become the stars of your summer garden.
Best of all, proceeds from the perennials and dahlia tubers support the Mt. Si High School scholarships—so your garden grows while young minds do also. 🌱
Cash or Venmo appreciated.
Petals & Porcelain Garden Tour & Tea Party
Members, join us for a tour of three spring gardens and a spot of tea! Check your email for your invitation and link to RSVP!
Community Fundraiser with author and container designer Christina Salwitz
An inspiring evening focused on creating bold, beautiful plant combinations for containers and garden spaces.
Guests will enjoy:
• A design-focused garden talk — Potter’s Passion
• Real-world plant combinations that create instant visual impact
• A silent auction featuring professionally planted designer pots
• Opportunity to pre-order Christina’s signature plant combinations
• Book sale and signing
Member tickets $5.00 (check your March newsletter for the discount code)
Guest tickets $10.00
https://my.cheddarup.com/c/evening-with-christina-salwitz/items
Members are welcome to purchase guest tickets for friends at the guest rate. Please reserve member‑priced tickets only for current members: one ticket for individual memberships and two for family memberships.
Encompass Volunteer Opportunity
Let’s garden together! The Encompass Child Development Center plays a vital role in our community, offering invaluable support to children and families. They graciously allow us to host our monthly meetings in their beautiful facility. As a token of our appreciation, we assist in maintaining the enchanting Children’s Sensory Garden.
A special event for club members
Join at us Encompass on Wednesday, March 25th as we celebrate the arrival of Spring with a relaxed evening of Bingo!
Enjoy great conversation, tasty snacks, and YES - BINGO with prizes!
Please bring a favorite finger food to share (coffee, tea & ciders provided), as the Social begins at 6pm, with Bingo kicking off at 6:30p.
We’re excited to host this special gathering for our garden club members only.
Please RSVP to Deborah at deborah.sherwood@snovalleygc.org so we can be sure to have plenty of bingo cards and prizes for everyone.
Club Meeting - Cleo Raulerson - “How to Combine Perennials, Shrubs and Small Trees in Your Yard”
Cleo will use photos to show how you can combine perennials, shrubs and small trees for garden color throughout the year. We will visit garden areas in multiple seasons to show how plants have different impact depending on the season. If you have heard her ‘Perennials for Year-Round Color’ or ’Shrubs that Grow Well in our Gardens’ talks, this is a chance to see how some of those plants actually look in a garden setting.
Cleo Raulerson has gardened, focusing on perennials and flowering shrubs, for more than 40 years. Her garden has over 750 varieties of flowering plants and the garden has been on the NPA (Northwest Perennial Alliance) Open Garden Tour for many years. Cleo served on the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society Board of Directors and is a King County Master Gardener.
PLEASE RSVP to Deborah at Deborah.Sherwood@snovalleygc.org as we will be opening this lecture up to the community with a recommended donation of $5 for non-members.
NOTE: Going forward, we will be accepting donations for the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank at our monthly meetings. An updated list of the most needed items can be found on their website.
Club Meeting - ROOTED IN WELLNESS: PART 1
Grace Porter, LMHC, is a depth psychotherapist specializing in trauma, over-giving, and high-achiever burnout. Her work is relational, attachment-based, and holistic, integrating creative, body-centered, and nature-based approaches. She is a Certified Advanced Facilitator of I AM Yoga Nidra and co-founder of The Seven Tools, where she teaches classes and workshops focused on shifting limiting beliefs and supporting deep, lasting personal transformation. Based on a small farm in Olympia, Washington, Grace brings her love of the outdoors and getting her hands in the dirt into both her life and her work.
Learn more at www.graceportertherapy.com and www.the7tools.com.
Grace will join us by Zoom for a talk; she will then answer any questions in an open discussion.
PLEASE RSVP to Deborah at Deborah.Sherwood@snovalleygc.org as we will be opening this lecture up to the community.
Board Meeting
LOCATION UPDATE: Amber Chaki’s house — if you are interested in attending, please email info@snovalleygc.org for address.
Club Meeting - Landscape Design Basics Video Class
This class is a natural follow-up to member Terry Pottmeyer’s inspiring talk, which encouraged us to really think more deeply about our gardens. Winter is the ideal time to do that work—before spring arrives and shovels hit the ground.
Why winter?
Good landscapes are planned, not rushed. This season gives us time to reflect, redesign, and make confident decisions so we’re ready when the growing season begins.
What participants will learn:
How to assess their site and existing landscape
Core design principles that work in any garden
How to plan changes that improve beauty, function, and long-term success.
This class is useful for both beginners and experienced gardeners who want better results this year.
CANCELLED - Winter Party
Winter Party
and Dessert Auction
Mt. Si Senior Center
411 Main Ave S, North Bend, WA 98045
We will be collecting donations for the food bank at the party
Dividing Dahlias
Our very own “Dahlia Diva,” Melody Granillo, will be hosting a dahlia tuber dividing class at her home. (Please refer to your November Newsletter for the address.) Bring your own tubers or divide one of hers. Please contact her for more information at magsnoq@gmail.com
Volunteer Opportunity
The Encompass Child Development Center plays a vital role in our community, offering invaluable support to children and families. They graciously allow us to host our monthly meetings in their beautiful facility. As a token of our appreciation, we assist in maintaining the enchanting Children’s Sensory Garden. If you’d like to lend a hand and be a part of this meaningful effort, please reach out to Melody Granillo at magsnoq@gmail.com
Non-SVGC Local Gardening Events
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