We at
Joy Creek Nursery believe that our educational classes in our gardens are an exceptionally good way to help gardeners of all experience levels improve their knowledge, skills and confidence for working in their gardens. Since we started this educational program we have expanded our speaker list to include many specialists from our local area, nationally and around the world. Please join us by attending our classes.
All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.
March 25
Pruning Workshop - Mike Smith
Both the health and beauty of a garden depend on thoughtful maintenance through pruning. Learn what to look for and how to make the best pruning cuts to enhance your trees, shrubs and perennials.
Mike Smith is co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery. You can see his pruning handiwork throughout the nursery, especially in the large rhododendrons around the house and behind our lavender path and in the numerous shrubs shaped into small trees that are grown throughout our gardens. Mike is a passionate gardener who left a management job in big industry to start the nursery.
April 1
Propagation 101 - Sheila Rabideaux
Learn the basics of increasing plants by making divisions and taking cuttings. Instruction is designed to help home gardeners propagate their favorite plants.
Sheila Rabideaux joined our staff as propagator in 2005. With a degree in horticulture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she came to Oregon to find work in the wholesale plant industry. When she first visited Joy Creek Nursery, she told us that she wanted to work for us and happily we were able to make that happen. Sheila's passion has been propagating woody plants, especially conifers and viburnums. She also enjoys grafting.
April 8
Fertilizers and Soil Amendments - Patrick Petersen
Take an in-depth look at how, when and why to use the many fertilizers and soil additives that are now available to gardeners.
Patrick Petersen received his degree from The Ohio State University in horticulture with a minor in entomology. After six years working as a nursery manager, he was hired as a horticulturist for Marion Ag. Services. His job is to educate customers how to use horticultural products. Patrick is interested in how the various elements of a garden - the soil, the bugs, the fertilizers, composts and plants - work together to create an ecosystem.
April 15
Trees in the Garden - Anne Marsh
We often think we don't have room for more trees in our gardens but there are many small to medium-sized trees that can easily be added to beautiful effect.
Anne Marsh is a landscape designer in the Portland area. Together with her partner Gary Fear she owns Marsh & Fear Garden Solutions specializing in designs for residential gardens. Anne is eager to pass on some basic tenets of design that home gardeners can apply to their own gardens.
April 22
Bamboo - Dain Sansome
If you have been afraid to grow bamboo, this is the class for you. Learn about the characteristics and growth habits of various bamboos, how to control their spread and how to maintain them as screens or groves.
Dain Sansome is a licensed landscape contractor. His business Bamboo Valley Authority specializes in bamboo removal, maintenance and installation. Born in Minnesota, he learned about both gardening and bamboo at an early age. His subsequent travels lead him to Japan where he studied and traveled extensively. In 2002, he came to Oregon to grow bamboo in a favorable climate. He has worked at The Bamboo Garden, one of America's largest and oldest bamboo nurseries, since 2003.
April 29
9:00 a.m. - Bird Watching - Lee Cain
Because of our gardens and our country setting, Joy Creek Nursery has been blessed with an exceptional diversity of birds. Meet at 9:00 a.m. in the nursery parking lot for an hour-and-a-half of guided bird watching. Be sure to bring your binoculars!
Lee Cain lives, works and plays in Astoria , Oregon, with his wife and two kids. A former fisheries biologist, he now teaches Aquatic Biology and Integrated Science at Astoria High School . When he is not studying and teaching about things wet and scaly, he often has his binoculars on and is chasing birds with his kids.
1:00 p.m. - Attracting Wildlife to the Garden - Nadine Black
Get design and plant ideas to make your garden more welcoming to our fellow creatures. Also, learn some steps to take to insure a safe environment for them.
Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. At Joy Creek Nursery, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.
May 6
Getting Started in the Garden - John Caine
Organizing the space around your home to create outdoor living spaces that flow one to the next is essential to making that space "feel" like a garden. Sometimes this can be solved by learning how to ask better questions.
John Caine comes to his job as landscape garden designer for Joy Creek Nursery not only with a degree from Michigan State University but also with thirty years of practical experience as an estate gardener. He gave Joy Creek Nursery its master plan and continues to help us refine our gardens.
May 13
Confident Cutting - Linda Beutler
Treating cut flowers, fruit and foliage properly is the key to long-lasting arrangements. In honor of Mother's Day, we are pleased to present the launch of Linda's new book Garden to Vase from Timber Press. Join us for a lecture and book signing.
Linda Beutler published her first book in 2004, Gardening with Clematis. She assumed the position of President of the Pacific Northwest Clematis Society in 2005, and has been instrumental in maintaining the Rogerson Clematis Collection. Her second book Garden to Vase will be in the stores in spring 2006. She is an instructor at Clackamas Community College, Oregon.
May 20
Basic Design Elements - Gary Fear
Designing a garden can be a bewildering experience. Learn step-by-step the basic process to make your design unique yet coherent.
Gary Fear is co-owner, with Anne Marsh, of Marsh & Fear Garden Solutions which specializes in designs for residential gardens. His background in the visual arts, and later in high-end woodworking and design, has transferred well to his garden designs. Gary emphasizes that he specializes in hard-scapes and the construction of customized garden structures.
May 27
Summer Containers - Nadine Black
You've still got time to produce dazzling containers for your summer garden by using interesting and unusual plants.
Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. At Joy Creek Nursery, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.
June 2 & 3
A Celebration of Clematis
June 2nd
Incredible integrifolia: A Clematis of Influence and Integrity - Linda Beutler
The species Clematis integrifolia is incredibly versatile in the mixed border combining with many a perennial to make dazzling effects. Because of its great hardiness and long bloom, it has also been hybridized with other clematis to produce some fine garden plants.
Linda Beutler published her first book in 2004, Gardening with Clematis. She assumed the position of President of the Pacific Northwest Clematis Society in 2005, and has been instrumental in maintaining the Rogerson Clematis Collection. She is an instructor at Clackamas Community College, Oregon.
June 3rd
Early Masters of Clematis Hybridizing - Brewster Rogerson
Many of the clematis we grow in our gardens today have been in the retail trade for over 100 years. Learn about the historic hybrids of such great breeders as George Jackman, Charles Noble and Victor Lemoine and the reason for their staying power.
Brewster Rogerson is renowned in the world of clematis for his very historically significant and species-diverse collection of clematis which has just found a home at Luscher Farms in Lake Oswego under the auspices of Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection. This is a rare chance to hear from our local "dean" of clematis.
June 10
Conifers - Don Howse
Let an expert guide you in finding the best, choice evergreens for your garden. Don Howse brings an extensive knowledge of and experience with the conifers best suited to our climate. There will be selected specimen plants for sale.
Don Howse is co-owner of Porterhowse Farms in Sandy, Oregon, and past president of the Western Region of the American Conifer Society. He has been collecting rare and unusual conifers for more than 30 years. Anyone who has visited his nursery knows that his interest in plants extends way beyond conifers. He himself confesses that he is a plant addict.
June 17
Carnivorous Plants and Other Bog Treasures - Scott Vegara
There is growing interest in bog gardening because of all the unusual and unfamiliar plants that dwell in those special conditions. Learn how to grow and care for them at your home either in a garden or in a container. Venus fly-traps, pitcher plants and sun-dews will soon be part of your plant palette.
Scott Vegara writes "if you need a one sentence bio, say that one of my prized plants was a variegated poison ivy." That shows his passion for plants, but it does not tell the depth of his involvement with horticulture. He has done genetic research, been a college educator, worked as plant development coordinator, and served as director of two botanical gardens. He is currently the Executive Director and Director of Horticulture at the Berry Botanic Garden in Portland, Oregon. One of his passions is carnivorous plants.
June 24
Tastefully Labeling the Garden- Dan Moeller
How to know what you have in your garden without the use of miniature billboards! Dan has some innovative ideas that you won't want to miss.
Dan Moeller was a garden manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden before he made the big move to the West Coast to become the plant collections manager at the Hoyt Arboretum in Portland , Oregon. Dan also serves on the tree committee of the Great Plant Picks from the Elizabeth C. Miller Botanic Garden in Seattle.
July 1
Revitalizing a Tired Bed - Jolly Butler
Has a section of your garden lost its appeal? Are you wondering what to do about it? Acquire some techniques for assessing the situation and making the changes that will make you happy with your garden.
Jolly Butler became familiar to gardeners throughout the Portland area through her "Gardening 101" column in Garden Showcase magazine. Also, many gardeners learned their gardening basics in her classes at Portland Community College. Recently, she ran a two-hour, call-in radio show called "Gardening with Jolly Butler" on KPAM in Portland. She is an Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener and is active in the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon. Oh, yes, and she is a gardener.
July 8
What Color is Your Garden? - Lucy Hardiman
Understanding the way that color works can bring out the artist in any gardener and help to personalize a garden. Learn what you are doing when you create your own color palette, refine your sense of color, or go wild with varied hues.
Lucy Hardiman, former president of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, and vice-president of Friends of Rogerson Clematis Collection, is a driving force in the Portland plant world. Through her garden design company Perennial Partners, her lectures and her writing in national publications, she expresses her sophisticated sense of design and color in the garden.
July 15
Advanced Propagation
1:00 p.m. - Backyard Plant Breeding - Diana Reeck
How are new plants made? Discover the secrets of plant sex and get hands-on experience with several genera. (Please bring your own tweezers!)
Diana Reeck, co-owner of Collector's Nursery in Battleground, Washington, is an amateur plant breeder whose passions include erythroniums, small-flowered clematis and epimediums. She is also an avid plant explorer and her adventures have taken her throughout the Pacific Northwest and, indeed, as far as China.
2:15 p.m. - Propagation 102 - Scotty Fairchild
Growing plants from seeds can be tricky for the home gardener. The various techniques for coaxing seeds to life will fascinate you.
Scotty Fairchild has been employed as the Garden Steward at the Leach Botanical Garden since 1990. He is responsible for the development and maintenance of the garden's extensive plant collections and the sustainable stewardship of the 15-acre site. In addition, he has developed the garden's nursery facility which currently has over 2,000 accessioned taxa, the majority grown from seed. His most recent academic studies were at Oregon State University.
July 22
Ferns - Judith Jones
The Fern Lady is back with delightful tales and information about what she calls the most architectural of plants. Learn how to chose ferns for specific sites (including hot, dry ones), how to care for them and grow them well.
Judith Jones' unmistakable laugh belies the joy that she brings to her work as owner of Fancy Fronds Nursery in Gold Bar , Washington. Judith reports that she is an avowed "pteridomaniac." She says, "Ferns just make sense as exquisite architectural living forms - they are incredibly elegant while being eminently grow-able." Any one who has seen one of her 18 display gardens at the NW Flower and Garden Show has experienced her great theatricality. "I don't have any formal botanical training as I studied Children's Theater and 17th and 19th century English literature. Great prep for a person to roll about in peat and horse poop thereafter!" She gleefully adds, "I can sing Shakespearian ballads loudly off-key and dance through the ferns to Mozart or the Muppets."
July 28, Saturday 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Twilight in the Garden
The whole garden and our experience of it changes in the fading light of evening, Come see what magic takes place, and what plants you might see in a new light. Light refreshments and music.
July 29
The New Western Garden - Paul Bonine
Gardeners in the Northwest are facing all kinds of challenges - smaller urban garden spaces, growing pressures on limited resources like water and the shift to more environmentally friendly practices are but a few. Gardeners are also challenged to find ways to incorporate shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals in ways that mimic and complement our native landscape but still allow the freedom of personal expression. Learn about some exciting new plants that can meet these challenges.
Paul Bonine is co-owner of the wholesale nursery Xera Plants Inc. with his partner Greg Shepherd. He has worked in the nursery industry since 1992 beginning in Eugene and then moving to Portland. Paul's special interests include plants that are adapted to low water usage, perform well in the Portland area and expand the plant palette for Northwest gardeners. By the way, Paul is a Taurus.
August 5
Paths and Circulation - John Caine
How you move through your garden is elemental to your enjoyment of that space. Paths also help define your planting areas. In a sense, paths are the lungs and arteries of the garden, facilitating all kinds of circulation.
John Caine comes to his job as landscape garden designer for Joy Creek Nursery not only with a degree from Michigan State University but also with thirty years of practical experience as an estate gardener. He gave Joy Creek Nursery its master plan and continues to help us refine our gardens.
August 12
The Inside Story: Garden Tours
Take this opportunity to look behind the scenes and get the details on how we design and maintain our nursery borders. Tour content will be full of humor and insight. Tours will leave at 10:00 a.m., noon, and 2:00 p.m. Join the nursery owners, Mike Smith & Maurice Horn for a tour.
August 19
Small Water Features - Nadine Black
It is not as hard as you think to have water in the garden. Get ideas for water features that are easy to install and maintain. We will examine everything from water rocks to small fountains.
Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. Here, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.
August 26
Dry Shade - Richie Steffen
Northwest summers are notoriously dry and many common shade plants cannot survive the competition for water from larger shrubs and trees. Yet, there are a surprising number of plants that are up to these difficult circumstances.
Richie Steffen is the Coordinator of Horticulture for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden where he manages the rare plant collections and heads acquisitions of new plants for the garden. He currently serves as a selection committee member of the Great Plant Picks program and is always ready to share his enthusiasm for this excellent regional resource.
Sept. 2
Ground Covers - Ramona Wulzen
Find plants that will enhance problem areas in your garden and learn how to keep them looking good, whether in dry shade under evergreens or in a sunny hot spot that gets little water.
Ramona Wulzen received her love of all things wild from her mother. She has gardened both on a city lot and on three acres in the woods. She has also listened long and hard to the problems and solutions that other gardeners have experienced. The nature of her current garden has led to her passion for ground covers and container gardening. Ramona is a veteran of our retail department and now works in our landscape department.
Sept. 9
Fall Wreaths - Nadine Black
Get ideas about gathering the abundant dried plant material found in the garden in late summer. There will be a demonstration on how to use these materials for autumn decoration.
Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. At Joy Creek Nursery, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.
Sept. 16
Ornamental Grasses - Carolyn Jones
Ornamental grasses bring movement and texture to the garden. With so many choices and such a range of colors and sizes, it can sometimes be daunting selecting the most suitable grass for your site. Learn about care and maintenance and take a tour.
Carolyn Jones is director of the Elizabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, Washington. One of her duties as director is to oversee the Great Plant Picks program which is designed to educate the public about plants well-suited to the Pacific Northwest. She has worked in horticulture in the Northwest for 30 years in retail and wholesale sales as well as at botanical gardens.
Sept. 23
Low-Water Gardening - Maurice Horn
Drier, warmer summers. Increasing costs of water. Stubborn Northwest clay. What do they have in common? They are part of the background of experiments conducted in the gardens at Joy Creek Nursery that have resulted in reduced water usage and, ironically, an expanded plant palette.
Maurice Horn, as co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery, has had the opportunity to trial a vast variety of perennials and shrubs. He is ever eager to find ways to create exciting gardens that use low to no water. Recently he has conducted gravel gardening workshops for Metro, the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon and Heronswood Nursery.
Sept. 30
Winter Containers - Ramona Wulzen
Basic container maintenance and strong design elements are essential for creating interesting and elegant containers for the winter months. Join Ramona in creating winter container combinations.
Ramona Wulzen received her love of all things wild from her mother. She has gardened both on a city lot and on three acres in the woods. She has also listened long and hard to the problems and solutions that other gardeners have experienced. The nature of her current garden has lead to her passion for ground covers and container gardening. Ramona is a veteran of our retail department and now works in our landscape department.
© 2007 Joy Creek Nursery
Photos: Joy Creek Photo Archive © all rights reserved
Labels: classes, education, gardening, gardens, horticulture, Joy Creek, nursery, plants
Joy Creek Nursery offers customers educational classes, workshops and special events throughout the gardening season. Classes are conducted in the outdoor classroom in our gardens, 18 miles north of Portland at 20300 NW Watson Rd in Scappoose. Please follow the signs to our workshop parking when arriving at the nursery.
