2025 San Juan County WSU Master Gardeners
Garden Workshop Series​

Series price: $35 for all 4 presentations 
Registration opens in July!
Welcome to our annual Garden Workshop Series, held in October over two weeks and presented as Zoom webinars so that you can enjoy the lectures from the comfort of your home. 

The series includes 4 one-hour presentations with additional time for questions and discussion. Our speakers are scientists, authors, naturalists, professional gardeners, and accomplished Master Gardeners who will share their knowledge, experience, and beautiful photographs of plants, flowers, birds and bees, and garden pests.
 
Presentations will be recorded, and paid registrants may view them until November 30, 2025. We'll send a link to the recording after each presentation. Please be advised that unforeseen technical difficulties may occur, so we can't guarantee a recording for each session.
2025 Garden Workshop Schedule
TUESDAY OCTOBER 14
12pm - 1:15pm
Keynote: Close to Home
​Thor Hanson
Close to Home is a hands-on natural history for any local patch of Earth, showing that we each can contribute to science and improve the health of our planet. And even more, it proves that the wonders of nature don’t lie in some far-off land: they await us, close to home.  

Thor Hanson is a well-known PNW author whose early interest in the natural world steered him toward a career in conservation biology. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands, a master’s from the University of Vermont’s Field Naturalist Program, and a doctorate in a joint program through the University of Idaho and the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Costa Rica. Hanson is a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Switzer Environmental Fellow. 

Hanson’s research and conservation activities have taken him around the globe studying American trees and songbirds, nest predation in Tanzania, and the grisly feeding habits of African vultures. He spent time in Uganda as a Peace Corps volunteer working at the interface between natural and human systems with mountain gorillas and later in Alaska with brown bears. He is the author of multiple books including Feathers, The Triumph of Seeds, Buzz, Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid, and Close to Home. 
THURSDAY OCTOBER 16
12pm - 1:15pm
Sweet Peas - Fragrant, Sustainable Spring Flowers
Marryn Mathis
Marryn Mathis will share her deep knowledge and passion for sweet peas, taking you on an informative journey through her nearby Washington Farmhouse Flower Farm and teaching you how to plant, grow, harvest, and arrange beloved and easy-to-grow sweet peas. 
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Marryn’s journey into flower farming started when she decided to make a career change from her job in IT. She had always been drawn to the beauty of flowers and the power they hold, and she knew that flower farming was what she wanted to do. With the support of her husband, she started her flower farm in 2018 and hasn’t looked back since. 

Marryn’s love for sweet peas was planted in her as a child by her grandmother, and now she grows thousands of them on her farm. She finds so much joy in sharing the beauty and emotion of sweet peas with others. Her recent book Sweet Pea School is full of stunning photos of colorful varietals, romantic bouquets, and gardens in full bloom—a modern and practical resource for all gardeners. 
TUESDAY OCTOBER 21
12pm - 1:15pm
Harvest Vegetables All Year Round
Linda Gilkeson
Gardeners in the mild climate of the West Coast can enjoy fresh food from their gardens all 12 months of the year. To do that, you need to choose the right varieties and plant them at the right time. Learn what to grow, when to plant, simple methods for protecting crops from extreme weather and how to fit winter crops in with summer plantings to make the most of your garden space. ​
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Linda is first and foremost an amazing gardener, but in addition she shares her knowledge and experience by teaching, writing a monthly blog, and authoring many go-to books about gardening. She originally hailed from Washington but has called Salt Spring Island in British Columbia Canada home for many years. Linda’s education includes a Ph.D. in Entomology from McGill University and many years of experience as an entomologist promoting programs to reduce and eliminate pesticide use. 

Linda is well known for her best-selling and comprehensive tome Backyard Bounty: The Complete Guide to Year-Round Organic Gardening in the Pacific Northwest. She has also published multiple helpful pest-management guides. Linda is a regular instructor in the Master Gardener programs in BC and the States. Linda has also been active in provincial leadership roles encouraging pest awareness and management, and has been recognized many times over for her conservation efforts and achievements. 
THURSDAY OCTOBER 23
12pm - 1:15pm
The Little Things that Run Your Garden
Kate Yturri
We garden with a variety of insects every day. We overlook or fret over many of them. Kate will share her knowledge of these important and mostly helpful allies, revealing strategies to identify, attract and protect them while appreciating their presence and importance. 

Kate became an insect lover and gardener at a young age. She gardened with her father in his large vegetable and flower garden from the age of 4. When she was in the 8th grade, she and her father collected insects together in coastal South Texas. Her insect collection won first prize in the school science fair, and she found a previously unidentified beetle!

Kate gardened in college in a shady, treed back yard in Austin, in grad school in a driveway strip in Dallas, and ultimately gardened in a forest, growing veggies, tree fruits, and berries in SW Washington. Washington became her gardening paradise with its natural beauty and amazing plant and animal life, including insects. After retiring to Orcas Island, she had the time to become a Master Gardener in 2013. Kate loves to grow edibles and flowers almost anywhere. She also enjoys teaching others, especially children, about gardening and insects, but also loves spending time learning about and watching insects!