Editor's note: As this is the last edition of the Chapter Chat I am compiling and posting, I want to acknowledge the many contributors who make each edition possible. However, there are so many that I'm afraid to try and call you out by name for fear of missing someone. You know who you are, and I want you to know that you've made my job a pleasure. Thank you!
Come January, our new communications director Nicole will be taking these over. Welcome Nicole! I'm sure you will enjoy working with all of our contributors.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2025
7:00 - 8:00 PM PDT - Free Webinar, Open to All
Registration Required
8:00-9:00 PM PDT - Members Meeting
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You are invited to join the Washington County Master Gardeners for a webinar on Broadening Your Plant Palette. Todd Anderson is a member of the Small Farms team serving Polk, Benton, and Lane Counties. Originally from the Sacramento area, he has also lived and gardened in Hawaii and the Central Coast of California.
This presentation will give an overview of creating appropriate microclimates and extending the season using standard gardening techniques to grow tropical and subtropical edibles at home. This will use examples of subtropicals available in the produce aisle, such as sweet potatoes, ginger, turmeric, and lemongrass, which, with planning, can be grown successfully in Oregon. The same principles can be used to develop various subtropical produce for their ornamental, traditional medicinal, and edible uses. We will also cover how similar techniques have been applied to perennials like fuzzy kiwi, potted citrus, and hardy banana in our climate to avoid potential invasives.
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At my house It’s time to take down the fall berry wreath and put up the evergreen one. At the Chapter the planning and preparations for 2026 are well underway. Remember to record your volunteer and education hours, re-up your membership, and think about where you’d like to be involved net year.
And especially in this busy season, take time for you and yours and possibly others in our community not as fortunate as we are. Happy Holidays!
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We have many volunteer opportunities for this fun and rewarding event! Below are a few special leadership roles which will help you earn Partner volunteer hours in the coming year. Additional volunteer opportunities will be announced in February. Time commitment varies. Please get involved!
Volunteer Coordinator will focus on connecting volunteers with the tasks they want to perform. Collect data with the website Sign-Up form, connect with current Master Gardeners and new MG Interns, provide instructions to volunteers, track hours of volunteers. It’s an important role and we would like you to be on the Steering Committee (one meeting per month, January to April) where you will have lots of training and resources.
Wholesale Plant Purchasing process needs another volunteer to help us select plants for GardenFest (those that are not propagated by WCMGA). We purchase 1000’s of beautiful plants online from local nurseries in January and February which are delivered on Set Up day. Help us set pricing rates. We need your help to choose annuals, perennials, veggies, ground covers, shrubs and more!
Wayfinding Signs are used to get customers from the street to the GardenFest event on sale day. Most signs are re-used from year to year. Also create the Price Key and Plant Cultural Icon Signs. Have a small team on set up day to place the signs. Participation at Steering Committee meetings is optional.
Tallying Lead will help us create the tally sheet and train 13 volunteers to guide customers through sales line. We need your presence at setup on May 1, at the event on May 2, and optional participation at Steering Committee meetings leading up to the event.
Interested? Have questions? Contact Lisa Barnhart.
All time spent at meetings, trainings, and onsite count as Partner volunteer hours.
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WCMGA’s 5th annual Grow 1 Give 1 Campaign is gearing up for 2026. Last year we grew and gave out over 1000 tomato and pepper starts in Washington County to folks with limited income through distribution events at local food pantries.
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Can you help us get to 1100 this year?
Great reasons to participate:
- We reach communities generally underserved, helping them to “Grow Your Own”
- The chapter provides seeds and 4”pots to the growers
- Earn Program hours when you help staff a distribution event (about 3 hours/event)
- Earn Partner hours for other G1 G1 preparation activities
- Enhance and share your gardening expertise with other MGs and the community
- Expert technical assistance is always available for growers
Some activities can be done on your own schedule
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Let us know how you would like to help this time. Tasks range from packaging seeds or filling grow bags with soil to growing tomato and/or pepper starts and staffing the giveaway events across the county. Seeds, pots and technical support are supplied, and growers get to keep a start.
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MG Amy Wachsmuth brought her trailer to put some of the mystery arborist chip deliveries to use at home.
Another Episode of Education Garden Mysteries!
You may recall that last month, the Education Garden team discovered a baffling trail of nonsensical pruning in the Waterwise Garden. Unfortunately, the perpetrator has not been identified (and remains on the loose!). Imagine our surprise when early November greeted us with mountains of arborist chips that covered the majority of our reserved parking area! Multiple loads had been dropped next to our “legitimately ordered” pile of chips. Again, MG sleuths jumped on the investigative trail. Sue Ryburn contacted the logical PCC staff members but no one had ordered arborist chips. It did not take long for the trail to run cold.
The remedy was to offer free arborist chips to the PCC grounds crew and to Master Gardeners. Many have taken up the offer and nearly two parking spaces have been cleared. If other MGs would like to pick up some arborist chips for their own yards, please contact Sue Ryburn or Lisa Hansen.
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In response to October’s rogue pruning fiasco, new signs have been placed at Ed Garden entry points welcoming visitors but asking that they do not take it upon themselves to work in the garden!
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MG Elizabeth Price prunes out upright leaders from Prostrate Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens 'Prostrata')
Conifer Pruning and Grooming
Pruning Committee members Elizabeth Price and Lisa Hansen took advantage of a dry November morning and performed some light pruning of conifers in the Chamaecyparis and Pine beds. Pruning cuts were made to prevent crowding with adjacent conifers and in part, to manage size. Considerable time was spent grooming the interiors of false cypress and pines to remove dead foliage. The MGs enjoyed the application of aesthetic pruning techniques learned from certified aesthetic pruner, Maryann Lewis. Ms. Lewis will return for another Aesthetic Pruning Consultation at the Ed Garden in February 2026.
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Wednesday Workdays Take Cold Weather Hiatus
During the cold rainy months of winter, MGs will focus on planning the myriad events scheduled for 2026. If you would like to volunteer to assist with set up and take down for a 2026 In the Garden Series event at PCC Rock Creek, please contact Fran Beebe. If you would like to sign up for set up and take down of a 2026 MG Intern Workshop, please contact Lisa Hansen. Regular Ed Garden workdays will resume the first week in February.
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Other Happenings
- In the Garden Series. Mason Bee Cocoon Cleaning Workshop, Saturday December 6th 10 a.m.- Noon at PCC Rock Creek Building 4, Room 103, presented by Master Gardener Ron Spendal.
- The next monthly Education Team Meeting will be held Wednesday December 17th from 6:00 – 7:00 pm. Watch your email for the agenda and Zoom link.
If you’d like to join the Education Garden email list, contact Susan Albright albright.becker@gmail.com or Sue Ryburn sue@sueryburn.com
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November saw Learning Garden volunteers complete preparing the garden for the winter. A group enjoyed learning from Bob Campbell about how to take care of tools before storing them during the Gathering Gardener monthly event. Organizing the equipment shed is an ongoing project by a small team of hardy volunteers.
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Mary Oakes learning the joys of composting in the rain and the mud. Photo courtesy of Michael Donoghue.
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Bob Campbell (right) demonstrates how to sharpen tools. Photo courtesy of Anna Stubbs.
The Learning Garden is quiet now, all ready for the winter. Regular work parties on Thursday mornings, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. will resume on February 26th, weather permitting.
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For information about work parties in the spring contact Steve Kister kansammy@yahoo.com
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Plant Propagation Work Group — PCC-Rock Creek Greenhouse
We are in the full swing of winter care for our plants. Since our last Chapter Chat, here’s what we’ve been up to:
- Dividing pitcher plants from the Jenkins Learning Garden. We’ll sell these at Gardenfest 2026.
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Cindy Muir begins the process of division.
- Cleaning up and potting up our plant stock. Important grooming for plants we’ll sell in May.
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Kathy George and Bridget Shaw clean up plants, check roots and remove any weeds.
- Supporting a recent IGS November class with our knowledge and our plants. We had a great turnout and folks took home some new knowledge and cuttings they had made.
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Helen Dorbolo points out the importance of nodes in setting up a stem cutting.
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From left to right: Fran Beebe, Terri Rottman, Cindy Muir, Larry Johnson, Kathy George, Barb Hall, Helen Dorbolo and Rosa Seda.
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Earn partner volunteer hours towards 2026 master gardener certification or join in as a community member as we work inside the PCC-RC greenhouse on these cold rainy days. Contact Karen Anderson for details: worthog42@gmail.com. We meet Fridays 9 am -11 am throughout the winter and spring (with the exception of some winter holidays—December 26th and January 2nd.) Come see what’s blooming inside!
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Washington County Master Gardener Association invites you to the third of three classes on mason bees led by Ron Spendal. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to extract, clean, and store mason bees. If you have cocoons ready for cleaning, bring them along. If you don’t have cocoons, we have plenty for you to practice with. Attendance at the previous Mason Bee classes is not necessary to attend this class. No registration needed.
Ron Spendal is an OSU Master Gardener who has been researching and educating on mason bees for over 15 years. He operates educational mason bee displays across Washington County, Oregon and runs highly sought-after courses on mason bee management through the Washington County Master Gardener Association. Ron designs and builds his own equipment. He conducts research in conjunction with Oregon State University and Montana State University. His work with mason bees has been featured on the Oregon Field Guide program on OPB. Ron has invented a cocoon cleaning device that uses dry sand and can clean up to 100 cocoons in 3 minutes.
For more information:
https://washingtoncountymastergardeners.org/event/mason-bee-cocoon-cleaning-workshop-2/
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This month we’d like to recognize the volunteers who participated in the Seed to Supper course that was taught at the Altura Apartments in Washington County in May and June. Seed to Supper is a free six-week beginning garden course that focuses on teaching vegetable gardening skills to community members with the goal of reducing food insecurity in Oregon. The program was co-created by the Oregon Food Bank and OSU Extension.
Today the program is entirely run and administered by OSU Extension, supplying course materials, structure, and support to the MGs. These MG Perennial and Intern volunteers signed up teach one or more of the six classes: Yvonne Brayko, Corbet Clark, Julie Dausman, Stephanie Engle, Anjali Joshi, Badrinath Kashyap, Lakshmi Srinivasan, Cait Warner, and Wendy Whitebirch. The group worked in groups of two or three, sharing the topic discussions and working in the garden together with community residents. Amy Espinoza coordinated the MGs, answering questions and providing support as needed.
Volunteer hours for Seed to Supper are Program hours. This program is a wonderful opportunity to get out into the community and work with people who are eager to learn about gardening. The participants were so enthusiastic about every step of the process and were so much fun to work with.
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This is a book for lovers of house plants, wannabe growers of house plants and anyone lacking confidence to choose and care for house plants. Gynelle Leon owns the first cactus and succulent boutique in London and this is her second book on houseplants. The first section in PLANT is the Plant Gallery where she profiles 100 house plants. The photos are lovely and each plant is described in specific detail including how it grows, the best conditions for growing it and care requirements. She also helps readers learn how to pick a plant and what to do after bringing the plant home. She provides information on various light conditions and where to site a plant in your home. There are specific details for watering, fertilizing, repotting, grooming and various methods of propagating. This is a small but comprehensive book that will build knowledge and confidence for growing house plants
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