How quickly we find ourselves hurtling towards the winter months, the winding down of another year around the sun. From a gardener’s perspective, we embrace the changes and appreciate the winding down of garden activity. Where some see the gloom of darkness, we have planted hope in the form of fall-planted bulbs, knowing that we have things to anticipate. That’s the gift of gardening, the blessing of working with the natural world. Walking in step with the seasons, understanding the rhythms enables us to look forward continually. Gardners are always anticipating the next season’s arrivals.
For us at the Garden, we have been in a steady state of fall cleanup with cascading leaves from the canopy; windblown branches are in no short supply. We did a round of hopeful planting this last week with fall bulbs going into the ground. Thank you to our donors who enabled our bulb purchases this fall. Your efforts make a direct visual impact on the Garden for all to enjoy.
We’re going into our first winter with the new hoop house. We want to give a big thank you to the City of Shoreline and Ken Adams for their assistance with building permanent end walls and doors. We’re all buttoned up and have a great space to work in during inclement weather. We still need to create new tables for the area, but we can shelter sensitive plants and new starts. While there is still loads of work in the propagation area, this is an excellent start to tidying up and organizing things.
With the arrival of November comes the winter hours at the Garden. Starting November 5, we will shorten the daytime hours to 10 am to 3 pm through March. We’re open Friday through Sunday. However, we’re closed on the weekends of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. Additionally, we will not be hosting Solstice Stroll this year due to logistical challenges. While things are improving with the pandemic, we would still need to employ shuttles and drivers.
We look forward to hosting Solstice next year and for years to come. We will be lighting the front of the Garden as part of the Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, and Bothell Porch Light Parade.
November is the beginning of the season of giving. The last two years have found us living through uncertainty and change. Together we have forged through so much. With your help and support, the Garden is still standing on solid ground. We’re excited for 2022 and continued partnerships to further our goals for the Garden and programs. The Garden thrives because of the community. For that, we thank you. It is an honor and a privilege to care for your Garden.
The Garden is looking for new board members for 2022! We welcome all, but please note this year that we are primarily looking for a Board member with an accounting/financial background to fill our Treasurer role and a Board member interested in Volunteer Organizing. If you are interested, we’d love to meet you! Please apply by emailing our Board President, Katie Schielke, at katie.schielke@gmail.com no later than November 19, 2021.