The Garden Journal
March 2023
3 March Workshops!
Proper Pruning Techniques Workshop
Thursday, March 9
and
Saturday, March 11
10:00am
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Lucy Hunter Master Floral Workshop
Saturday, March 18
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Growing Lettuce Workshop
March 23 & 25
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Space is limited in classes. Registration is required to attend.
No ticket sales on date of events.
No pets allowed Smoking of any kind is strictly prohibited on property.
March:
In like a Lion, out like a Lamb
“In the Spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Margaret Atwood
Dahlia
We will send out a separate email announcing our exact tuber sale date and time, but it’s looking like around March 20. Why later this year? We’d like to wake up every available tuber, and get our entire inventory listed at once. Some varieties just take a little bit more time, and we want to give our customers every opportunity to get their entire order at once, if possible.
We are no longer able to add or subtract to orders, so all orders are final. We are also not able to combine separate orders for shipping, and so want you to get all the dahlia varieties you want together in one order.
In the past, we’ve offered our dahlia tubers earlier, and had some issues with some of them just taking longer to eye up, and some that warmed up and didn’t do as well. Since we only ship out visibly eyed up dahlias that are free from rot or defect, this is our solution.
All dahlias will start shipping out April 3, and we pack and ship them in the order received, and only ship on Monday and Tuesday, so that tubers aren’t sitting in a post office or warehouse over the weekend. We ship USPS, and the average time to arrive from our farm to you is 1-3 business days, depending on where you are located.
Please make sure when filling out your contact info that your email, phone and address are correct. Our website will generate an order confirmation via email once your order is placed, and will immediately notify me if an email is incorrect. I don’t have the ability to change that without getting in contact first, and it has been difficult at best, and impossible in some cases, to reach people via phone. Not to mention time consuming on my end, and frustrating on yours.
Events, Rentals, Photos, etc.
Did you know the gardens are available for private party rentals, photo shoots, and garden tours? We are preparing to host larger scale events such as weddings, corporate events, antique/vintage fairs, etc. as soon as we get the appropriate permitting.
In the meantime, if you’d like to have an anniversary dinner, a ladies afternoon tea and floral class, or a kid’s birthday party, please reach out to us at info@laughinggoatfarm.com for dates and rental information.
We can also host classes either from one of our staff, or you can bring in your own person, as long as they are fully business licensed and insured in the state of Washington. Examples of classes have been: charcuterie boards, mason bee care, seed starting, pruning and propagating, floral classes, harvesting and handling. The possibilities are endless, and while we have our own schedule of classes, there is also opportunity to create a class for your group.
Peonies
This year, we are planning to add some new opportunities around visiting our incredible field of peonies. With 90+ varieties featured, over 2000 plants, the Spring bloom of our Peony field is an incredible sight to behold!
Peony Festivals are quite popular in China, where peonies originate, and we are implementing our own Peony Festival right here in Enumclaw, Washington. This is one of the few opportunities to come visit our gardens in 2023, as we are actively working on updating our garden spaces, so please stay tuned as to how you can take part in the festivities. Timeframe is typically May-June, and dependent on bloom, so we will announce specific dates later.
Some of the things we will offer this year: Peony Tea (tickets required to reserve a table), Peony Picnics, and Peony Garden Days. We are not planning to host our Sip & Stroll, as the difficulty of procuring and licensing alcohol at events has become time and cost-prohibitive. We will have non-alcoholic beverages available in our Garden Shop for additional purchase, for those that want to have a picnic. We are working on charcuterie boxes for purchase as well. Tickets to the Gardens to just stroll on your own will be available in the Garden Shop. Tickets will be required to enter at any time.
In the future, we are hoping to add vendors, classes, and all things peony-related, and we have some very exciting opportunities we are ironing out the details on.
As always, any peonies that we cut from our fields will be available as stems and bouquets exclusively in the Garden Shop for purchase. Our peonies are cut in bud stage for the optimal life and longevity in the vase for your enjoyment. We’ve been told they last over 2 weeks, with proper vase and cut stem care! With so many offering cut flowers from their gardens these days, Laughing Goat Botanical Gardens truly appreciates your support of both our Gardens and products.
Weed Control vs. Weed Management
What more can I say about weeds? They will always find a way…This month, we are focusing on peripheral and edge areas for overgrowth of weeds; or those growing in cracks of paths, borders, etc. Those oft overlooked in between spaces that weeds like to hide in before they become big beasts that are tough to manage. We also pay special attention to irrigation lines, as weeds like to cluster under and around the lines to get the juiciest offerings first. It’s nice those make it so easy for us to find.
If you have weed overgrowth in cracks or hard to reach places, or a gravel area, try boiling water in a teakettle, and pouring the hot water directly over the weeds. It may take a couple times, but this is an effective way to kill weeds in places it's nearly impossible to pull out or where tools and fingers don’t fit, without using harmful chemicals.
Another thing I’d like to point out, is that often I see discussions of solarization or smothering techniques used to kill weeds. While this may be an effective strategy on broadleaf weeds, annual weeds, and some grasses, it will not work with rhizomatous grasses, clovers, and tap root weeds like dandelions. We found this out the hard way when a path coated in clover and dandelions was covered in about 6 inches of fresh compost. Weeds that can send runners through soil, in the dark, will thrive with that rich material, and it makes them tougher to dig to get out. Our use of weed cloth over the years proved this ineffective as well, and we have since been hard at work removing the cloth, and the mess underneath, as it harbors both runner weeds and pests.
Proper Pruning Techniques Workshop
Our first class in 2023: Proper Pruning Techniques, is one of my favorite classes to teach. Pruning is hands down one of my favorite garden tasks, and empowering others with skills they can take home and use forever is the best.
This seems to be a topic that has a lot of people feeling like they just don’t know what to do, don’t want to do the wrong thing and hurt their plant, or don’t know when the right time to prune is. We cover all of that here, along with how to do the right type of cut for the plant you are pruning. Pruning is both science, and art.
Each participant will get a brand new set of pruning shears from our Garden Shop - to be used in the class as you hands-on practice pruning techniques on some of our plants here. These pruning snips are yours to take home and use forever - they are the best. We do not allow any outside snips to be used in our workshops for sanitation and plant health reasons. Please bring your own gloves if you like to wear them while working in the garden.
Ticket link is here:
https://www.simpletix.com/e/proper-pruning-techniques-tickets-121692
Garden Shop Hours*:
See Dates listed
Thursday, March 9 11:30am-4pm
Saturday, March 11 11:30am-4pm
Thursday, March 23 11:00am-4pm
(Shop for Easter!)
Saturday, March 25 11:00am - 4pm
(Shop for Easter!)
Saturday, April 22 11:00am-4pm - SPRING PLANT SALE!
Thursday, May 4 11:00am - 3pm
Saturday, May 6 11:00am - 4pm
Friday, May 12 11:00am - 4pm
Saturday, May 13 10:00am-4pm
*Please stay tuned for Spring opening
Visit us at:
Lucy Hunter Workshop
Our workshop with Lucy Hunter is now full. We look forward to hosting this full day Floral Masterclass with our guest presenter from England. We plan to offer future floral workshops with Lucy, as well as others, so please stay tuned for future opportunities. Keep in mind that floral workshop costs have risen substantially, simply due to cost of hard goods (vases, vessels, etc.) and florals, as well as labor. Our intent is to make all classes as affordable as possible, while still covering our costs, and paying the people that work our events a fair wage for the work that is entailed.
Growing Lettuce Workshop
Growing lettuce from seed is both incredibly easy, as well as the most economical way to get the freshest lettuce from your garden to your table.
This is both lecture and workshop, first discussing growing lettuce and all the details, along with info on what varieties we are growing and where to get them. We will then each sow a 72-cell tray of lettuce seeds to take home for your spring gardens. Participants will get all supplies for this hands-on project, and get to keep the trays for your own use. Bring your own gloves if you like to wear them while working.
Class size is limited to 20 participants on each day, so make sure you sign up now to secure your spot.
Details are provided in the ticket link below, there are 2 class options to choose from: Thursday, March 23rd and Saturday, March 25th. Classes are non-refundable, but are transferable to another person in the event you are unable to make it.
Ticket link is here:
https://www.simpletix.com/e/growing-lettuce-workshop-tickets-121690
Planting for Pollinators Class
We’ve added a new class in April: Planting for Pollinators. This class will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 10:00am, and is complimentary to attend. Registration is required so that we may prepare our space for all guests. Please email us directly at info@laughinggoatfarm.com with your name and the number in your party. We will send a confirmation email once you are registered. We will have a wide selection of terrific plants that will be available to peruse after the class, at The Garden Shop. Our early Spring Plant Sale will be this same day.
The Garden Shop
The Garden Shop will be open on days we have workshops scheduled, to allow class attendees and anyone wishing to stop by the opportunity to visit with us.
Please kindly remember that when our Garden Shop is open, our Gardens are still closed to the general public unless announced, and a ticket is always required to enter. Those who attend our workshops are allowed access to the Gardens for the duration of the class, with a staff member. If you are interested in seeing the progress of our Garden spaces, we encourage you to enroll in one of our available classes. Ticket links are above.
Garden Shop Dates/Hours
Thursday, March 9 11:30-4
Saturday, March 11 11-4
Thursday, March 23 11-4 (Shop for Easter!)
Saturday, March 25 11-4 (Shop for Easter!)
Saturday, April 22 11-4 SPRING PLANT SALE!
Thursday, May 4 11:00am - 3pm
Saturday, May 6 11:00am - 4pm
Friday, May 12 11:00am - 4pm
Saturday, May 13 10:00am-4pm
Garden Tasks
- Fertilize your beds. Lay out fresh compost and amend for the growing season.
- Put any supports for plants or climbers that need supporting this year.
- Last chance to move trees and shrubs until the Fall.
- Resurface paths
- Feed trees, shrubs and hedges with a slow release fertilizer. Lightly fork into soil surface.
- Feed roses
- Start planting cooler tolerant annuals, such as Brassicas, Snow peas, herbs, etc.
- Sign up for Laughing Goat classes!
Upcoming Events
BOLD ITEMS are ON-SITE Events
- National Pig Day - March 1
- Peach Blossom Day - March 3
- Proper Pruning Techniques - March 9 & 11, 2023
- Plant a Flower Day - March 12
- Learn about Butterflies Day - March 14
- St. Patrick’s Day - March 17
- Lucy Hunter Workshop - March 18, 2023
- Spring Equinox - March 20
- Growing Lettuce Workshop - March 23 & 25, 2023
- National Spinach Day - March 26
- Northwest Perennial Alliance (NPA) Plant Sale - March 26 at the Bellevue Botanical Garden
- Planting for Pollinators Class - April 22, 2023
- Transplant Class - May 4 & 6, 2023
- Peony Events - May/June TBA