By Extension Master Gardener Emeritus Nancy Gardner
You’ve seen your peers around Puget Sound at farmers markets, holding work parties to clean up invasive weeds, at pop-up plant clinics, and at other flora-focused fêtes. But who are some of the many WSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers in King County, and why do they do what they do?
I caught up with four Extension Master Gardener colleagues, including Bruce Bennett, Carolyn Bowie Cohen, Bill Kesel, and Steve Beatty, and asked them to share their wisdom and reasons for being in the program.
Question: Why did you first get into gardening and how long have you been at it?
Bruce: “I first started gardening in my mother’s flower and veggie patches. A hiatus of some 30 years and ownership my own place got me back into the horticultural swing. So, I’ve been doing gardening of one sort or another for 35 years now.”
Carolyn: “My love of gardening first germinated as a kid while watching my parent’s garden! My dad tended to the vegetable garden and fruit trees, and my mom nurtured flowering rhododendrons, bulbs, and countless other flowering plants across the garden. I started tending my own garden when I left home while attending college in Bellingham.”
Bill: “My mom made me weed some 50 years ago. And as I got older, I rented a place in Seattle that had not been lived in for several years. Part of my rent was paid through weeding labor.”
Steve: “Mom was a (mostly veggie) gardener and inspired me. As I got older and got married, my father-in-law became an Extension Master Gardener. When we moved from Seattle to Shoreline into a house that had space for gardening, I developed a taste for the rewards of perennial ornamental gardening and have been hooked on gardening for the past 16 years.”
Q: What’s your favorite gardening tool and why?
Bruce: “While it’s not my most used tool, my favorite gadget is a reciprocating saw or Sawzall. I use it for general tree and shrub pruning. It’s also handy when dividing tall ornamental grasses like Miscanthus sinensis, and when needing to transplant many types of shrubs.”
Carolyn: “Definitely the Hori Hori knife. It’s such a great small, multi-purpose tool to remove weeds, dig little holes, and slash back last year’s growth.”
Bill: “My favorite tool is a garden fork. You can dig and rake with it and do all sorts of other things. I also swear by FELCO #2 pruners.”
Steve: “Definitely my bypass pruners. In our enthusiastic growing climate, they (almost) always make a plant or shrub look better.”
Q: Have you any tips for newbies and/or green thumb experts?
Bruce: “A good gardener is a good researcher! Even if someone thinks they know about a new plant’s environmental needs, research it before putting it in the ground.”
Carolyn: “Grow what makes you excited! Whether it’s a fruit, vegetable, evergreen shrub, or annual flower, planting things that bring you joy will inspire you to research the conditions in which it grows best and nurture it.”
Bill: “Buy good tools if you want to garden.”
Steve: “It’s a fabulously rewarding hobby. And the more you learn, the more your plants will succeed. Try lots of things, ask lots of questions, and don’t be afraid of new plants and techniques. There is a great gardening community around you who will support you.”
Q: Outside of digging in the dirt, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Bruce: “Spare time? What’s that? I’m retired and have less free time now than when I worked full-time. In addition to my time with the Extension Master Gardener Program, I’m also a volunteer at the Woodland Park Zoo, my local Elks Lodge and the State and National Parks Systems.”
Carolyn: “I love hiking, going out dancing, and doing house projects! I’m currently pregnant and expecting my first child in the fall, so my husband and I are enthusiastically preparing to embark on a new adventure as parents.”
Bill: “Boating, restoring old paddles and doing fancy and decorative knot work used in the yachting world.”
Steve: “Spending time doing just about anything with my two kids. They are perennially wonderful.”
Nancy Gardner is an Extension Master Gardener Emeritus who enjoys cultivating her own annual and perennial seeds. You can reach her at nancylou@uw.edu.
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