Our Bedrock
Mission Statement: Gardens and programs that inspire, educate and enrich our lives and our community.
Purpose Statement: To educate and encourage citizens on the importance of developing, restoring, maintaining and conserving wildlife habitat and the native plants that comprise that habitat.
Welcome new members–we hope to see you at our monthly classes and upcoming events.
And to those who have renewed–thank you so much! Memberships help support our organization and our gardens!
Note: We can now accept memberships and renewals online with this link: Membership/Renewals.
However, to help us cover our processing costs for the convenience of using online payments, it is necessary to include those costs in our online membership fees. Amounts remain the same as before for checks/cash.
Separate donations can also be transacted online!
December Class
Saturday December 16th at 10:00am ~ entitled Hope for a Happy Planet: One Day-One Backyard at a Time ~ conducted by Gene Wigglesworth and Grace Tiegen, environmental advocates.
Former teachers and environmental advocates will explain the origins of our local soils. We’ll also discuss the challenges of our times regarding the environment and provide more than 100 suggestions for people who want to turn the world around one little thing at a time. Hear how they created a Backyard Habitat Certified park-like property.
Bio: Gene Wigglesworth received his M.S. from Eastern Michigan University and began teaching Earth Science at Wayne County Community College in Detroit, MI and in Grosse Pointe High School in 1968. He established the first Earth Day celebration there in 1972. He has been a lifelong advocate for the environment and most recently co-taught Climate Change Now classes at Columbia Springs Environmental Center with his wife, also a former teacher, Grace Teigen. Grace comes from a now three generation family of environmental advocates and together Gene and Grace have created a Backyard Habitat Certified property that is open to all interested visitors.
November Class–Recap
We had a good turn out for our annual Native Mason Bee class with Brigg Franklin, our Mason Bee keeper and Worm Wrangler! We saw a great comprehensive video showing the whole lifecycle and processes of the mason bees. Infrared footage of them laying their eggs is especially fascinating (no matter how many times I see it).
There was also a video of Brigg recorded at The Wildlife Botanical Gardens talking about Mason Bees which can also be seen on our website: Video. Thanks to our attendees and two volunteer students from CASEE, we were able to get all of our bee tubes cleaned and the resulting cocoons will be sold at our Bare, Root Trees, Shrubs & Perennial plant sale in April 2024.
Bulletin Board
The season changes and so does our bulletin board. See in person the new design when you visit the gardens. Thanks Rosemarie!
Did you notice….
Last month we shared the news that work had begun by an Eagle Scout candidate and his troop 344, to replace the arbor in the Hummingbird Garden. It is complete and is resplendent!
As the trees and shrubs lose their cover of leaves and flowers, dazzled by their magnificence, what might be revealed that wasn’t noticed before? A few things I finally noticed (maybe I’m just not observant) on a fairly recent walk.
Sometimes you just need to “redecorate” in the yard. A bird bath in the Cottage Garden found a new little spot of its own.
Sharing……
Always striving to best share information, our standard flyers in display boxes at the gardens are now on our website. Find them referenced on the following pages:
https://naturescaping.org/the-gardens/
https://naturescaping.org/the-gardens/flying-flowers-garden/
https://naturescaping.org/the-gardens/hummingbird-place/
Once again for our new members…..
For anyone interested….
Booklet
With funding from a Washington Native Plant Society (WNPS) grant and with many volunteer hours from committee members (you know who you are) a longtime dream has been fulfilled.
We have created a free 52-page booklet as an educational tool that includes dozens of high-quality photos, descriptions and other information regarding native plants found at The Wildlife Botanical Gardens and reasons to incorporate them in your landscape. Here is the link to finding it on our website:
https://naturescaping.org/resources/free-booklet/
Recent Comments
From those who took the time to share:
From Business Google:
From Cora–5 star review and comment: “Beautiful place for a stroll! I was the only one here on a rainy Sunday afternoon. There are a bunch of well maintained gardens and some trails through the woods surrounding a little pond. Never know what you’ll find until you look!”
From j cortez–5 star review
From Comment Cards:
Sarah, who indicated that she visited in September, October and November, rated us excellent. Okay, she did comment that we needed a bathroom but……
Support through Shopping
Tis’ the holiday season and whether you shop online or in person, a painless way to help support us year round is through your shopping at Fred Meyer–it would be much appreciated!
Here’s how:
You must already have a Fred Meyer Rewards Card. You can choose NatureScaping as your charity and every time you use your rewards card it will benefit us. Go to the link and enter our name or number CC402 and click “enroll”. https://www.fredmeyer.com/topic/community-rewards-4
Also…..
Do you have someone in your life that would enjoy a gift membership to NatureScaping? How fun would it be to share classes and other events with friends/family! On our website you will find a form to print and send in to our PO Box OR transact a gift membership online. Membership/Renewals.
If you’d like to make an end of year donation, fabulous!!
And more……
A hard copy of our beautiful full color booklet mentioned above may also make a great gift–I’ll have some at our upcoming December class (we do ask for a suggested donation).
Nature Related Quote of the Month
We can see the “naked” trees more clearly now….
From Alice Walker: “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”
Enjoy and be safe!