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.

Membership:
Welcome new members!! We hope to see you at our monthly classes and upcoming events.

Renewal Information:
Thanks to those who have renewed and have done so continuously and generously. Memberships/Renewals help support our organization to maintain the gardens!

Renewal notices will be emailed during the month in which it is due. Due to circumstances, it is currently the more expeditious and cost-effective method.

Note:
Though you may still choose to mail in payments, we can now accept memberships and renewals online with this link: Membership/Renewals. (Note: It is possible to use credit/debit cards in lieu of a PayPal account. If it asks you to log in with a one time code, choose the option of “try another way” and then you can choose credit/debit card and go from there.)

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!
Donations/Memorials.

September Class

Please review the attached flyer for our class at the CASEE Center on Saturday September19th at 10:00am ~ entitled Plant Propagation ~ conducted by
Julie Carlsen, Master Gardener, NatureScaping Coordinator (NW Bird Haven Garden) & Perennial Princess (as we like to call her).

Learn propagation timing and techniques–which methods work best with which plants. In class demonstration of division of perennials using root systems as a guide. You can use these skills in preparation for our upcoming event
(see “Save the Date”).

Please let me know if you would like to attend this class to ensure proper chair set up and materials–members are
always welcome.

August Class–Recap
On Saturday August 15th we had a good time at the Steep & Soak: Herbal Spa Hours class conducted by Erin Harwood and Eloyce O’Connor Co-Owners of Garden Delights Herb Farm (gardendelightsfarm.com). We learned about the properties of various common herbs–got to feel and smell them too! We all had the opportunity to choose our own combination of herbs to make personal
skincare products. Many of us need pampering judging by the interest for this class. I’ve included some of the recipes (see attachment).

Garden Work Parties

If you’ve already volunteered at one of our work parties, hopefully you’ve had the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing to make the gardens a wonderful place to visit for so many folks (see “Sharing” section under “Comments”). Get in on the fun, there is still time! Work parties will run through October. On work days (some Saturdays and weekdays) volunteers are guided by one of our garden coordinators to work on needed tasks/projects in the various gardens. We have a sign-up system using SignUpGenius. Additional sign up dates will be routinely added. To sign up to work on listed days, here is the link: SignUpGenius.

 

Come for the talk, stay to volunteer……
This month, our Garden Walk ‘n Talk offering is on Saturday September 26th at 9:00am with Garden Ambassador Steven Clark, longtime naturalist and Professor Emeritus. Join us for a relaxed walk through the Wildlife Botanical Gardens as we explore the fascinating changes that nature reveals in early autumn. Together, we’ll observe what the season has to offer and ask one simple question: Why? Why are leaves beginning to fall? Where have the insects gone? Why is fruit sweeter in the fall? Where are the young mammals? Why do seeds drop months before spring? We’ll discover not only how these seasonal changes happen, but also why they benefit plants and wildlife through evolution. Come curious, enjoy a leisurely walk, and see what nature has to teach us.

Bulletin Board

Our latest bulletin board display (thanks Rosemarie) relates the message we want to share while alluding to the change in plant offerings at this time of year. Come see it when you’re there! (See pic)

 

Garden Tidings

**Did you go to the Clark County Fair in August? If so, did you see our table near the Floral Department in the Exhibit Hall? I did see a few familiar faces while there. Talked to lots of nice folks about gardening, insects and the environment while getting the word out about the gardens.
**On a nice evening in August, Erin Harwood conducted a Botanical Monoprinting event for some of our members in the gardens. We gathered plants from the gardens and created some lovely prints from them. Erin relayed “The group was so willing to dive right in, layer plants and colors, and even combine colors together. One person said they would be doing this next year as their art activity on the annual camping trip. That is honestly one of the things I love to come out of these – that they will feel confident about doing it on their own and sharing some creative time in Nature with others in the future”. Another participant commented “It was a great evening activity and gave me lots of ideas on my walk around the neighborhood”. See pics
**And some not so good news….we’ve had a few thefts in the gardens recently. Plant material was taken from the Flying Flowers Garden and a concrete bird bath from the Manor Garden. Discussions are ongoing regarding possible steps to be considered. Very disappointing….
** Along with a very nice donation, we received these words: “I can only imagine the resources needed to maintain this sanctuary, and applaud all the volunteers and their tireless hours in making this property enjoyable for not just my wife and I, but all the other visitors as well. Please extend our deepest appreciation for their efforts!)”

Save the Date(s)

 

Perennial, Bulb & Seed Swap 
Saturday October 10th from 10 am – 1:00 pm. 
Get those excess plants potted up; gather up your overage of seeds and bulbs and bring them to NatureScaping & WSU Extension Clark County Master Gardeners 9th annual Perennial, Bulb and Seed Swap to be held outdoors at the Wildlife Botanical Gardens 11000 NE 149th Street, Brush Prairie, WA. See guidelines below.
For the second year, we’ll also have a representative from the WA Bee Atlas program. Stop by to learn about these volunteer, citizen scientist programs, and about our native bee populations and the flora they need. 
Guidelines:

Perennials & bulbs should be potted or in sturdy plastic bags
Fresh collected seeds in individual envelopes or baggies by variety
Viable store bought seed packets
Label items as well as possible (i.e. botanical or common name, size, sun/shade, wet/dry, bloom time, plant height)
Plants should be well watered and pest free
Please NO invasive plants

Give More 24!

Thursday September 24th is a day of giving dedicated to those who love southwest Washington and the incredible nonprofits that help us thrive. Give More 24! equips nonprofits with tools to inspire generosity and raise funds during a 24-hour campaign powered by the Greater Vancouver Chamber. 

More to come….please consider donating to some of your favorite nonprofits in the area–including us!

Sharing…..

Have comments/stories/pictures to share? Let others know about your experiences–pass them along.

Flyers

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:

Comments:

From Google Business:
**MVP–5 stars, pictures & comment: “Beautiful, peaceful place perfect for the whole family or dates. Not crowded at all for a weekend. Variety of flowers across the garden. Lots of benches and picnic tables. Plenty of parking lot, No public restrooms. Free to visit.”
**Roman–5 stars
**Xär–5 stars & comment: “Peaceful gardens you can explore to feel like a gnome! I only spent about 20 minutes poking around before embarking on the trail behind it, but it would probably take closer to 40 minutes to actually explore it all. You can hear cows mooing from the barn across the street!”
**Beth–5 stars & pictures
**Erica–5 stars & comment: “Peaceful,beautiful. Definitely worth the visit.”

**Want to see some great garden photos? Photo sharing is possible at  NS WBG 2025-2026 Occasionals.

Other comments:
**Received this message along with renewal dues: “You people are doing.a wonderful job ~ ♡ Thank you
Naturescaping ♡ for All that You do! I hope someday I’ll be able to do More for you! Supporting a great cause. (now I need to get over for a visit!)”**An anonymous donation and comments: “Loved the added water features! Thank you for your hard work. The garden is lovely to bring littles to!”

Nature Quote of the Month

From Dolly Parton: “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

Appreciate the rain and enjoy!