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Designing with Climate Adapted Plants

Wednesday, June 28
Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden
14823 Boundary Lane, Shoreline WA 98177

Two Sessions, Either 10:00-12:00pm or 1:00pm-3:00pm
Space is limited to 15 APLDWA members for each session

High 80s in May? Watering in late October? It feels like each year we are hit with new climate records and garden design challenges. This class will focus on plants that grow well in our modified Mediterranean climate in the Puget lowlands. We will especially consider plants which grow well in different levels of light and methods to use when gardening from deep shade and dappled light to full sun. The Elisabeth Miller Botanical Garden is by no means a low water garden, but it does have a back-bone of climate adapted plants from the native trees, shrubs and groundcovers of the upper woodland to the Mediterranean and southern hemisphere native plants which help add interest throughout the year. This year the Miller Garden also seeded native annual plants throughout the garden, and the class should catch some of these drought tolerant plants while they bloom. Join Executive Director Richie Steffen and Head Gardener Del Brummet to learn how the garden continues to experiment with new plants and methods for resiliency.

Headshot of Richie Steffen
Richie Steffen

Few people have more passion for plants or an excitement about gardening than Richie Steffen. Richie is the executive director for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden, overseeing the development of the garden, its programs and the rare plant collections. His expertise comes from over thirty-five years of experience in the horticultural field, with the last 23 years spent at the Miller Garden. Recognizing the shifts and changes in our climate, Richie works closely with the Garden staff to explore the most suitable plants for our region, and to address the continuing care of the existing plant collections.

He is active in the gardening community and is currently Past-President of the Hardy Fern Foundation and the Northwest Horticultural Society. A noted lecturer, writer and photographer, Richie recently co-authored the “Plant Lover’s Guide to Ferns” with his friend and fern mentor Sue Olsen.

Headshot of Del Brummet
Del Brummet

Del Brummet works as the head gardener at Elisabeth Miller Botanical Garden and serves as a board member with Northwest Horticultural Society. He started his career in horticulture working in a seed research lab studying Washington’s Garry Oak Prairie ecosystems while completing a BS in Biology at University of Washington. Del is interested in using site conditions and plants requirements to create diverse and interesting gardens. After years of working in a well-watered garden with many rare plants mixed in and creating a climate-adapted home garden, Del has a nuanced view about water use.

Light refreshments will be served, and carpooling is highly recommended, as parking is very limited. APLD and WSNLA CEUs pending.

Questions: contact Lisa Port lisaport@banyontreedesign.com

Members Only Event $50
Registration opens soon.


Refund Policy - In the event that APLDWA has to cancel any APLDWA sponsored event for any reason, we will provide upon request, refunds to the maximum extent possible. Attendee refunds will be available, upon request, if the cancellation is made no later than one week in advance of the event.