All of our speakers are experts or knowledgeable enthusiasts.  They share their knowledge for little compensation other than your interest.  We thank them for enriching our nursery and our customers with their generous spirits.

Because of the nature of our Saturday workshops, please note that we can only accommodate 20 attendees per workshop.  We will take registration beginning May 1st.

All Sunday classes and Saturday workshops begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

Note: All our classes for 2013 are being submitted to the Oregon Landscape Contractors Board for approval for Technical Continuing Education Hours (CEH) credit toward re-certification of Oregon Landscape Professional licensing.  Pending approval by the O.L.C.B. we charge $10.00 per class for recording and processing attendance.  A registration for credit will be available in the barn in  the retail area.  Please sign up and make payment prior to the start of the class.  A certificate will be mailed to you during the week following completion of the class.

Sunday

Basic Pruning:  An Interactive Demonstration - Part 1 - with Mike Smith 

In this session, Mike Smith will address pruning basics, equipment needs and techniques.  He will demonstrate how to prune several different types of Hydrangeas (including H. macrophyllas vs. H. paniculatas vs. H. asperas) and small shrubs such as Spiraeas and also show how to transition a large shrub into a small tree.  Dress warmly, bring an umbrella and we will see you in the garden.

Mike Smith is co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery.  You can see his pruning handiwork throughout the nursery, especially in the large rhododendrons around the house and behind our lavender path and in the numerous shrubs shaped into small trees that are grown throughout our gardens.  Mike is a passionate gardener who retired from a management job in corporate America, got bored and then started the nursery.

Sunday

Gardening should be a pleasure, not a pain in the lower back, a stiff neck, aching shoulders, sunburn and exhaustion.  This class is designed to show you how to safely, efficiently wield shovels, spades, hoes, rakes, pruners, and other gardening tools, without damaging yourself.  Topics covered include choosing tools that fit both your body and the task at hand; proper tool use, including posture and grip; safety tips; tool care; and others.  If you're an old gardener, you'll wonder why nobody gave you this information when you were young.  Bob Denman will have an assortment of his hand-crafted tools for sale at the workshop.

Bob Denman and his wife Rita began selling garden tools as a mail order operation in 1986.  They opened their first store in 1994.  In 2004 they relocated to Boring, OR, where they opened Red Pig Garden Tools.  Bob has served as a product development consultant to Corona Clipper Company, the leading manufacturer of professional manual pruning tools, and has designed and patented several tools himself.  Bob calls himself a blacksmith and tool monger, but he is also an educator eager to teach the gardening public not only how to use tools, but also how to choose them.

Sunday

Rhododendrons - with Mike Stewart

There is tremendous diversity within the genus Rhododendron.  This workshop is an opportunity to explore the range of structure, size, and leaf forms that rhododendrons offer.  The Pacific Northwest is a perfect environment to grow most of the species and hybrids that will enhance your garden.  Come see a selection of unique, exotic, and new introductions.

Mike Stewart is a rhododendron expert.  Along with his wife Maria, he owns Dover Nursery which is known for its outstanding selection of rhododendrons, both species and hybrids.  He has been honored with the Gold Medal from the American Rhododendron Society (ARS) - their highest award.  He is also a popular speaker who shares his professional knowledge with the gardening public.  Mike is very active with the ARS, having been a recent International ARS president.  There are those who say that he never knows when to say "no" in the service of rhododendrons and so he is now the Vice President of the Rhododendron Species Foundation.  Dover Nursery, in Sandy, Oregon, has one of the most exceptional collections of rhododendrons in the country with acres of perfectly planted and cared for shrubs.  The nursery collections include the newest hybrids from hybridizers on both the East and West Coast along with one of the largest collections of commercially grown species anywhere.  There is also a delightful display garden with many mature plants under a canopy of native fir trees with an outstanding view of Mount Hood in the background.  This is a most extraordinary location for fabulous rhododendrons.

Sunday

Rose Marie Nichols-McGee, an expert on home gardening, will present detailed information on how to be a successful food gardener and maximize your harvest in today's smaller spaces.  Select from a beautiful array of delicious varieties that will perform well in a Pacific Northwest Garden.

Rose Marie Nichols-McGee is President/Owner of Nichols Garden Nursery, a 60-year-old family founded and owned seed company and herb nursery.  She is co-author of The Bountiful Container (Workman Publishing, 2002), considered one of the leading books on growing vegetables, herbs, fruits and edible flowers in containers.  She writes the extensive annual online Nichols catalog and is a Fellow of the Garden Writers Association.  Follow Rose Marie online at:  Website - www.nicholsgardennursery.com.  

Sunday

Garden designer and plantsman Bob Hyland talks about the joy of container gardening.  There is an ever-expanding palette of cast stone, terra cotta, earthenware, and lightweight resin containers.  Bob discusses their pro's and con's.  For Portland's dry summers, Bob favors succulents (both hardy and tender), grasses, and dry-climate plants with low-water requirements and beautiful architecture, but he is also versatile and experienced with many planting styles and will demonstrate artful container compositions from Joy Creek's expansive offerings.

Bob Hyland is a garden designer, former nurseryman and newcomer to the Portland gardening scene.  His pots at his former Loomis Creek Nursery in New York were featured in the New York Times and the annual Wave Hill Gardeners' Party.

Sunday

What's the plan for your garden as you begin to show and feel your age?  When you look outside, do you only see a lot of work?  Or have you arranged your garden so that it still beckons with possibilities?  Get ideas and share strategies with someone who is undergoing the process now.

Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens.  At Joy Creek Nursery, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops.  Indeed, she likes to say, "I've been in horticulture for more than 20 years and half of them have been with Joy Creek."  In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

Sunday

Why, how, where and when to grow hardy fuchsias with an emphasis on the "sure bets" for our region.

Salli Dahl is the current vice-president of the Northwest Fuchsia Society.  She is in charge of maintaining the Northwest Hardy List and website.  In the past she has been the president of the Western Fuchsia Species Society and Fuchsia Fanciers in Lewis County, WA.  She is the author of two books on the history of the fuchsia in America and two booklets, one on the species and one on the hardy fuchsias. 

Sunday

Sunday

Hebes are small evergreen shrubs that come in an amazing variety of textures and sizes.  Joy Creek Nursery carries over 65 varieties of these diverse beauties and we will take a look at some of our heartiest and most unique offerings.  This class will look at how to grow these wonderful New Zealand shrubs, as well as give ideas for including them in landscapes.  Other plants that compliment or contrast nicely with the color and form of various hebes will also be featured.

Andy Stockton has a degree in creative writing from Western Washington University which, of course, means he ended up working at a nursery.  He has been at Joy Creek for five years where he works retail and runs social marketing.  It was love at first sight with hebes and he has been growing, and killing, a slightly excessive number ever since.

Sunday 

The Great Plant Picks program is an ideal resource for gardeners who want to select plants that have been tested for our maritime Northwest gardens.  By using proven plants, gardeners gain an advantage without sacrificing exciting colors, textures and forms.  Join Lucy Hardiman as she showcases a palette of plants from the Great Plant Picks program.

Lucy Hardiman was to the garden born—and is a fifth generation Oregon gardener.  She is the principal of Perennial Partners, a garden design collective recognized for their innovative approaches to garden design.  Her garden and those of clients have appeared in many magazines and books.  A popular speaker who lectures and teaches throughout the country, she writes for regional and national publications.  She serves on many boards of horticulturally based organizations in the Northwest including the Great Plant Picks perennial committee and the Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection.  In addition, she is the garden editor for Oregon Garden Magazine.   She is also a past president of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon.

Saturday

Have you ever wondered what the point of Blogging was?  Guess what, there are lots of great reasons for gardeners to Blog!  You can use it to show family and friends what you've been up to in your garden, or just to keep a record of your garden from year to year.  Blogging is also a great way to meet fellow gardeners in your area...and around the world.  Join some area bloggers as they discuss what spurred them to start blogging and what the benefits have been as a result.

Scott Weber,  who blogs at rhonestreetgardens.com moved to Portland from Nebraska eight years ago to fulfill a long-held dream of living in the Northwest.  Scott's blog chronicles his experience and impressions as a Portland gardener.  A true nerd, Scott's gardening inspiration comes from such varied sources as the gardens of Piet Oudolf, the paintings of Monet and the music of early 20th Century English Romantic composers.

Sunday

Sunday

We all enjoy flowering shrubs, but many only flower for a short time.  Instead, Roger Gossler encourages us to use a combination of foliage and texture as the basis of our gardens.  He will show how to combine deciduous shrubs with evergreen ones together with a few choice perennials to keep the garden looking great year-round.

Roger Gossler was born, raised and attended school in Springfield, OR.  His interest in plants has been life-long, and his learning comes from hands-on work with plants, an extensive library, and visits with other growers.  He received an Associate Degree at Lane Community College in Landscape Design Maintenance.  He is a partner in Gossler Farms Nursery along with his mother Marj and his brother Eric.  The nursery specializes in magnolias, winter blooming trees and shrubs and many other beautiful plants, including some unusual perennials.  Roger is a life member of the Magnolia Society, and a member of the American Rhododendron Society, the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, The Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group and the Royal Horticultural Society.  He has lectured extensively throughout the United States.  In 2009, The Gossler Guide to Hardy Shrubs by Marj, Eric & Roger Gossler was published by Timber Press.

Sunday

Hostas are among the most popular of ornamental perennials because of the wide variety of leaf shape, size, texture, and variegation they offer to the gardener.  Thomas Johnson discusses the cultural needs of hostas, how and when to make divisions, and their many uses in the garden.  One of Thomas' interests is using hostas in decorative containers.  He will feature some of his own artistry.  And he will bring a selection of hostas from his nursery Sebright Gardens for sale.

Thomas Johnson was born and raised on a farm in Albert, Canada, where he became interested in plants at a very early age.  By age 8, he began selling bedding plants out of his small greenhouse in order to bankroll the purchase of more plants.  Upon completion of high school, he joined his brother in the family farm and had his own dairy for 12 years.  By then he had progressed to selling perennials, mainly Peonies, Iris and Lilies which he propagated from his own stock.  At age 27, he sold the dairy and moved to Oklahoma City to become a partner in a nursery there called Mid-America Garden and formed Sebright Gardens.   He still owns Mid-America Garden and actively hybridizes iris as well.

Sunday

Many spring flowering shrubs are best pruned just after they complete their flowering.  Mike will include upsizing and downsizing Rhododendrons, lifting drooping canopies and some mid-season corrective pruning on plants such as Daphne odora 'Aureo-marginata'.

Mike Smith is co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery.  You can see his pruning handiwork throughout the nursery, especially in the large rhododendrons around the house and behind our lavender path and in the numerous shrubs shaped into small trees that are grown throughout our gardens.  Mike is a passionate gardener who retired from a management job in corporate America, got bored and then started the nursery.

Sunday

Few other shrubs offer as prolific and showy a floral display over such a long time as hydrangeas.  We are all familiar with the large lace-cap and mop-head flower heads of Hydrangea macrophylla, but there are many more species and cultivars that are less familiar that offer new possibilities for the gardener.

Saturday

Leslie's goal is to demonstrate how plants reproduce so that the home gardener understands the best methods to use to refresh treasured plants in their own gardens.  Leslie will cover the fundamental steps for making and growing-on rooted cuttings and also show how to scale lilies and how to perform basic seed collecting, storing and sowing.  Spend the day learning about tools, techniques, timing and more.  And take your own "propagules" home.

Leslie Gover has worked around plants since she was a very young girl planting her first garden.  She now serves as the propagator, plant entomologist, and plant pathologist for Joy Creek Nursery.  Her background in ornamental horticulture from Oregon State University has allowed her to spend lots of time in the field in both a professional and personal capacity.  As one of her personal goals, she began Daisytoes Nursery to teach her children what vegetables, business and a strong work ethic are all about.

Sunday  

Tom Fischer is an avid reader and collector of classic American and British gardening books.  In this talk, he will highlight some of his favorites and share what they have to teach us today.  By reading what past generations of gardeners have written and felt about their gardens, we enter into a kind of conversation that is both highly enjoyable and deeply enriching.

Tom Fischer is senior acquisitions editor at Timber Press.  He got his start in book publishing at the University of Chicago Press and Beacon Press, and spent 14 years on the editorial staff  of Horticulture magazine in Boston before moving to Portland in 2004.  His experiences as a bi-coastal gardener and his inexhaustible curiosity about plants have shaped his garden, which was profiled in the Oregonian in 2008.  A prolific writer as well as an editor, his articles have been featured in magazines such as Garden Design, Gardens Illustrated, and Martha Stewart Living.  His book, Perennial Companions:  100 Dazzling Plant Combinations for Every Season, was published by Timber Press in February 2009, followed by The Gardener's Color Palette in 2010.  You can read many of his articles on his website, OverPlanted.com.  Recently he has served as a horticultural consultant for Allied Works Architecture.

Sunday

In addition to showing gardeners the depth and breadth of the genus clematis and how to grow them, the Rogerson Clematis Collection (RCC) is involved in trialing "new" clematis.  Join the RCC curator Linda Beutler as we meet new clematis and learn how they are evaluated aesthetically and assessed for garden-worthiness.

Linda Beutler is a fearless gardener who grows a great number of plants on a simple, flat 50' x 100' city lot in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland, Oregon.  She was a professional florist for over 20 years, and her first love in her own garden was growing flowers and foliage for cutting.   Linda has been an instructor of horticulture at Clackamas Community College for 16 years.  Her classes include Herbaceous Perennials (summer term) and The Flower Arranger's Garden I & II (autumn and spring terms).  Linda is the author of two books, Gardening with Clematis (Timber Press 2004) and Garden to Vase (Timber Press 2007), both now sadly out-of-print.

Linda's other concurrent career is as curator of the Rogerson Clematis Collection, a position she has held since 2007.  Starting in June 2013, Linda is the first American, and first woman, to hold the position of President of the International Clematis Society, of which she has long been an active member.  Linda continues to speak nationally on numerous gardening topics including clematis selection and cultivation, growing cutting gardens, selection and cultivation of "old garden roses," and "birdening," selecting plants that attract birds to the garden.

Sunday

The Fern Lady is back with delightful tales and information about what she calls the most architectural of plants.  Learn how to chose ferns for specific sites (including hot, dry ones), how to care for them and grow them well.

Judith Jones is the owner of Fancy Fronds Temperate Fern Nursery in Gold Bar, WA, which was established in 1977.  During the course of her lengthy fern career, she was been privileged to work with some of the world's foremost pteridologists and fern enthusiasts.  Her main areas of fern production are the named Victorian cultivars, new introductions, garden ready xeric ferns and marginally hardy tree ferns.  Visitors to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show have seen the playful, yet educational, side of her talents in the delightful display gardens she has created with friends and colleagues.

Saturday

Photographing gardens is a wonderful way to enjoy the art of photography and expand your eye as a gardener.  We will cover techniques to get the best out of each picture no matter the light, subject, or camera.  With an emphasis on enhancing photography skills and your knowledge of gardening, we will search for new ways to capture the garden from landscapes to flower portraits.  This is a hands-on class and we will put your new skills to work by taking pictures in Joy Creek's gardens.  After getting our hands dirty, we will discuss the pictures and answer questions.  This is a class for beginners and anyone who wants to delve further into understanding their surroundings through photography.  Bring your camera and any other equipment you may want, such as a tripod.

Andy Stockton is an avid gardener and photographer.  He runs the Facebook page for Joy Creek, posting many photos of the garden.  In the last five years he has taken over 15,000 pictures of the nursery.  Andy has also traveled to Scotland to document the World Porridge Championships twice for Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods.  His photos have appeared in Pacific Horticulture, the LA Times food blog, and even on a video billboard in Times Square.

Sunday 

There is a growing interest in bog gardening because of all the unusual and unfamiliar plants that dwell in those special conditions.  Learn how to grow and care for them at your home either in the garden or in a container.  Venus fly-traps, pitcher plants and sundews will soon be part of your plant palette.  Scott will bring a selection of carnivorous and bog plants for sale from his nursery.  He will also bring a few pre-planted bog bowls.

Scott G. Vergara writes "if you need a one sentence bio, say that one of my prized plants was a variegated poison ivy."  That shows his passion for plants but it does not tell the depth of his involvement with horticulture.  He has done genetic research, been a college educator, worked as plant development coordinator, and served as director of two botanical gardens.  He is currently the owner of Woodland Gardens.  One of his passions is carnivorous plants.

Sunday 

 Even in the gentlest of wars, the number one rule is "Understand your opponent."  Some gardeners just want to co-exist with nature and some folks are ready to declare all out war.  Either way, understanding the whys of deer behavior can help.  Explore design tricks and plant suggestions for gardening in the presence of deer.

Saturday

Come and join us at our annual evening open-house.  As the sun goes down, our gardens undergo an extraordinary transformation.  Enjoy the magic that takes place in the light of the setting sun. Music and light refreshment.

Sunday

Join Richie Steffen as he demonstrates the principles and techniques for creating unique displays of shade loving plants on table tops and in unusual containers.  Richie's naturalistic style uses plants, moss and weathered wood to form miniature woodland gardens that are perfect for the patio.

Richie Steffen is the Curator for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden where he manages the rare plant collections and heads acquisitions of new plants for the garden.  He currently serves as a selection committee member of the Great Plant Picks™ program and is always ready to share his enthusiasm for this excellent regional resource.

Sunday

The title of this talk grew out of Nadine Black's desire to plant a new garden along her back fence.  This space had been taken over by a 25-foot cherry tree, a large compost pile, and even larger "chipper pile," some unkempt raspberries and some killer blackberry vines from her neighbor's yard.  This combination, she discovered, was ideal habitat for ground nesting birds.  Nadine's talk is a discussion of her efforts to replant the space while still accommodating the birds...with Berries and Thorns.

Sunday

Sunday

Put grasses to work for you in the garden.  They offer movement, texture, structure and seasonal interest to the border.  And they are great companions for many popular perennials.

Mike Smith is co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery.  You can see his pruning handiwork throughout the nursery, especially in the large rhododendrons around the house and behind our lavender path and in the numerous shrubs shaped into small trees that are grown throughout our gardens.  Mike is a passionate gardener who retired from a management job in corporate America, got bored and then started the nursery.

Sunday

The last many years may have brought us record cold and record wet winters but they have also brought some very long dry summers.  We have been pleased how well the plants in our low-water and no-water borders have done despite the weather.  This is testimony to both the plants themselves, of course, but also to the soil amendments and preparation that make these borders possible.  Learn how we amend our soils and make our plant choices.

Maurice Horn, as co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery, has had the opportunity to trial a vast variety of perennials and shrubs.  He is ever eager to find ways to create exciting gardens that use low to no water.  He has conducted gravel gardening workshops for Metro, the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon (at Reed College), Portland State University and Heronswood Nursery.  Recently, Maurice designed a dry land garden in cooperation with PGE, ODOT and the Master Gardeners of Oregon™.  The new garden celebrates the largest solar panel array in the State of Oregon at the Baldock Rest Area just past the Aurora Exit heading north on I-5.

Sunday

Basic container maintenance and a strong design element are essential to having breathtaking containers throughout the winter.  Create a winter container combination that will delight you through the cold winter months and the year ahead.

Ramona Wulzen received her love of all things wild from her mother.  She has gardened both on a city lot and on three acres in the woods.  She has also listened long and hard to the problems and solutions that other gardeners have experienced.  The nature of her current garden has lead to her passion for ground covers and container gardening.  Ramona is a veteran of our retail department and now works in our landscaping department.

20300 NW Watson Road  Scappoose, OR 97056
(503) 543-7474    (503) 543-6933 (FAX)
catalogue@joycreek.com