JULY 20, 2017 // 7
Master Gardener workshop on
landscaping with native plants
ILWACO, WASH. — Washing-
ton State University Master
Gardeners of Pacific Coun-
ty will present a workshop,
“Enhancing your Land-
scape with Native Plants,”
from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sat-
urday, July 22, at Columbia
Pacific Heritage Museum
(115 S.E. Lake St.).
What makes a plant
“native”? What factors
make them an ideal choice
for landscaping? Would
gardeners rather have
landscaping that needs
little care once established,
or plants that need lots of
water, fertilizer, monitoring
and pest control?
Master Gardeners will
discuss ways to use native
plants in the home land-
scape and suggest a wide
variety of native plants to
fit individual needs. Deer,
pest and drought resistant
choices will be discussed.
Find inspirations while
exploring the many kinds
of native plants on display
at the workshop and in the
demonstration garden. Get
to know their versatility and
beauty and begin creating a
vibrant living yard that pro-
vides year-round interest.
For more information,
contact Elena Righettini at
mrighettini@yahoo.com.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Dorota Haber-Lehigh is surrounded by native plants in her garden in the Sunset Cove. Haber-Lehigh teaches English as a second
language and botanical illustration at Seaside High School.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Continued from Page 4
A growing movement
Planting natives is a
passion for Dorota, who is a
member of the Native Plant
Society and Oregon Botani-
cal Artists.
She recalls when her
garden had far fewer native
plants, and the non-natives
she introduced failed to
cooperate.
“I used to fight it, control
it,” she recalled. I struggled
with anything flourishing.
Then, I would go on hikes
and find everything thriving
in the woods. Nobody was
doing any trimming or wa-
tering. I realized I was doing
something wrong.”
She learned more about
native plants through work-
shops at the Hoyt Arboretum
in Portland and from local
experts with several North
Coast organizations. She
also has a plot at the Sunny
Hunt Community Garden
behind the Sunset pool.
“I grew up in Poland,”
Dorota said. “Everybody
had a community garden.
It was a necessity. After the
war (World War II), the bor-
ders were closed and there
were no imports of fruits
and vegetables. Whatever
you ate, you grew.”
Even in the 1980s,
community gardens flour-
ished. Dorota and her family
would ride bicycles — there
were few cars or paved
roads — to their community
garden, which measured
about one-tenth of an acre.
“There were cherry,
peach and plum trees. We
weren’t farmers, but we
would grow carrots, cu-
cumbers, zucchinis, lettuce,
herbs and tomatoes.”
In the summer, they
would forage for wildflow-
ers to make tea and for
mushrooms.
After Poland joined the
European Union in 2004,
development flourished:
Large stores and malls re-
placed mom-and-pop shops,
and highways filled with
cars.
“Now people realize they
have lost a lot of the coun-
tryside. Instead of planting
lawn, they plant native prai-
ries because they’re feeling
nostalgic,” she said.
Dorota worries that the
same thing will happen here.
But she also hopes that,
with more awareness of
the variety of native plants
and the ease of caring for
them, people will consider
incorporating them into their
gardens.
“We’re losing so much. I
feel like it’s our responsibili-
ty to preserve as much as we
can,” she said. “But I think
more people are gaining
awareness about landscaping
with natives. The movement
is growing.” CW
An oceanspray
‘For the Love of the River’ on view
SKAMOKAWA, WASH. — The
Friends of Skamokawa
is sponsoring a summer
exhibit titled “For the Love
of the River.”
The Friends group asked
the artists of Wahkiakum
County to make something
that expresses their views of
the Lower Columbia Basin.
There are photographs,
sculptures, poetry, paint-
ings, textiles and more
showing the variety of the
artists’ views and the beauty
of the Lower Columbia
Basin.
This exhibit opened in
July and will run until La-
bor Day Weekend, Sunday,
Sept. 3.
Redmen Hall (1394
Washington State Route
4 in Skamokawa) is open
noon to 4 p.m. Thursday
through Sunday.
For more information,
please call 360-795-3007 or
email us at fos1894@gmail.
com.