Curb cabin fever with garden class

Here we are, halfway through January. Our noses are pressed against the glass looking for a glint of sunshine and the slightest sign of warmer weather. By the middle of February we will all be suffering from a major case of cabin fever. We are going to need a serious diversion.

That’s where the Master Gardeners in Pend Oreille County come in. Their solution to mid-winter is to go to school for a day. On Feb. 19 they are gathering for “A Winter Day in the Garden” at Clearwater Lodge on Davis Lake.

And they are inviting us to join them.

Headlining the program will be Cheryl Long, editor of Mother Earth News, and our own Phyllis Stephens.

Long, whose magazine is still the go-to source for ideas on wise, environmentally sound living, will start the program with a panel discussion on “Why Local Food Matters.” According to Long, people are paying more attention to locally produced food that has better flavor and higher quality nutritional value. “There is a global food movement that is partly driven by concerns about nutrition, safety and purity of food, flavor and the social and political concerns about food security,” she says.

Phyllis Stephens will share her vision of 21st-century gardening in the Inland Northwest. As always, there will be lots of garden stories as only she can tell them.

To further banish our cabin fever, the Master Gardeners have filled the rest of the day with a slate of eclectic workshops. The morning session will begin with talks on water gardens, winter bird feeding and a dialog with Long. The morning will be rounded out with topics such as building garden rooms, growing winter salad greens (if they can do this in Pend Oreille country, anyone can do it) and what to do when plants go “evil” in your garden.

After lunch we will be able to choose from topics like identifying animal tracks in the snow, how to grow large, prize-winner vegetables in short seasons, growing and using lavender, planning a fruit orchard, garden digital photography and last but not least, a humorous tribute to the pink flamingo and how to create your very own green topiary version of this classic lawn ornament.

Clearwater Lodge, at Camp Spalding, is an hour north of Spokane just off Highway 2. The warm, comfortable lodge sits right on the west side of Davis Lake so we will have a beautiful setting in which to get creative, even in the snow.