Welcome to our Garden Gnomes series of programs - perfect for families with children who love to explore garden plants and critters. In the IslandWood garden plants are snug in their beds during the winter months, but there are always surprises. There are restless roots, bombastic bulbs, and even color…if you know where to look. Join us for an afternoon in the garden, where we’ll visit with some of these sleepy-head plants, find out what the beetles and bees are up to - and together we'll build mason bee houses or a bug hotel! This take home project is not only fun... but will help our native pollinators too!
Mason bees, also known as blue orchard bees are native to Washington, unlike the well-known honeybee. They are asleep in their cocoons for the winter, but are the very first bees to emerge in spring. These are solitary bees. One mama bee does the work of building the mud house, and lays her eggs tucked deep inside. She is quite the busy bee!
A simple house is all they need as they overwinter in tubes of mud. We have saved tubes of cocoons just for you that you can take home to help kick-start a population of native pollinators at your house!
This event is family-friendly and of course we’ll make a batch of hot cocoa with marshmallows for you!
This program is not drop-off, parents or caregivers attending with their child need to purchase a ticket too. Thank you!
