Spring 2026 - The Coastal Gardener information and events.

April 6, 2026
By Coastal Gardener Newsletter Team

Spring is here. Check out our current newsletter.

Learn about Queen bees surviving flooded nests, Evergreen Huckleberry, Gardening for Life - Spotlight on Glen Paul School, Last Frost dates, Dogwoods, Gardening Curiosities, upcoming events, and more.

Young boy seated and strapped into a wheelchair seated adjacent to an elevated garden box, touching dirt with his left hand and smiling with joy — Image credit: Meghan Hodge. Used with permission

Gardening for Life - Spotlight on Glen Paul School

On a warm day, a child was playing in the dirt at school. The special thing about this dirt is that it is raised up to meet him where he is. His smile says it all. How wonderful that gardening can be accessible to everyone.

View Article

Curiosities - have you ever wondered about...

Gardener longevity, petal drip-tips, how bees keep cool, moss that survives a trip to space, declining research hubs, the relationship between bird decline and high-intensity agriculture, or how thunderstorms can give a forest a purple glow? View Article

The flowers are composed of four-petal-like bracts arranged around a head of very small flowers tightly clustered at the center of the bracts. The leaves of this plant, as common with most dogwoods, are simple with veins curving as they approach the leaf margin, These leaves are dark green and shaped like a miniature tapering trowel. On this plant, the bracts are white. — *Cornus capitata* Mountain Moon in full bloom. Image: J. Walsh.

Dogwoods that Thrive in Coastal Northern California

The Dogwoods (Cornus) at Humboldt Botanical Garden are fantastic, but only a few Cornus do well in coastal Humboldt County. View Article

Ask a Master Gardener - Last Frost Date

Question:I have been hearing different dates for the last frost date in Crescent City. Some places say the end of March; some places say the end of May. Are you able to help select a last frost date for seeding planning? View Article

Green leaves and pink, bell shaped blossoms of an evergreen huckleberry. — Evergreen huckleberry blooming. Image, Y. Everett, Master Gardener

Evergreen Huckleberry: A beautiful native garden shrub
with delicious fruits

Huckleberry is a native shrub of the redwood forest understory and coastal bluffs on the California North Coast and thrives in neighborhoods at the forest edge. This article focuses on the benefits of gardening with huckleberry - a beautiful, easy to care for bush, which attracts bees and hummingbirds and produces delicious fruit - as an example of one of several native species of berry that can be grown in our Humboldt and Del Norte County coastal gardens. View Article

Common eastern bumble bee worker on a white staminate (having stamens but no petals) plant — Common Eastern Bumble Bee
Photo Credit "Mousebelt"

Queen bumble bees survive in flooded nests. How do they do that?

Have you ever wondered how queen bumblebees survive winter? Many queen bumble bees living in temperate climates spend the winter in underground nests and remain buried in a hibernation-like state called diapause. View Article

Flyer for the 02/21/2026 Master Gardener presentation, All About Peat — All About Peat Flyer.
L. Nedlan Master Gardener

All About Peat - an Interview with Marie Antoine

A post-presentation interview with Marie Antoine by Laurel Condro, UC Master Gardener of Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.
Hi Marie, I learned so much from your lecture. I never thought about where peat comes from or why we put it into our gardens. Why is peat used so much in gardening… View Article

Upcoming Events - April, May, and June 2026