How Climate Shifts Are Changing Our Pest Problems

In this episode of The Evergreen Thumb, guest Todd Murray joins host Erin Hoover to discuss how climate change is affecting garden pests. He explains that “pests” are defined by their interactions with humans and tend to thrive in disturbed environments, often reproducing rapidly. Climate change, especially shifting rainfall patterns and warmer temperatures, is stressing plants, making them more vulnerable to native and non-native pests such as beetles and aphids.

While beneficial insects may not always keep pace, gardeners can adapt by observing which plants struggle, choosing resilient species, focusing on soil health, and tracking garden changes. Ultimately, resilience and adaptability are key for gardeners as climate change continues to shape pest populations and plant health.

• https://invasivespecies.wa.gov/
• WSU Extension Gardening & IPM: extension.wsu.edu/gardening
• Backyard Fruit Trees
• WA State Pest Alerts & Invasive Species: agr.wa.gov/plantsinsects
• Climate Impacts on Gardens: Tree Fruit
• Citizen Science & Observations: iNaturalist

[00:00:00]Erin Hoover: Welcome to The Evergreen Thumb, episode 58. My guest today is Todd Murray. Todd is the director of WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center, and is also the chair of Washington’s Invasive Species Council, he’s here today to talk to us about how climate change could affect pest populations in our gardens.

[00:00:27] Hi Todd. Thanks for coming back to the show.

[00:00:30]Todd Murray: Thanks for having me.

Defining Pests

[00:00:32]Erin Hoover: So today you’re here to talk to us about, uh, how climate change might affect pests in our gardens. So, I guess just to start off with the very basics, what is a pest?

[00:00:44]Todd Murray: You know, I think that’s a great place to start because in my worldview, on how our changes in climate are really in context of what pests are and what they’re really good at.

[00:00:56] And a way to understand pests is to really understand different life strategies on this planet. I know that that’s a really big picture place to start, but I think it’s a good start because there are no such things as pests.

[00:01:26] Pests are a human interaction result. And so, without humans, pests don’t exist. I know that seems a little bit abstract, but it makes more sense when you really understand the things that we consider pests, some of the traits that they, um, carry. What, what a pest is, is really that human interaction.

[00:01:54] A great example is like a deer isn’t a pest when it’s kind of all cute and cuddly in the forest looking like Bambi, but the second it comes into your strawberry patch, you want to kill it, or at least like, make it suffer somehow. So you want revenge on that animal because of that interaction.

Another good example is like ladybugs. Ladybird beetles are awesome to have in your garden when they’re eating aphids, but when they mass up by the thousands on the side of your house and then come into your house for winter, now they’re a pest.

[00:02:21] And so it really is that human interaction. And, the thing that we see consistent with pests are that they love disturbances, and they love changes in the environment, whether it’s a tree falling or a badger digging a hole and turning over some soil or something. All the things that we consider pests love that situation of a disturbance.

[00:02:50] The other thing that we see is pests are, pests generally, life has two strategies to be successful on this, this planet, you can either be a really good competitor and if you’re a good competitor, often you have very few babies, but you put a lot of energy in making sure that those babies reach, uh, adulthood and can pass on the genes.

[00:03:14] The other strategy is just to flood the environment with a bunch of babies in hopes that one or two survive. And, so the other trait that we see with pests are that they play the numbers game. They often just flood the environment with a bunch of babies. It turns out that with pests, especially if there’s a lot of disturbance happening in the environment, a lot of them do survive and become that kind of pest interaction with, with people.

[00:03:41] So, I think asking what a pest is is a great place to start.

[00:03:46]Erin Hoover: Yeah. The way you’re explaining it, I think of a, it’s, a lot of it has to do with the perspective of where the creature is, and you know, what its actions are. If it’s, you know, like you said, eating your strawberries, you don’t want it around, but if it’s out in the woods, you know, you don’t even think about it.

[00:04:04]Todd Murray: Yeah, yeah.

Pest Responses to Environmental Cues

[00:04:06]Erin Hoover: So, thinking more about pest activity and kind of the changes and trends in temperatures that we’ve been seeing in the, both in the summer and in the winter. How might those affect like the pest lifecycle, and when those pests are active compared to say, you know, what’s growing or what’s blooming or, and how they interact with some of the plants in our garden?

[00:04:29]Todd Murray: In the northwest, we maybe can find some examples where the Phenology or the lifecycle of organisms, like we definitely see it with lilacs when they bloom. You know, that tends to be a little bit earlier.

A lot of the insect pests that we deal with, and even, you know, some of the diseases and weeds, um, will respond to the same type of environmental cues. So, if things are, you know, warmer in the spring, uh, activity might, might start earlier in the season.

[00:05:02] And if you’re a pest like an aphid, which can have a high reproductive rate, you might be able to kick over more generations for that year, which will just be more individuals feeding on a plant. But it’s hard to come up with a general rule about, or a general trend about the effect of small changes in, in average temperatures per year, or whatnot.

[00:05:31] Um, we probably see climatic impacts in other ways, which then more exacerbate pest problems.

[00:05:42]Erin Hoover: So could those temperature changes affect how, say, introduced species thrive or don’t thrive versus native species?

[00:05:53]Todd Murray: All species will kind of respond the way they respond normally to environmental changes, so I don’t know if pests really get an upper hand in, in how things are, are changing in the environment, except remember that we, you know, often we, one of the key characters of being a pest is love and disturbance.

[00:06:17] And so if these climatic changes are causing disturbances out in the environment, that’s where I think we do see the secondary effect of pest problems and exacerbating some of the changes in climate.

[00:06:34]Erin Hoover: So, what about like milder winters? Is that kind of the same ideas apply? Or are you going to see less die off because of the harder freezes, or more die off because we’re getting more extreme cold?

[00:06:45]Todd Murray: No, and yeah, especially speaking in the insect world, they’re pretty resilient in that regard, so I don’t know if mild winters impact, you know, again, it’s hard to come up with a general rule, you know, whether, whether like a mild winter will have caused a pest year or not.

Also, remember there’s a lot of living things out there that like to eat pests, and so they’re also responding usually in a positive way to warmer temperatures or, better, growing conditions.

[00:07:17] So, so, so I don’t know if those direct relationships really are showing themselves as key aspects to climate change. But I can tell you that the effect of changing, uh, rainfall patterns here in the Pacific Northwest is stressing plants out, especially perennial plants like trees and shrubs, and then that’s creating a disturbance.

[00:07:47] That’s the pest jam. That’s what they like. They like a bunch of stressed-out hosts. Then they can go in and exploit. And so, we are seeing that type of response.

And, we do have one specific example that’s unfolding here in Washington state that’s really unique, really modeling the effect of climate change and the effect on tree health, and then pests responding to that.

Examples of Pests Responding to Plants Affected by Climate Change

[00:08:16]Erin Hoover: So what might some of those examples be?

[00:08:18]Todd Murray: This one is, is, is a great example. It’s, um, a beetle that I found with, uh, Glenn Kohler, who’s with, uh, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and Jenny Sena, who’s with, uh, the Washington Department of Agriculture, back in 2000, and that’s what I get excited about.

[00:08:40] So you’re gonna have to cut me off if I go too long on it, but it’s such a great example of what I think is going to happen as, as our environment changes here in the Pacific Northwest.

Back in 2010, we found a brand new beetle in Washington state that we’ve never recorded since Europeans have settled here and collected bark beetles.

[00:09:04] And so this beetle was never known to occur in Washington state, and it’s called the California Fivespined Ips beetle, and its native range goes all the way through California and up into Oregon. It does kind of peter out, you know, around Portland. We found it in the Columbia River Gorge by, you know, kind of on the Hood River side of the Columbia River and, and White Salmon area.

[00:09:30] And then the beetles started to outbreak and killed a lot of trees within the Columbia River Gorge. A few environmental factors really contributed to that outbreak, but it really settled here in the state and started to spread north and westward. Things kind of slowed down in the Columbia River Gorge, but it’s a really big deal to find a brand new bark beetle in a territory it’s never occurred before.

[00:10:01] So the initial thought is that, well, things are getting warmer and maybe this beetle just expanded its range ‘cause the temperature. But what we really think is happening is that the climate models that are, that predicted changes in climate patterns like rainfall are starting to fulfill what the predictive models show, where we actually give more rain annually or can get more rain annually. But when it comes, it all comes into winter.

[00:10:31] And then we have long periods of dryness or drought periods during the growing season, and that’s stressing out trees. So, this beetle we think is possibly going into a new range because the trees are, um, vulnerable to attack and stressed out. And, and, and so that’s kind of the secondary response to a change in climate where it impacts their food source and they’re taking advantage of it.

[00:11:06]Erin Hoover: What is the primary target of this particular bark beetle?

[00:11:10]Todd Murray: This bark beetle, its primary host here in the northwest is Ponderosa Pines, but it’s really changed a little bit on how it interacts with pine species, and we’re seeing an outbreak here in Western Washington on other types of pine trees.

[00:11:27] Uh, Dr. Henry Adams with Washington State University has a graduate student, uh, Savannah, who’s studying the tree’s ability to, uh, create a defensive response. Traditionally, with bark beetles, it’s usually producing pitch, and there are some morphological and genetic aspects of a tree that can show, you know, whether it can produce pitch or not.

[00:11:53] But what we think is this change in stress patterns that trees are experiencing are, have reduced their ability to produce pitch. Which then reduces its ability to ward off and defend itself against coordinated bark beetle attacks. And, and so, so that’s the impact that the changing climate is, is having and is really a tree health issue.

[00:12:21]Erin Hoover: But you, but we haven’t seen it feeling more eastward into eastern Washington? Is that because it’s more, they’re not as stressed, maybe? That the bark beetle is not heading into Eastern Washington?

[00:12:31]Todd Murray: We did see eastern movement into, um, Eastern Washington, and so it’s up north past Moses Lake. It’s, I think we’ve gotten beetles out towards Walla Walla, so it is creeping closer and closer to some significant pine forests, and we don’t know what to expect if it’ll behave where it can start causing problems in some of the Eastern Washington forests also.

[00:12:54] It’s still causing problems down on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, especially as you go south, towards the Columbia River Gorge.

Pests with Additional Life Cycles Within a Season

[00:13:08]Erin Hoover: You mentioned a little bit about, uh, additional generations of certain species like aphids. Aside from, I mean, aphids are just about every gardener’s enemy, but, uh, you know what I mean?

[00:13:20] What kind of, other than having potentially more aphids, what other changes or problems might we see from additional life cycles within a season?

[00:13:30]Todd Murray: Just additional life cycles means that there’s literally more mouths to take bites outta plants or suck plant juices. So, that just adds more feeding opportunity for those insect pests to feed on foliage or chew on bark, or whatever, you know which, whatever pest.

[00:13:52] So a prolonged growing season that allows for an additional generation or half a generation just exposes plants to more feeding pressure.

[00:14:04]Erin Hoover: Okay. So, what are some other pets that would be able to take advantage of that additional time for another lifecycle aside from aphids?

[00:14:13]Todd Murray: You know, it’s really tough to say because we’ve been in, I think, these prolonged droughty periods for a while now, but there aren’t many insect models where we’re documenting those specific changes that, at least I’m aware of.

[00:14:32] I know in some of our agricultural settings, those numbers games, pests like aphids, white flies, um, things like that, that have high reproduction and don’t follow a strict, uh, phenology model of like, we only have one generation a year or 1, or 1 and a half generations a year. I think those pests are adding to the feeding pressure that farmers have to deal with.

[00:15:00] Uh, but for gardeners, I’d say aphids are probably our, our number one issue of having potential of, uh, having more, more mouths that are going to be out there feeding on plants per year.

Beneficial Insects and Pest Balance

[00:15:13]Erin Hoover: Okay. Do we know if the beneficial insects or the natural predatory insects are keeping pace with some of these other insects?

[00:15:22]Todd Murray: That’s a great question. And going back to those life strategies, the things that like to eat pests generally follow, um, a strategy of high competition, so they don’t produce as many, you know, they don’t play the numbers game like pests do. So their response to their environment is almost, is, is, you know, environmentally regulated, but also their ability to utilize their food resource.

[00:15:53] So often those populations lag behind pest populations, and that’s why we can see pest outbreaks. Because they don’t respond the same way to pests due to their environment. So, it’s hard to say just as a general rule, you know, that’s how natural enemies of pests are responding. But, but I expect that that’s likely what’s happening out there.

[00:16:18] So that doesn’t mean that they aren’t having a significant effect on reducing populations and maintaining a level of natural control, but they respond in a different way to their environment than pests do because they’re not necessarily, um, just relying on sheer numbers.

How Wetter Weather Might Affect Pest Populations

[00:16:37]Erin Hoover: So we talked a little bit about drier summers and how the stress is making them more susceptible to attack.

[00:16:43] How might wetter springs, um, when you’ve got a damper or longer wet season in the spring, how might that affect the lifecycle of some of these pests?

[00:16:55]Todd Murray: Another great one to see, and you’ll be able to see this across the state, are birch trees and the decline of birch trees. And that one is also similar to what I described with the California Fivespined Ips, where the trees are negatively responding to rainfall patterns.

[00:17:15] And so birch trees like it really wet. They like shade, and where we plant them and the varieties that we’re planting just aren’t performing well the way our rainfall patterns are unfolding.

So, so a good example is, is the, you know, those wet winters and, and kind of damp springs, actually damp springs are a little bit rarer than they used to be.

[00:17:43] Roots aren’t driving deep because they’ve enjoyed like a nice wet surface. Now, they may not be as deep as they could be, and so they’re really susceptible for those drier periods. We’ll see that, with cedar trees too. Some of the cedar die back that’s happening.

[00:18:07] Um, but birch trees are really unfortunate. Because we just finished August and now September. If you’re driving around any urban areas in Washington state, you’ll see a lot of dead and dying birch trees because of their inability to navigate these dry periods.

And then we have a, uh, another wood-borne beetle, the Bronze Birch Borer, that’s coming in and really just taking advantage of those stressed-out trees.

[00:18:32] So this is a native beetle. It’s just finding more opportunities and more things to feed on because we’ve introduced European species of birch, and some of our native birch are stressed out too. And so it’s just taken advantage of those sick trees and, and kind of, um, increasing their populations because of it.

[00:18:51]Erin Hoover: So that just made me think of something that kind of goes back to what you’re saying about what is a pest, and there’s this native beetle that’s starting to, to take out these birch trees. Some, I think, sometimes we have the mindset that it’s only introduced species that can be pests in the plant world, whereas natives shouldn’t be excluded from that list.

[00:19:11]Todd Murray: No, both these beetles are native, at least to the western us. And we’re just providing ‘em a smorgasbord for them to take advantage of.

Tips for Keeping Track of Insect Sightings for Gardeners

[00:19:23]Erin Hoover: Do you have some tips for gardeners as far as monitoring and keeping track of seasonal shifts and sightings of insects?

[00:19:32]Todd Murray: You know, time, time will tell how best to recommend.

[00:19:36] And there’s probably better expertise out there to really look at your plant community compositions in your yards, and what’s gonna perform well in the future as things kind of dry out in the summer.

But look at those plants that are really struggling with, like, you know, if you have birch trees, don’t plant more birch trees because of it. So, to look at other types of tree species that will perform better and still serve that kind of function that you need in your yard. And we need trees out there that serve in the landscape, um, level function too.

[00:20:11] And so just pay attention on who’s doing good in your yard, and if they aren’t doing good um, reconsider what you replant with and, and swap those plants or trees out.

[00:20:29]Erin Hoover: This also makes me think about, I know a lot of gardeners like to keep journals of what they do in their garden every year, and this, looking back at that could be a good way to see any trends in, you know, what insects you’re seeing in the garden or, um, you know, what plants are struggling.

[00:20:46] I know, I started a journal, I don’t know how many times, but uh, I never seemed to be able to keep up with it for more than a couple months at a time.

[00:20:55]Todd Murray: Uh, journaling is a great fight and there are some places whereas, you know, you know, especially for Master Gardeners and, other really enthusiastic gardeners, is to participate and help, help researchers collect data on.

[00:21:11] Like the flowering times of lilac. And so over time, we get better data sets of really what the changes, you know, the climate changes are having on some of the plants, and other pests out there. So, look for those opportunities to help contribute. And I think journaling is a great way to really create a record of what you’re seeing out there and share that with the future generations.

[00:21:36]Erin Hoover: Yeah. And there are a lot of citizen science programs on, like iNaturalist or uh, the National Phenology Network. Um, they maintain really good databases and they use all that data to inform how these changes are affecting, uh, insect patterns and growth patterns and all kinds of things.

[00:21:56]Todd Murray: Yeah, iNaturalist is probably gonna be such an invaluable resource as we get more and more people participating.

Management Strategies for Pest Stress on Woody Plants

[00:22:03]Erin Hoover: So, do you have some suggestions for some management strategy when it comes to pest stress on woody trees and shrubs?

[00:22:12]Todd Murray: You know, for really trees and shrubs that have significant meaning to you, it is worth getting an arborist to come out and getting health recommendations.

[00:22:27] It’s, it’s a real slow dance of really managing, babying, those long-lived perennial plants in a situation where like, you know, do you, do you irrigate them more? And if you do, that actually does kind of make ‘em less resilient over time for droughty conditions, ‘cause you really do want to drive roots down to where the water is.

[00:22:51] And, and so, so it, it is a balance on how much you wanna baby those weaker or more vulnerable plants in, in your yard through, through this changing climate and gauging that with, once you commit to babying it, you’re probably gonna have to baby it for the rest of your life. And who knows who’s gonna be taking care of that plant the next, next round.

[00:23:15] So, it’s tough to come up with good recommendations, but focusing on soil health, the soil’s ability to maintain moisture during these drought times is a great, great tool. Like, you know, good composting, um habits is probably one of the more useful things that you could do as, as a gardener for your yard and, and really focus on that soil health and its ability to hold onto water and provide for plants.

[00:23:48]Erin Hoover: I guess it’s a good thing we just finished a whole series on soil health.

Todd Murray: Oh, great. Yeah.

Erin Hoover: So that’ll be fresh in everybody’s mind. They’ll know what to do.

Trends for Gardeners to Watch Out for to Prevent Plant Stress

So what kind of trends do you think gardeners should keep an eye out for when it comes to pests and their gardens? And how to adapt as a gardener to those changes aside, you said, like from what you said when not overwatering, so that the roots can get down?

[00:24:16]Todd Murray: Yeah, it’s, you know, with these types of literally global issues, it’s almost best to pull your eyes out of just your yard and pay attention to what’s happening in your communities, in your forests close by. Those are the ones that really give you an idea of how stressed things are or not stressed they are and use that as a good indication of how you should prepare for or what you need to do for your yard.

[00:24:52] But I always think it’s really useful to pay attention to, you know, how, how those, you know, especially perennials that look in parks out in the, the native forests and how they look and emulate those conditions that where things are looking pretty good or, avoid those conditions where things aren’t looking that great

[00:25:15]Erin Hoover: Comes to mind, if you’re looking at a park, make sure it’s a park that’s not necessarily irrigated.

[00:25:20]Todd Murray: Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or, if it is irrigated, make sure that you know, that and that’s what you’re gonna plan on emulating, you know?

Erin Hoover: Right.

Todd Murray: And then you’re in it for the long haul. But these types of changes that we’re experiencing are, you know, region-wide, landscape-level changes, and it’s gonna be more than trying to just um, fend for what our yards look like because our yards are just gonna respond much like the surrounding environment’s gonna respond. And there’s only so much you have control over.

Why do Some Changes in Climate Make Some Species More Pestiferous?

[00:25:57]Erin Hoover: Right. So why would changes in climate make some species more pestiferous?

[00:26:03]Todd Murray: Changes in climate, again, will affect pests directly as their biology responds to the environment.

[00:26:11] So much like plants grow, insects, um, grow at a rate of, of their environment and collect degree days, just like plants do. And so, they need to accumulate so many temperature units before they can grow through their lifecycle. So, if things are warmer earlier, or are happening or accumulating faster, they’ll respond that way.

[00:26:38] But, just like we saw in the trees, we’ll also see this in our annual plants, too, is really just the stress that the dry periods have if we’re not providing some supplemental moisture during those dry periods.

[00:27:01] When you’ve got weak plants, they’re sitting ducks for pests, and so some years will be good for certain pests that respond well to conditions, and then other years might find a different weather pattern that they respond to differently. And, they’re all gonna be responding to the quality and the vulnerability of the plants that they’re feeding on.

Migration Patterns of Pests Adjusting to Climate Change

[00:27:21]Erin Hoover: Can we expect long-term to see species, and like you said, with the bark beetle, that was only seen in Oregon? Should we expect to see more of that over the coming years, that slowly these, some of these, uh, insects are going to migrate further north?

[00:27:40]Todd Murray: I do think so. I think we’ll see, um, you know, a more beneficial condition for pests that don’t normally, like living in Washington State, now finding a pretty great place to live in.

[00:27:52] My biggest concern, though, is the amount of new pests that our state gets and our region gets is, is unusual because of just our international trade practices now and our location and our diverse climates that we have here in Washington State.

[00:28:18] When you combine that with a bunch of stressed-out trees and food sources, you know, new introductions of pests might establish a lot easier and faster here in the Pacific Northwest than they would’ve in the past.

And so that’s my biggest concern is that we might be inadvertently creating a perfect condition for new pests to come in here and be quite successful because our plants are so stressed out.

[00:28:41]Erin Hoover: I could see how that would be, could be a big problem if you get these, say, you know, Asia or you know, climates that are a bit warmer than we are that or have been, that are, you know, coming in and we now have a climate that is better suited to their needs.

[00:28:59]Todd Murray: Right. Yeah. And easy food for them to eat.

Final Thoughts on How Climate Change Might Be Affecting Pests in the Garden

[00:29:02]Erin Hoover: Right. So, anything else that you’d like to add about how climate change might be affecting pests in the garden?

[00:29:10]Todd Murray: Resilience is a tricky word because it can mean a lot in different situations, but I think resilience in the context of changing climates is being able to adapt to the change. Of course, we’d like to adopt practices that might slow down or mitigate some of the changing climates, and hopefully we do those types of practices at some point as, uh, kind of on a global scale, but in the meantime, I think we gotta be really adaptive and pay attention and recognize stress in our plants as it happens.

[00:29:39] You know, I think one of the neatest things about the Northwest, especially in Western Washington, in the Puget Sound area, you could just stick a plant in the ground, and that’s about all you have to do, and you call yourself a gardener because it’s such a pleasant, growing condition out here.

[00:30:00] And I think, uh, gardeners, you know, are going to have to just pay attention more towards, you know, recognizing plant stress and, and addressing stressors than we’ve had to in the past.

[00:30:21]Erin Hoover: I think, and I can see it, microclimates can come into that too.

So, you know, whereas before maybe you would, you know, plant something right next to your house. Maybe you’d want it in a, you know, little further away from a heat sink, like a house would be if it’s exposed to the sun, because it’s already gonna get plenty of heat.

[00:30:40]Todd Murray: Right, right.

[00:30:41]Erin Hoover: On its own, um.

[00:30:44]Todd Murray: In some aspects, there are some things that you can enjoy with that, you know, tomatoes have always been a struggle for Western Washington, but now I’ve even grown some good tomatoes.

[00:30:55]Erin Hoover: I don’t know, it’s not been a great tomato year for us this year.

[00:30:59]Todd Murray: Oh no.

Final Thoughts on Pest Problems and Climate Change

[00:31:02]Erin Hoover: Anything else you’d like to add?

[00:31:06]Todd Murray: No, I, um, you know, like, I think that, you know, those main points are when I first was, you know, was introduced to this California Fivespined Ips issue, my brain instantly went to, it’s a warming climate, and this beetle is just responding by being able to live in a larger range.

[00:31:39] Understanding how these beetles interact with the actual health of their hosts, that’s really helped me readjust my perception of what I’m seeing and pay attention to recognizing tree stress and plant stress as the real issue, uh, to navigate. Because it’s the susceptible hosts that are allowing these pests to really take advantage of new food that they couldn’t take advantage of before.

[00:32:06] So this is the disturbance that they’ve been waiting for, and this is what they’re made for exploiting, and so I think it’s really important to understand that it’s the plant stress that pests are responding to, not directly the warmer temperatures or so forth.

[00:32:27]Erin Hoover: It’s a secondary consequence of the warming.

Todd Murray: Yeah.

[00:32:31]Erin Hoover: I think that wraps it up. Thanks for joining me today, Todd.

[00:32:35]Todd Murray: Sure. Thanks for having me. And, uh, hope this was useful, and any time anybody wants to reach out and have, uh, debates or arguments or want more information, they can contact me anytime.

[00:32:49]Erin Hoover: Thank you for joining us on this episode of The Evergreen Thumb, brought to you by the WSU Extension Master Gardener Program volunteers and sponsored by the Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State.

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