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Gala Garden Show another hit, organizers say

Published 2:30 pm Tuesday, March 24, 2026

By Matthew Nash

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Gardening personality Ciscoe Morris talks to approximately 200 people on March 22 in Helen Haller Elementary’s cafeteria as part of the Soroptimist Gala Garden Show. He shared gardening tips, funny stories, and gave away plants.
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Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Gardening personality Ciscoe Morris talks to approximately 200 people on March 22 in Helen Haller Elementary’s cafeteria as part of the Soroptimist Gala Garden Show. He shared gardening tips, funny stories, and gave away plants.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Gardening personality Ciscoe Morris talks to approximately 200 people on March 22 in Helen Haller Elementary’s cafeteria as part of the Soroptimist Gala Garden Show. He shared gardening tips, funny stories, and gave away plants.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash Port Townsend Garden Center owner Jose Borrayo speaks with visitors of the Soroptimist Gala Garden Show on March 22. He said it’s his favorite show to attend as he can connect and hear visitors’ thoughts and needs.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ John Sims of Sequim looks at plants from Earth Grown Creations on March 22 during the Soroptimist Gala Garden Show. He said he’s attended consecutively in recent years with his wife.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Diane Thornhill of Port Angeles, pictured looking at plants in the One Earth Botanical booth, said she attends the Soroptimist Gala Garden Show each year with her husband and that last year they “went nuts” purchasing iron works for their yard.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Ciscoe Morris, center, takes a photo with “Sir Andrew” Woodson with KSQM radio and Beberly Wamber after Morris’ lecture on March 22. Wamber said she watched Morris for years on TV and happened to run into him at Sunny Farms the day before and he invited her to his lecture during the Soroptimist Gala Garden Show.

Garden tips, fresh plants, yard art, and much more highlighted another successful Soroptimist Gala Garden Show.

“It’s been fantastic,” said co-chair Roxann Harr.

The 27th-annual event was held March 21-22 in the Sequim Boys & Girls Club with guest speakers in Helen Haller Elementary’s cafeteria.

Harr said speakers, including Clallam County Master Gardeners, saw capacity crowds both days, including nearly 200 people listening to feature speaker and gardening personality Ciscoe Morris speak on Sunday.

With “Sassy Susan” Sorensen who works with him on his KSQM 91.5 FM radio show 9 a.m. Saturdays, Morris answered audience members’ questions and asked them fun questions and gave them plants as a reward. For weed control, he recommends using vinegar, but not before a date night because “you’ll smell like a pickle for a week.”

Morris also shared the origin of his catchphrase “Oh La La,” which stems from a French man’s reaction after seeing Morris come out of a self-cleaning bathroom dousing him in water during a bicycle tour.

Beberly Wamber said she’s watched Morris for years on TV and ran into him at Sunny Farms on Saturday, and he invited her to come on Sunday. She took photos with him in Sunny Farms and at the garden show, and met him once before on a ferry ride in 2017.

“He’s always friendly,” Wamber said.

Harr, who co-chaired the garden show with Kathy Purcell, said they had 58 vendors this year, more than in 2025, and they and visitors seemed happy with the event.

Port Townsend Garden Center owner Jose Borrayo said he’s come to the show the last 10 years and said it’s his favorite to attend for its closer connection with attendees and hearing their needs.

He said the show gave gardeners something to look forward to because they’ve been anxious to go out as the weather hasn’t been great as of yet. It also gives locals a chance to connect with small business entrepreneurs and mom and pop shops.

“Yes, we want to make a living, we also love doing it,” he said.

Soroptimist International of Sequim uses funds raised at the Gala Garden Show to support women and girls in Clallam County with access to education. They also operate a Medical Loan Closet offering loans of durable medical equipment for the community.

For more information on the nonprofit organization and its programs, visit sisequim.org.

For more about the Gala Garden Show, visit sequimgardenshow.com.

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