Community members are invited to the Sequim Botanical Garden Society’s final “Work to Learn” party of 2021 on Saturday, Oct. 30, starting at 9 a.m.

The dahlias locals have loved photographing this summer and fall at the Sequim Botanical Garden will be dug up and divided by garden volunteers and interested visitors.

Volunteers John Hassel and Lee Bowen will explain the process and talk about the different steps involved.

Attendees are encouraged to work alongside other volunteers to remove the tubers from the ground, hose the dirt off and then learn the secret to dividing viable tubers that, after storing over the winter, can be planted to bloom next summer.

The closest parking to the Terrace Garden is at the East Fir Street and Blake Avenue entrance to the Water Reuse Demonstration Site.

Hassel got hooked on dahlias by coming to a Work to Learn party; since then, he has become a member of the Sequim Botanical Garden Society’s Board, the liaison to the plant committee and is now an experienced dahlia grower.

Bowen is the group’s resident dahlia expert, having been growing dahlias for 48 years. He raised dahlias at Bellevue Botanical Gardens for thirteen year and is now in his 15th year volunteering at SBG.

SBGS is a volunteer partner with the City of Sequim and a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization providing information and a visual demonstration of what can be done in home gardening with research-based horticultural practices.

From spring to fall, “Work to Learn” parties are an opportunity for novice and seasoned gardeners to volunteer together. Wear warm clothes and boots and bring gloves and a shovel. However, attendees can just come listen, watch and mingle with other members of the community.

For more information, contact the SBGS president Dona Brock at brockdl88@gmail.com or 360-460-8865, and find SBGS on Facebook at fb.me/SequimBotanicalGarden, or visit SequimBotanicalGarden.org.