Since the 1980s master gardener Cisco Morris has been entertaining and enlightening Pacific Northwesterners with his gardening advice and anecdotes in print, radio, television and in person, including more than 30 years at Seattle’s KIRO radio.

Since Aug. 15, 2020 Morris has been a volunteer at Sequim’s radio station, KSQM FM 91.5. With “Sassy” Susan Sorensen, the “Gardening with Ciscoe” show is broadcast on KSQM every Saturday from 9-10 a.m.

The show features gardening questions, which Sorensen said are a blend of questions that Morris received from listeners and questions that have been sent directly to office@KSQMfm.com.

“He sends his questions to KSQM, I compose the script on Thursday or Friday and send him a copy so he can do any research before the show,” Sorensen said.

Saturday, March 1 marked the third time Morris came to Sequim for a broadcast.

Sorensen said that Morris lives in Seattle so they connect via the internet to broadcast the show.

“If he is out of town for a garden talk, we try to still do a show with him broadcasting from his hotel room on a laptop, but sometimes his speaking schedule prevents a show for that Saturday,” Sorensen said.

Morris confirmed that he has done the show live in Sequim three times.

“That’s by far the most fun when I get to do that,” he said. “I love KSQM and my great radio partner Sassy. People stream it from all over the place. It’s been a really fun and good experience.”

Sorensen said for the radio, “the broadcast range is about from Gardiner to Joyce but KSQM is also considered a local station in Victoria, B.C.”

“KSQM has listeners all over the world that tune in by streaming online,” she said.

To stream the show or listen to past shows, go to https://ksqmfm.com/live/ or follow the “listen live link” at the radio’s website.

Sorensen said that Morris came to town for the first show.

“The second in-person show was in July 2023 when he was a guest speaker for the (Sequim Prairie Garden Club) for their 75th anniversary celebration and the third in-person show was the first of March for the Jefferson County Home and Garden show,” she said.

During his recent visit, Morris also visited Sunny Farms Farm Store and Nursery, which has always been the only sponsor of the show.

“They donated plants for him to give away during his two-hour talk at the Jefferson Home and Garden show,” Sorensen said.

Why Sequim?

Sorensen said that while Morris was still at KIRO he “was a guest speaker at a Sequim gardening event (and) at that event, Jeff Bankston, KSQM program director, talked with Ciscoe and mentioned that if he was ever looking for a ‘radio home,’ KSQM would love to have him as part of the KSQM family.”

Said Morris, “I was on KIRO radio doing a gardening Q&A show for over 30 years, but my show ended because infomercials can pay way more to the radio station than my sponsors could.

“My close friend Michele lived where she could listen to KSQM on the radio and she got the idea of me doing a gardening show on KSQM. So I called and talked to the head guy Jeff at the time at KSQM and he was up for it and my great radio partner Sassy was up for it. So we started the radio show four years ago in August.”

Sorensen said she replayed that first show for herself last week.

“I had not listened to it since that day and it allowed me to relive the excitement and fun of that day,” she said.

“Ciscoe talks about ‘driving around’ for that show because COVID made the ferry schedules unpredictable; his energy and enthusiasm comes strongly on that first show!”

From Wisconsin to Washington

The outgoing Morris shared some of his history while waiting for the broadcast to begin on March 1.

He said that he didn’t “fit in” in Wisconsin “after I got out of the service.” He had no money, so he worked and hitchhiked across the U.S. until he came to Seattle, which became his permanent home.

Morris said that while picking tomatoes in California he accidentally picked up a rat and immediately threw it 100 feet away, earning himself the temporary nickname of “Rat Boy.”

Ciscoe began as a nickname, too, given to him because he loved “The Cisco Kid” as a child and wore a sombrero.

Morris said he learned about gardening from his mother and grandmother at first and then at age 10 he was mentored by a priest who taught him about chemical-free, environmentally friendly gardening. Morris said the priest was exposed to chemicals in World War II.

Morris went on to take care of Seattle University’s grounds using organic gardening techniques, turning it into the first university designated as a wildlife refuge by the Washington Department of Agriculture.

For more about Morris’ history, see his article “Oh, La, La: Seattle Times garden writer Ciscoe Morris is starting a new chapter” at seattletimes.com. He wrote it before signing on at KSQM.

Sorenson said the Sequim radio station “is so lucky and happy to have Ciscoe as part of our KSQM volunteer family. Ciscoe is truly a treasure!”