PORT ANGELES — Selinda Barkhuis will discuss how gardeners can attract hummingbirds to their gardens all year long during a Green Thumb Gardening Tips presentation at noon today (Thursday).
The lecture will be in the county commissioners boardroom (160) at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St.
The presentation is free and open to the public but donations will be accepted to help cover copying costs for handouts.
Attendees are invited to bring lunch.
Barkhuis will talk about meeting hummingbirds’ needs for nectar, small insects, nesting areas, cover and water.
She will explain native plants that are closely intertwined with the life cycle of Rufous hummingbirds as well as the best perennials for helping Anna’s hummingbirds survive year-round on the Olympic Peninsula.
She also will talk about growing scarlet runner beans, a pole bean that is a favorite food source for hummingbirds, and demonstrate how to winterize a hummingbird feeder so that it stays defrosted through the worst of winter.
Barkhuis, who serves as Clallam County treasurer, has been gardening the backyard, front yard and side yards of her urban lot in central Port Angeles for the last 15 years.
Her garden, which focuses on organic vegetables and fruit — as well as flowers for hummingbirds — was featured in the 2012 Master Gardener’s Petals and Pathway Garden Tour.
Green Thumb Gardening Tips is a brown bag educational series sponsored by the Clallam County WSU Master Gardeners.
It is presented on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at the courthouse.
For more information, call 360-417-2279.
