Upcoming Events
Most of our events are open to the public and free to attend, thanks to SBGS membership fees and generous donations. Help us continue offering educational programs by becoming a member today!
Be sure sign up for our newsletter or follow us on socials to hear more about about upcoming events!
Nature Journaling for Relaxation
Join us as we explore and sketch the Heritage Garden's herbs - the culinary, medicinal, and everyday herbs that early settlers relied on. We’ll also demo an easy way to dry herbs for winter using a hanging mesh dryer.
Each session includes:
• Guided nature journaling and sketching
• Time to explore and observe
• Prompts and demos from experienced instructors
Bring: A sketchbook/paper and a pencil/pen (optional: colored pencils/watercolor)
Class offered by Karen Houlding.
Become a Member and help our garden thrive all year long.
Your membership supports programs, education, and the continued growth of the Sammamish Botanical Garden.
Nature Explorers Club
Basic Herbs Series: Part One
This month, we will explore the wonderful world of culinary herbs right in the garden. These incredible plants add aroma, color, and flavor to our food, and they have been doing so for generations. As a quick fun fact, herbs are found in the leaves or stems of a plant, while spices come from other plant parts, such as bark, roots, seeds, and fruits.
During our session, we will discuss how early settlers transported these herbs and explore which herbs were shared by Indigenous Peoples. All ages and skill levels are welcome, so please come ready with your questions, your taste buds, and your noses.
What to bring: To fully participate in our sketching and exploration, please bring an unlined journal or sketchbook along with a pencil, colored pencils, or watercolors. We also recommend bringing a water bottle and wearing weather-appropriate clothing for spending time outdoors.
Note: Perfect for learners of all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Bonus: Don’t miss our outdoor outreach box located in the Heritage Garden for sketch samples, prompts, and more!
Carnation Farms Event
From a historic pioneering dairy farm to today’s nonprofit regenerative agricultural model, this is a beautiful farm location in the Snoqualmie Valley. Join us to learn about sustainable agriculture, local food and to visit the museum. Bring a sack lunch and we’ll eat together on the grounds. This is a free event. Car pools can be arranged. Our group will be no more than 20, so register soon.
Nature Explorers Club
Basic Herbs Series: Part Two
Build on your skills as we continue exploring basic herbs.
This month, we will explore the wonderful world of culinary herbs right in the garden. These incredible plants add aroma, color, and flavor to our food, and they have been doing so for generations. As a quick fun fact, herbs are found in the leaves or stems of a plant, while spices come from other plant parts, such as bark, roots, seeds, and fruits.
During our session, we will discuss how early settlers transported these herbs and explore which herbs were shared by Indigenous Peoples. All ages and skill levels are welcome, so please come ready with your questions, your taste buds, and your noses.
What to bring: To fully participate in our sketching and exploration, please bring an unlined journal or sketchbook along with a pencil, colored pencils, or watercolors. We also recommend bringing a water bottle and wearing weather-appropriate clothing for spending time outdoors.
Note: Perfect for learners of all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Bonus: Don’t miss our outdoor outreach box located in the Heritage Garden for sketch samples, prompts, and more!
SBGS Members-Only Seed & Feed
Gather with fellow garden members for an afternoon of seed saving, good food, and good company!
We’ll harvest and prepare seeds from this year’s garden to save for next year’s planting season. Then, we’ll gather around the table for a delicious spaghetti dinner and enjoy some time together.
Members Only | Limited to 16 participants
Registration opens in November 2026 for members.
Nature Journaling for Relaxation
Join us for monthly nature journaling - a relaxing activity that encourages slowing down to notice details, explore with curiosity, and connect with the natural world by recording observations in a sketchbook. No experience required! We’ll share ideas for connecting with nature to help you capture the garden’s beauty and the wonders of the outdoors.
Each session includes:
• Guided nature journaling and sketching
• Time to explore and observe
• Prompts and demos from experienced instructors
Bring: A sketchbook/paper and a pencil/pen (optional: colored pencils/watercolor)
Class offered by Karen Houlding.
Become a Member and help our garden thrive all year long.
Your membership supports programs, education, and the continued growth of the Sammamish Botanical Garden.
Nature Explorers Club
Basic Botany Series (Part Two)
Build on your skills as we continue exploring unique plant families! In this session, we will press flowers and leaves to create beautiful, lasting additions to our nature journals.
What to bring: An unlined journal or sketchbook, a pencil, colored pencils or watercolors, a water bottle, and weather-appropriate clothing.
Note: Perfect for learners of all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Bonus: Don’t miss our outdoor outreach box located in the Heritage Garden for sketch samples, prompts, and more!
Nature Explorers Club
Basic Botany Series (Part One)
Find out how botanists observe, describe, and identify plants! During this lesson, we will compare and contrast two plant families found in the garden to discover what makes them unique. We will also create color swatches to kick off our session, then dive into our journals to capture a beautiful memory. [1, 2]
What to bring: An unlined journal or sketchbook, a pencil, colored pencils or watercolors, a water bottle, and weather-appropriate clothing.
Note: Perfect for learners of all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Bonus: Don’t miss our outdoor outreach box located in the Heritage Garden for sketch samples, prompts, and more!
Nature Journaling for Relaxation
Botanical Ink from Flowers: Explore the colors of the garden as we turn fresh flowers into richly pigmented botanical inks. We'll paint color swatches using simple modifiers like lemon juice and baking soda to shift the hues, creating samples to use in cards, tags, or your sketchbook. Once you learn the method, you can experiment at home with blooms from your garden- or even kitchen favorites like onion skins, beets, and berries.
Join us for monthly nature journaling - a relaxing activity that encourages slowing down to notice details, explore with curiosity, and connect with the natural world by recording observations in a sketchbook. No experience required! We’ll share ideas for connecting with nature to help you capture the garden’s beauty and the wonders of the outdoors.
Each session includes:
• Guided nature journaling and sketching
• Time to explore and observe
• Prompts and demos from experienced instructors
Bring: A sketchbook/paper and a pencil/pen (optional: colored pencils/watercolor)
Class offered by Karen Houlding.
Become a Member and help our garden thrive all year long.
Your membership supports programs, education, and the continued growth of the Sammamish Botanical Garden.
Nature Journaling for Relaxation
Join us for monthly nature journaling - a relaxing activity that encourages slowing down to notice details, explore with curiosity, and connect with the natural world by recording observations in a sketchbook. No experience required! We’ll share ideas for connecting with nature to help you capture the garden’s beauty and the wonders of the outdoors.
Each session includes:
• Guided nature journaling and sketching
• Time to explore and observe
• Prompts and demos from experienced instructors
Bring: A sketchbook/paper and a pencil/pen (optional: colored pencils/watercolor)
Class offered by Karen Houlding.
Become a Member and help our garden thrive all year long.
Your membership supports programs, education, and the continued growth of the Sammamish Botanical Garden.
Nature Explorers Club
Drawing Group: Pollinators in the Garden
This month, join us in exploring the beauty of our heritage garden in full bloom! We’ll focus our sketches on the pollinators- bees, butterflies, beetles, and birds- that bring the garden to life. It’s a wonderful opportunity to observe the pollination cycle up close while practicing how to capture movement and nature in real time.
What to bring: Notebooks, pencils, colored pencils, or watercolors.
Come gather with us for this family friendly event and record nature at its finest!