The master gardeners are back, live and in person. 

After taking a break last year and being conducted virtually since the pandemic shutdowns, the Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation will hold its annual Yard and Garden Lecture Series in person.

Harry Hayward, co-president of the foundation, said he is excited to  conduct the lecture series through more than just Zoom meetings.

This year’s series is made possible by the Jefferson County Fairgrounds allowing the use of its venue.

“We’ve taken on a number of sponsors for this year’s lecture series, so it should feel more like a community festival,” Hayward said. “We’ll have tables from the Port Townsend Garden Center and the Food Co-op.”

With the Yard and Garden Lecture Series celebrating its 26th anniversary, Hayward noted how the event is incorporating changes in the climate of the Pacific Northwest. The lineup of speakers’ subjects will include ideas on how local gardens can be adapted to new conditions.

“We’re already into January, and we haven’t actually had our first real frost yet, have we?” Hayward asked. “I can remember when that used to happen in December. Changes like that mean our gardens are going into bloom earlier. We’re looking to present the best science-based practices on how to deal with the consequences of our continually changing climate.”

Hayward teased topics ranging from native plants and pollinators, to edible landscape design and “the importance of being evergreen” in the Pacific Northwest, presented by six horticultural experts specific to the region

For example, Jan. 11 sees Richie Steffen present “In Search of Excellence: Great Plant Picks for the Garden.”

Steffen serves as executive director for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden, where he oversees the garden, its rare plant collections, and the Miller Garden’s primary educational program, Great Plant Picks.

Steffen is also the co-author of “The Plant Lover’s Guide to Ferns.”

On Jan. 18, a lecture on “The Beauty of Weeds,” will be delivered by Mark Turner, a freelance editorial photographer specializing in botanical subjects, especially Northwest wildflowers and gardens.

Turner has co-authored “Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest,” “Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest” and the newly published “Weeds of the Pacific Northwest.”

Sue Goetz, a garden designer and writer who’s earned awards for garden design and environmental impact, wraps up the month with “Edible Garden Landscape Design” on Jan. 25.

Goetz has authored “Complete Container Herb Gardening,” “A Taste for Herbs” and other titles.

David Allen, who owns Shore Road Nursery in Port Angeles, will kick off next month with “A Wild Idea: Native Plants for Pollinators, Birds and Wildlife” on Feb. 1.

Allen has worked in the fields of restoration and plant propagation, including the Elwha River Restoration Project in the Olympic National Park, for more than 35 years.

On Feb. 8, “Native Bees of Washington State” will be presented by Karen Wright, the pollinator taxonomist for the Washington Bee Atlas, a state Department of Agriculture Pollinator Program that trains and partners with volunteers to identify and map existing native bee species in every county in Washington.

Finally, on Feb. 15, “The Importance of Being Evergreen” will be presented by Clay Antieau.

Antieau is a horticulturist, botanist, environmental scientist and educator who’s served as president, board of directors member and chapter chair of the Washington Native Plant Society, plus past president of the Northwest Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration, and research associate at the University of Washington’s Burke Herbarium.

Hayward added that Master Gardener plant experts would also be on hand to answer gardening questions.

The Jefferson County Fairgrounds lectures will run from roughly 10 a.m. to noon, with each 90-minute lecture being broken in half by a 15-minute break, followed by a question-and-answer period with the audience.