LA GRANDE — Spring has at last arrived and thoughts naturally turn to gardening. All of your neighbors are removing mulch, planning over seed catalogs and preparing their plots.

Have you always wanted to start a garden but did not know where to even begin?

The Cook Memorial Library is hosting three free classes throughout April in conjunction with Oregon State University Extension Service with Union County Master Gardeners. Each class will have a different Master Gardener sharing local knowledge and tips, as well as answering questions and guiding novice gardeners through hands-on activities.

All classes will be held in the Community Room at Cook Memorial Library, 2006 Fourth St., from 2-4 p.m. Classes are free, but registration is required for each class separately and space is limited. The classes are designed for participants 18 years old and up and are open to the community.

Register at cookmemoriallibrary.org. For more information, call 541-962-1339 or email rpeacock@cityoflagrande.org.

Schedule

The first class on April 13 will be centered on seed starting at home. This is a hands-on experience and supplies are provided, including seeds, soil and a pot.

On April 20, the class will highlight container gardening. Plant starts, the container and soil are provided.

Cut flower growing is the topic for the April 27 class with soil, pot, seeds/and or a dahlia tuber to start the project.

The instructors come from the Oregon State University Extension Masters Gardener Program, whose mission is to educate Oregonians about the art and science of growing and caring for plants.

Master Gardener programs are in 27 counties across the state and train thousands of volunteers.

These Master Gardeners are volunteer educators, neighbors and on-the-ground researchers serving their communities in science-based, sustainable gardening.

Seed library

While you are learning all about gardening, you can visit the Cook Memorial Library’s seed library, a curated collection of locally appropriate vegetable, herb and flower seeds. These seeds were donated by West Coast Seeds, Burpee, Miller’s Home Center and local gardeners and each packet contains 10 seeds. These are available until the end of April.