Post: November 7, 2025

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Compost structures combine science, nature, and art

How to take an artistic approach to compost structures

By Kari Ranten, Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener

 

 
Kari Ranten

Showing home gardeners how to compost yard and garden waste successfully is a cornerstone of the teaching priorities embraced by the WSU Extension Master Gardener program. It’s an age-old concept of allowing naturally occurring microbes to convert leaves, grass clippings, and other garden materials into a soil amendment and home for beneficial insects, worms, and other creatures.

“Gardeners have used compost for centuries to improve their soil and help plant growth. Incorporating compost into light, sandy soil helps it hold both moisture and nutrients, while adding it to heavy soil improves drainage.” (Rosen et al. 2018).

About Master Gardener Herta Kurp

Herta Kurp has served as a Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener volunteer since 1995 and, in addition to helping lead the composting program, is responsible for many of the creative installations throughout the Discovery Garden. Her projects include the archways at the main entrance and northwest corner of the garden; the plant house shade structure; a tall fence camouflaging the greenhouse and various benches, trellises, fences, and gates to individual gardens.

She also created the design for the dogwood sculpture near the main entrance, which was fabricated by the Skagit Valley College 2022-23 Weld Club. She also designed and helped construct the new worm chalet at the Skagit County WSU Extension office. Kurp grew up in Germany, where she developed a deep appreciation for agriculture and the environment. She studied architecture, came to the United States while in her 30s, and owned her own architectural firm specializing in residential design. Her latest projects have focused on building creative, attractive, and small-scale compost structures in the garden.

The process also reduces the burden on the environment. “Composting reduces the flow of wastes to landfills or burn piles and produces valuable organic matter for the soil at the same time… Composting is a simple, yet important way to improve our communities and the environment.” (Cogger et al. 2017)

Despite the proven benefits, a compost pile may not be the homeowner’s favorite thing to tend to or look at all year long. Gardeners often contain compost in an enclosure using wire or wood fencing, cement blocks, bricks, or a commercially available bin to prevent the materials from spreading or blowing away.

The good news is: There are more artistic options. The Skagit County Master Gardeners’ Discovery Garden provides examples of small-scale composting structures that take an attractive and creative approach, thanks to longtime Master Gardener Herta Kurp.

Kurp has been involved with the Discovery Garden since the mid-1990s, before trees were planted and structures built. She helped shape the plan and built environments of the garden and led the composting program. Until the past couple of years, a centralized system of bins was in use to support composting for the entire 1.5-acre garden.

More recently, Kurp and other master gardeners have started to explore the use of smaller composting stations within the 30 different garden “rooms” at the garden. So far, about 10 percent of the material generated for compost has been redirected to the individual gardens’ smaller compost stations, creating efficiency and points of interest.

Know & Grow

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Creating Outdoor Holiday Arrangements

Free, no registration required
Just in time for the holiday season, Skagit County Extension Master Gardener Karen Bruce will demonstrate how to create a festive outdoor container display using a variety of readily available greenery and berries from the landscape, such as evergreen branches from fir, pine, cedar, spruce, and other greenery. If you have greenery to share with others, you may bring some along for attendees to take home for an arrangement.

Join us for this free, pre-holiday event!

Tuesday, November 18, 2025 – 1 pm – 2:30 pm

NWREC Sakuma Auditorium 16650 State Highway 536, Mount Vernon

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At the Discovery Garden, Kurp has always focused on her keen interest in composting, permaculture, and caring for the environment, while also nurturing her creative side through hands-on design and building structures. The outcome is the development of a series of informal “habitat heaps” within individual gardens that carry an artistic flair, using materials readily available within the garden.

Kurp collects items pruned from the garden during routine maintenance and uses those supplies to construct interesting compost structures that blend into the garden landscape. Twigs, vines, branches, and raspberry canes are turned into small-scale compost piles, creating a natural, artistic look that blends into the landscape. This approach supports the insects, birds, and other creatures of the garden, is less expensive, and more attractive.

 

© Kari Ranten

 

“This stirred my imagination and creativity,” she said. “We can use all of the materials that would go into a burn pile or compost. The structure itself is organic and can become compost in the end.”

In the Meadow area of the Discovery Garden, a tall structure built of larger branches complements a nearby 15-foot tree snag that was intentionally left to support the environment. On a late spring day, a fledgling robin took a break on the compost structure during an early flying lesson. 

In other areas, a teepee shape is built and enhanced with wreaths made of dogwood branches that are pliable when first pruned and easily fashioned into a circle.

“It becomes a part of the personality of the garden and every season it looks different,” Kurp said of the natural structures. “In winter, the structure comes to the fore, like the skeleton of the garden. In other seasons, it blends more into the surrounding growth, providing a screen for the compost pile.”

The artistic compost piles have a serious, science-based task, but also create “whimsical, playful” shapes in the garden, she said. “We have some nice examples, and it’s a good demonstration, which is what we are all about at master gardeners. It’s an invitation to be creative in the garden in a new way.”

Visit the Discovery Garden, which is open to the public daily from dawn until dusk, to see examples of a variety of composting options:

• The creative compost structures made of branches, twigs, vines, and stumps can be found in Naturescape, the Children’s Garden, and the Meadow.
• The main, centralized compost station features a series of bins where master gardeners separate branches and green material, which is chopped into smaller pieces to expedite organic breakdown. Interpretive signs provide information, and master gardener volunteers are often on hand on Tuesday mornings from March through October to explain the process.
• A few small, classic wire enclosures are tucked into individual gardens, including one along the path in the Fall/Winter garden with explanatory signage that showcases the different colors of the layers of compost as it breaks down, with the dark mulch at the bottom and the latest additions on top.

Resources:

Resources readily available about how to get started with home composting; the benefits, different methods (including hot and cold), and storage structures include:

• Skagit County Public Works Solid Waste Division’s Home Composting
• University of Maryland: How to Make Compost at Home: 
• University of Minnesota Extension’s Composting in Home Gardens.
• Washington State University Extension’s Home Garden Series: Backyard Composting

References:

Cogger, C., Sullivan, D., and Bary, A. (2017) Backyard Composting. Washington State University Extension. Publication #EB1784E.

Rosen, C., Brown, D., Mugaas, R. and Halback, T. (2018) Composting in Home Gardens. University of Minnesota Extension.

Shell, L. (2020) How to Make Compost at Home. Based on HG 35 Backyard Composting. University of Maryland Extension

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kari Ranten is a retired journalist and health care communicator who became a certified Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener in 2024.

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Questions about home gardening or becoming a master gardener may be directed to Skagit County WSU Extension Office, 11768 Westar Lane, Suite A, Burlington, WA 98233; by phone: 360-428-4270; or via the Skagit County WSU Extension website.

Washington State University Extension helps people develop leadership skills and use research-based knowledge to improve economic status and quality of life. Cooperating agencies: Washington State University, US Department of Agriculture, and Skagit County. Extension programs and policies are available to all without discrimination. To request disability accommodations contact us at least ten days in advance.

2023 Skagit Master Gardener Plant Fair

Enjoy fun for the whole family – Saturday, May 13, 2023

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By Claire Cotnoir and Hank Davies, Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardeners and Co-Chairs of the 2023 Plant Fair

This exciting annual event kicks off the Skagit Valley gardener’s summer with thousands of quality garden plants for sale, all locally grown or selected by Master Gardeners and chosen for success in our Skagit Valley environment. The Annual Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener Plant Fair is set for Saturday, May 13, 8 AM – 2 PM at the Skagit County Fairgrounds located at 501 Taylor Street in Mount Vernon. Parking is free – admission is free and the fun and knowledge you will gain is free. Follow the signs to the County Fairgrounds South entrance on Taylor Street. Be sure to tell your friends and neighbors about this exciting annual event.

This year’s Plant Fair perennial flowers and annual starts feature some spectacular varieties. You will find starts for exciting plants such as the fabulous Lisianthus – which is very difficult to germinate (we have done the hard part for you!) and we are excited to offer these other exciting varieties at this year’s Plant Fair.

• Lisianthus – a rare and beautiful rose-like plant! A wide variety of colors will be available including, Apricot, Beige Neo, Mint Green, Rouge, Gold, and Metallic Blue

• Coleus in a rainbow of colors–great for containers and accent colors

• Unusual and unique palette of Snapdragon flowers

• Canterbury Bells

• A beautiful collection of new Cosmos, including cupcake white, double click cranberry, and apricot lemonade
• Amaranth, Zinnia varieties, and of course, Sunflowers
• Bells of Ireland and Pumpkin on a Stick!

A wide variety of herbs and vegetables will be on sale including basil, dill, egg plant, Swiss chard, cabbage and leaf lettuces. Photo © Nancy Crowell

We’re excited to offer Lisianthus, a beautiful cut flower in a variety of unusual colors including Apricot, Beige Neo, Mint Green, Rouge, Gold, and Metallic Blue Photo © My Thanh Kim

Find unusual shade plants like these Hookers Fairy Bells. Photo © Jessimine Tuttle

In the vegetable section, the Master Gardener Greenhouse team’s goal was to select varieties for uniqueness, plants that are award-winning, and have growing and producing habits that match our location and climate. We are offering plants that do not need a greenhouse to be successful, and that are as disease resistant as possible given our wet weather and short season. A few examples of the vegetable starts you will find include:

• A wide variety of Basil including Dolce Fresca Genovese, an award-winning Basil that is compact, disease resistant, and reluctant to flower and bolt. Other Basils include Prospero Genovese, Deep Purple, and Thai.
• A vast assortment of hearty and tender herbs including a Dill Leaf variety.
• Many leaf lettuce varieties including arugula, Swiss chard, and a slow-to-bolt spinach variety that is also disease resistant.
• Some fun Brassica – or you might know them as members of the cabbage family, and a wide variety of eggplant including early, high-yielding varieties of Italian, Asian, and white.
• 7 varieties of peppers including many that are easy to grow and eager to produce including Bastan, an early ancho as well as Arapaho Cayenne. We are also offering this year Aji Rico, a medium hot award-winning conical pepper variety.

And finally, an array of early melon starts chosen for their flavor and hardiness. Please remember to make a list and bring your boxes as you are sure to leave with many more plants than you ever knew you wanted.

The 2023 Plant Fair covers the entire fairgrounds, both inside all the display buildings and outside. One entire building, Building D will be devoted just to tomatoes. Last year’s Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener Plant Fair featured over three thousand tomato plants. The tomato starts are very popular and have sold out in previous years. For a complete list of the tomato varieties with descriptions, please go to: https://skagitmg.org/home/events/plant-fair/plantfairtomatoes/

Building D, aka the “tomato house”, is staffed with veteran tomato experts to help you pick out the right plants for your garden based on your preferences and garden conditions. And they love to answer tomato questions.

In addition to the plants available for sale and the expertise available from knowledgeable veteran local Master Gardeners, Plant Fair visitors will enjoy a variety of vendors selling handcrafted wares like jewelry, glass/metal art, wood sculptures, and even more plants. This year’s vendors will be selling bulbs, blooms, potted plants, locally sourced food, and drink in addition to the handcrafted items.

And, we are pleased to announce, based on your suggestions, this year we will have a spot set up where you can park your purchases while you peruse the other garden sections for possibly additional goods you can’t live without.

The Plant Fair offers a huge selection of locally grown plant starts, selected by Master Gardeners and chosen for success in our Skagit Valley environment. Photo © Nancy Crowell

Ferns and shade loving native plants Photo © Nancy Crowell

Iris varieties and many other flowering perennials will be for sale. Photo © Jessimine Tuttle

You should also try to make time to attend one of the short gardening presentations offered each half hour from 9 AM to 1 PM. They will be presented in Building B. We are excited to announce the inclusion of a Spanish language presentation on bees. Other topics that will be showcased and presented by our own Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardeners include tomatoes, questions, and advice. Master Gardeners will also be available on-site including some of our Plant Clinic experts to help you with plant questions and problems. A full list of presentations during the Plant Fair can be found on our website at https://skagitmg.org/home/events/plant-fair/

The Master Gardener mission is to support home gardeners by promoting science-based gardening practices and education in a partnership with WSU extension. The proceeds generated from the Plant Fair allow Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardeners to continue to support that mission.

Plant Clinics are held throughout the summer months and into the fall. You are encouraged to bring your plants and your questions to the Plant Clinics. Information on the dates and places for Plant Clinics will be available at the Plant Fair for reliable, science-based advice and help. For 50 years our WSU Extension Master Gardeners have been helping Washington communities with its gardening needs – providing science-based answers to plant production and plant problems and questions. Skagit County has had an active WSU Extension Master Gardener Program since 1977. For more information please go to our website here: https://extension.wsu.edu/skagit/mg/

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Claire Cotnoir and Hank Davies are the Co-Chairs of the Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener Plant Fair and are also co-cordinators of the Japanese Garden in the Discovery Garden on SR 536, west of Mount Vernon.

Questions about home gardening or becoming a Master Gardener, may be directed to: Skagit County WSU Extension Office, 11768 Westar Lane, Suite A, Burlington, WA 98233; by phone: 360-428-4270; or via the website: www.skagit.wsu.edu/mg

Preserve the Color of Your Gardens Through Natural Dyes

By Jennifer Eddleman, Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener

As the summer blooms fade and the bright hues of autumn give way to the gray of November, gardeners and crafters alike find themselves looking for ways to brighten their days. One way to retain some seasonal color is to grow and create your own natural dyes. Whether you’re a knitter, a quilter, a crafter, or you just want some fun kids’ projects – homemade watercolors or Playdough, or naturally-dyed Easter eggs for instance – natural materials provide an endless array of magical color options.

The basics: dyestuffs, mordants and modifiers

Sources of natural dyes are everywhere: in flowers, leaves, roots, bark, berries, fruits, and vegetables. Plants provide the dyestuff. The dye bath is created by cooking or soaking the dyestuff and then straining the solution. The amount of plant material used, and the simmering and soaking time will determine the depth of color. Washing fibers, in a process called scouring, readies them for the dyeing process. Because colors from natural dye sources can be somewhat less colorfast than modern synthetic options, they benefit from the help of mordants and modifiers when dyeing fibers.

Marigold blossoms are an excellent source of color for natural dyes. Photo by Jennifer Eddleman

Hopi Red Amaranth Dye yields an array of shades.  Photo by Jennifer Eddleman

Mordants make a difference in colors. Here, three shades of color are produced by beets manipulated by the choice of mordant. Photo by Jennifer Eddleman

A mordant is a substance that helps bind the color to the fiber to help it last longer and resist fading in sunlight. There are several mordant methods, including soaking your fiber in a mordant solution, adding the mordant directly to the dye bath, or using old aluminum, copper, or iron pots to impart the mordanting qualities of those metals when you soak your yarn or fabric. Online shops dedicated to the craft of dyeing offer mordants in powder form, and you can also create them yourself. Rhubarb leaves, normally discarded because they are inedible, can be cooked down for a mordant that also imparts a yellowish hue to the colors you’re creating, and bark from trees such as cedar can be soaked for a tannin mordant. Aluminum sulfate, used on animal fibers (wool, silk, mohair, alpaca, etc.) happens to be the main ingredient in baking powder, which many people already have on hand.

Modifiers, used before or after dyeing a fiber, can completely change the color of a particular dyestuff. Baking soda and vinegar make excellent inexpensive and effective modifiers by adjusting the acidity level of the dye. Red cabbage makes a great example. Cooking down shredded red cabbage leaves yields an excellent dye bath. Adding vinegar will create a pink or lavender-colored dye, while the addition of baking soda yields blue! Making black bean soup? Soak the dried black beans for 24 hours before cooking and save the soaking water. Vinegar and baking soda will have the same effect as red cabbage dye.

Growing your own dye:

Starting a dye garden can be as simple as adding a few extra plants to an already-established bed. If you’re a vegetable gardener, you have excellent low-commitment opportunities. Beets, red cabbage, and marigolds are common additions to the garden and are excellent dyestuffs. Onion skins are one of the best sources of natural dye. Red onions and yellow onions produce different colors, so consider growing both. Sunflowers make great supports for pole beans, so consider growing Hopi Black Dye sunflowers in your garden and planting black beans around the base. Rhubarb leaves, as mentioned before, are good for mordant, and the roots can be used for dye. This makes rhubarb a multi-purpose plant. If you have fruit trees the bark and leaves of your pear, plum, and cherry trees can be utilized for dyestuff, giving you a use for the trimmings when you prune your trees. Berries can be juiced down and used to create pinks, purples and blues, but be aware that they are “fugitive” dyes, meaning they may fade easily to a grayish color over time and mordants are especially important.

Your existing landscaping may already include dye plants. Heather, Hibiscus, sumac, juniper, Eucalyptus, Oregon grape and willow shrubs, bracken ferns, birch trees, and more are common landscape plants that are also known as dye sources. Flowers you may already be growing, like dahlias, hollyhocks, and daffodils, are useful. Choose the brightest, most color-rich blossoms at the early height of their bloom for the best results. Some annuals that are easy to grow from seed and fit nicely into flower beds include Calendula, marigold, safflower, and amaranth. One variety specifically grown for natural dye purposes is Hopi Red Dye amaranth. If you decide to sow seed or add starts to your existing flower beds, be sure to check your seed packets or tags for the mature size of your plants and allow enough room for them to grow to their potential.

You may choose to create a garden specifically dedicated to growing dye plants. In addition to the landscape shrubs and flowers mentioned previously there are many perennial herbs, flowers and shrubs that will come back yearly and make great anchor plants- madder, agrimony, and goldenrod for example. Leave room for annuals such as those mentioned before, as well as indigo and blue butterfly pea flowers.

Getting started

A quick online search or trip to your local library will yield a plethora of books, websites and blogs dedicated to natural dyeing. There are some great resources out there that provide instructions from start to finish, with all you need to know about equipment, processes, variations, growing and foraging for dye plants, and many of them include projects and recipes to give you a place to start. Plan now for next year and have some fun!

Resources:

A Garden to Dye For: How to use plants from the garden to create natural colors for Fabrics and Fibers; Chris McLaughlin

Wild Color: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes; Jenny Dean

The Craft of Natural Dyeing: Glowing Colors from the Plant World; Jenny Dean

Colors from Nature: Growing, Collecting, & Using Natural Dyes; Bobbi A. McRae

The Wild Dyer: A Maker’s Guide to Natural Dyes with Projects to Create and Stitch; Abigail Booth

The Complete Guide to Natural Dyeing: Techniques and Recipes for Dyeing Fabrics, Yarns, and Fibers at Home; Eva Lambert & Tracy Kendall

 

Questions about home gardening or becoming a master gardener, may be directed to:  WSU Skagit County Extension Office, 11768 Westar Lane, Suite A, Burlington, WA 98233; by phone: 360-428-4270; or via the website: www.skagit.wsu.edu/mg

Washington State University Extension helps people develop leadership skills and use research-based knowledge to improve economic status and quality of life. Cooperating agencies: Washington State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Skagit County. Extension programs and policies are available to all without discrimination.  To request disability accommodations contact us at least ten days in advance.