Monmouth Library and OSU Extension Team Up for Bonsai Basics Garden Chat

Polk County Master Gardener Bill Leedy took the floor at the Monmouth Public Library on March 21 for "Garden Chat: Bonsai Basics," a free demonstration organized jointly by the OSU Extension Polk County Master Gardener Program and the library itself. No registration was required, and by the Extension's own framing, everyone was welcome.

The session, listed in OSU Extension materials as a "Bonsai Demonstration," was part of the library's ongoing Garden Chat series. The Extension listing made the stakes clear from the start: "Join us for a demonstration on Bonsai!" Leedy, identified as a Polk County Master Gardener, served as the sole named presenter, sharing what the Instagram promotion called his "bonsai expertise" with whoever walked through the doors of the library at 168 S Ecols Street S in Monmouth.

The collaboration between OSU Extension and the Monmouth Public Library placed this event squarely in a tradition of land-grant outreach: university extension programs bringing research-backed horticultural knowledge into community spaces. The Polk County Master Gardener Program, which operates under Oregon State University Extension, structured the event as a demonstration rather than a hands-on workshop, though no details about duration or specific curriculum were publicly listed.

The 10:30 a.m. PDT start time put it in the heart of a busy late-March weekend at the library, which also hosted an Axolotl Scavenger Hunt on March 24 and an Axolotl Craft-A-Lotl on March 25. For anyone who missed the Garden Chat or wants more information about future programming, contact Brooke Edmunds at 503-373-3765 through the OSU Extension Polk County office.