Office al fresco or simply a COVID-safe space to relax and commune with family and friends — many Americans are devoting time and financial resources to creating an outdoor living experience in their own backyards. Driven in part by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing, many homeowners are using the disposable income […]
Featured
Featured Articles from the West Sound. These are the highlighted articles from WestSound Magazine.
Posted inAt Home
Celebrate the Holidays with a Special Ham Recipe
Few things bring family and friends together quite like the holidays, and serving up an elegant, seasonal meal centered around a mouthwatering main dish is a recipe for creating lasting memories with the ones you love. Forging a fabulous holiday experience for the special people in your life starts with choosing a flavorful, tender cut […]
Posted inPeople & Places
Art as Quiet Introspection
Every visit to Heidi Jack’s studio in Kingston uncovers new facets to this woman’s many talents. Jack has a garden-maintenance business in Kingston (one of the beautiful gardens she and her crew maintain on Hidden Cove, Bainbridge Island, was featured in the Jan/Feb 2021 issue of WestSound magazine). Jack has a special affinity with the […]
Posted inAt Home
The New Homeowner’s Moving Checklist
If you’ve recently closed on your first house, congratulations on becoming a homeowner. Before you can get comfy in your new place, you need to actually move in. If you’ve never moved into a new house, there are a few things you may not be aware of. As you make plans to move into a […]
Posted inAt Home
Japan’s Answer to Boxed Lunch: The Bento Box
In Japan, the word “bento” is associated with the word for convenience. The bento box is a convenient way to carry a home-packed lunch — or any meal, but especially a single meal eaten during work or school day. The earliest take-along meals date to the 5th century in Japan, when farmworkers, hunters or soldiers […]
Posted inGarden
Conifers — Anchors of the Garden
Everyone who lives in Washington knows the official nickname “The Evergreen State” comes from an abundance of evergreen fir, spruce, cedar and pine trees that grow within its borders. Another nickname, “The Green Tree State,” also comes from a plenitude of shrubs and trees with broad-leaf and coniferous, all-season, green foliage. Our state motto, “Alki,” […]
Posted inFeatured, Garden
The Restoration of Bloedel Reserve’s Bird Marsh into Wildlife Haven
Bloedel Reserve, a botanical garden on Bainbridge Island, has been open to the public since 1988. Over its approximately 140 acres are several varied garden types, including a moss garden and a nationally recognized Japanese garden. One featured area visitors encounter soon after starting out on Bloedel Reserve’s nearly 2 miles of trails is the […]
Posted inGarden
Gifts for the Gardener
‘Tis the (shopping) season! And if you have a gardener on your shopping list for the holidays, you will have an easy time finding all sorts of wonderful presents. When the celebratory season is over and the chilly, damp reality of winter in the Northwest sets in, gardeners begin to get antsy and even a […]
Posted inGarden
Two Gardens, Two Different Ways of Living the Island Life
These two gardens illustrate the variety and creativity of two contrasting Bainbridge Island lifestyles. A visit to the first garden feels like a walk in the forest while a visit to the second one is like a walk on the beach. A Northwest Life: Close to the Land and the Sea Debbie Bennett and her […]