The importance of a heavily planted yard can’t be emphasized too much when it comes to attracting birds. All of the plants do not have to provide food for them. Food is just one of four needs for sustaining bird populations. Like all wild creatures, birds need food, water, nesting habitat and protective cover. We […]
Featured
Featured Articles from the West Sound. These are the highlighted articles from WestSound Magazine.
Posted inGarden
Spring Fever Strikes Again with Newer Plant Introductions
It’s exciting when new plant introductions bump up against spring. If you love gardening, you know how easy it is to surrender to spring fever. When the urge to plant strikes, you scurry about in a feverish excitement that can make a shark-feeding frenzy seem like an afternoon picnic on a Seabeck beach. Spring fever […]
Posted inAt Home
Creative Ways to Add Order to Your Home
Although there are hundreds of options for organizing your home, the pieces you make yourself are the ones that truly reflect your personality. Adding your own flair to standard organizing materials adds instant character and functionality to any room. Making the most of your space — including your walls — is the key to successful […]
Posted inGarden
Getting Started with a Pond or Water Feature
Jan Bahr at Roadhouse Nursery on Central Valley Road in Poulsbo is the go-to person for advice on how to construct and maintain water features in home gardens and landscapes. She believes that the most important thing is to do your homework. Start by deciding what features are most appealing, and consider cost along with […]
Posted inAt Home
When You Should — and Should Not — Hire a Handyman
When you need a few things done around the house, a handyman, handywoman or handyperson sounds like a great idea. Small jobs, done fairly quickly, don’t really require a general contractor, you may think. Or do they? The handyman field is largely unregulated, meaning no license or bond is required. There are many great handymen […]
Posted inGarden
Name that Warbler — Heralding the Arrival of Spring
Warbler watching in West Sound country can’t compete with what the eastern portion of North America enjoys, but we do have several special warbler species. Not only do warblers move into the Northwest with spring’s arrival, some have been brightening the winter landscape. Winter visits from the Townsend’s warbler appear more frequent than they did […]
Posted inAt Home
Spring Tonics (Delicious Asparagus, that is)
Fleshy, green and succulent, asparagus is the ultimate spring vegetable. Known for its cleansing diuretic properties for centuries and once only available in spring, it has become a year-round favorite on American tables. Early culinary records indicate asparagus, which is a native of Europe, may have been eaten and used as an offering in Egypt […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Low Maintenance Vegetable Gardening for a Bountiful Harvest
Increase your harvest without increasing the size of your garden or workload. All you need is a bit of intensive planting, along with some low-maintenance techniques. Invest some time upfront to prepare the garden soil. This will save you time throughout the growing season. Add several inches of organic matter and a slow-release fertilizer into […]
Posted inHome
Little Touches Lead to Big Changes in Gig Harbor Home with a View
“If you give a mouse a cookie…” started to say the homeowner of a Gig Harbor home remodel, quoting from the popular children’s book by Laura Numeroff. She was referring to her and her husband’s recent makeover of their home atop a hill overlooking the harbor. The remodel started with the intent of making over […]