A gravel lane heads arrow-straight through a dull flood plain west toward Dyes Inlet. But turn left off the lane into the driveway of Ron Gillespie and Joyce Merkel, and you find a profoundly different world. Strolling under a broad arbor dripping with masses of white and purple wisteria, ferns feathering your path, you enter […]
Maia Eisen
A freelance writer and professional garden designer who lives in Poulsbo, Maia is a member of the Garden Writers Association. She writes about gardening, travel, people and living well and wisely on the planet. As a garden designer, she specializes in container gardens.
Posted inGarden
Raising ‘Em Up on the Farm
Five-year-old Kavi Ostrom announced one day to her mother, “These plants aren’t doing well because we haven’t put enough compost on them.” Maia Ostrom said, laughing, “I’m pretty sure that Kavi will be running the farm soon.” Maia Ostrom and her husband, Erik, owners of Dusk to Dawn Farm near Poulsbo, are part of a […]
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An Outdoor Space to Savor and Share
When Kathy Hawkins moved to this region after 40 years in Fairbanks, Alaska, where winters got to 60 degrees below, she threw herself into gardening, undeterred by deer. With tremendous energy and commitment, Hawkins has involved herself in the many gardening resources the area has to offer. In the 15 years since she and her […]
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Putting Down Roots in ‘Plant Paradise’
When Don and Lenore Lynch moved to Kitsap County from Pasco, Eastern Washington, about 10 years ago, they each began a gardening love affair. Lenore, with a strong design background, was swept away by the wondrously greater plant palette of foliage and flower, color and texture that thrives here. Don, a scientist, embraced the coastal […]
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A Garden of Collections
Gesturing toward a newly planted and bark-covered bed on a sunny slope, Larry Bender said, “It had been a place where I just threw things. I just dug the whole thing up and cleaned it up.” What did he plant there? “Mainly rhodies; but things I collect a lot.” “Collect a lot” is the key […]
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Enchanting, Colorful Garden Comes from Creative Evolution
A walk through Lisa and Glenn Eastep’s garden makes it clear that creative minds are at work here — from the clipped gables and rolled-edge roof of the cottage-style home they designed to the inviting, arched entry gate and the foliage colors that grace the curving walkways; from the tiny village nestled under the shelter […]
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Succulents — Coming in from the Cold
The fat, fleshy leaves of succulents evoke dry summer heat. Sometimes blushed with rosy hues that hint of a California sunset, their closely held forms murmur memories of desert light. During the sodden, short days of Pacific Northwest winters, a tabletop planter of these sculptural, compact gems brought in from the cold can be a […]
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The Drainfield and the Rose
Prior to 2011, Sally Eastman, an experienced gardener, had never grown a rose. She said recently, “I think I may have planted Rose One Hundred and One this year.” How and why did she become so bowled over by roses? The story really begins in late 2009, when Eastman and her husband, Roger, both looking […]
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A Forest for the Grandkids
“We kind of built this whole place around the grandkids,” said Sam Johnson, speaking about the 30 acres of mostly forested land near Kingston that he and his wife, Debi, purchased in 2001. The Johnsons had been living in Edmonds and were both getting ready to retire from the construction business. They wanted a place […]