Editor’s note: This is the second part of an excerpt adapted from hiking expert Susan Elderkin’s book, “Best Hikes With Kids: Western Washington” (Mountaineers Books, April 2018). Enjoy exploring the region’s hikes with your little ones — these are the perfect spots for … read more

Editor’s note: While the weather is still gorgeous, are you trying to pack in as much outdoor times as possible? If you have little ones, hiking can be a challenge. This excerpt was adapted from hiking expert Susan Elderkin’s book, “Best Hikes With … read more

Welcome to the dark side. Almost every new gardener wants a garden full of flowers. Usually the flowers on their wish list come from plants that need full sun. And tomatoes — almost everyone wants to grow tomatoes. Yet it is going to … read more

The garden of Nick and Marj Masla represents the best of the lives of the Masla family. This beautiful garden is the culmination of three decades of growing a passion for flowers, creating a retreat, building businesses tied to the bounty of the … read more

Terracotta pots are probably the most commonly used type of planter. Garden centers, nurseries, craft stores and any retailer that sells gardening supplies also carries terracotta planters. They are popular for their burnt orange color and natural look. If you want terracotta but … read more

This year, WestSound Magazine magazine received an abundance of creative tablescapes. The choices were all wonderful — but our tablescape judges, Linna Lawrence and Tami Blacknall, made the difficult decisions! Thank you to all who took the time to submit their tablescapes. Thank … read more

Has gardening been on your mind but you don’t know where to start? The Manette Edible Garden Tour is one idea. The biannual tour, now in its fifth year, is geared to aspiring local gardeners who wish to learn from Manette’s veteran gardeners, … read more

Editor’s note: This blog post is an adapted excerpt from Max McMurdo’s “Upcycling Outdoors” book, which explains the basic of good outdoor design using scrap items, and includes a variety of step-by-step projects. When you have limited outdoor space, it’s great to create … read more

When the Kousa dogwoods are in bloom from May to June, the world takes notice. This region needs to turn away from the popular, prone-to-disease, ornamental cherry trees and turn to some great trees such as the Cornus kousa. Imagine walking down a … read more