All plants have stories. Perhaps the plant was Grandma’s favorite cut flower. Or it was that green bean variety passed down through generations of family gardeners. Or that pretty veronica whose name you learned on that hike at Mount Rainier. Every kind of plant has meaning to someone and every plant has stories behind it, […]
flowers
Posted inGarden
The Joy of Exploring the Hidden Gardens of Bainbridge Island
When I first visited the home we ended up buying on Bainbridge Island, the owners excitedly told me that their garden had been on the 2016 Bainbridge in Bloom garden tour. This clearly was the attribute they wanted to pitch more than the number of bedrooms or kind of kitchen stove. And it worked. My […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Manage Water where it Falls for a Healthier Landscape and Environment
Too much, not enough, and never when you need it. This is a common complaint of gardeners. Keeping and using water where it falls is the first step in managing this precious resource. Planting and maintaining a healthy landscape is a good place to start. Trees, shrubs, ground-covers and other plantings improve water quality and […]
Posted inGarden
The Garden of Peggy and Bill Fox
The power of a well-designed landscape is magical. But the long, narrow piece of grassy land sloping quickly toward the waterfront offered little magic to the imagination of Peggy and Bill Fox when they first laid eyes on the property in 1987. The home was a simple, dark rambler with small windows that seemed to […]
Posted inGarden
The Brothers Greenhouses
The canaries know it’s spring at the Brothers Greenhouses, located on SW Victory Drive in Port Orchard. For more than 15 years, birds have resided in this retail nursery attached to working greenhouses. Oscar was one of the original birds, earning that name because of his Oscar-Award-worthy singing performances. The birds are delightful. You will […]
Posted inAround West Sound
Annual Plant Sale Helps Keep Roof over Manchester Library’s Home
As the cornerstone of a healthy community, libraries are more than books. No one understands this more than the Friends of the Manchester Library, whose commitment to the residents of Manchester has spanned more than four decades. The Annual Plant & Book Sale on April 28-29 is a celebration of community cooperation at its best. […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Enjoy the Year of the Tulip
Tulips are equated with spring, and every year between late March and mid May, millions of people flock to see acres of these iconic flowers in bloom during tulip festivals throughout Western Washington. This year, the National Garden Bureau named the tulip “perennial of the year,” declaring 2018 the “Year of the Tulip.” If you […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Some of the Best Flowers for Beautiful Vase Displays
Spring is undoubtedly my favorite time of year. Each spring, I especially look forward to cutting fresh flowers from my yard to arrange in a vase on my kitchen windowsill or dining room table. In some ways, the finished display is like a trophy showcasing my gardening skills, while allowing me to bring color from […]
Posted inPeople & Places
How to Celebrate Earth Day like You Mean It
An estimated 1 billion people in nearly 200 countries take part through civic and political action events on Earth Day, April 22. This movement started in 1970 with Gaylord Nelson, a senator and former Wisconsin governor, whose efforts also contributed to the creation of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection […]