Gardening. My livelihood, exercise, psychological wellbeing, and yes, my obsession. From learning to garden alongside my parents in Los Angeles to teaching horticulture in Kitsap today, my gardening style and philosophy have taken many forms. My first job in the business was at an independent nursery in San Diego whose owners also had a landscape […]
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Posted inFeatured, Home
The Romance of an Outdoor Room
There’s nothing more magnetic than an “outdoor room.” It’s more inviting than just a porch. It’s more romantic than a deck or a patio. It can be either snuggled against the house or set out at the edge of the property. Either way, it’s like a secret garden. People are drawn to outdoor rooms like […]
Posted inFeatured, Garden
Get The Dirt — On Home Gardening
Carpenter Bees Recently at breakfast, I overheard someone talking about carpenter bees. Most people have heard about carpenter ants but carpenter bees were a new one to know. This person had inherited a deck that had been built with old, untreated and unpainted scrap wood. While sitting out on his deck, he noticed these small […]
Posted inBlog, Featured, Gardeners Corner
July 11 Show is a Celebration of Roses
Most gardeners love to have visitors to view and talk about what’s growing, and Kitsap County Rose Society members are no different than most. Novice and advanced rose gardeners will groom their best roses for a special July event that will be a cross section of what can be grown here in Kitsap. One of […]
Posted inFeatured, Garden
New Plant Introductions
What keeps you interested in plants? Is it spring fever, compelling you to run to your favorite garden center and pick out whatever catches your eye in the moment? Or do you carefully lay out a plan, following your garden designer’s directions or hunting down plants you saw in a magazine? Do you love the […]
Posted inBlog, Community News
North Kitsap Private Gardens Open for Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program June 28
On Sunday, June 28, the Garden Conservancy’s nationwide Open Days Program features six private gardens open to the public for one day only in Indianola, Poulsbo and on Bainbridge Island. Admission to each garden is $7 and benefits the Garden Conservancy. Open Days take place rain or shine, and no reservations are required. Call (888) […]
Posted inBlog, Featured, Gardeners Corner
Gig Harbor Garden Tour — a Delightful Affair for a Good Cause
Gardens in the greater Puget Sound region literally come alive in June, and gardeners do as well. June brings a plethora of blooms, perfuming the air and dazzling all the senses as summer takes flight in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. The West Sound is a gardening paradise and the Gig Harbor Garden Tour is a […]
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Carpeting the Garden in Living Green
A favorite look in many gardens is flagstone surrounded by a carpet of ground covers. Providing interesting textures and colors, the shortest of the short such as creeping thyme, Corsican mint, Irish and Scotch moss, and others cover the soil as they crawl over and furnish a cohesive element in the garden. These plants provide […]
Posted inFeatured, Garden
Old Roses, Companions And Pests
Many of the old garden roses (OGRs) we now grow in America came to us by way of Europe. During her brief tenure as Napoleon’s empress (1804-’09), Josephine of France collected more than 200 rose varieties, nearly all that were known in the Western world at that time. The gardens designed by Josephine at Malmaison […]