It could be argued that in the Pacific Northwest, gardening-mania far surpasses baseball as the favorite sport. With the help of April showers, June gardens are primped, pruned and ready for ohs! and ahs! as garden tour season begins. Knowledgeable gardeners anticipate The Garden Conservancy Open Days, which grants unprecedented access to private gardens. Open […]
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Posted inGardeners Corner
The Ultimate Guide to Water-Wise Gardening
The importance of making water-wise choices has become very apparent with the spread of climate change. It’s becoming more difficult to grow certain crops, maintain landscapes and enjoy various recreational activities as water availability wavers and heat threatens popular crop growing. Across the country, people continue to make garden choices that can help conserve water. […]
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Small and Beautiful Gardens
I prefer smaller gardens because they can take your breath away as you walk through them. Victorian, shabby chic, perennial beds full of flowers, vignettes, pathways, a rose garden, concrete birdbaths, arbors covered with blooming vines and climbers and a charming porch for entertaining. Containers overflowing with trailing blossoms. Fragrance! Don’t forget the long-blooming mammoth […]
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Can You Identify Who’s Dining in Your Garden?
You take a walk through the garden and find branches trimmed, flowers missing or bark damaged. Of course, the culprit is nowhere to be seen. You may have suspects in mind but a close look at the damage and surroundings can help you identify who is dining on your plants. Knowing this can help you […]
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How to Maximize Your Backyard in a Small Space
Backyarding is the practice of taking everyday activities — think entertaining, eating, working and working out, to name a few — into the green space around us. Even those living in an urban setting with a smaller yard or no yard at all can enjoy the benefits of backyarding, according to the TurfMutt Foundation, which […]
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10 Tips for Successful Pollinator Plantings
The colorful posters with a collection of common herbs are a popular social media share. Save the bees, they say; plant these. I’ve been known to peek at those lists and note to myself — I could use a few more hyssop plants in my apiary — but that well-meaning call to action widely misses […]
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How to Create a Therapeutic Garden at Home
Therapeutic gardens, typically seen at healthcare facilities, are “designed for use as a component of a treatment, rehabilitation or vocational program… to meet the needs of a specific user or population…to accommodate participant’s goals and to facilitate people-plant interactions, according to the American Horticultural Therapy Association.1 Also defined as enabling gardens, they are used by […]
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Tips for Designing and Maintaining a Low-Maintenance Garden
Don’t let your spring garden enthusiasm lead to overplanting and the creation of a summer gardening nightmare. A design with maintenance in mind and some strategic care can help reduce the time you spend managing your gardens and landscape. Consider using fewer plant species when designing perennial flowerbeds. Increase the number of each to boost […]
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Creating a Garden Retreat in Silverdale
As a little girl, I took great comfort in our family garden. I grew up on a small farm in Woodinville. I vividly remember taking the short walk down to the barn to say “hello” to the horses and chickens, then slowly finding my way to our garden to pick whatever I could find growing […]