Tag: outdoors

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landscaped yard

How to Fight Climate Change from your Backyard

Your backyard or local park is home to ballgames and barbecues with family and friends. But did you know that it’s so much more? The trees, grass, plants and flowers in your yard, local parks and ballfields play an important role in fighting … read more

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exercise gardening

Top 10 Reasons to Garden

Mobile phones, tablets and apps have become the tools of modern lives. But it wasn’t that long ago that a shovel, a patch of soil and a bag of seeds were the only tools needed to provide sustenance and satisfaction. With the 2020 … read more

Ostericher Garden Sanctuary
Cover Feature

A Garden Sanctuary

Gig Harbor couple make nature their inspiration

Tucked into a leafy Gig Harbor glen among native plants such as salal and huckleberry is a singing creek that drops into a pool surrounded by purposefully planted perennials. The sunlight catches a flash of gold or orange as a goldfish darts between … read more

‘Easy Does It’

Roses for Every Garden

Roses are perennial shrubs and the modern varieties bloom continuously from late May until October, while many other perennial plants bloom only once each season. The past 20 years of rose hybridizing has produced many disease-resistant roses that will be in the regional … read more

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flourishing backyard spaces

Will ‘Backyarding’ Become a Permanent Trend?

Under pandemic conditions, yards and other managed landscapes became a safe haven for gathering socially, celebrating milestones and holidays, working, studying, playing, exercising and = relaxing. Called “backyarding,” this trend moves  indoor activities — from working in an office or classroom to dining … read more

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kids in the garden

6 Tips for Engaging Your Children with Gardening

Growing your garden is a rewarding experience, and it’s even more rewarding when you can include your children in the gardening process. While your children might not be too keen on weeding, there are a number of ways to engage them with gardening. … read more

Iris ‘Eye of the Tiger’

Beyond the Bearded Iris

Thou are the iris, fair among the fairest Who, armed with golden rod And winged with the celestial azure, bearest The message of some god… ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfelllow When mentioning an iris, the most common image conjured up in mind is the … read more

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victory gardens

Want to Plant a Climate Victory Garden?

U.S. gardeners have planted more than 8,000 “climate victory gardens,” according to Green America, which promotes these climate-friendly garden. The nonprofit maintains an interactive map that allows members of the public to register their own gardens. COVID-19 triggered a surge in new climate … read more

A fox sparrow blends in with the surrounding leaf litter as it nibbles on a sunflower seed.

A Sparrow That Stands Out While Blending In

Abbreviations abound in the world of birds. Species names are simplified with four-letter alpha codes for taking faster field notes and long names have shorter nicknames. The lingo causes confusion among even experienced birders, let alone beginners. Then there are the hard-to-discern birds … read more

Pony Up Rescue for Equines
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