The temperate weather of Western Washington and the long growing season create a gardener’s paradise. This year, due to unusually warm temperatures, I have found myself out in the garden early, visiting with my plant friends that have lain dormant all winter. I spy a young asparagus pushing up, masses of rhododendrons in bloom and […]
outdoors
Posted inThe Garden
Llama Rose Farm and Gardens Reblooms as Empress Hill
The five-star wedding venue Llama Rose Farm and Gardens woke to the New Year with a new name. Like a monarch butterfly emerging transformed to spread its wings, the rustic-elegant venue unfolds a new identity — Empress Hill. The new name resonates with promise. And aren’t promises what weddings are all about? History On the […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
The More Plants in the Yard — the More Birds
The importance of a heavily planted yard can’t be emphasized too much when it comes to attracting birds. All of the plants do not have to provide food for them. Food is just one of four needs for sustaining bird populations. Like all wild creatures, birds need food, water, nesting habitat and protective cover. We […]
Posted inThe Garden
Spring Fever Strikes Again with Newer Plant Introductions
It’s exciting when new plant introductions bump up against spring. If you love gardening, you know how easy it is to surrender to spring fever. When the urge to plant strikes, you scurry about in a feverish excitement that can make a shark-feeding frenzy seem like an afternoon picnic on a Seabeck beach. Spring fever […]
Posted inPeople & Places
Art in Public Places — Indian Chief at Lisa Stirrett’s Gallery
“The Chief,” which stands outside of the Lisa Stirrett Glass Art Studio in Silverdale, greets Silverdale Way passers-by. Gallery owner and artist Lisa Stirrett designed the piece and hired Bainbridge Island metalworker Dick Strom of Bapatom’s Metalworks to weld it. At about 11 feet tall, the whimsical sculpture is made largely of repurposed metal — […]
Posted inThe Garden
Name that Warbler — Heralding the Arrival of Spring
Warbler watching in West Sound country can’t compete with what the eastern portion of North America enjoys, but we do have several special warbler species. Not only do warblers move into the Northwest with spring’s arrival, some have been brightening the winter landscape. Winter visits from the Townsend’s warbler appear more frequent than they did […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Low Maintenance Vegetable Gardening for a Bountiful Harvest
Increase your harvest without increasing the size of your garden or workload. All you need is a bit of intensive planting, along with some low-maintenance techniques. Invest some time upfront to prepare the garden soil. This will save you time throughout the growing season. Add several inches of organic matter and a slow-release fertilizer into […]
Posted inThe Garden
Things to Do This Year at Heronswood
Heronswood, a renowned local treasure owned by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, has many enticements on tap this year for gardeners from near and far. Don’t miss out on all there is to see and do there. Friday Self-Guided Tours The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and the staff at Heronswood invite the public to visit […]
Posted inPeople & Places
A Spa for Your Wild Soul
A chance meeting more than a decade ago was the unlikely beginning of a relationship that today builds confidence and begins transformation for women in an unlikely way. A Spa for Your Wild Soul, women’s kayak journeys, is the creation of Spring Courtright and Maria Cook, two local women on a mission to challenge other […]
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