Gravel patios or “terraces” are an outdoor element used in home landscapes in Europe for many centuries. Elegant and natural, they are typically made of crushed indigenous stone, widely used for many years because it was a readily available and inexpensive material. The look is an easy surface tamped to flatten and harden the terrace […]
outdoors
Posted inBlog, Gardeners Corner
Winter Bloomers Give Offseason Interest to Your Garden
Are you looking for some color to liven up the gray winter landscape? By choosing winter-blooming plants, you will get the satisfaction of a few flowers when much of the country is under ice and snow. Some of your choices are available in specialty nurseries now and other choices, like the winter-blooming snow drops, are […]
Posted inFeatured, People & Places
Historical Plants of West Sound
West Sound, known as the Kitsap Peninsula and the Great Peninsula, has a rich agricultural and horticultural history. The glaciers left rich earthen deposits behind; the forest duff provided rich tilth and the two combined to make wonderful soils. Just the right amount of rainfall and mild summers added even more positives to what could […]
Posted inAt Home, Blog
Tips to Grill Year-Round
While grilling is usually associated with summer, more Americans are recognizing its year-round potential. In fact, 80 percent of North American households own a grill or smoker and 60 percent use it year-round, according to recent statistics from the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. Many smoker recipes and barbecue recipes can reinvent traditional winter meals, […]
Posted inBlog, Featured, Gardeners Corner
Scientific Names of Plants Demystified
My father, Dean Kelley, was a pharmaceutical representative for a drug company. When he retired, he volunteered his time as a Master Gardener in Pierce County. One time he was complaining to me that the scientific names of plants were hard to learn. I tried to put it in perspective for him by countering that […]
Posted inBlog, Community News
WSU Kitsap Offers Farm Business Planning Course
WSU Kitsap County Extension will offer its popular Ag Entrepreneurship Course on starting and sustaining a profitable small farm or agricultural enterprise beginning Jan. 28. Community members are invited to sign up for this intensive, hands-on learning opportunity. The course features a full lineup of local guest speakers: bankers, accountants, attorneys and successful farm owners. […]
Posted inBlog, The Outdoors
Landscaping for Birds in Your Garden
The gardening magazines and catalogs that arrive in January are reminders that spring in the Northwest isn’t far off. Thinking about spring gardening chores is the perfect time to consider the birds we hope to attract to our yards in the coming months. There are four factors to keep in mind when making a yard […]
Posted inAround West Sound, Blog, The Outdoors
Winter’s the Perfect Time for the Beach
Winter is not your typical time to go to the beach. One, it’s cold. Two, it’s probably raining. Lastly, the tide is too high — that is, unless you plan your beach venture in the dark of the night. That’s right, around here low tides happen in the evening this time of year. Which is […]
Posted inFeatured, The Garden
A Steep Slope Is Turned Into a Garden Paradise
When Rudell and Jay Hegnes moved into their Gig Harbor home in 2004, they faced a steep bank across their backyard and soggy clay soil that wouldn’t drain. Most homeowners would have considered the hill an obstacle in their landscaping plans. “We knew the steep bank could be an asset by adding top soil and […]