West Sound meadows, salt marshes and successional fields are alive with buzzing bees, fluttering butterflies and birdsong. But with lawns expanding and natural areas shrinking due to construction, these backyard guests need a little extra help finding food, shelter and a cozy place to stay. With just a few simple DIY steps, you can turn […]
plants
Posted inGardeners Corner
How to Make Fall Harvest Last Longer and What to Do with Extras
The days are getting shorter and nighttime temperatures continue to drop, signaling that the late-summer and early-fall growing season is winding down. Green thumb gardeners with a surplus of produce are now wondering what to do with the 20 pounds of zucchini and bushels of green beans they harvested. Most people are familiar with the […]
Posted inPeople & Places
Long Lake Garden Club
Long Lake Garden Club, Port Orchard, celebrated 90 years in July at Adventure of Faith Church. Entertainment was Lesley Niemi and Courtney Turnley, soloists from Western Washington Center for the Arts, who sang a medley of songs. Edy Thornton led a Vintage Fashion Show with members of the club as models. The event was chaired […]
Posted inGarden
The Paradise Garden of Dalreen Quyn
There is a small bit of paradise in Indianola. The garden of Dalreen and Alan Quyn is planted abundantly with flowering plants from one border of the property to the other. Not a square inch of bare ground can be seen from February through October each year. Eighty-eight rose bushes and myriad forms of every […]
Posted inGarden
Made in The Shade in Lake Symington
Shade can be a problem for many gardeners, especially if one desires sun-loving perennials or roses. Dortha Murker has created a spark of light and joy in a deeply shaded garden. Located at the terminus of a dead-end street near Lake Symington, her gardens bring the viewer a restful and restorative mood, plus an invitation […]
Posted inHome
Timeless Manchester View Estate
New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber, the “Queen of Romance,” is selling her home In Manchester after 30 years. This was a place where some of her most beloved novels were written, and where Macomber and her family gathered often. They have decided to sell their “flagship estate” and now it’s ready for someone […]
Posted inGarden
A Colorful Palette for Neighborhood Joy
When Cora Reuter was a little girl, her school bus passed a blooming flower garden every afternoon. “It brought me such joy,” she recalled. Middle school years were hard for her, and the garden, full of bursting colors, made her neighborhood brighter. Now, Reuter pays it forward, giving her neighbors, young and old, a happy […]
Posted inGarden
The Profusely Abundant, Plant-Filled Garden of Jill and Michael Betts
Jill Betts and her husband, Michael, have created a profusely planted, abundant garden on their 2.5-acre property off the Seabeck Highway. In April 2020 (at the beginning of the gardening season), she began a five-year labor of love and perhaps “obsession.” Michael Betts, who’s retired from the Navy, is a consummate builder of anything his […]
Posted inPeople & Places
WillaBella Farm
Roots run so deep at WillaBella Farm in Gig Harbor that they go all the way back to 1912. The unassuming farmhouse, with its fir lumber flooring and arched doorways, still stands. As does the guest house, which was first a woodworking shop. From the grape vines to the heirloom orchard of apple, pear, cherry […]