Your local independent garden center is an essential community source providing you access to healthy, affordable food to grow at home. As an essential part of your community, garden centers are taking the required steps to serve you safely and protect their staff. With warmer weather in the forecast, here’s what you should know about […]
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Posted inGarden
Historic Homestead Becomes Home to Gardens
Imagine being a young woman in Germany in the 1890s and coming alone over the Atlantic Ocean, and across the entire continental United States, to a remote peninsula in the Pacific Northwest. That is what young Dora Gummert did when she came to Gig Harbor to marry Henry Sehmel (pronounced Zay-mul), who planned to farm […]
Posted inGarden
Day Trip — The Region’s Finest Self-Guided Garden Tours
There is no such thing as a new idea, Mark Twain said. “We simply take a lot of old ideas, give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations.” Kitsap County is the home of several botanical wonders — among them Albers Vista in Bremerton, Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island and Heronswood in […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Kids’ Garden-Themed Activities You Can Do Right Now
As we all face these unpredictable times, experts at KidsGardening created and shared these “tried and true,” plant-based activities that are joyful for any age and don’t involve any screen time. The national nonprofit reaches close to half of a million educators, parents and volunteers with free online gardening educational resources and activities. According to […]
Posted inGarden
Glass ‘Flowers’ For Your Garden
Hansville artist Judy Bryant has done a variety of things in her lifetime. For several years, she worked as a draftsperson at Boeing, where she drew the designs of the captains’ panel of the 737 aircraft onto mylar sheets, using special pens. She also worked for Marriott Hotels for 17 years in the accounts payable […]
Posted inGarden
A Living Fossil — Ginkgo Biloba
Once upon a prehistoric time, the deciduous Ginkgo biloba grew around the globe. When we look at this tree, we witness a living link to a primeval time, long before mammals became prolific on the planet. Under the tree’s tall canopy, the dinosaurs roamed. It is not hard to imagine these majestic beings rubbing their […]
Posted inGarden
Never Say Done!
A gravel lane heads arrow-straight through a dull flood plain west toward Dyes Inlet. But turn left off the lane into the driveway of Ron Gillespie and Joyce Merkel, and you find a profoundly different world. Strolling under a broad arbor dripping with masses of white and purple wisteria, ferns feathering your path, you enter […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Get Maximum Yield from Minimal Garden Space
Growing on a deck or balcony is a great way to bring the garden to your backdoor. You can attract butterflies and hummingbirds into easy view and grow edibles within close reach when cooking. For some, it may be the only available space to garden. Make the most of every square foot by growing vertically. […]
Posted inHome
Family Farmhouse Estate Created with Imagination
Norbert and Lisa van Dam of Seattle had historical ties to the South Sound when they bought their Grapeview property. Lisa remembers summers on Treasure Island when she was a girl, and later when their children enjoyed holidays and vacation adventures there. Both her brother’s and sister’s families still own property close by. Eventually, they […]