Where does alcohol come from? If you answer from brewers and distillers, you are correct — yet before the intermediary, the ingredients originated from a garden. Growing plants for adult beverages is all about freshness and flavors, since freshness equals flavor. Consumers choose the best homegrown edibles for better flavor. Supermarkets sell mostly tough, tasteless […]
plants
Posted inGarden
Orchids as Houseplants
Once grown exclusively as a hobby of the wealthy, orchids are now available to every interested gardener. Perhaps you received one as a gift and wonder what to do after the bloom fades, or perhaps you’ve seen them for sale and want to buy one. They are not throwaway holiday plants if you understand how […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Terracing a Vegetable Garden
The first time we saw our property, we were not smitten. Most of the land sloped significantly and faced north. The house did not make us jump with excitement either, at first. As our choices were pretty limited, we took a second look, and the magic started to reveal itself. The sloping property afforded a […]
Posted inAround West Sound
Friends of Manchester Library’s Plant Sale Helps Library Have a Home
Manchester Village is a hidden gem in Kitsap, on the waterfront of Puget Sound, and at its heart is the Manchester Branch of the Kitsap Regional Library. The relationship of this library to the community is unique. While the branch is staffed and the books and programming are provided by KRL, it is the Friends […]
Posted inGarden
Deer De-Fence — Protecting a Collector’s Garden
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that, upon moving to Bainbridge Island after growing up in southern California, followed by a dozen years in parched Houston, Carol Folse would become enchanted by woodland spring flowers. Folse and her husband, Parker, fell in love with Bainbridge during a vacation to Seattle in 1994. While in […]
Posted inGarden
The Daffodil Spring
I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils; Beside the lake beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. ~ William Wordsworth In the last throes of winter, a sight of sunshine-yellow flowers is sometimes enough to […]
Posted inGarden
An Estuary in the Spring
Webster’s Dictionary defines the term “estuary” as “what is commonly called a ‘wetland,’ as an inlet or arm of the sea; especially the lower portion or wide mouth of a river, where the salty tide meets the freshwater current.” Wetland is a popular way to describe this arrangement of nature. For decades, these wet and […]
Posted inAround West Sound
Things to Do Around West Sound in April to Celebrate Earth Day
If you lead an environmentally conscious lifestyle, every day is as good as any to celebrate our planet. But Earth Day is especially meaningful because it’s an occasion to celebrate Mother Earth as well as spread awareness. Did you know that Earth Day was founded by Gaylord Nelson, who was a governor and senator from […]
Posted inGarden
Bainbridge Bounty
On a quiet street in the middle of Bainbridge Island, Darren and Kari Murphy have sprouted a garden filled with fruit trees, grapes and vegetables of all sorts. While not a rare sight, theirs exudes an underlying passion for heirloom and unusual varieties and community service. Many of the plant varieties they grow are rare […]