From late summer into early fall, the wild bird population reaches its highest numbers for the year. This year’s young account for the increase. The population boom coincides with nature’s fall abundance. Many birds, including this year’s young, won’t survive the winter. Their survival depends on the natural food supply. During the fall migration, hundreds […]
plants
Get The Dirt — On Home Gardening
Fall Harvesting September and October are a time for pause and reflection and also new beginnings. It’s a time to celebrate the bounty in our gardens and to harvest and preserve fruits, vegetables and herbs for later enjoyment. If you have extra produce, remember to take it to local food banks for others to enjoy. […]
Fresh Food Revolution is a Step Up to Sustainability
The Fresh Food Revolution Co-op on the Key Peninsula began in 2010 when a small group of fresh-food enthusiasts wanted a way to support local growers. They found a delivery site and busily set about connecting consumers with food producers. In 2011, an official cooperative was formed, complete with a board of directors, about 50 […]
Buck Lake Native Plant Garden — A Place to Learn Abundantly
In 2005, Hansville Master Gardeners Roland Malan, Susan Harrington and Sheri Kiley, along with landscape architects Mary Booth and Patrick Leuner, met with county parks staff and presented a plan to steward and beautify a very neglected, weed-infested, abandoned motocross dirt bike track into a native plant garden for all visitors to enjoy. The plan […]
Garden, Home and Art — Creating New Memories Out of Old
The story of Heather and Eric Andersen is an ever-changing tapestry of creating, renewing, sustaining, caring and loving. They’ve known each other since they met in an algebra class in high school. Gardening and plants have always been an underlying theme in their lives. As children, neither liked gardening. But several years later, they made […]
How to Plant a Perennial Fall Container
Containers packed with plants provide garden pizzazz. Even though this blog and video are about containers for fall to winter enjoyment, they are actually planted up in mid to late summer. Plants often live happily in containers for anywhere from five to seven years. The methods shown in this video can be applied to containers […]
Summertime Roses
Midsummer Evaluation By now you have been enjoying your rose blooms and perennials so it’s time to take a critical look at how the garden has progressed. Did you arrange the placement of your plants so the plant heights are pleasing to your eye? Sometimes plant tags give general size dimensions that are not always […]
Mossy Rose Gall — A Fascinating Pest
I love plants with interesting foliage, be it the striking color, shape or fragrance. Rosa glauca, with her lovely bluish foliage, captured me the first time I saw it. Its flowers and hips are a bonus, always appreciated for their color and delicate nature. The flush of bloom is over for the season, so imagine […]
It’s All About Community — Bay Hay and Feed
If you can’t find what you’re looking for at Bay Hay and Feed on Bainbridge Island, the chances are you don’t need it. And, after inquiring, if it’s not on hand, just ask — and it’s possible it will soon be carried in stock. In 1979, Howard Block and Ce-Ann Parker purchased a piece of […]
