My experience with apples did not extend much beyond Fuji, Honey Crisp and Jonagold before attending the Peninsula Fruit Club’s Fall Fruit Tasting Show this October at the Silverdale Community Center. I was thrilled to see 175 different types of apples grown in Kitsap, plus pears, grapes, kiwi and nuts brought from club members’ gardens […]
plants
Posted inFeatured, Garden
The Hardy Fuchsias of Fall
It is said that people who love fuchsias, really love them. With three generations of fuchsia lovers in my family, I was destined to fall in love with them too. I remember my grandmother’s hanging baskets overflowing with fuchsia branches smothered in blousy, red and white flowers. My family sat on a deck and chatted […]
Posted inGarden
A Primer on Buying a Hobby Greenhouse
All gardeners have a wish list: new plants to try, a load of compost delivered, a potting shed, etcetera, but there is one thing that always seems to top the list — a greenhouse. Imagine how the midwinter blues melt away as you walk through the doors of this warm, humid haven for plants. It […]
Posted inFeatured, People & Places
A Tale of Two Sisters and Their Gardens
Sisters Jean Boyle and Bethany McDonald live in Suquamish just a short walk from each other. They are often mistaken for twins but one is actually older than the other by nearly two years. McDonald has gardened in Suquamish for 35 years, but Jean became an avid gardener only 18 years ago when she and […]
Posted inHome
Creating Pressed Botanicals for Décor — The Art of the Herbarium
Plant gathering and preservation for identification has its foundations in history and early botanical plant hunting. Plants in modern gardens have their origins from all over the world, as botanists journeyed to distant lands. As the West was discovered, Lewis and Clark collected and noted plants along their journeys. New specimens were collected and preserved […]
Posted inBlog, Gardeners Corner
Use Nature as Inspiration for Pruning
I hope you’ve had many opportunities to get out into some of our wilderness areas to experience nature untouched by human hands. Did you marvel, as I have, at the overwhelming beauty of these natural landscapes? Nature is a very gifted designer and landscaper, indeed. I strive to follow her example, although a garden, by […]
Posted inFeatured, Home
The Captured Garden
In the summer of 1829, Dr. Nathaniel Ward placed the chrysalis of an adult sphinx moth in an enclosed glass container so he could observe the moth’s emergence. The soil he placed in the container sprouted seeds and spores, as natural soils will do. He fully expected the germinated plants to die off in the […]
Posted inBlog, Gardeners Corner
Plants for Year-Round Interest
When selecting plants for landscaping, you’ll find several types for extending interest in the garden for more than three seasons. Roses, hydrangeas, hardy fuchsias and conifers are just some examples. In this video, you’ll see Lacecap hydrangea, Rosa glauca, Abies koreana ‘Horstmann’s Silverlocke’ and hardy Fuchsia magellanica ‘Aurea.’ Here’s how they add yearlong interest in […]
Posted inFeatured, Garden
The Voodoo Garden — Good Help is Hard to Find
Welcome to my garden. Open the gate and step in, but mind the brambles and thorns. Careful to not crush the bleeding heart. Don’t bump the spiny eccentricity of the Solanum pyracanthum unless you like a good blood-letting. And watch the vines; they sneak up on you in this murky light. I suppose I should […]