The Garden

Many interesting and delightful gardens abound in our area — how fun to glimpse into a gardener’s back yard (or even front yard). Enjoy gardens from Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, Bremerton, Central Kitsap, and the North end of Kitsap including Bainbridge Island. These articles are only a sample of what we have in WestSound Magazine each issue — subscribe to the print version today to see all of what we have to offer!

Rhododendrons

How to Identify Common Rhodie Problems

Rhododendrons are beginning to bloom their hearts out. They thrive in this region but are not without their share of hungry pests and sneaky diseases. A little understanding of common rhododendron problems is useful for maintaining healthy specimens. Trying to identify plant problems … read more

Roadhouse Nursery

Roadhouse Nursery — Where the Lilies Grow

The Roadhouse Nursery in Central Kitsap plays a distinctive role in the local gardening community. Owners Jan and George Bahr opened the retail nursery in 1985 and have operated it without employees for more than 30 years. Their idea for a nursery began … read more

Rice paper plant (Tetrapanax 'Steroidal Giant') has large, typically evergreen or semi-evergreen foliage.

Extreme Leaf Drama

Pull on your digging boots and grab your shovel. After reading this, you are going to need more garden space. Bigger is better, right? Maybe — yet for foliage, it depends on where the plant grows. For whatever reason plants grow humongous vegetation, … read more

A male bushtit carries lichen for nesting material by Long Lake near Port Orchard.

The Pint-Sized Powerhouse of Structural Engineering

Small songbirds are easy to overlook. Most people will notice a bald eagle on a pole but will miss a little gray bird in a nearby shrub. In the world of birds, the largest ones will always make a lasting impression. Someone seeing … read more

garden books

Gardening Books to Read This Spring

Now that spring is officially here and all the bulbs, annuals and shrubs are planted, perhaps there is time to breathe a little between pulling weeds and watering to do some garden reading. With the Pacific Northwest being a gardener’s paradise, expertise abounds, … read more

Primula ‘Dawn Ansell’

A Walk Down Primula Lane

“Down by the banks of the sweet prim-e-roses, there I beheld a most lovely fair.” ~ Author unknown What is a primrose? Shakespeare would say in Romeo and Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Primulas are not roses, … read more

Gardening Made Easy for Boomers

Gardening Made Easy for Boomers

As you get older, don’t let your interest...

You’re a baby boomer. Your green thumb, and your knees and back, seem to bend with more effort. (Was 1968 really 50 years ago?) Don’t let your interest in gardening wane — gardening is important to physical and mental wellbeing as you get … read more

Sedum 'Cape Blanco' grows perfectly with other succulents in a pot.

The Pacific Stonecrops — A Sedum of Our Own

Between the cracks of the dark basalt rocks, sedum’s plump rosettes cascade, a cavalcade wash in waterfall gray. Many succulents in the Sedum genus grow around the world. Gardeners love them because they are fascinating plants. Sedum spathulifolium species evolved to grow in … read more

AJ Heritage Tool Company

Cultivating Connections — Family’s Heritage Becomes New Venture to Help Farmers

Newcomers and longtime Kitsap residents alike can overlook some of the most treasured local assets: the hard-working farmers and their land. Tucked in here and there on back roads are families who have been in West Sound for generations farming the land, growing … read more

Pony Up Rescue for Equines
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