The orchard mason bee, also known as the blue orchard bee, is the Western native pollinator that appears each year in late winter and early spring to pollinate the early-blooming fruit trees and flowers. Its scientific name, Osmia lignaria propinqua Cresson, describes the … read more

All plants have stories. Perhaps the plant was Grandma’s favorite cut flower. Or it was that green bean variety passed down through generations of family gardeners. Or that pretty veronica whose name you learned on that hike at Mount Rainier. Every kind of … read more

When I first visited the home we ended up buying on Bainbridge Island, the owners excitedly told me that their garden had been on the 2016 Bainbridge in Bloom garden tour. This clearly was the attribute they wanted to pitch more than the … read more

The power of a well-designed landscape is magical. But the long, narrow piece of grassy land sloping quickly toward the waterfront offered little magic to the imagination of Peggy and Bill Fox when they first laid eyes on the property in 1987. The … read more

Imagine life without spice — boring! Truly, those little bottles of dried herbs that you line up in the kitchen and reach for when you cook add flavor to your life. Try cooking without a pinch of this or a dash of that. … read more

The canaries know it’s spring at the Brothers Greenhouses, located on SW Victory Drive in Port Orchard. For more than 15 years, birds have resided in this retail nursery attached to working greenhouses. Oscar was one of the original birds, earning that name … read more

Depending on their numbers, the popularity of geese can wax and wane. It’s the Canada geese that produce these mixed feelings. Brant geese, their much smaller cousin, is looked at in an entirely different way. Some even think of this goose as “cute.” … read more

Many gardeners dream of sunshine, of borders overflowing with flowering perennials and sun-loving shrubs. This especially holds true for people who are moving to the Puget Sound area from the sunny states of California, Arizona and others. Faced with the gorgeous and tall … read more

Simply defined, a garden is a collaboration between nature and people. Plants cannot be willed to do what you want. They must be treated as partners and given what they need for water, light, soil, climate and so on. In return, gardens will … read more