Picture this — spring hath sprung, and you’ve finished your tedious cleaning jobs. As the days are getting longer and warmer, you grab sun cream and spend your weekend giving the garden some much deserved TLC. When shopping for plants, remember to consider whether the new garden addition will be pet friendly. Some plants contain […]
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 West Sound Magazine each issue — subscribe to the print version today to see all of what we have to offer!
Posted inGardeners Corner
Celebrate a Wedding Anniversary with a Themed Indoor Plant
Anniversaries are important, and you can celebrate each wedding anniversary in a memorable and meaningful way by finding that “perfect” gift. The tradition of giving gifts for a wedding anniversary extends back to medieval times. During the time of the Holy Roman Empire, a man would crown his wife with a silver wreath on the […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
The Garden Bean Gets Its Due in 2021
There are many species of beans in cultivation around the world, yet it’s the common garden bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, that takes on celebrity status as National Garden Bureau’s vegetable focus for 2021. One of the earliest cultivated plants, garden beans can trace their beginnings to Central and South America. Vining or climbing beans were an […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Designing a Wildlife-Friendly Landscape
We love watching the bunnies hopping across the lawn or ground squirrels scurrying away with a cheek full of seeds. That is, until they dine on our favorite shrub or take just one bite out of each red, ripe tomato in the garden. Finding a way to coexist is critical for wildlife struggling to survive […]
Posted inGarden
The Joy of Gardening
In the remoteness of a Bainbridge Island neighborhood lies a retreat in an English-inspired garden. Native apple, plum and pear trees that line the street create privacy, and tall grasses encompass the garden that Lori McFarlin has come to call her sanctuary. This 2-acre property has a 100-year-old house with a 100-year-old birch tree that […]
Posted inGarden
Size Doesn’t Matter in the World of Woodpeckers
All birds have their place in the ecosystems in which they live. Some are “keystone” species that other creatures rely on, making them a critical component of their respective biomes. Among the keystone species of birds are woodpeckers. As the name suggests, woodpeckers peck wood. But their pecking has a purpose. They’re excavation experts. Woodpeckers […]
Posted inGarden
A Lush Garden Makeover
You’ve seen the photos in ads for miracle makeovers: the plain little face “before” and voilà! the lovely visage “after.” That same message can be applied to gardens, as was the case with this miraculous makeover of Susan and David Crossland’s garden in Bremerton. In just six years, they transformed a plain little house (circa […]
Posted inGarden
Pruning, Not Cutting
Healthy plants require pruning. Plants should be pruned after they fruit or flower. Improper pruning can lead to apical dominance. When you’re not pruning correctly, you may be removing the vertical growth of the plant and causing the release, a hormone that says to the plant, “Hey, there is nothing growing up here!” This causes […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Top 10 Reasons to Garden
Mobile phones, tablets and apps have become the tools of modern lives. But it wasn’t that long ago that a shovel, a patch of soil and a bag of seeds were the only tools needed to provide sustenance and satisfaction. With the 2020 COVID pandemic, more and more people abandoned technology, at least for a […]