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!

Swallows of Puget Sound

The Birds of Summer — Swallows of Puget Sound and Western Washington

Poulsbo’s Fourth of July fireworks light up the sky over Liberty Bay on July 3. Thousands of watchers come to town. But not everyone enjoys the noisy and colorful display. Dozens of purple martins occupying their nesting gourds at Oyster Plant Park find … read more

My Garden Journey — From ‘Type A’ to Laissez-Faire Gardener

Gardening. My livelihood, exercise, psychological wellbeing, and yes, my obsession. From learning to garden alongside my parents in Los Angeles to teaching horticulture in Kitsap today, my gardening style and philosophy have taken many forms. My first job in the business was at … read more

Get The Dirt - Carpenter Bees

Get The Dirt — On Home Gardening

Carpenter Bees • Winter Veggies • Blackberry Control...

Carpenter Bees Recently at breakfast, I overheard someone talking about carpenter bees. Most people have heard about carpenter ants but carpenter bees were a new one to know. This person had inherited a deck that had been built with old, untreated and unpainted … read more

WSU Kitsap Extension
WSU Kitsap Extension

Community Education Opportunities

Lifelong Learning in the West Sound

Organic Gardening for Year-Round Harvests This is a hands-on class taught by Master Gardeners to help you create an organic backyard vegetable garden, with an emphasis on extending the growing season and food crops to harvest fall through early spring. Learn the principles … read more

Digitalis Illumination 'Flame'

New Plant Introductions

What keeps you interested in plants? Is it spring fever, compelling you to run to your favorite garden center and pick out whatever catches your eye in the moment? Or do you carefully lay out a plan, following your garden designer’s directions or … read more

Ground Cover

Carpeting the Garden in Living Green

A favorite look in many gardens is flagstone surrounded by a carpet of ground covers. Providing interesting textures and colors, the shortest of the short such as creeping thyme, Corsican mint, Irish and Scotch moss, and others cover the soil as they crawl … read more

Old Roses, Companions And Pests
Care for Roses, Part 2

Old Roses, Companions And Pests

Many of the old garden roses (OGRs) we now grow in America came to us by way of Europe. During her brief tenure as Napoleon’s empress (1804-’09), Josephine of France collected more than 200 rose varieties, nearly all that were known in the … read more

Mason Bees

All About the Mason Bee

(a.k.a. the blue bee)

Mason bees are wonderful pollinators that are native to most of North America. They have been doing a magnificent job of pollinating long before the colonists brought in the honeybees from overseas. The mason bee is not a hive-dwelling bee, therefore there is … read more

Repurposing Containers

Repurposing — A Recipe for Charming Containers Full of Plants

All it takes to repurpose something into a plant container is a little imagination, good drainage, a bit of soil and wonderful plants. Season with a dash of charm, a pinch of humor or an element of surprise — it’s a recipe for … read more

Pony Up Rescue for Equines
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