West Sound Beekeepers Association is a longstanding group of people interested in learning about bees. The members maintain an apiary as well as educational facilities, and meet monthly at Stedman’s Bee Supplies in Silverdale. Local beekeeper Frank Wilson’s story is very similar to other members of the club. “I was at a dangerous point in […]
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 West Sound Magazine each issue — subscribe to the print version today to see all of what we have to offer!
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Community Education Opportunities
Organic Vegetable Gardening Class: Gardens You Can Eat A hands-on class taught by Master Gardeners to help you create your own organic backyard vegetable garden. This course, which is open to any community member who wishes to learn about growing food crops organically, will focus on soils, composting, locally appropriate techniques and integrated pest management. […]
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Delighting in the Indigenous — Woodbrook Native Plant Nursery
“Gardening makes you feel good,” says Ingrid Wachtler, owner of Woodbrook Native Plant Nursery. She believes that gardening is a wholesome and beneficial pursuit that keeps one young. After two decades of growing and selling plants in Gig Harbor, Wachtler still gets excited about new plants and revels in the way working outdoors makes her […]
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Get The Dirt — On Home Gardening
Gardening Chores Chores is often such an unpalatable word. It seems it’s something people love to put off if they can. But for gardeners, doing chores outdoors is often delightful because it means well-spent time outside, leading to future enjoyment in the garden during the other seasons, especially during harvest. Tackle all the shotweed, a.k.a. […]
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How to Build a Green Roof Birdhouse
Buildings with a “living roof” are all the rage with the current focus on ecologically minded construction techniques. Originally European and historically planted with turf grasses, green roofs are popular worldwide for reducing pollution and runoff and improving insulation, among other environmental benefits. They are commonly seen in commercial construction but now you, too, can […]
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Florigraphy — The Language of Flowers
When we send someone flowers, they are usually sent to express a sentiment. Wishes of love, sympathies, regrets, new birth and death all get scribbled on the little card tucked into the arrangement. “Those of our time do use the flowers in sallads to exhilarate and make the mind glad. There be also many things […]
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Backyard Bird Feeding Makes A Difference
Bird feeding provides many benefits for winter birds in the Puget Sound area yards. The key to the conservation of bird populations is in providing the habitats needed for their natural reproduction and sustained survival. Interaction and education are the ultimate keys, because we must know something before we can love it — and we […]
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The Beauty and Effect of Gravel in the Garden
Gravel patios or “terraces” are an outdoor element used in home landscapes in Europe for many centuries. Elegant and natural, they are typically made of crushed indigenous stone, widely used for many years because it was a readily available and inexpensive material. The look is an easy surface tamped to flatten and harden the terrace […]
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A Steep Slope Is Turned Into a Garden Paradise
When Rudell and Jay Hegnes moved into their Gig Harbor home in 2004, they faced a steep bank across their backyard and soggy clay soil that wouldn’t drain. Most homeowners would have considered the hill an obstacle in their landscaping plans. “We knew the steep bank could be an asset by adding top soil and […]
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