General Gardening
Ben Smith
Compost and Fertilizer - A Boring But Necessary ...

It pains me to see customers spending hundreds of dollars on new plants and simultaneously refusing to spend a few more on a bag or two of compost and a box of starter fertilizer.  These two items are not unnecessary “add-ons” that the retailer is just trying to add to the sale, they are critical components of a successful transplanting process - or as I like to refer to them as “plant insurance”.  Unless you have phenomenal soil, you should always add compost and starter fertilizers when you are planting new plants.  Here is why…

Compost and Fertilizer - A Boring But Necessary Topic
Summer Gardening
Ben Smith
The Secrets Of Proper Summer Watering

Summer watering is inevitable in the northwest if we want to keep our landscapes green and healthy…

The Secrets Of Proper Summer Watering

2019

Last Minute Gift Ideas

Last Minute Gift Ideas

I know it is crunch time for gift buying and you might still have a few tough ones to figure out.  Avoid the crazy mall madness and have an actual tactile experience of touching the gifts you’re searching for (to maybe even be hand-wrapped with care, rather than just clicking a mouse for an online purchase) by traveling down to your favorite garden center where there is always plenty of parking this time of year - you just might find that something perfect you’ve been hunting for.  Here are a few ideas to try out…

Hellebores Are Back!

Hellebores Are Back!

If you are the type that visits a garden center on a regular basis, then you have probably noticed that plants have their seasons.  Most blooming plants will be featured front and center during the time of year when they are the showiest and the rest of the season either moved to the back or simply become “out of stock”.  It’s no different than seasonal candy, like red and green M and M’s for Christmas or yellow and pink Peeps for Easter.  Hellebores are a classic example of a seasonal perennial that is readily available throughout the winter and then missing during the summer months.  I am excited to tell you that they are once again arriving on our benches and ready for planting…

Christmas Trees - Real or Fake?

Christmas Trees - Real or Fake?

As gardeners, the concept of “going natural” is nothing new.  Whatever our reasons, whenever practical we tend to shy away from synthetics and instead choose products that are natural.  In the case of Christmas trees, we have the same choices - one is buying an artificial tree, and the other is buying a real tree.  Here are some things to consider before making up your mind…

More New Goodies For 2020

More New Goodies For 2020

Back in late September of this year, I introduced you to several new shrubs for 2020 and promised to continue later this fall with several more new introductions.  After reading through the November/December edition of Horticulture (one of many gardening magazines that my wife and I subscribe to) I have cherry picked a few to expound upon.  As our gardens go into dormancy for the winter, what could possibly be better than to dream about new plants for the coming season.  Happy salivating!  

The Fall To-Do List

The Fall To-Do List

It’s been a while since I have given you a concise, all-in-one-place list of chores for the month, so I thought it would be timely to do just that.  There is always something to do in the garden, even if it is just walking around and observing what Mother Nature is up to.  As stewards of the green spaces we call our gardens, here are some things to consider as we move into winter…

A Few Surefire Ways To Bring Some Color Inside This Winter

A Few Surefire Ways To Bring Some Color Inside This Winter

As the temperatures continue to drop, along with all those leaves on our deciduous trees, we are pretty much left with just shades of green in our gardens to look at throughout the winter.  There are, of course, quite a few winter-blooming perennials and shrubs that can add some winter interest to our gardens, but as far as bouquets or vases of blooms, the pickins are slim.  For those of us that experience color starvation, here are some ideas…

Have Fun With These "Bud-Blooming" Heathers

Have Fun With These "Bud-Blooming" Heathers

First off, I suspect you would like an explanation of what the heck is a “bud-blooming” heather.  It’s a fair question so here is my answer:  A bud-blooming heather is a type of Calluna (a commonly planted summer-blooming heather that is in many of our gardens) whose buds never fully open but still manage to show color - often for many months during the fall and into the early winter.  These types of heathers will look fresh for months and…

Latest post from Trevor Cameron,  “The Golfing Gardener”:

Featured
Dazzling Deciduous Azaleas

As we head into the peak spring season and the temperatures continue to rise, more and more of our landscapes are popping with spring color.  Another shrub all gardens should contain is a deciduous Azalea.  Us gardeners have plenty of evergreen options to help with our Azalea and Rhododendron addictions, but a deciduous Azalea specimen offers…

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