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…
In this day and age of social distancing, I am inclined to think that the vast majority of us, either consciously or unconsciously, are suffering from a lack of physical contact with our fellow human beings. There is something healing that happens when two individuals connect with each other through a hug and it turns out that a similar feeling can also be obtained when we hug a tree….
There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t receive yet another email listing the “top 25 gifts for gardeners”, which invariably includes a whole host of garden gadgets… But if you are looking for a gift that will keep on giving year after year, then why not consider a winter blooming plant? Each year at the same time, they will come into bloom and decorate your garden at a time when the days are dark and long and the hope for another bright spring is still far off in the future. Here are some of my favorite winter blooming choices…
Just when you thought you were through with yard work for the season, some wise-acre nursery professional comes along and tells you to “Winterize your yard!” “Okay”, you say, “How do I winterize my yard?” Big mistake! Never use open-ended questions with nursery professionals, unless of course you have nothing but time and money…
Winters in the northwest can be unpredictable. As I look around my neighborhood, I can still see trees (like my neighbor’s corkscrew willow) that are green as grass and completely foliated, while next to them are maples that are fully denuded of all their summer leaves. My hostas have mushed down to nothing, but the roses are still blooming. Such is the nature of our Pacific Northwest falls/winters. You just never know when that hard “killing frost” is going to hit, but if you are not ready to deal with it, then you very well might suffer some serious losses. Here are some tips to manage the freezing events that will be coming our way…
As promised a few weeks ago, I want to introduce you to a few more conifers that I find to be real gems to add to our landscapes. But before launching into some specific varieties of interest, my botanical nerdiness requires me to share what I consider to be truly fascinating facts about this group we refer to as conifers or “cone bearing” plants…
As much as I hate to admit it, it is time to jettison the summer color and start thinking about what will look good in the garden all winter. As the perennials melt down, the annuals die, and the deciduous trees and shrubs shed their foliage, the primary group of plants that can give us dependable winter color are the needle-leafed evergreens - which botanically speaking we call conifers…
A lot of gardeners wisely move some of their houseplants outside during the summer to give them better light and fresher air. It is a tricky thing to do because light conditions inside our homes are always much more reduced than even the shadiest location in our gardens. Leaves that have been grown inside our homes have thinner cuticles and are consequently more susceptible to sunburn when moved outside. By taking special care to acclimate them, by first placing them in full shade and gradually moving them into sunnier places in the garden, we can usually be successful. That being said, now it is time to reverse this ordeal and bring those little friends back inside and try to keep them happy for the rest of the winter. Here are a few things to consider in this process:
For generations of gardeners, and certainly for me, Rhododendrons represent the arrival of spring in our local landscapes. Everywhere you drive this time of year there is a stunning Rhododendron in full bloom to catch your eye. These flowering beauties come in all sorts of…