Magnolias offer us gardeners some spectacular options for our PNW landscapes. Many types are beginning to bloom now as we near the end of winter and head towards spring, bursting to life in a variety of colors and flower forms. Most are…
What Exactly Is A "Tree"?
What is the image that comes to your mind when I say the word ‘tree’? Is it one of our towering conifers like a Doug Fir or Western Red Cedar, or maybe our native Big Leaf Maple? Or perhaps your thoughts go to the mighty Oak or Weeping Willow or Sycamore. These are all large specimens that have the classic morphology of what most of us think of as a tree. But, can a ‘tree’ also be…
A June Standout - Korean Dogwoods And Their Hybrids
Starting in late March our native dogwood tree, Cornus nutallii, starts bloomin and then in the month of May we can observe the eastern dogwood tree, Cornus florida. Finally, in the month of June the Korean dogwoods, Cornus kousa, come into bloom. They are a slightly larger tree with more of a rounded form and can also bloom in either white or shades of pink…
The 2022 Gardening Season Has Begun - Bare Root Fruit Trees & Roses Have Arrived
It is finally time to get the new gardening season started… January is the perfect month to start shopping for roses, fruit trees, berries and grapes, along with other shrubs that are dormant this time of year. Most of these plants are sold as what is known in the nursery industry as “bare root”. Let me take a moment to explain…
Fall & Winter Can Be Colorful Seasons Too!
I just had the opportunity to sit through a class on plants for fall and winter interest… and it brought back home to me that there is no excuse for a drab garden in the fall, or even the winter, considering that there is a multitude of plants to choose from that will brighten our gardens over the next 5 to 6 months…
Johnny's Fig Comes Marching Home
Flowering Crabapples You Can Fall In Love With
We are blessed with an extended parade of flowering trees in our northwest spring. Starting in February, we get to enjoy the flowering plums and flowering pears followed by all sorts of flowering cherries and several forms of magnolias. But as we move closer to the end of April, the pickings can get slim. Fortunately, this is exactly when the flowering crabapples come into bloom…
Hug A Tree, It Might Make You Feel Better
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….
It's Time To Think About Fruit Trees
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…
During the months of May and June one of the all-time favorite plants of local gardeners, the peony, is bursting into bloom. There are many excellent peonies available to utilize in our landscapes; including herbaceous cottage types in all sorts of colors (and varying fragrances) and larger growing tree peonies too. I would never scold anyone for growing either of these types (since I do as well), but I want to bring attention to another fabulous peony option… what is known as the intersectional or Itoh Peony.