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

hydrangeas

, ,

Perfect Panicle Hydrangeas

, ,
Perfect Panicle Hydrangeas

As this glorious PNW summer weather continues, let us continue delving into the world of Hydrangeas.  It is time for episode three, the grand finale of the Hydrangea trilogy… at least for the year 2025.  In the last couple of weeks we have talked Hydrangeas for partial shade (Big-Leaf or Hydrangea macrophylla cvs) and others for a bit more sun like Oakleaf types (Hydrangea quercifolia cvs) and Smooth types (Hydrangea arborescens cvs).  Now we get to talk about one of the most useful species for sunny gardens, Hydrangea paniculata, or what we call Panicle Hydrangeas…

,

Inspiring Big-Leaved Hydrangeas

,
Inspiring Big-Leaved Hydrangeas

I think all gardeners crave color and flower power that brings smiles to faces throughout their landscape.  When we talk about options for summer-blooming shrubs, Roses and Hydrangeas stand above all others for both choice and longevity.  Roses are for full sun, while depending on the variety, Hydrangeas can be for sun, partial sun or shade.  I seem to write about…

Dads Like Flowers Too!

Dads Like Flowers Too!

One of best things about being a Dad is spending time with your kids, especially when an activity is made even better by sharing a personal passion with them.  In my case, as with many other Dads, a keenness for gardening is towards the top of this list.  I mean seriously now, just like Moms at Mother’s Day, us Dads like…

, , , , ,

Happy Mother's Day

, , , , ,
Happy Mother's Day

As we head into May it is time for an extra special holiday, Mother’s Day - the day we celebrate Moms everywhere.  This day was set aside to honor perhaps the most important person in each of our lives in 1914, after years of…

, ,

Going Vertical With Vines

, ,
Going Vertical With Vines

Going vertical with climbing plants adds visual interest to any garden, providing nice foliage and often ideal seasonal flower power.  There are useful vines out there in all kinds of shapes and sizes; some for larger areas and others to use as smaller garden accents, or even as simple container specimens.  Whether you are trying to grow on a decorative trellis or obelisk, up a post, along a railing, over a large pergola or arbor, or even naturalize something along a fence line, vines may be exactly what you are looking for…

,

These Late-Blooming Shrubs Are Worth Waiting For!

,
These Late-Blooming Shrubs Are Worth Waiting For!

August can feel like a long time to wait for a some plants to finally put forth flowers, all while the rest of the garden might be blooming its head off.  On the other hand, by the time we get to August, our gardens can conceivably start to look kind of tired and bedraggled, and having a few plants that are just coming into bloom can be a very good thing.  I have often said that in the Pacific Northwest you can find a plant blooming every day of the year…

Here's How To Up Your Fall Gardening Game

Here's How To Up Your Fall Gardening Game

If you don’t like looking at sticks over the winter and loath having to rake leaves, then you might as well stop reading this and find something else to do. Plants that lose their leaves in the fall are the backbone of an interesting late season garden, and if your entire landscape consists of nothing but Conifers and Broadleaf Evergreens (like Rhodies and Azaleas), chances are this time of year is going to be pretty ho-hum. Using deciduous plants in our landscapes is an easy way to up our gardening game and move us ever closer to that elusive goal of “year ‘round interest”…

4 Great Reasons To Visit The Garden Center In August

4 Great Reasons To Visit The Garden Center In August

I was in the nursery the other weekend looking for some ideas for my next column, when it occurred to me: “What is it that draws shoppers into the garden center this time of year?”. Considering that there is nary a shy bone in my body, I thought, why not ask a few customers why they were there. This is what I found out…

Latest post from “The Golfing Gardener”:

The Golfing Gardener

Trevor Cameron

Featured
The Soothing Sound of Water
The Soothing Sound of Water

We typically talk plants from week to week, but sometimes it is fun to mix it up a bit and expand into adjacent topics relevant to our gardens.  Fountains (and other statuary for that matter) have always intrigued me, as I continue to…

Read More →