We began our travels down the road to annuals last week, so I am not making any U-turns just yet as this week we will continue to talk color and tropical plants. The vast majority of our landscapes are filled with…
How To "Save" Those Summer Tropicals
If you are like me, you are probably a bit conflicted this time of year. My summer containers, while looking a bit worn out, are still drawing droves of honey bees and hummingbirds (especially to my salvias) and the thought of ripping everything out and denying these delightful creatures their meals is almost more than I can bear…
Challenges & Opportunities: Fried Shrubs, Burnt Baskets & Fabulous Tropicals
Summertime in the northwest is a great gardening time. There is lots of sunshine and warm soils to make plants grow, and as long as we remember to water, we can have some amazingly productive veggie gardens and luxurious landscapes (or at least some bodacious containers). Here are a few random comments to consider on the above topics…




The kingdom of plants offers seemingly endless treasures for us plant addicts to admire, collect and then cultivate. Stunning shrubs, stately conifers, magnificent trees, climbing vines, creeping ground-covers, perky perennials and stunning tropicals, just to name a few. One plant that always catches my eye this time of year is the…