Well, are we all feeling a wee bit exhilarated by this fabulous spring (or should I say summer) weather? Are we experiencing a burst of energy and an intense desire to get everything done in the garden in one weekend?…
Time To Get The Cool Season Veggies Planted
I know it still doesn’t feel much like spring, but something magical happened this week - it actually got up to 50 degrees, and that is significant for two reasons. First, for us it feels almost comfortable to be outside working in the garden and second, when the mercury gets to 50 degrees it triggers all sorts of awakenings in the plant world. The switch gets turned on and there is no turning back. Spring has sprung!
Time To Play Catch Up
Are you feeling a sense of panic, like you just lost the last 30 days of gardening and are now so far behind that you will never catch up? Not to worry. Mother Nature is also behind schedule so we have the entire month of March to get back on track. The days are getting longer, daylight saving time is here, and everything will be fine. Here are some things to work on…
What's New For 2019?
More On The Big Freeze
Last week I pontificated on the ramifications of the recent winter storm. We discussed frozen roots on container plants, broken limbs on trees and shrubs, disfigured evergreens, and frozen buds. In retrospect, that all sounds very depressing, but please don’t despair - I am pretty sure the worst is behind us. Here are a few more, hopefully uplifting, thoughts on what to look for in assessing the extent of winter damage in your garden….
Life After The Big Freeze
Be Thankful For Snow
If you are like me, you went to bed last Sunday night with a light dusting of snow on the ground and woke up to 8 to 10 inches covering virtually everything in the garden. Now, somewhere underneath that white stuff, are my blooming hellebores, snow drops, and budded daffodils. You might ask: “Is all lost?” Hardly! Mother Nature is a lot more resilient than that and while my perennials may be bent, they are most likely not broken. In fact, they are probably snug as a bug in a rug and once everything thaws out they will pop right back up again. As it turns out, snow is much more beneficial for the garden than it is detrimental. Here are some things to consider…
Hellebores - Winter Jewels Of The Garden
When it comes to perennials, the Perennial Plant Association is the place to go when you want to know what is happening in the world of these wonderful plants. One of the things that this association does is to promote certain perennials by declaring a ‘Perennial Plant of the Year’. These are not new introductions but rather tried and true varieties that are guaranteed to be easy to grow and disease and pest resistant. Back in 2005 they decided on a shade loving perennial known as Helleborus x hybridis. Over the past 14 years this perennial has grown in popularity to the point that there are now a plethora of varieties to choose from. They are the consummate winter interest plant for our northwest gardens and you can find them for sale this time of year in garden centers all over the Puget Sound region. Here’s a bit more info about this wonderful Genus…
Learn How To Talk "Garden Center Speak"
We Could All Use A Little Less "Screen Time" And A Little More "Green Time"
Okay, I confess that one of the first things I do in the morning is to turn on my phone/computer and check my news feeds - mostly to see what might have happened over the last 8 hours I was sleeping. It’s pretty ridiculous when you think about it, but that seems to be the norm. It has been estimated that adults spend 11 hours a day looking at screens and check their phones every 10 minutes. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, tweens log in 4.5 hours a day and teens spend almost 7 hours. Imagine how much happier and healthier we all might be if we spent that much time in the garden….
I had some fun last week describing a few plants that fill our summer breezes with fragrance. In all honestly, I was going to…