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…
It’s been a while since I have given you a concise, all-in-one-place list of chores for the month, so I thought it would be timely to do just that. There is always something to do in the garden, even if it is just walking around and observing what Mother Nature is up to. As stewards of the green spaces we call our gardens, here are some things to consider as we move into winter…
As the temperatures continue to drop, along with all those leaves on our deciduous trees, we are pretty much left with just shades of green in our gardens to look at throughout the winter. There are, of course, quite a few winter-blooming perennials and shrubs that can add some winter interest to our gardens, but as far as bouquets or vases of blooms, the pickins are slim. For those of us that experience color starvation, here are some ideas…
First off, I suspect you would like an explanation of what the heck is a “bud-blooming” heather. It’s a fair question so here is my answer: A bud-blooming heather is a type of Calluna (a commonly planted summer-blooming heather that is in many of our gardens) whose buds never fully open but still manage to show color - often for many months during the fall and into the early winter. These types of heathers will look fresh for months and…
With the mercury dipping down into the low thirties, and maybe even some frost for some of you, I am reminded of the often asked question: “How do I save some of my seasonal color for the next season”. It’s only a matter of time before a really good hard frost is going to make that question moot. So, if you are serious about trying to preserve some of your investments that you made this year, time is of the essence…
Back in March of this year, I introduced you to several new plants for the 2019 season that were sure to be hits in your garden. While most garden centers will be sold out of these this time of year, there are new plants for 2020 coming in with fall deliveries. Remember, anything you plant now will take off like a rocket come springtime, so don’t hesitate to plug up any blank spots in the garden (or maybe even yank out a few poor performers) and plunge in some newbies…
I recently read an article on designing with foliage in the garden by a local author, Christina Salwitz. Her main point is that while flowers are ephemeral, foliage can last all season and therefore should be the first consideration in any garden design - be it in the landscape or simply in our containers. As we move into the fall and winter season…
The Golfing Gardener
Trevor Cameron
Winter may have just begun, but it has been a strange one for us thus far. We were blessed with a few frosts last week, but really have had minimal cold weather invade our corner of the PNW. No arctic blast came in November, just copious amounts of our signature liquid sunshine. I know I speak for everyone when I…