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
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Perfect Panicle Hydrangeas

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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…

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Inspiring Big-Leaved Hydrangeas

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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…

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Not Your Grandma’s Butterfly Bushes

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Not Your Grandma’s Butterfly Bushes

As we inch towards the onset of summer, with the solstice on the horizon, June is another month full of garden temptations and color for our landscapes.  It is also pollinator month, and I urge everyone to do all that they can for our local pollinating friends.  We all need to welcome…

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A Touch of the Tropics, The Sequel

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A Touch of the Tropics, The Sequel

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…

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The Golfing Gardener

Trevor Cameron

Featured
A Garden of Fragrance
A Garden of Fragrance

In the world of gardening there are a number of topics that I would term rewarding to one’s senses and in all my years as a plant enabler, it seems to me that nearly EVERYONE loves fragrance! Many are proud of…

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