An old proverb states that “the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago; the second best time is now.” Although well-suited for applications from investing in your retirement fund to repairing broken relationships, the gardening application is not to be missed, either. Yes, spring is when most gardeners get excited about planting, but for so many of the aspects of gardening, a head-start months before spring [...]
Josephine Neuse is credited with saying that contrary to those who say that gardening begins in spring, “gardening begins in January with a dream.” While I appreciate the sentiment—and often dream of spring in the cold, dark days of winter—I would argue that for many aspects of gardening, the adventure begins in autumn. With mild temperatures, blue skies, and that crisp fall morning air, this “second spring” is the perfect [...]
After a warm end to August, September has brought with it a marked shift in the weather, with clouds, morning fog, and cooler daytime temperatures bringing the first signs of autumn. As you shift into new routines and schedules, now is also the time to change gears in the garden—fall planting season is here! With a new season underway, here are a few tips to maximize the beauty and success [...]
Every well-designed garden space includes a variety of different plants, beginning with trees. With an incredible variety of textures, sizes, and leaf shapes and colors, Japanese maples are one of our go-to plants for adding structure--the so-called "bones"--a landscape needs. Whether you have a sprawling acreage with wide, flowing garden beds or garden on a small city lot with neighbors just feet away from your back patio, there are [...]
Gardening in April requires maximum flexibility: a day’s forecast may run the gamut of rain, wind, a chance of thunder—and hopefully, sun. This is nothing unique to the Pacific Northwest, either; just be glad we don’t typically have to add snow showers to that forecast! Whether you’re finally getting around to landscaping the new home you bought a few years ago or just need to replace some overgrown plants around [...]
By and large, gardening is a forgiving hobby. Plant something too close to another plant? You can often dig it up and transplant it into a larger space. Prune a shrub wrong? Don’t worry, it will grow back. And maybe worst: put Roundup in your sprayer instead of lawn weed killer? Well, you can always reseed. The fact is, gardens are by nature works in progress; nothing is ever complete, [...]
Gardening is an exciting hobby if for no other reason than no two days spent outside are exactly alike. Although the changes from day to day are incremental, go away for a week and you’re sure to notice how much things have changed the minute you pull into your driveway. Likewise, the shift from summer to fall brings sweeping changes to the landscape and to the rhythms of this hobby [...]
It’s been said that March is “in like a lion, out like a lamb,” and thankfully--at least for a few days each week--the latter half of this month has proved the axiom somewhat true, with pleasant weather and sunny days. As we inch toward warmer spring gardening weather and with daylight hours rapidly lengthening, there are some key tasks to accomplish outdoors this in these first weeks of spring—all of [...]
Foolish me—I thought that after all the rain we had from last October through early June, we might just escape the summer wildfire smoke we’ve experienced the last few years. Although some forecasters predicted a cool, wetter-than-normal summer, since early summer it’s been very dry and warm, and with wildfires burning once again in our mountains, even the most rain-weary among us are wishing for a good, soaking rain. With [...]
Summer in the Pacific Northwest is a glorious time of year filled with cascading colorful hanging baskets, blooming perennials, and abundant bouquets of hydrangea, roses, and dahlias—to name just a few! It’s easy in the abundance of the season to forget that it’s not always this way, but as much as I hate to remind you, summer’s glory will soon begin to fade. With fall planting season just around [...]
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