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 [...]
Early autumn in Pacific Northwest is arguably the best time of year–cool, crisp mornings, warm sunny afternoons, and the return of occasional rains to help water the garden as you enjoy the waning days of harvest and summer’s final wave of blooms. Additionally, early autumn is the best time of year to plant, whether shrubs, trees, or perennials, and offers the opportunity to refresh your planters for a new season. [...]
The late Robin Williams famously said, “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” For gardeners, it’s easy to understand the sentiment—with bulbs bursting into bloom, flowering cherries and forsythia showing off their bright spring colors, and a kaleidoscope of other spring flowers soon to come into bloom, the fun time of year in the garden is just beginning. As you start working around your yard this month, here are [...]
A piece I read in a magazine the other day encouraged me to change my attitude about the things on my to-do list—to see the work not as a chore but as an opportunity and a blessing. As we look at our final gardening tasks for the season, let’s “switch the O to an E”: focus not on the things we’ve “got” to do, but on the things we “get” [...]
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 [...]
When our son was three, he used to get excited when he would hear a “fever bird”—chickadee, to the rest of us—singing its spring melody. With a call that to the anticipating ear does sound like a sweetly-spoken “fee-ver,” the chickadee’s song reminds me now each spring of the excitement I feel as the new season arrives. As spring begins, let’s consider a few of the tasks to get started [...]
With the screams of kids enjoying carnival rides and the wafting smells of fried foods, the telltale signs of the Northwest Washington Fair can mean only one thing: early autumn is just around the corner. However, if this year’s weather proves anything like last year—and frankly, many years—we still have nearly two months of summerlike weather ahead of us, so now is no time to give up on the garden. [...]
Gardeners are by nature learners. This hobby we call “gardening” is not one to be mastered—with new plants, new insect and disease issues, and weather conditions constantly in flux, the school of gardening has no graduates as we all learn more skills and gain fresh knowledge with each passing season. As spring unfolds, you may be discovering new issues around your yard you need to address, so let’s dive into [...]
Charles Dickens once wrote of sunny March days as “summer in the light and winter in the shade.” With the promise of sunny, warmer weather arriving in the coming days, the chilly late winter we’ve been experiencing lately may begin to shift to real spring, when even the shade isn’t so wintry. As we gardeners excitedly get outside to feel the sun on our skin and work the soil in [...]
Looking out my window, the maples and sumacs in my neighbors’ yards are proudly showing their fiery fall colors, the last of the cucumbers are ripening in my vegetable garden, and the zinnias and dahlias are beginning to wind down their summer blooms. As autumn tightens its grip on our corner of the world, October is the month to begin preparations for winter and take the first steps toward a [...]
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