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, [...]
Thank you to everyone who came out for our Christmas Open House! We enjoyed seeing so many faces--familiar and new--and were honored to be a part of your holiday celebrations. Have a wonderful Christmas season! It's that time of year once again--our Christmas open house at Vander Giessen's! For many of the 86 years we've been in business, we've hosted an open house to kick off the Christmas [...]
In today's fast, self-focused world, even the best of us often forget to say thank you. Gratitude is a long-since forgotten virtue in modern society--and if you need any convincing of that, just look at how Thanksgiving has been sidelined for the more commercialized holidays that flank it on the calendar, Halloween and Christmas. If anything, Thanksgiving is only recognized for the turkey and football, with little thought given [...]
As the last of autumn’s beauty succumbs to the effects of time and weather, we’re reminded that once again, the seasons are changing. With short, dark November days upon us, it’s time to wrap up the work around the yard and put your garden beds to sleep for the winter. In the short hours of daylight we have to work with this time of year, here are a few things [...]
Each year at the nursery we take questions from customers asking what type of soil we have--is it acidic, neutral or basic? Some people even go to the work of buying a pH test to determine for themselves just how acidic or basic their soil is. Frankly, though, it's hardly worth the money to have your soil professionally tested. Why? Our soil in the Northwest is notoriously acidic. Period. If [...]
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 [...]
All of our pumpkins are now sold out for the season. See details for other sale items below, and hurry in for best selection. Fall has arrived at the nursery! We're fully stocked with pumpkins, corn stalks, fall flowers and more for making your front porch look its best this season. With the weather shifting from summer to fall, now is the time to refresh your front porch [...]
In an old comic strip I read recently, the characters lamented the fact that even though the days of July and August are some of the longest of the year, the months seem the shortest. Indeed, summer’s balmy weather and long days are fading quickly, and as September ushers in the shortening of daylight hours and the beginning of a new season, it’s time to make the transition to early [...]
Hydrangeas are one of the quintessential flowers of summer, with their large, colorful blooms brightening the garden starting in late June or early July. Of the dozens of varieties we sell each year, we grow a fresh crop of some of our favorite varieties for mid-to-late summer, and this crop is blooming now and ready for transplant into your garden. Included in our 2024 summer crop are some of [...]
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. [...]
