Warm days, blue skies, and the joyful shrieks of kids splashing in the pool or running through a sprinkler—this is summer in the Pacific Northwest. As you enjoy long evenings spent on the deck or out in the garden, summer is a time to watch your spring plantings grow and thrive. While you tend to your plants this month, here are a few key tips to ensure success in your [...]
Summer is here, and now is the time to finish planting the pots, hanging baskets and flowerbeds around your house. To help your gardening budget go further, nearly all of our annuals in the greenhouse are now on sale Buy 1, Get 2 FREE! Included in our sale are the following items: 4.5" Basket Stuffers 6-Pack Annuals 4" Premium Annuals 6" Regal Geraniums 6" Papyrus 6" Black-Eyed Susan Vines [...]
With school buses making their final rounds for the school year and last weekend’s short heat wave, my mindset is shifting to enjoying summer in the Pacific Northwest. Our region boasts some of the most gorgeous scenery and comfortable climate you’ll find anywhere in the summer, but one thing it’s not: the tropics. Whether you’re staying home this summer and want to make the most of your backyard spaces or [...]
My Grandma Vos—long-time owner of Vander Giessen's and gardener par excellence—often advised her customers that “God’s colors don’t clash” when picking out flowers. Her point in offering such advice was to encourage customers to plant what looked good to them; after all, gardening is meant to be fun, so why stress over what plants “work”? Whether you like bold, saturated colors in your containers or prefer the muted elegance [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
As the state flower of Washington, rhododendrons hold a special place in our heart here at Vander Giessen's. With their love of our mild, wet winters, evergreen foliage, and showstopping blooms in spring, rhododendrons are a must-have for any Pacific Northwest garden. And while many gardeners have unpleasant memories of overgrown, ugly rhododendrons in their yards as kids, many of today's varieties--and the vast majority of the selections we [...]
As the snow of the last two weeks begins to melt and we slowly return to a normal weather pattern for February with rain and milder temperatures, it’s time to start thinking about early spring. Indeed, prior to the recent cold snap, the early signs of a new season were beginning to appear, and as the days get markedly longer and the ground begins to thaw, spring will be here [...]
January in the Pacific Northwest can present a challenge for gardeners caught in the “almost, but not yet.” As is often the case, we’re sitting square in the middle of a mild stretch of weather—not spring-warm, but not winter-cold, either. Lest we forget, though, winter in western Washington often arrives later in the season—so often, February brings cold and snow. As you anticipate the coming season, here are a [...]
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, [...]
© 2026 Vander Giessen Nursery, Inc. • All rights reserved • 401 E. Grover St, Lynden WA 98264
