A map I recently saw showed that the northern latitudes of the continental United States gain an average of 100 minutes of daylight over the course of the month of March. That statistic begs the question: what are you going to do with that extra hour and a half of daylight each day? Of course, if you’re reading this, chances are you’ll spend a good portion of that time [...]
After a challenging start to winter here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s beginning to look like we may escape the cold, snowy weather that February has offered in recent years. Although we still may get some winter weather in March, the chance of anything severe or long-lasting decreases with each passing week, so I feel somewhat safe in embracing the spring weather we’re enjoying! As you begin to get out [...]
With some of the coldest temperatures we've seen in years forecast for the Pacific Northwest in the coming days--and with winter officially just beginning--now is the time to take action to protect any tender or at-risk plants you have outdoors from winter damage. While this is far from a comprehensive guide to protecting plants in winter, here are a few quick tips to keep your plants happy and healthy no [...]
In the last few weeks, the lives of many people around our county and region were upended, with homes, farms, and businesses damaged or destroyed by raging floodwaters. While fixing damage to structures and vehicles has been the primary focus in the intervening days, many yards and gardens have sustained significant damage as well. If your yard was overwhelmed by flooding, here are a few tips to help repair and [...]
As much as I love gardening, I also love the opportunity for rest that late fall and winter offer. November presents us a chance to wrap up the last of our garden cleanup and put our yards to bed for winter. As the gardening season draws to a close, here are a few things I’m going to be doing around my yard this month and would encourage you to do [...]
With regular soaking rains, cool temperatures, and crisp sunny days marked by the slanting rays of a sun sinking further into the southern sky, there’s little doubt that autumn is here to stay. As you work at cleaning up your yard and getting your garden ready for winter, here are a few items to keep your lawn and garden healthy and thriving throughout the months to come. First, while our [...]
Late summer in the garden can be both a challenging and rewarding time, with increased insect and disease issues at a time when plants are their most productive or beautiful. You’ve cared for your garden this many months, watering, fertilizing, and carefully tending to your plants’ needs—so let’s finish the summer strong. Here are a few tips to keep your garden healthy and looking its best as fall looms just [...]
I’m not the athletic sort, so forgive me for mixing metaphors when I say that we gardeners have to learn to roll with the punches when life throws us curveballs. Whatever word picture you prefer, the heat and sun we experienced late last month was a curveball we’ll talk about for a long time. As you clean up damaged plants and try to help your garden recover, here are some [...]
For anyone who has paid attention to the weather over at least the last several years, it seems like our winter here in the Pacific Northwest often happens in the latter half of the season. Although we had a mild start to winter, recent weather has brought us some bitter cold, northeast wind, and snow--Pacific Northwest winter in its truest form. For those of us who love to garden, this [...]
I love gardening, and chances are if you’re reading this, you do too. Unique among many hobbies is gardening’s accessibility—just about anyone of any age with any amount of skill living in any sort of home can exercise their green thumb and discover the joy of growing something. Along with successes come challenges, though, and I’m not immune to the failures we all experience in the garden. With hopes that [...]
