Gardening is a hobby best shared with friends. Not to say that there’s no benefit to being alone in the garden—I think most gardeners would confess to loving the solitude that time in the garden can offer. But in the end, what would gardening be without a friend to visit with while you cut dahlia bouquets, an acquaintance on whose porch you anonymously leave a pile of zucchini (August 8 [...]
In the last few weeks, our weather has rapidly shifted from endless summer to early winter, with little more than colorful foliage and pumpkins on the porch to remind us that indeed, it is still fall. As you enjoy the fall colors mingled with a chance of snowflakes, now is the time to put your garden to bed for winter, so here are a few tips to prepare your plants [...]
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 [...]
It may not feel much like spring yet, with near-zero temperatures and multiple winter snowstorms blowing through our area in the last few weeks. And while we’re not yet out of the woods yet—don’t shoot the messenger but the bulk of our winter weather often arrives between late January and early March—now is the time to begin preparing for and dreaming of a new season of gardening. This month, here [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Photographers call it the “golden hour,” that magical first hour after sunrise and last hour before sunset when the lighting is just perfect for photography. If I might, I think we gardeners could borrow the idea for our hobby, for certainly September is one of the “golden months.” With warm days, cool nights, abundant sunshine but occasional showers—this time of year is just about perfect in my book. As we [...]
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 Christmas songs—and frankly, with the year we’ve had, I think we could all use the extra joy that a good old-fashioned Christmas carol brings. Although not really a Christmas song, “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music has somehow worked its way into standard radio Christmas repertoire, and hearing it lately has gotten me to think of some of my favorite things in gardening over the [...]
