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. [...]
This week’s forecast: nothing but sunshine. While the webbed-feet crowd can bemoan that spring’s rain has transitioned solidly to dry summer weather, we can all appreciate the fact that summer brings with it the abundance of a garden harvest, days spent at the lake or the bay, and relaxing in the cool of the day outside on the deck. As you work in the garden this month, here are a [...]
Early season produce is beginning to ripen in gardens, strawberry stands are sharing their sweet harvest, and long days mean evening fun watching kids shoot hoops or play in the yard. All this can mean only one thing: summer has arrived. With the arrival of a new season, our tasks in the garden shift slightly, giving gardeners a new set of goals to keep plants performing their best throughout the [...]
We gardeners are drawn to shiny new things—the lure of something new causes us to browse seed catalogs, stroll the aisles at garden centers, and try to convince our spouse to carve out just a little more flowerbed space. Admittedly, new introductions are exciting, but what I find most attractive are improvements on tried-and-true plants—something old, made new. As you get started with planting shrubs and perennials around your yard [...]
Sitting outside the other night, I was struck by how early it was getting dark. It should come as no surprise—after all, last I checked, this happens every year—but I’m always disappointed the first time I notice the days getting markedly shorter. Especially this year, when decent weather didn’t arrive until later in June, it’s hard to accept the fact that we’re firmly into late summer. As you tend to [...]
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 [...]
Puffy white clouds in a bright blue sky, tassled sweet corn beginning to mature, and dahlias in full bloom—this is summer in the Pacific Northwest. After a delayed start to the warm weather this year, we’ve finally enjoyed some real summer temperatures and sunny days in the last month. As your garden offers the best of its summer glory before the decline into autumn, here are some tips to [...]
Plants don’t lie: vegetable gardens are giving the last of their abundance and the maple trees are showing the first of fall reds in their uppermost branches. Regardless how firmly we try to grasp the fading rays of summer, the seasons march on and autumn is arriving. As you gear up for the new season, here are a few tips to make the most of early autumn around the [...]
To people who don’t live in the Pacific Northwest, it almost sounds unreal to say our summers are dry. So stereotyped is our corner of the world as an always-drizzling moss-covered region that many don’t realize how dry it can be from July through September. One look, however, at the heat-stressed pots on your patio reveals the truth: summer is dry! To keep your hanging baskets and pots going [...]
Late summer is upon us, and with it, the joys of eating dinner on the deck and relishing the last weeks of warm weather before autumn arrives. Besides back-to-school shopping, late summer is the perfect time to schedule some preventative insect control for your lawn, prune some shrubs, and show your flowers and hanging baskets some extra love. First, now is a crucial time to apply grub killer to [...]
