Mar 27, 2023 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Landscape Care, Video
Spring is a great time of year to add mulch to your landscape beds. Here are some tips on how to use mulch properly. Benefits of mulch Winter: Mulch insulates soil. This aids soil microorganisms and helps your plants survive cold temperatures. It also helps reduce...
Sep 28, 2022 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Landscape Care
This is a great time of year to think about mulching your landscape. A recent article in the Seattle Times presents pro tips on how to mulch. Mulch your soil like nature does, says professional gardener Christina Pfeiffer. Think of your landscape like a woodland, with...
Feb 15, 2021 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Landscape Care, Video
Benefits of mulch Mulch is one of the best things you can do for your landscape. Mulch has many benefits throughout the year. Here are tips on the dos and don’ts of mulch. In winter, mulch insulates soil. This provides a warmer environment for earthworms,...
Apr 26, 2019 | Garden Care, Video, Watering
A thick layer of mulch is an effective way to reduce your plants’ water needs. A few inches of mulch insulates the soil and helps to keep it from drying out. As our summers get hotter and drier, mulch is increasingly important to help keep your plants and trees from...
Mar 1, 2018 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Video
How much time last year did you spend pulling weeds in your garden? Wouldn’t you rather spend that time enjoying your garden? Here is a tip: mulch is an effective way to reduce weed growth. It won’t stop weeds completely, but it will dramatically curtail...
Feb 14, 2017 | Disease Control, Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Video
Mulch has many benefits for the garden. It reduces weed growth, protects the soil from extremes of cold and hot weather, reduces watering needs and drought stress, feeds the soil for healthier plants, helps prevent the spread of diseases and prevents erosion. In...
Sep 1, 2015 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Video
Mulch is one of the best things you can do for your garden. Learn about different types of mulch, including bark, arborist chips, compost and sheet mulch. Find out how to properly apply mulch to save water and reduce weeds. Share this...
Apr 30, 2024 | Garden Care, Recommended Plants
People love roses. But they are notoriously difficult to grow in our western Washington climate. The moist, cool weather in western Washington is ideal for rose diseases such as black spot, rust and powdery mildew. Some of our most popular blog posts over the years...
Apr 16, 2024 | Lawn Care
Would you like to help the earth in your own yard this Earth Day? Then change your lawn care practices. Growing a Bee Friendly Lawn will help our native bees, along with birds and other beneficial insects. And your lawn will look better, with less impact on the earth....
Mar 21, 2024 | Lawn Care, Pest Control
What’s the deal with chafer beetles? The European chafer beetle is a serious lawn pest. The grubs feed on lawn roots in spring and fall. This kills the grass and leaves visible dead patches. The worst damage, however, comes from crows, raccoons, skunks and other...
Dec 5, 2023 | Community, Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Landscape Care, Landscape Design, Recommended Plants
Are you looking for a gift for a gardener in your life? Or perhaps it’s time to buy something for yourself. Gardening books can provide inspiration during the wet and dark days of winter. Here are ideas for a few books from local authors. Get the benefit of...
Oct 30, 2023 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Landscape Care, Lawn Care
This time of year, leaves are falling off the trees and piling up around your yard. What should you do with your leaves? Leave them in your garden beds A great strategy for garden beds is just to leave the leaves where they fall. They provide numerous benefits....
Oct 11, 2023 | Garden Care, Landscape Care, Lawn Care
Would you like to have a healthier, thriving, more attractive garden next year? Fall is a great time to take stock of your landscape and make plans for the next growing season. Take a stroll around your yard and make an honest evaluation. What looks good? What looks...
Sep 14, 2023 | Garden Care, Landscape Care, Recommended Plants, Video
The season is changing. Fall is in the air, and nighttime temperatures are cooler. Here are some things you may want to do in your landscape in September. Keep watering until it rains We have not seen much rain yet this month, with little or no rain predicted in the...
Aug 24, 2023 | Garden Care, Landscape Care, Lawn Care, Tree Care, Watering
The climate is changing, with “normal” weather proving more elusive. This affects how we approach our landscapes. “Aberrant temperatures with searing heat and extended drought, or heavy wind and rain, crippling snowstorms and treacherous ice might...