Feb 15, 2018 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Recommended Plants
Are you looking for an easy way to reduce weeds in your garden? Plant more groundcovers. Weeds will invade bare ground. Adding groundcovers to landscape beds fills in bare spaces and shades the soil. Weeds will have a tough time sprouting and growing without sunlight....
Feb 6, 2018 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care
Would you like to have more fruits and flowers in your yard? One way is to bring in mason bees. Making a home for mason bees in your yard will increase your fruit harvest and encourage native plants. You have probably read about the alarming decline in bees and other...
Nov 14, 2017 | Disease Control, Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Video
We are now applying effective microorganisms to our clients’ trees and shrubs. This is a mixture of beneficial bacteria and beneficial fungi. It builds biological activity in soils, helping your plants to stay healthy. This video explains what EM is, what it...
Oct 24, 2017 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Landscape Design
Autumn is a great time to evaluate your landscape. How did it react to the lengthy, dry weather we had this past summer? Autumn is also a great time to get your garden ready for the winter rains. The steps you take now can also help to make your landscape more...
Jun 20, 2017 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Recommended Plants
This week, June 19-25, is National Pollinator Week. It is a time to celebrate the valuable services we get from bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles. Ten years ago the U.S. Senate unanimously approved naming a week in June as “National Pollinator Week.” It was a...
Jun 15, 2017 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Nature
In today’s online world, it can be tough to get your children away from their screens. Your garden is a great place to have fun with your kids. They get a chance to get dirty. And you get a chance to teach them about food, flowers, bugs and more. Activities...
May 8, 2017 | Disease Control, Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Video
We are currently spraying compost tea on our clients’ trees and shrubs. People tell us they have seen great benefits from compost tea, including healthier plants with more growth and greater vigor, less disease and more flowers. We have been using and brewing...
Apr 27, 2017 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Nature
April is Earth Month. Each week we are featuring a blog post about steps you can take in your own landscape to help protect our planet. This week’s feature is about helping keep the air clean and the planet cool. Help keep the air clean: Switch to a...
Apr 18, 2017 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Nature
Earth Day is Saturday, April 22. Many local organizations are sponsoring events in honor of the day. Take a few hours to engage, learn and work to keep our planet healthy for the long term. Here are a few events to consider. Join people around the world for the March...
Apr 11, 2017 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Pest Control, Wildlife
April is Earth Month. Each week this month we will feature a blog post about steps you can take to help protect our planet. This week’s feature is good bugs and birds. Welcome bees and other beneficial insects, birds and other wildlife to your yard. Attracting good...
Apr 4, 2017 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Lawn Care, Recommended Plants, Watering
April is Earth Month. Each week this month we will feature a blog post about steps you can take to help protect our planet. This week’s feature is water quality. The steps you take in your yard and garden can have a big impact on how clean our lakes and streams...
Mar 23, 2017 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Pest Control
Most of us recognize an adult lady beetle (lady bug). But many don’t know the larvae. They’re weird-looking critters: we may think they’re dangerous. But they are valuable predators of garden pests. Lady beetle larvae are alligator-shaped with black...
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...
Feb 9, 2017 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Garden Care, Nature, Video
You’ve probably heard about mason bees, the small, peaceful bees that are great pollinators. These non-aggressive bees are safe to have around kids and pets. They don’t live in a hive but are solitary bees. You can buy or rent mason bee houses to pollinate...
Jan 31, 2017 | Community, Eco-friendly Gardening, Tree Care, Video
Cass Turnbull, author, tree defender and founder of PlantAmnesty, died on January 26 while vacationing in Hawaii. She suffered a fatal heart attack after a swim. Cass was 65. We share the shock and sadness of the rest of the Northwest gardening community at the loss...
