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...
Apr 24, 2017 | Garden Care, Recommended Plants
We all enjoy the beauty and fragrance of flowers in our yard. If you also take pleasure in having flowers in your home, you may want to plant a cutting garden. Flowering plants give your garden an extra advantage: they attract beneficial insects. Beneficial insects,...
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 2, 2017 | Garden Care, Recommended Plants
Are you thinking about adding new plants to your yard? Are you planning this year’s vegetable garden? You will have the best results if you use regional or local sources and choose varieties that will grow well in our Northwest climate. For plants, it is best to...
Feb 23, 2017 | Recommended Plants
In late February the wet, gray days of winter may weigh us down. A splash of color in the garden can lift our spirits. Here are a few plants for early season color that you may want to add to your landscape. These plants bloom in late winter or early spring....
Jan 19, 2017 | Garden Care, Landscape Design, Lawn Care, Nature, Recommended Plants
Are you contemplating changes to your landscape? Perhaps a new patio, updated plantings or a water feature? Check out Houzz for ideas. Houzz is a photo-based platform for home and garden remodeling and design. Browse thousands of photos and save them to ideabooks....
Nov 17, 2016 | Disease Control, Recommended Plants, Tree Care
Phomopsis is a fungus that causes shoot blight and twig cankers. The disease is most common among junipers. Phomopsis may also affect other evergreen ornamentals and a few deciduous trees. This may include American and Oriental arborvitae, hinoki cypress, English yew,...
Aug 25, 2016 | Disease Control, Garden Care, Recommended Plants
Late summer in western Washington provides ideal conditions for powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is common on a wide range of plants, including annuals, perennials, food crops and ornamental shrubs. To help you manage it, we are updating a post on powdery mildew from...
Aug 16, 2016 | Garden Care, Pest Control, Recommended Plants
Plants that are drought stressed are more susceptible to insect pests and diseases. As we discussed in last week’s post about drought stress in trees, stressed plants often emit distress signals that many damaging insects pick up on. We are seeing signs of lace...
Aug 2, 2016 | Recommended Plants
Many gardens look spent and tired in August. The early perennials have bloomed and faded, and many annuals have died back. But late summer and fall can be a great time for vibrant, colorful flowers. Here are some ideas for flowers that will bloom from now into fall....
Jun 23, 2016 | Eco-friendly Gardening, Recommended Plants
One of the best things you can do to honor National Pollinator Week, June 20-26, is to plant wildflowers, flowering shrubs and native plants in your garden. Bees, butterflies and other pollinators use nectar as their primary food source. Choose plants that bloom at...
Jun 7, 2016 | Recommended Plants, Watering
It’s been hot in the Seattle area–already. Will we have another extremely hot and dry summer like last year? Last year was outside the norm, but climate change is likely to mean more heat and less water in the summer. How much will you want to water your...
Mar 8, 2016 | Disease Control, Garden Care, Recommended Plants
Many people love the beauty and fragrance of roses. But growing roses in western Washington can be challenging. Our moist, cool weather is ideal for diseases such as black spot, rust and powdery mildew. Roses are high-maintenance plants in our region. They are not...
Feb 16, 2016 | Recommended Plants, Tree Care, Video
Do you like the idea of eating apples off your own tree? Perhaps you haven’t planted a tree because you have heard that our damp climate makes it challenging to grow apples. The good news is that you can successfully grow healthy, delicious apples in western...
Dec 8, 2015 | Landscape Design, Recommended Plants
Would you like to add visual interest and texture to your landscape but don’t have room for another large tree? A number of gorgeous evergreens are available that work well in small gardens. Some are mounded shrubs, and others are columnar trees. The Great Plant...
