It is time to plant spring-blooming bulbs in our northwest gardens, and nothing could be easier. Garden centers everywhere are well stocked with colorful packages of these sometimes odd-looking…
It pains me to see customers spending hundreds of dollars on new plants and simultaneously refusing to spend a few more on a bag or two of compost and a box of starter fertilizer. These two items are not unnecessary “add-ons” that the retailer is just trying to add to the sale, they are critical components of a successful transplanting process - or as I like to refer to them as “plant insurance”. Unless you have phenomenal soil, you should always add compost and starter fertilizers when you are planting new plants. Here is why…
I often refer to myself as a “plant enabler”, a sort of legal dealer that tries his best to hook his customers up with the best plants for their landscapes. Plants are easy to get addicted to, believe me, and running a garden center means you are surrounded on a daily basis by treasures that beckon you to take them home, plant them, and watch them flourish - even if you are out of room, just ask my poor wife. If I jump in a time machine to some 30 years ago, I can see…