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…
The Fuchsia flower is somewhat unique in the world of gardening, sporting a pronounced corolla and often contrasting sepal color, all in a pendent-type flower. Over the eons, these are plants that have evolved right alongside their pollinating partners, the hummingbirds. They provide rich nectar for our winged friends, but also…
It’s funny how the meaning of some words can change over time. In a garden setting, having a “diverse” collection of plants is generally a good thing. One could say that the gardener embraces “diversity”. Likewise, if that same gardener “includes” many different genera in the landscape, you could state that the gardener embraces “inclusivity”. Now, before you get your hackles up, I have no intention of…
The Golfing Gardener
Trevor Cameron
At some point each spring I have to pay homage to our Washington state flower, the Rhododendron. We are in the midst of April and heading towards May soon, which means that the glorious time of year has arrived for Rhodies to shine in all of our landscapes…