General Gardening
Ben Smith
Compost and Fertilizer - A Boring But Necessary ...

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…

Compost and Fertilizer - A Boring But Necessary Topic
Summer Gardening
Ben Smith
The Secrets Of Proper Summer Watering

Summer watering is inevitable in the northwest if we want to keep our landscapes green and healthy…

The Secrets Of Proper Summer Watering

General Gardening

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Snippin' And Clippin'

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Snippin' And Clippin'

If your garden is anything like mine, then you are probably busy watering, staking, checking for bugs and diseases, harvesting veggies and fruits and bouquets of flowers, and planting - at least those are the things that we all should be doing in August if we want to call ourselves gardeners.  I don’t think anyone ever manages to accomplish all the gardening chores they set out to do, but we should at least give it the old college try.  Just for fun, here are some of the things I have been doing in my garden…

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It's The Summer Of Love

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It's The Summer Of Love

I don’t know what it is about the months of July and August, but it seems like every year about this time I fall in love with my garden all over again.  For me, the spring season is more of a puppy love or infatuation, but the summer months are when true love really blossoms, both literally and figuratively.  It’s when my garden loves me back with all of its beauty and splendor…

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How To Plant In Summer

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How To Plant In Summer

A few weeks back I was harping about why gardeners don’t bother with compost and fertilizer when they are planting.  This week I feel the need to talk about the importance of good planting practices.  No matter where you purchase your plant material, I can guarantee you they will croak if it they aren’t planted properly.  Here are some of my tips to help you succeed…

Compost and Fertilizer - A Boring But Necessary Topic

Compost and Fertilizer - A Boring But Necessary Topic

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…

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The Changing Garden, What A Difference A Couple Of Weeks Can Make

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The Changing Garden, What A Difference A Couple Of Weeks Can Make

A few weeks back I was lamenting the fact that there were still so many bare spots in my new garden that needed to be filled in, due to plant failures from this last winter…  No matter how good of a gardener we might be, some things thrive while others just whimper away into oblivion.  Isn’t that the nature of gardening?

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Take Time To Enjoy The Season

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Take Time To Enjoy The Season

This is the time of year when it often feels like it is all happening at once.  It can be overwhelming to say the least.  Yet, here I am asking you to slow down and smell the proverbial roses…

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Lessons From The Garden

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Lessons From The Garden

I am feeling a bit philosophical today, so bear with me.  Last week I finally bit the bullet and got into the garden for my spring cleanup.  I had purposely left everything in the fall to die back naturally, as normally happens in nature.  In retrospect, I think it was a good idea as it provided lots of visual interest throughout the entire winter.  But alas, the time has come to remove the dead and rotting foliage from my perennials and evaluate just exactly what survived and what needed to be replaced.  Here is what I learned…

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Making ‘Sense’ Of ‘Scents’

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Making ‘Sense’ Of ‘Scents’

As a garden center owner for over three decades, I have seen all types of gardeners come in to shop for plants, and without exception, regardless of their level of skill, there is one common habit they all exhibit.  Show them a pretty flower and they will immediately plunge their schnozzola right into the heart of it to see if it has fragrance - we have all done it, myself included…

It's Show Time!

It's Show Time!

This week marks the beginning of the 33rd annual Northwest Flower and Garden Festival which will run February 15th to the 19th at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle (it should be the 34th but Covid shut it down in 2021).  This is a world class production that is sure to get you in the mood for the upcoming gardening season.  Every year I come away with some new ideas, a few new plant purchases, and an overall renewed excitement for gardening.  If you have yet to partake in this event, then you really should consider going this year…

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Recess Is Over, It’s Time For Action

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Recess Is Over, It’s Time For Action

After this last hard freeze, I am hoping that the worst is behind us and we can confidently get out into the garden and whip things back into shape.  While I realize February is still technically winter, it is also the beginning of spring for north westerners, and there is much to do before the actual spring season arrives.  Here are some timely tasks to consider…

Latest post from “The Golfing Gardener”:

The Golfing Gardener

Trevor Cameron

Featured
The Japanese Maple - A Tree For All Seasons
The Japanese Maple - A Tree For All Seasons

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…

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