As we move into March the pace of activity in the garden accelerates and the number of interesting plants that could keep our gardens from being boring increases.  With the mild winter we seem to be about two weeks ahead of schedule, so there are lots of opportunities for adding interest to the garden.  Here are some standouts for a “typical” March...

In case you haven’t noticed, spring has sprung!  Last month we shifted into first gear and this month it is second gear.  It’s time to make sure your seat belt is fastened tight, because it’s going to be a wild ride.  Here’s your roadmap for March…

I just spent 5 days over the holidays in Plain Washington, near Leavenworth, with a bunch of friends hunkered down in a cabin surrounded by snow and cold temperatures.  It was obvious that it was still the dead of winter.  On the way home, as I reached the lower elevations, I was amazed to see how many plants were coming out of dormancy and starting to bloom.  Yes folks, spring is almost here.  I spotted crocus, snowdrops, daffodils and a Winter Daphne who’s fragrance I could almost smell as I drove by.  A Witch hazel, cornelian cherry, several varieties of hellebores and, just starting to crack color, a delightful buttercup winter hazel with its primrose yellow bells.  The last plant I noticed just up the road from my home was one that I consider to be a true harbinger of spring — flowering quince.

I have three great opportunities for you this week, just in case you are not quite ready to get your hands dirty.  First and foremost, the 28th annual Northwest Flower and Garden Show runs this Wednesday through Sunday at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.  This is a world class production that is sure to get you in the mood for the upcoming gardening season. 

As I promised in January, every month throughout this year I am going to give you a list of plants that I think are worthy of adding interest to our gardens.  If you plant a few from each month’s list your garden will magically evolve into a 4-seasons-of-interest landscape that you will find yourself drawn into to discover who’s on stage for the month.  So without further adieu, here is act two of this twelve act performance.

The Pacific Northwest has an ideal climate to grow all sorts of berries, from strawberries and blue berries to black berries and raspberries and 2016 once again is bringing gardeners several new flavors to choose from.  Here are my picks for this year.

Remember how I said that January was a slow month in the garden, sort of like idling where the engine is running but we aren't really going anywhere?  Well, February is when we move out of neutral and shift into first gear.  There is a whole lot going on this month so let's get to it.

Northwest gardeners have a unique opportunity this time of year, it’s called bare root season and it only lasts through the end of March.  Here is what it is all about…

There’s no point in letting the politicians have all the fun.  I too can put together a synopsis of this past year and make predictions for this coming year, so here goes nothing...

Okay folks, here’s the deal… There isn’t a day that goes by that a customer doesn’t come into my garden center and ask me how they can achieve year around interest in their garden.  My reply is always the same, “Come to the garden center once a month, buy something that looks interesting to you and in 12 months you will have year ‘round interest in your garden”.  So to make this as simple as possible I have decided to give you a monthly list of plants I think you should have in your garden to keep things from being boring.  I call them my Boring Yard Busters or BYB’s for short.  Here are my recommendations for January...