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

Wreath Making Is Back Again - YAY!

Wreath Making Is Back Again - YAY!

For the last two years I have been missing one of my favorite activities this time of year… wreath making at my favorite garden center! Before the pandemic, wreath making had become an annual ritual for our family - it was part of our holiday season festivities, and to a large part helped get us into the mood. Well, I am happy to report that Sunnyside Nursery (along with several other garden centers in the area) are now offering this activity once again, and I for one can’t wait to reserve a spot. Here is a little information about what goes on behind the scenes to make this all happen…

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It's Time For A Little Clean Up

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It's Time For A Little Clean Up

Well, I think it is safe to say that our lovely, long-lasting summer is officially over. Between the nasty wind storm and few recent days of below freezing nights, it is time to get serious about putting the garden to bed. Here are a few tips to help your garden survive winter and come back in spring stronger than ever…

Here's How To Up Your Fall Gardening Game

Here's How To Up Your Fall Gardening Game

If you don’t like looking at sticks over the winter and loath having to rake leaves, then you might as well stop reading this and find something else to do. Plants that lose their leaves in the fall are the backbone of an interesting late season garden, and if your entire landscape consists of nothing but Conifers and Broadleaf Evergreens (like Rhodies and Azaleas), chances are this time of year is going to be pretty ho-hum. Using deciduous plants in our landscapes is an easy way to up our gardening game and move us ever closer to that elusive goal of “year ‘round interest”…

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Hardy Cyclamen - Cool Season Jewels

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Most gardeners are familiar with florist Cyclamen. They are popular during the cooler times of the year and are usually sold as a table decoration to be enjoyed indoors for a few weeks and then discarded…. However, there is a hardy relative to the florist Cyclamen that is perfect for our climate and every gardener should make some space for a small drift of them…

Fall Is For Planting, Don't Let The Weather Spoil It

Fall Is For Planting, Don't Let The Weather Spoil It

I would never have dreamt that I would be talking about such a “dry” subject (pun intended of course) as watering in the middle of October, but here we are, dealing with one of the longest stretches of no rain that I can remember in the 30 plus years that I have lived in the Pacific Northwest. Not only is it dry, but it is also…

It's Dry Out There, Water Your Yard... Please!

It's Dry Out There, Water Your Yard... Please!

I will be the first to admit that this extended warm and dry period (100 days with only one-half inch of rain) brings with it mixed blessings. On the one hand, all this sunshine keeps things growing and puts me in the mood to spend time in my garden where my perennials are in their full glory and the yard continues to be full of…

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Planting Containers In The 'Shoulder Season'

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Planting Containers In The 'Shoulder Season'

September and October can be tricky times of the year when it comes to our container plantings. Depending on our level of care, some of our pots may have…

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Something Coming And Something Going

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Something Coming And Something Going

It’s been almost 3 years since my wife and I moved into our new house, just 2 miles from the nursery. In the first year we did nothing to the yard, but the second year (2020)…

Latest post from “The Golfing Gardener”:

The Golfing Gardener

Trevor Cameron

Featured
Pet-Friendly Indoor Plants
Pet-Friendly Indoor Plants

We dove into oxygenating our indoor spaces with houseplants a couple of weeks ago, and now let’s continue our indoor discussion by investigate some superior pet-friendly options.  As the weather continues to cool and the wind and rain ramp up, it becomes easier and easier to garden indoors and work outside a bit less.  Many of us have…

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