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

annuals

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A Touch of the Tropics, The Sequel

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A Touch of the Tropics, The Sequel

We began our travels down the road to annuals last week, so I am not making any U-turns just yet as this week we will continue to talk color and tropical plants.  The vast majority of our landscapes are filled with…

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Spring Into Container Gardens

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Spring Into Container Gardens

Now that the temperatures have risen and we are heading towards the warmth of summer, it is the ideal time to add colorful containers to our decks, patios, porches and landscapes.  For many gardeners like me, this involves rejuvenating existing ones by…

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Don't Be Annoyed, Fill That Void!

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Don't Be Annoyed, Fill That Void!

I am going to go out on a limb here and make a brash statement: “perfection in the garden is fleeting”.  Yes, it is sadly true… Earlier this spring I was congratulating myself on how nicely all of my many perennials (probably too many if I am honest with myself) were knitting themselves together and gradually obliterating any bare, visible soil.  That is still happening, to be sure, but along the way some of my early bloomers have “gone over” and it is time to take another look at what I can plop in and around them to keep things looking colorful and interesting…

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Here's How To Have The Best-Looking Containers

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Here's How To Have The Best-Looking Containers

May is, without a doubt, the primary month for planting up our containers.  In the garden center you will find an endless supply of annuals and perennials ready to be creatively combined, for what will hopefully be a summer-long display of blooms.  But to be successful (as in “over the top” successful) with our pots, we need to pay attention to a few details.  Here are my thoughts on “growing in” containers…

Get Some Color In Your Garden, For Pete's Sake

Get Some Color In Your Garden, For Pete's Sake

May is high season in the garden center, when all levels of gardeners venture out for their annual spring ritual of adding some color to their yards.  Whatever level of gardener we might happen to be, I think it is safe to say that we all get the same rush of endorphins whenever we interject colorful plants into our gardens.  It is a feel-good kind of activity…

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March Madness (In The Garden!)

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March Madness (In The Garden!)

I know it is still bloody cold outside, but Mother Nature waits for no one.  Think of March as the fourth quarter in the game of gardening and it is time to score some points.  Here is a game plan that will help you win and go on to a victory over that evil opponent, Winter…

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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…

4 Great Reasons To Visit The Garden Center In August

4 Great Reasons To Visit The Garden Center In August

I was in the nursery the other weekend looking for some ideas for my next column, when it occurred to me: “What is it that draws shoppers into the garden center this time of year?”. Considering that there is nary a shy bone in my body, I thought, why not ask a few customers why they were there. This is what I found out…

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The Golfing Gardener

Trevor Cameron

Featured
A Summer of Perennials, Pollinators and Sunshine
A Summer of Perennials, Pollinators and Sunshine

I sincerely hope you are enjoying the onset of summer sunshine, and perhaps celebrated the summer solstice last week in style.  Nothing beats…

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