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…
Here we are, the last week of August. The summer season is coming to an end, the kids (if you have any) are going back to school, our veggie beds and flower containers are winding down (although my overwintered geraniums seem to be just reaching their stride), and our lawns are parched (unless like me you are willing to spend your children’s inheritance to water it). That is all about to change…
Over the years I have written multiple columns on the merits of conifers, or what we like to call in the vernacular, “needle-leafed evergreens”. It always boggles my mind to think of the variety of evergreens available to the northwest gardener. In our little nursery alone, we offer 25 different genera and close to 300 individual varieties…
The Golfing Gardener
Trevor Cameron
I think all gardeners crave color and flower power that brings smiles to faces throughout their landscape. When we talk about options for summer-blooming shrubs, Roses and Hydrangeas stand above all others for both choice and longevity. Roses are for full sun, while depending on the variety, Hydrangeas can be for sun, partial sun or shade. I seem to write about…