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

pruning hydrangeas

Last Chance To Prune Spring Flowering Shrubs And Perennials

As we move through the end of May it becomes imperative that any pruning (think shaping and also about next year’s flower production) of spring flowering shrubs, like Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Lilacs, and Forsythias, needs to be done NOW. The rule is simple: “Prune after bloom”…

February Is "Prunuary"

February Is "Prunuary"

There are lots of tasks we could dwell on for the month of February, including nipping weeds in the bud, planting early blooming perennials, controlling moss in the lawn, and general clean up of any left over debris from winter. But by far, the most important task of all is pruning. I do the vast majority of my pruning in the month of February, so let’s drill down to some specifics…

It's Time To Prune The Hydrangeas

It's Time To Prune The Hydrangeas

Of all the classes that we offer here at the nursery, pruning is always the most popular. And, of all the different types of plants that need to be pruned, hydrangeas are probably the most confusing. Hopefully, I can help clear the air on how to properly prune these extremely popular shrubs….

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The Golfing Gardener

Trevor Cameron

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The Elegant Versatility of Evergreens
The Elegant Versatility of Evergreens

I often tell gardeners in our region to rediscover their “Evergreen State”, which (in a play on words) simply means to show some gardening style with the structure, texture and color of conifers.  Around here nature has the many shades of green covered, but how about some bold blues and bright yellows?  When all of the deciduous shrubs and trees have…

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