Sitting at home on a cold, rainy day, I can’t help but dream of being in the garden or out hiking a trail, surrounded by plants and trees. This desire for connection is so important that it was given a name- ‘biophilia’ meaning our innate tendency to connect with nature around us. As the world…
There is truly nothing that compares to the beautiful, sweet fragrance of the flowering Winter Daphne aka Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’. Its scent is made even more remarkable by the fact that these light pink flowers, which emerge from purple buds, begin blooming in January! I always look for any excuse to pass one at a…
I have often been asked what my favorite part of working in the garden is- “To me, it’s the chance to see the different stages, as the gardens change with the seasons. Every visit back to a client’s garden gives me an opportunity to observe what we can do to help our gardens stay healthy…
Isn’t this plant a sight to behold? It stopped in my tracks as I drove through a client’s neighborhood in Mercer Island. It certainly has found its happy place in this garden. Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus), is a small, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub with distinctly palmate, aromatic, gray-green leaves. The upright, spreading habit creates a lovely…
One of the perks of volunteering at the Miller Garden is that I got a chance to go on a garden tour with the team last week to Vashon Island. As we took the ferry to Vashon Island on a misty morning, I had no clue how enchanting my day was going to be!
Every year the City of Bellevue celebrates Arbor Day / Earth Day with a family-oriented festival at one of its local parks. However, this year’s event at Lewis Creek Park on April 21st was very exciting and special to me. I was honored by Bellevue’s Mayor and officially declared as a Master Naturalist with the City of Bellevue.
A patch of green dotting every residential landscape is the mainstay of typical American suburbia. Come spring, the lawn becomes the focal point of yard maintenance. But is your yard safe for your pets, children and the environment?
After spending three days helping build a couple of the gardens, it is such a delight to see them all in their full glory. The artistry and the ingenuity of the designers is reflected in the various elements of the garden. The theme – A Floral Symphony is visible in both subtle and bold forms in all gardens at this year’s show.
Every year the Northwest Flower and Garden Show puts on a magnificent display of gardens that heralds spring in Seattle. The show opens on Feb 8th, but the setup has already begun. Would you believe that in just five days, the bare floors are magically transformed into large, spectacular gardens?
Winter is the perfect time to dream, visualize and plan a garden. Fortunately, the maritime climate of the Pacific Northwest makes it possible to start planting bare-root fruit trees and roses in mid-to late-winter (late Feb to early March).
It is snowing again! In the past few days, we have been inundated with more than 7” of snow. Making snowmen and snow angels has been so delightful. The trees are covered with snow and there are icicles on the roof. It’s winter wonderland in my garden.
One of the big pluses of living in the Pacific Northwest is the abundance of natural areas all around us, even in urban and sub-urban settings. Some of us have property adjoining the woodlands, while some have lush ravines and streams flowing through their environs. This beauty is sometimes, marred by piles of yard waste dumped across the fence into the natural area.