Pacific Northwest Regional Report

Flaunt Your Personality with Garden Art

Garden art must be one of the fastest-growing trends. Artful garden accessories seem to be everywhere -- from the grocery store to booths at the local farmers' markets. In fact, if you can walk past all the gazing balls and obelisks and sculptural...
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Resources

Learn About Insects!
Mahonia, A Shrub for All Seasons

Feed Tomatoes
Practice Good Garden Sanitation
Keep Composting
Prolong Blooming of Roses
Prune Flowering Shrubs

A Handy Set of Tools

I'm a sucker for a new garden tool. I've got more than six shovels, a dozen pruning shears, loads of trowels, a boxful of pruning saws ... and the list goes on. In my backyard there is a shed full of stuff. So when I taught a class on garden tools to...
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Resources

Elephant Ears
Disinfecting and Cleaning Pots

Water Containers Regularly
Prune Back Flowers
Watch for Tomato Pests
Prevent Spider Mite Invasions
Give a Final Feeding to Perennials

Attracting a Bounty of Butterflies

I know summer has arrived when I can stand quietly in the garden and watch butterflies flitting over the flowers in search of nectar. With careful planning and plant selection, it's possible for you to capture some of that quiet beauty in your own...
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Resources

Japanese Barberry
Pinching Plants

Eradicate Weeds
Plant More Veggies
Build a Wasp Trap
Prevent Cucumber Bitterness
Water Early and Often

Slimy Slugs, Slippery Snails

Whenever I spot a trail of glistening slime leading across a leaf or flower, I know that a slug or snail has been feasting. I'm always amazed at the amount of damage they can do in a relatively short period of time. Slugs and snails are mollusks,...
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Resources

Earthworms
Garden Glove Care

Cut Back Leggy Annuals
Divide Bearded Iris
Keep Lawn Mower Blades Sharp
Mound Soil Around Carrots
Control Apple Maggots

Propagating Plants by Layering

One spring years ago while I was cleaning leaves away from the base of my favorite hydrangea, I discovered that a low-growing branch had rooted where it touched the ground, producing a new little plant. I snipped the stem between mother and baby and...
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Resources

Container Water Gardens
'Stella d'Oro' Daylily

Start Rose Cuttings
Watch for Spittle Bugs
Fertilize Vegetables and Small Fruits
Check Vegetables for Tiny Pests
Get Weeds Before They Seed

Should Trees Be Staked?

It used to be common practice to stake newly planted trees by encircling their trunks with guy wires attached to vertical supports. But staking has probably killed as many trees as it has helped, simply because so many of them were never unstaked. As...
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Resources

Diascia
Flowering Greeting Cards

Build a Flower Basket
Check for Insects
Thin Seedlings
Thin Apples
Fertilize Lawns

Dynamic, Dependable Dahlias

Now that soil and air temperatures have warmed, it's time to plant dahlias. I never met a dahlia I didn't like. They come in all sizes, from dwarf plants that can be tucked away in a border to almost bush-like giants. They have a variety of bloom shapes...
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Resources

Help with Plant Problems
Making More Plants

Store Extra Seed
Leave Grass Clippings
Fertilize Plants
Encourage Asparagus Foliage
Keep Records

Plant Hellebores for Winter Color

When I began gardening almost 30 years ago, I planted reliable, easy-care perennials and shied away from anything even remotely demanding. After years of getting dirt under my fingernails, my attitude changed. Now I love the challenge of growing plants...
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Resources

Portland Rose Festival
Hosta 'Great Expectations'

Check for Insects
Conserve Water
Apply Organic Mulch
Plant Warm-Season Veggies
Prevent Powdery Mildew Disease

In Celebration of Annuals

Since they only stay in the garden for one season, annuals offer an opportunity to experiment with different foliage textures and flower colors each and every year. If you don't like the effect you've created one year, you can simply chalk it up to...
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Resources

Garden Puns and Wisdom
Diascia, a Nonstop Performer

Divide Hostas
Make Inexpensive Plant Markers
Combat Spittlebugs
Clean Pruning Saws
Set Out Convenient Weed Receptacles

Scent Underfoot

Colorful and fragrant, thymes are diminutive perennial herbs suitable for any sunny, dry, well-drained spot. I use them between pavers, along walks, and at the top of rock walls where they cascade down in soft mats and root between the rocks. More...
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Resources

Field Guide to Insects
Bleeding Heart

Renew Ornamental Grasses
Propagate Dianthus
Plant Extra Veggies
Aerate Your Lawn
Measuring with Ease

Spring Rose Pruning

Growing hybrid tea and floribunda roses in the Pacific Northwest can be a challenge. Despite all the coddling we give them, our cool, wet summers are not at all to their liking. I've found that the best approach is planting the most disease-resistant...
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Resources

Directory of Horticultural Web Sites
Soil and Composting

Choosing Healthy Bedding Plants
Add Wood Ashes
Outwit Cats
Overseed Lawns
Keep a Garden Calendar

Pacific Northwest Regional Report

Flaunt Your Personality with Garden Art

Resources

Reminders

A Handy Set of Tools

Resources

Reminders

Attracting a Bounty of Butterflies

Resources

Reminders

Slimy Slugs, Slippery Snails

Resources

Reminders

Propagating Plants by Layering

Resources

Reminders

Should Trees Be Staked?

Resources

Reminders

Dynamic, Dependable Dahlias

Resources

Reminders

Plant Hellebores for Winter Color

Resources

Reminders

In Celebration of Annuals

Resources

Reminders

Scent Underfoot

Resources

Reminders

Spring Rose Pruning

Resources

Reminders