Now is a great time to start thinking about your summer pruning plans. Our team is currently scheduling tree and shrub pruning for the summer season. While many people think pruning is a winter task, there are several excellent reasons to prune in summer. Here are six key benefits to consider. 1. Slow down growth  […]

We are truly blessed here in the PNW with so many useful and attractive spring blooming botanical treasures.  These early bloomers help wake us gardeners up from our long winter slumber as they…

(For gardeners learning to trust their eye, their hands, and the space between cuts) Pruning is one of the few gardening tasks that asks for both courage and restraint. It requires you to stand in front of a living plant, sap rising, buds set, seasons embedded in its wood and decide what no longer belongs. […]

Winter is the perfect time to give your garden a strong start for the year ahead. A little attention now to winter garden tasks will help your landscape thrive through the growing season. Build soil health You can improve soil health by adding mulch beneath trees and across garden beds. Mulch suppresses winter weeds, protects […]

By Nancy Penrose Spring may feel far away, but the steps you take now will have a major impact on how your yard looks, and how your trees perform, when warmer weather arrives. For homeowners who want a lush, healthy, and visually striking landscape, winter and late-season preparation is especially important for yard trees. Trees […]

Foresight, Craft and the Season That Decides Everything Winter simplifies a garden in the most unsentimental way. The leaves fall, the blooms retreat, and what remains is the truth of the place: structure, habit, history. Every branch tells on itself. Every decision made or avoided stands in plain view. This is not the season of […]

‘Windsail Reduction’ — a Northwest Controversy. Is crown thinning for windsail reduction appropriate for healthy, mature conifers?* Homeowners are often advised by ‘tree trimmers’ to reduce the “windsail” of large conifers to prevent either whole tree failure or failure of large branches in the high winds. The term “crown thinning” has been used to define […]

Tidy Isn’t the Same as Alive. Everywhere you look, landscapes are marched into obedience. Shrubs clipped into ottomans, trees reduced to apologetic poles, roses hacked as though they’d personally offended someone. These are not gardens; they’re evidence of a culture that has mistaken obedience for care. And the strange thing? We’ve learned to accept it. […]

As we head into the glorious months of summer in the PNW, it is the perfect time to consider what needs a little summer pruning in the landscape.  Not everything will, so please do not think that your whole yard needs to be done.  It is of course your garden and not mine, so…

Hydrangeas are growing in popularity and for good reason. So we’ve put together the ultimate guide for how to care for hydrangeas. This includes choosing the correct hydrangea for your space, planting, watering, fertilizing, pruning and more. This guide has the basic information needed to get started. Choosing the Right HydrangeaFirst you need to choose […]