Rhododendrons are by far one of the most spectacular blooming shrubs for northwest gardens. They come in many colors and sizes, are usually evergreen, and for the most part are easy to grow. With proper selection, a person could actually have a rhodie blooming in their garden from February through June….

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….

There is nothing that gets my gardening juices flowing more than a string of dry days, a little blue sky, and the mercury flirting in the low 60’s. Such was the case last week and boy did I take advantage of it – this is often the case in March…

Believe it or not, spring is almost here! While there are tried and true early bloomers, any gardener worth their salt will agree that the true harbinger of spring goes to the flowering quince…

Raised beds are an excellent way to grow your own vegetables in the PNW – especially with sometimes less-than-ideal soil conditions. Raised beds work their magic in several ways…

I have this theory (I know, some of you are thinking, “OMG, what is he going to say next”), that gardeners possess a special “horticultural hormone” that I have dubbed “hortitostrogen”. This is a non-gender specific hormone that kicks in about this time of the year and causes my fingers to start twitching with an […]

As I am writing this column on a Sunday afternoon, I am looking out my window to a magical sight. Snow has now been falling for 24 hours and there is an accumulation of 8 to 10 inches covering virtually everything in the yard. Under this blanket of white are …

Every time I walk through the nursery this time of year I am struck by the amazing variety of plants on display that have what I would call “winter interest”. By this I mean that they have some distinct quality that makes them stand out in the winter garden…

There’s nothing like a fresh bowl of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries straight out of the garden, and now is the time to plant them! All of these berries are well suited for growing in the northwest and are beginning to be available from the nursery this time of year….

Outside my patio sliding door, in several pots on my south-facing, full sun deck, is a selection of herbs including parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme… These four herbs, along with several others also on my deck, are cold hardy and easy to grow year-round in our maritime climate…