Share my passion for all things gardening!
Last fall, I posted information on stink bugs as they were damaging the produce in my garden. I am wondering if they’re going to be an even worse problem this year and intend to keep my eyes open for the little stinkers (no pun intended). They damaged our artichokes and tomatoes last summer, which did not make me happy one […]
Read moreHere is a link to my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Explore seed catalogs for veggie varieties. As you know, we gardeners receive plenty of seed catalogs in the mail that inspire us to purchase seeds for the coming year’s garden. Today’s column is about some of the newest varieties of vegetables that I think are worth knowing […]
Read moreFor the next two Sundays, my columns in The Spokesman-Review will be on cool, new varieties of veggies and annual flowers. In each column, I’ll include the seed sources so you can easily find them. However, I also wanted to encourage you to look for the seeds at your local garden centers first since it’s always nice to patronize local […]
Read moreFor the past 3 years, I have been growing artichokes. Yes, artichokes, here in the Inland Northwest! I didn’t even realize you could grow them here until I bought a couple seedlings on a whim at a Leavenworth, Wash., nursery. Lo and behold, they grew beautifully and what’s even better is that they rewarded my efforts with several artichokes. And […]
Read moreSince seed-starting is our hot topic right now, I wanted to give you more information about what I’m starting and the types of seed-starting kits and containers I use. I mentioned in my Sunday column that I start peas, beans, squash, pumpkins, corn and melons indoors. You don’t have to do this unless you have the same situation I do: […]
Read moreHere is a link to my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Timing is everything when it comes to planting seeds. It is the second of two parts on starting your own flowers and vegetables from seed. I hope you’ll find it helpful! If you have any questions, just let me know by either commenting on this post or […]
Read moreHere is a link to my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Kick off to gardening season: Ready, Set, Plant! It’s the first column of the growing season — hooray! It’s always exciting to talk about our favorite subject, isn’t it? Today’s column included a list of all of the veggies I’ll be growing this year. As promised, I’ve […]
Read moreI love seeing things like this during the winter months. These photos were taken from my upstairs office window, looking down towards our side yard. What you’re looking at are deer tracks coming from our unfenced front yard towards our backyard. As you can see, the tracks do a brief meander before the deer decided to do a U-turn (see lower […]
Read moreWe had a pleasant surprise yesterday. A huge flock of Bohemian Waxwings paid us a visit — or more specifically, came to dine on the berries of our American Cranberry Bush (Viburnum trilobum). Usually, we tend to see Cedar Waxwings from time to time but the Bohemians come less frequently. And they are so brightly feathered that I have to […]
Read moreOne of my favorite birds that visit our garden is the Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus). They are a large woodpecker with beautiful markings. These guys are a little over 12 inches tall and have a wingspan of 20 inches. The feathers on their backs alternate between black and buff-colored stripes and they have a white rump directly above their tails. […]
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