Edible Gardening
Aimée Damman
How to Protect Your Tomatoes (and Other ...

It’s April and tomatoes are here! We know you’re ready to get them planted since it’s sunny (wait… now it’s cold and raining…. wait! It’s sunny again! Wait…) ;) but your tomato plants won’t grow into incredibly prolific tomato producers if you don’t protect them until the night temperatures remain consistently above 50 degrees. Most of us at Swansons swear by protection tools so we can plant our warm-season vegetables earlier and encourage larger, stronger plants and better harvests. Here’s what we use and how to use them.

How to Protect Your Tomatoes (and Other Warm-Season Veggies)
Planting & Plant Care, Plant Profiles
Aimée Damman
How to Grow Roses in the Pacific Northwest

You and your rose soul-mates have found each other. Now what? How do you keep them happy and thriving in our maritime Pacific Northwest climate? Roses are not completely carefree, but with a few basic care guidelines, you can grow them successfully and enjoy their beauty for years to come.

How to Grow Roses in the Pacific Northwest
Edible Gardening
Aimée Damman
The Best Tomatoes to Grow in the PNW

For many of us, the choice of which tomatoes to grow can be daunting. We've boiled down the tomato decision process into a few helpful questions and our suggestions: a secret (tomato) sauce, if you will, of how to make the right choice for your individual tomato needs. At the end of this post are a handy infographic and a link to our tomato variety list.

The Best Tomatoes to Grow in the PNW
Plants for Each Season
Aimée Damman
The 10 Best Late-Spring Flowers

The most recognizable “spring” flowers - tulips, lilacs, azaleas - have finished blooming or are beginning to fade and a host of new flowering plants are ready to take the baton for the race into summer. Here are some of our favorite late-spring flowers; some even keep blooming all summer long. Best of all, these flowers attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds!

The 10 Best Late-Spring Flowers
Indoor Plants, Container Gardening
Aimée Damman
How to Repot a Plant

In this post, I’m repotting a very rootbound Marble Queen Pothos plant. I’ll walk you through all the steps for a successful repotting. These steps are essentially the same for all types of indoor and outdoor plants, so you can take these tips and use them for any potted plant.

How to Repot a Plant

pacific northwest gardening

Peony Planting & Care in the Northwest

Peony Planting & Care in the Northwest

Who isn't captivated with the lush blooms of the peony? We still get excited when peonies begin arriving! Alex LaVilla, our perennials buyer, has a few planting and care tips to help you be sure your peony is as happy and productive as it can be. 

How To Grow Peas

How To Grow Peas

Peas are always one of the first vegetables I plant in the spring. As soon as there's a sunny day in late February or March, I bundle up and head out to the garden to sow snap and shelling peas along trellises in my raised beds.

The Truth About "Drought-Tolerant" Plants

The Truth About "Drought-Tolerant" Plants

Drought tolerant* or low water use* are terms we use often in Northwest gardening. You see them on many of our plant signs and information sheets at Swansons. More so each year, as we recognize the importance of saving water in the face of our region's growing population and potential effects of climate change. Also, we see ever more examples of how beautiful a well-designed, drought-tolerant garden can be! However, this doesn’t mean these plants don’t need water. Read on to learn the truth about helping these plants thrive.

Living with Moss

Living with Moss

Not many gardeners have a neutral opinion when it comes to moss. Either we love the impossibly green fairyland it evokes on our forest walks and aged garden or we hate the layer of slippery moisture it lays over our roof or patio, and the way it crowd out our showpiece lawn. Both camps recount legends of the virtues or evils of moss. 

 
 

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