Gardening in the PNW with lots of shade: we mostly love living among the trees. We recognize the importance of preserving and restoring our diminishing urban canopy. But trying to grow colorful flowers, fruits or vegetables under trees can be a challenge. And increasing urbanization brings taller buildings and more shade at ground level. This blog post will help illuminate the types of shade you may be dealing with, discuss other design considerations, and offer sample shade garden designs and plant lists.
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.
Colorful spring containers celebrate the start of the gardening season and creating them is fun and easy if you know which plants to choose. Look for these great gems to create a new spring container or refresh an existing pot.
Spring gardening is in full swing and we’ve teamed up with our friends at Dunn Lumber to bring you a great DIY building and gardening project you can do at home - no backyard needed! Kirsten will teach you how to make two wooden planter boxes. I’ll help you decide what to plant in them and show you how, step by step!
One of the first activities I want to do outside in early spring is to plant my early spring vegetable garden. There’s nothing like the smooth, clean surface of prepped garden beds, the soil still pristine and just waiting to nurture rows of bright green spring vegetables, carefully planted in perfect rows. It’s like a fresh school notebook - full of promise. But what to plant? Here are a few of my favorite vegetables to plant in spring, with tips on when and how to plant them.
This spring, Swansons Nursery launched the "Grow With Us” project to help people get the most out of their garden spaces. This free, online service offers personalized plant ideas, tips, and advice from our seasoned pros to help make your garden projects a success. We see it as a natural extension of what we already do for our customers here at the Nursery.
Greetings from the coop! Spring is here and so are the chicks! They were hatched on March 19th, so they are barely two and a half weeks old. They arrived at the very end of March and seem to be settling in just fine. They are beyond adorable. ... I fed it Fuchsias from my garden. I did this for several days until I realized it had stopped feeding and had burrowed under the moss. It was pupating! A large brown chrysalis lay in the leaf debris. I kept it out on a sheltered porch during most of the winter, bringing it indoors during harder freezes, then back out for the remainder of the winter.
Each bird took his or her turn trying to land on the stalks supporting the seed heads, with predictably hilarious results. The stalks couldn't support the weight, and the little birds slid off. A few tried the hummingbird approach, wildly flapping their wings to stay in place while pecking at the seed heads. Others tried the popcorn technique - bounce up from the ground, wings flapping, and snap at the seeds on your way down.
After winding down NW Blue Ridge Drive for what seems like forever, I pull up in front of my assigned meeting place with Amy Pennington, cook, writer, blogger, TV personality and edible gardener extraordinaire. I follow the sounds of laughter-filled chatter up the stairs and into the back garden, where I am met with a spectacular view: beautiful ornamental landscaping blending harmoniously with an edible garden of raised beds at the height of the property, with sweeping views of Puget Sound and the Olympics. It is a tapestry of blues and greys on this overcast morning.
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