Planting & Plant Care, Watering
Aimée Damman
6 Tips to Help Your Plants Survive Your Vacation

It’s summertime and that means vacations. You’re a good plant parent and you want to make sure your plants are well taken care of but you don’t need to stay home all summer. I talked to the people who have years and years of knowledge gleaned from experience: the Swansons’ team! They offered their best tips for keeping your outdoor and indoor plants happy and healthy while you’re away.

6 Tips to Help Your Plants Survive Your Vacation
Watering
Mike Kohfeld
Demystifying a Drip Irrigation System

While hoses, sprinklers, and watering bags are all excellent ways to water, many gardeners are turning to drip irrigation systems for their manifold benefits: once set up properly, a drip irrigation system is efficient, precise, and a relatively low-effort method for keeping our plants well-watered throughout the year. This post is an introduction to the key components and setup of a drip irrigation system.

Demystifying a Drip Irrigation System
Pruning
Dan Gilchrist
Pruning Calendar

One of the more common questions that newer gardeners might ask is, “when is the best time of year to prune __________?” This pruning calendar can help guide you to the best times to prune your garden plants. You’ll also find links to other posts with more in-depth information on how to prune, pruning specific plants and categories of plants, and pruning in individual seasons.

Pruning Calendar
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
Attracting Pollinators
Aimée Damman
11 Flowers That Attract Bees, Butterflies & ...

Pollinators come in all shapes and sizes: bees, moths, butterflies, beetles, flies, and even bats, just to name a few. Knowing which plants serve our pollinators the best helps create a healthy and vibrant ecosystem where flora and fauna thrive. It also creates a diverse and beautiful garden for us to enjoy. Here are a few of our favorite flowers to attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to your garden year after year.

11 Flowers That Attract Bees, Butterflies & Hummingbirds to Your Garden

Why We Garden Reason # 86: To Carve Our Names into the Fabric of the Universe

Why We Garden Reason # 86: To Carve Our Names into the Fabric of the Universe

There are countless reasons to garden, but one of the most compelling is to leave our mark on the world. Anyone who has ever carved their name into the top of a school desk or wielded a Sharpie against the wall of a bathroom stall knows the thrill of leaving your stamp in reality. There is something deliciously hubristic about it, some fundamental affirmation of the immortality of the soul. It's like spitting in Death's eye - even if you were eventually busted by your teacher because you carved your last name, too.

Beautifying Seattle, One Pot at a Time

Beautifying Seattle, One Pot at a Time

One of the exciting changes happening at Swansons this year is the creation of an in-home Container Design and Installation Service here at the nursery. This new department designs, creates, and installs container gardens for Seattle-area residents and businesses, including one of Seattle's fastest-growing populations: urban dwellers who want beautiful landscaping but do not have traditional gardens.

DIY: The Lost Daibutsu

DIY: The Lost Daibutsu

My fascination with tiny worlds has never left me. Today, when I'm not writing stories set in worlds of my own creation, I am building miniature gardens. To me, miniature gardening is another form of storytelling, and like any good story, they should have a theme. The theme I have been experimenting with for the last two or three years is what I call 'The Lost Daibutsu.'

Fifty Shades of... Well, Shade

Fifty Shades of... Well, Shade

Your Attention Please: the Puget Sound region has shady areas. We Northwesterners want to garden, shade or no shade. We try to garden under lots of really big trees, on the north sides of the ever-increasing quantities of tall buildings, and in the shadows of a host of other structures.

 
 

Cultivate Your Relationship with Us!

Become a Swansons Plant Partner and you’ll receive members-only perks, like plant care resources and helpful gardening tips, notification of new arrivals and promotions, invitations to special events, and exclusive member discounts. Sign up now to receive $5 off your next purchase!

By signing up below, you agree to receive member benefits through our digital newsletter, approximately 2-4 times per month. Phone numbers are needed for record-keeping only.

Our promise: we will never sell your personal information or use it to make unsolicited contact by email or phone!

Subscribe

* indicates required
() -(###) ###-####