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.
From time to time even the best gardeners discover that they have planted something in the wrong place: too close together, too close to the house, too much sun or shade, and so on. Well, it's never happened to me, of course, but I've heard stories...fortunately most of these errors can be corrected with some planning, the right tools, and varying amounts of sweat equity.
On August 28th, at our Autumn Project Preview Event, each and every guest was entered into a drawing for a Swansons Autumn Garden Makeover. Our lucky winner - we'll call her Joy - was elated to hear that she would receive not only $1000 in Swansons plants and products, but help from start to finish: from an initial site visit to design consultation to prep, planting, and advice about care and maintenance.
September is Autumn Project Month at Swansons Nursery and we know that early autumn is the best time to tackle those planting projects you've been meaning to do. The air and soil are still warm but the rains are coming - a perfect balance for new and transplanted plants to grow, become established before winter, and thrive next year and beyond. We've been busy helping you with your autumn projects and now we're doing one of our own: designing and planting our parking strip.
The main site of the UW Farm is tucked away behind the Center for Urban Horticulture, an agrarian oasis in the midst of Husky stadium, U Village and the bustling UW campus. If you walk through, you will find rows and rows of carefully planted vegetables, a growing permaculture section and a student-designed shed and composting area.
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!
