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.
Way up here in the land of tall conifers, dry shade is a common gardening challenge. I’ve had success with the following plants in the shade of conifers, and they also work well in deciduous woodlands or in the dry rain shadow of north-facing buildings and garden walls. As with any new plantings, they will require summer water for several dry seasons until they have established a root system capable of competing with existing tree roots.
Fall is here and, at this point in the season, it’s fun to start thinking about the new plants, colors, and textures for your containers so they will offer continued interest through fall, winter, and even into early spring. It’s the perfect time to get new foliage planted in the containers you would like to refresh so there can be nice root growth before frosts come.
You can feel fall in the air, but don't worry, our gardens are far from slowing down. In fact, September is one of the loveliest times in the Pacific Northwest garden, as foliage shows spectacular color, new flowers pop-up, and certain summer plants just keep right on performing until frost. Here are a few of our favorites for September.
One of the perks of working at Swansons is being able to visit PNW gardens. While the majority of gardens we visit are public, it’s always a treat to visit personal gardens and explore what local gardeners are doing in their private spaces. Nestled in an ordinary block north of Seattle, there is a floriferous wonderland called Fishtail Cottage. Complete with a white picket fence, romantic cottage garden flowers, and a bevy of animal greeters, you might feel like you have wandered out of the suburbs and into a modern fairy tale land.
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