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Winter in the Rhododendron Species Garden, Part 3
Here are the very cool plants I purchased from the garden:Back row from left:Galax aphylla- Evergreen groundcoverRhododendron'Doris Mossman' - A hybrid vireya with bright orange flowersSpeirantha...
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The Big Garden Show
The Northwest Flower & Garden Show this past weekend was once again a visual feast abounding in imaginative garden design and cutting edge horticultural knowledge. The first time I attended was...
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New Plants! (continued)
Iris foetidissima 'Nant Gwilw'Veronica thessalicaSchisandra sp. CDHM14525Melianthus major'Purple Haze'Kadsura heteroclita FMWJ 13385Tropaeolum tuberosum'Ken Aslet'& Sinopodophyllum hexandrum var....
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New Plants!
Far Reaches Farm is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with. After getting their e-mailed newsletter a few weeks ago stating they had added some new plants to their online store, I spent the...
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Doing it Island Style, Part 1: Princeville Botanical Gardens
The wonders of modern technology. In five short hours you can leave the cold, wet, dark, miserable Seattle winter weather and go somewhere completely superior. That's exactly what I did last month -...
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Doing It Island Style, Part 2: Na 'Āina Ka Botanical Gardens
About five hours before boarding the plane back to Seattle, we made an impromptu decision to tour the gardens of Na 'Āina Kai. This huge botanical garden and hardwood tree farm, formerly a private...
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Doing It Island Style, Part 3: The Nā Pali Coast
The Nā Pali Coast is well known for its sheer cliffs rising high above the vast ocean below. Incessant rain, wind, and pounding waves have sculpted the land into a ruggedly idealized tropical...
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Doing It Island Style, Part 4: A Taste of the Tropics
It was my mission to try as many edible plants as possible during our trip. The house we stayed at had a mango tree: A banana plant with frustratingly green bananas:Bananas A super sweet and delicious...
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Why One Podophyllum Delavayi Just Isn't Enough
Podophyllum delavayi had been close to the top on my plant wish list for many years until I finally scored one from Dan Hinkley last summer. Isn't it beautiful?Podophyllum delavayi from Dan Hinkley So...
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The Galloping Gourmet Is Only A Few Days Away!
Graham Kerr a.k.a. The Galloping Gourmet is our speaker at this year's Normandy Park Garden Festival & Plant Sale. It will be held right here in the garden and will go from 11:00am-3:00pm on...
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Flower Power
As I was walking around the garden this week there were a few flowers that just struck me as ridiculously perfect. Notice the structural similarities of the first three which are all more or less...
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Clone Me!
I admit and accept that I am addicted to plants. No, not smoking them, just buying and growing them. In order to not go bankrupt, I have resorted to propagation. It's not a get-rich-quick scheme by...
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Far Reaches Farm...Finally!
Last week I finally made it to Far Reaches Farm in Port Townsend, WA for the very first time. I was completely determined to go this year before they closed for the season. Their selection of plants...
View ArticleAwesome Plants from Northern Vietnam
Two of the tallest mountains in Vietnam - Fansipan and Y Tý - host some of the most amazing plants capable of being grown in temperate zones. Plant explorers Bleddyn and Sue Wynn-Jones from Crûg Farm...
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The Mad Propagationist, Part 1
Before the discovery of heat mats, the gardening year for me would end in October and start up again in March. The only horticulturally stimulating thing that ever really happened during winter was...
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The 2015 Northwest Flower & Garden Show
The timing of the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in mid-February coincides perfectly with the capitulation of winter. The endless arrays of flowers are always a sight to see, but the richness of...
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Rock On!
Real is pretty much always better than fake, but when it comes to rocks, there's just something about an artificial rock that I find fascinating. Armed with some mortar mix and a few how-to videos off...
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Apparently we can grow watermelons!
If you live in Miami, Los Angeles, or Phoenix, you probably don't care that us Seattle folk just celebrated our 13,232nd minute of 80° (26.6°C) temps or higher this summer. Well it's a big deal to us...
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