Our newest book, number five in the “What’s Wrong With My…” series, is all about cannabis care with safe organic solutions to every problem. The book is being published by Ten Speed Press and will be available everywhere in August, 2017. Whether you have 2 or 3 plants or hundreds of plants, whether your intended use is medical or recreational, it is imperative to avoid
Read more →Last summer was a banner year for artichokes in our garden. This year promises to be even better. All eight of our artichoke plants are growing very well and some are three feet tall already.
Read more →I love this perennial but it’s a thug! It’s so invasive we had to dig it up and put it in a pot where it can’t escape. And we have to keep weeding it out of the garden. It’s very pretty though, and it brings a lot of pollinators into the garden, so it’s worth keeping in its pot.
Read more →Zanzibar Gem, or ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) looks like a Zamia, a cycad, but is really in the skunk cabbage family along with philodendrons, pothos, Chinese evergreen, and so many other wonderful houseplants. Give it bright light (no direct sun) and low water. See page 120 of our newest book, What’s Wrong With My Houseplant.
Read more →We grew this Penstemon hybrid from seed last year. We’re looking forward to another banner year of flowers, vegetables, and fruit from our garden this year. It’s supposed to be sunny all week and we’re planning to get a lot of gardening done!
Read more →Last year’s bumper crop of red raspberries lingers in memory as we toil away pruning, weeding, and tying canes to the new support system we’re building. A lot of work but oh so worth it!
Read more →We found this big boy on one of our forest walks. It’s about 8 inches long and called a Pacific banana slug. One of several species of slugs native to the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Thankfully this guy normally stays out of our garden.
Read more →Another wonderful native plant found in gardens everywhere is Oregon grape, Mahonia aquifolium. Cultivated varieties of this native, sometimes called nativars, include ‘Compacta’, a somewhat dwarf compact variety. We found this one on our walk through the forest at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend.
Read more →Daffodils, Narcissus species and hybrids, are fantastic garden subjects because they’re beautiful (and fragrant), totally low maintenance, and best of all deer don’t eat them because they are poisonous. Our town is overrun by deer so it’s great to find something they won’t mow down.
Read more →Japanese flowering quince, Chaenomeles japonica, is in full flower right now in Western Washington. It’s a deciduous shrub that bears flowers in clusters on leafless spiny branches in very early spring.
Read more →