Plant Care Recommendations for Healthy, Trouble-free Plants
A natural plant care regimen consists of planting the right plant in the right place, building and maintaining healthy soil and using smart watering practices. Following these guidelines, plants thrive...
View ArticleNatural Pest, Weed and Disease Control
Managing these garden problems naturally can be simple and effective. Follow these three keys to success: Prevention, Observation and Patience. Prevention Know your garden’s soil, sun and shade...
View ArticleSmart Watering
Watering practices play a vital role in keeping your garden healthy. Efficient watering conserves one of our most precious shared resources. The keys to success include: provide the right amount of...
View ArticleNatural Lawn Care Solutions
The Pacific Northwest is a great climate for lawns. As anyone who has one knows, though, it is also great for growing much more than grass. There are some simple, but necessary, lawn care techniques...
View ArticleComposting Advice
Making compost is one of the best ways to utilize your garden’s resources to improve the health of your soil, which in turn improves plant health. Garden clippings and food waste are usually trucked...
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The Good of Evergreen Plants
Sheri Hinshaw, Garden Hotline Educator Evergreen plants play a vital role in our overly wet winters. Because they photosynthesize all season long, they help prevent storm water runoff by taking up...
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Leave the Leaves!
Katie Vincent, Garden Hotline Educator Photo Credit: Jurvetson from Flickr Commons Fall is iconic—and, sometimes, obnoxious—for the swath of red, orange, yellow and brown deciduous leaves that litter...
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Bare Root Berries
Berries! Katie Vincent, Garden Hotline Educator With the upswing of permaculture and food forests, perennials edibles like berries are on the rise and gardens like the Beacon Hill food forest are...
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Medicinal Native Plants
Oregon grape and cascara may not be as bright or showy as the dahlias in your garden, but don’t be fooled—these humble, hardy plants are merely downplaying the many benefits they offer to our world....
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Digital Garden Tools – A guide to online resources for climate and weather...
Laura Matter – Garden Hotline Educator Just because you love to play in the dirt doesn’t mean you can’t also be computer savvy. Did you know there are a number of useful tools available online to help...
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We miss you, Cass!
On January 25, 2017, the trees of our world lost a relentless ally. Cass Turnbull, a long-time horticulturalist and pruning advocate unexpectedly passed on from our world while on vacation in Hawaii....
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A Database of Poisonous Plants to Dogs and Cats
For gardeners and animal lovers alike, it’s helpful to know which plants are poisonous to dogs and cats. From the lilies on your table to rhododendrons in your garden, there common plants to watch out...
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Soil Resources for Pacific Northwest Gardeners
If you want to grow healthy plants, you need to build healthy soil. Healthy soil is full of nutrients, microorganisms and organic matter. It has good drainage and water holding capacity and helps keep...
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Straw Bale Gardens
Many of us come to food gardening the hard way, by tearing out lawn, digging hard and unforgiving soil and tilling in compost to create good enough tilth to grow nutritious veggies and fruits. There is...
View ArticleEdible Spring Weeds
Frustrated with your weeds? This year, consider a new plan for revenge: tossing them in a salad and eating them! As the garden starts to send out signs of life this spring, so do all of the...
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Cover Crops 101
Cover crops are plants grown primarily to improve and protect soil. Though they can be grown any time of year, they are most valuable at the end of a productive growing season. Fall-sown cover crops...
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Growing and Using Herbs From Your Garden
The Pacific Northwest is blessed with a climate that favors the growing of dozens or more herbs for use in the kitchen, beauty, and health products. Growing them yourself affords the opportunity to...
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