Showing posts with label garden guy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden guy. Show all posts

Garden Guy: The Garden Guy Appreciates His Plants for Dry Summer Days

Monday, June 19, 2023

Top the list: the Rock Rose
takaonursery.com
By Bruce Bennett

Even for a garden designer, there's no such thing as a ‘maintenance-free’ yard and the beginning of the summer season will find this Garden Guy watering his west-facing front yard. 

I enjoy this early morning task because the air is cool, the birds provide a joyful chorus and, even during the later ‘Dog Days of Summer’ I usually only need to irrigate once a month. 

“How’s that possible? you ask. It’s simple; choose the right plants. Look for beauty as well as toughness, drought-tolerance and little-to- no-pruning. 

Let’s take a look at a few of the choice summer candidates that can hold their own and will brighten-up my yard this summer……

On the top of my list this year is the simple rockrose. This particular one, Cistus ‘Mickie, has the added interest of large, white crepe-paper-like flowers in spring. But, it’s the golden variegated foliage that provides the colorful punch throughout the year. Back it with a purple barberry for a great color combination. 

Don’t believe the 2’ x 3’ size noted on the plant tags. Mine have been in for six years and are about 4’ x 5’ and gorgeous for the four seasons of the year. Other great cistus include ‘Purpurea,’ ‘Sunset’, the dwarf Skanbergii and ‘Snow Fire.’

Barberries
https-//landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu
There's a reason you see Barberries in many corporate landscaping vignettes. 

They are extremely low maintenance, yet can still stun with seasonal colors ranging from purple to orange to gold. 

It’s ideal for foundation plantings or hedges. 

Depending on the cultivar, these deciduous plants can grow from one- to seven-feet tall. 

They may need the occasional pruning, but not much. 

My favorites include ‘Rose Glow’ (shown), ‘Crimson Pygmy’ (a dwarf) ‘Orange Rocket’ (columnar), and ‘Sunjoy’ (golden).

Nandina ‘Fire Power.’
extension.msstate.edu
For a smaller-than-usual evergreen shrub, I’d vote for Nandina ‘Fire Power.’ 

At about 2’ x 2’, this is among the smallest varieties in this family of shrubs. 

Yes, its common name is ‘Heavenly Bamboo,’ but, it is not a bamboo (the reason it is so heavenly). 

The new bamboo-shaped leaves emerge a nice chartreuse shade and, as the weather cools in autumn, they can turn a full-on fire engine red and remain that way throughout the winter months. 

It’s a great spot of color in the midst of our gray winter blahs.

Fescue 'Elijah Blue'
missouribotanicalgarden.org
I particularly like Fescue ‘Elijah Blue.’ 

The color of this perennial tells you right up front that it is accustomed to heat and sunshine. 

Its gray leaves evolved to handle harsh sun. 

Depending on the fescue cultivar, the blades of this grass can range from gray to a powder-blue and you can rely on the color holding throughout the year.

Plant heights can range from 9” to 18” tall, with the seed heads floating at up to three-feet tall. 

Similar favorites include ‘Boulder Blue’ and the larger ‘Blue Oat Grass.’

Coreopsis aka 'Tickseed'
greatplantpicks.org
Coreopsis. Also known as ‘Tickseed,’ this native of the Great Plains is a perennial bloomer (although there are some annual varieties) which will provide you with a nice color spot from early summer through autumn. 

In tones like yellow, orange, pink, purple and red, Coreopsis make nice cut flowers that can be enjoyed in home flower arrangements.

It’s an easy grower, tolerates most any soil condition and pollinators love it. 

Favorites include ‘Moonbeam’ (shown), ‘Zagreb’ and ‘Blushing Pink.’

To me, at least, it makes sense that I should treat myself as well as I treat my landscape and that includes simply enjoying the warm, sunny days of summer. 

Garden Guy Bruce Bennett
By doing some initial research prior to purchasing and planting, I can ensure that the right plants have been added to the garden and I’m spending more time enjoying the beauty of the landscape and less time maintaining it. Happy gardening all!

Gardening columnist, Bruce Bennett, is a WSU Master Gardener, lecturer and Seattle-area garden designer. 

If you have questions concerning this article, have a gardening question or two to ask concerning your home landscape or want to suggest a topic for a future column, contact Bruce at gardenguy4u@gmail.com.



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The Garden Guy: Why Garden?

Saturday, May 13, 2023

By Bruce Bennett

These past couple of years have given rise to a greater interest in gardening. And why not? We all needed something to do while hunkering-down and maintaining a suitable distance from our friends and the rest of humanity, whether it was caring for a half-acre designed backyard or a few well-placed shrubs on a fourth floor condominium Juliette balcony. 

When doing so, you probably didn’t notice the subtle changes in your world, but, they were there. Yes, there is always the obvious end-of-season benefit of fresh vegetables for those who have the space to grow them and herbs for those with less space but still a desire to garden; even houseplants for those limited by space and free time can reap some of the benefits of working with plants. “What benefits?” you ask...

Gardening has a positive impact on the environment. 

Let’s face it, the global warming discussions are wide-ranging and the problem is vast. 

What can a single individual do to ‘help the cause?’ 

Create or expand a greenery area around or in your home! 

It is a proven fact that plants have the ability to create more oxygen while they clean the air of carbon dioxide and other pollutants you breathe in. 

Plants and compost in the soil also hold on to carbon dioxide that would, otherwise, be added back to the atmosphere and create an even larger problem. 

And, let’s not forget the fact that properly placed plants can help to cool a home in the summer and keep it warmer in the winter. This equates to up to a 20% lower energy bill for you and less pollutants going into the atmosphere. How sweet of a deal is that!

Gardening creates a sense of self-satisfaction. 

Gardening can become more than just a perfectly mowed lawn or correctly clipped shrubs. 

The planning, plant searches and planting become a mix of science and art. 

These acts and their visual outcomes can certainly instill an increased sense of competence and pride in a gardener. 

This is especially true when a neighbor has a positive comment or asks what a particular plant is. 

Having the answer is worth the sweat and efforts of your endeavor. But, it is all so worth it.

Gardening is good for your mind and body. 

For the couch potatoes amongst us(we all know who we are), gardening is a great form of low-impact exercise. 

Bending and stretching while weeding and planting, walking while watering with a hose or watering can and simply being outdoors have been proven to help reduce weight and blood pressure, decrease depression and reduce stress while increasing brain activity and functions. 

Simply walking through differing garden colors and textures can create a feeling of calm and tranquility. That’s something we all want in our homes.

So, what’s stopping you from getting out and working on your own little green piece of heaven (and haven)? 

For so many reasons, we cannot afford to separate ourselves from the earth. Our ancestors knew this fact thousands of years ago. Perhaps, we just need to relearn part of their ancient wisdom and persevere. Happy Gardening! to you...

Do you feel the rumble of life beneath your feet telling you that Spring has begun and plants for your landscape and vegetable garden need buying?
 

What better place (with better prices) to do this than at the local plant sales in your part of town? 

In addition to beautifying your yard, you will be helping all of the non-profit organizations selling their plants to build treasuries which can be used to further educate their members, increase their community gardening projects and encouraging everyone to do a small part to improve climate change. It’s true – every little bit of effort helps.

If you have questions concerning this article or care to suggest topics of interest for future gardening columns, contact Bruce at gardenguy4u@gmail.com

Garden Guy Bruce Bennett
Contributing gardening columnist, Bruce Bennett
, is a WSU Master Gardener, public speaker and garden designer. 

If you have questions concerning this article, have a gardening question or two to ask concerning your own landscape or want to suggest a topic for a future column, contact Bruce at gardenguy4u@gmail.com



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The Garden Guy: April means Trompe l’oeil

Monday, April 17, 2023

By Bruce Bennett

Weather permitting, welcome to the start of spring. And, being that April Fool’s Day is celebrated by the young-at-heart during the month of April, let’s spend this column discussing ‘trompe l’oeil’ in the garden. 

Trompe l’oeil is the French term for ‘fool the eye’ and is an artistic phrase used for the creation of optical illusions of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. 

While the term usually deals with paintings, gardeners can use several of the same techniques to make their three-dimensional green spaces appear larger than they are (and who wouldn’t like a larger back yard or garden?). Trompe l’oeil makes visitors question the boundary between an artificially created world and what actually exists.

The practice of illusion painting appears to have begun in the Greek states some three thousand years ago. 

By the time of the Renaissance, the practice of painting just wall murals moved on to creating ‘forced perspective’ in architecture. 

This technique is probably most noticed by the largest number of people in this country when they gaze at Disneyland’s Cinderella’s Castle whose forced perspective (larger ground floor and smaller towers) makes the building look much taller than it really is. 

“And, how does this increase the size of my garden?” you ask. Well, while you are not increasing the actual square footage of your yard, the same ‘smoke and mirrors’ techniques of trompe l’oeil allows you to create the appearance of more garden and larger yards. Let’s discuss a few DIY examples to make real estate agents rethink your property value…

Trompe l’oeil is all about illusion, subterfuge and fun.
 

The technique involves using the laws of visual perspective to create an impression of depth on flat walls (like a mural) or in open 3D spaces. Sometimes the creation is intended as a joke, but not always. 

The technique has been used on garden walls and fences to make gardens appear larger than they really are. 

The trellis is the most observed wall illusion that garden centers sell. The angles of the structure makes it appear to be of greater depth than it is.

The easiest trick a gardener can do is simply to use bright colored flowers on the front border of a planting bed and, then, install other plants that slowly fade the colors to blues and grays the further back you go. 

This process creates a visual sense of increased distance between the viewer and the back border without costing more money than would have otherwise been spent on the gardening project.

Find the longest view line in the garden
. The first thing you need to do to make a small garden look bigger is during the (re)design stage. 

Most gardens are rectangles; those that are short and wide look even smaller. But… this is because we usually look straight into the back of the yard. 

Now, turn sideways and look into the corner of the yard..… you will see that it already looks bigger. 

It is a trick of geometry (that high school math class you said you’d never use). 

The diagonal is always longer than either of the sides of a rectangle, thus, increasing the greater sense of depth and space. 

Draw a simple map of your yard and draw the longest perspectives lines (aka, lines of sight) you can achieve. You can lay out your garden so that attention is drawn to an object or setting at the end of these lines.

Place eye catching features at the end of the long view lines
. You can direct visitors’ eyes to go where you want them to by placing a feature, plant or construction, at the very end of the longest perspective lines you found. It is a simple way of tricking the eye. 

When a new landscape is seen for the first time, visitors unconsciously search for something to fix their eyes on, something that stands out. 

You just need to provide it and place it as far away as possible – yes, to create the feel of distance. Use your imagination and choose something that fits with your design.

Blurring the boundaries of where your garden ends and the next space/yard begins is a simple option to make small spaces look larger. One easy way to achieve this is by using informal plantings at varying heights to make it unclear how far your boundaries truly extend. 

To heighten the effect, keep shorter plantings closer to your living/working space and allow the heights to gradually increase. Steering away from formal box hedges will blur these lines even further.

Use mirrors to expand the feel of gardens
as you would do with indoor rooms. The difference is that you want to mingle them in with their green surroundings. Choose large and sturdy mirrors, metal ones for example, because you don’t want them to break. 

Place them where you know your garden shows its limits, at the back, against the fence, or the wall of your neighbor’s home. but hide them a bit. 

Allow plants and vines to grow partly over them, to smooth down their edges, so they look embedded in a natural environment, like old ruins left in a forest, etc. 

You can also paint them to disguise them. For example, a tall mirror on the back fence can turn into a false door if you draw or build a frame, handle, casement, etc. 

Be creative, and shop around at antique dealers, fairs, and second-hand stores for a very original look and solution for your small space. 

Or, as with the photo to the left, build your own illusion. It is the mirror and angle-cut wooden gate that makes it seem as though it is open into another space.

A final easy trick is to create a line of multiple look-alike containers of descending sizes with the largest located closest to the viewer and smaller ones taking the visitor back into the garden. Not only does this increase visual depth perception, it can add a bit of instant and year-round color to the venue.

There are certainly more landscape-expanding ideas in the realm of trompe l’oeil. 

Get ready to make your small garden look spectacular with these few visual perspective tricks as well as other ideas you’ll find in garden design articles and trompe l’oeil books. 

As you will note in my articles and hear in my lectures, “Do your research before the project and save aggravation and higher costs. Happy gardening all!

Bruce Bennett
gardenguy4u@gmail.com
Contributing columnist Bruce Bennett is a WSU Master Gardener, lecturer and garden designer. 

If you have questions concerning this article, have a gardening question or two to ask concerning your landscape or want to suggest a topic for a future column, contact Bruce at gardenguy4u@gmail.com.


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Garden Guy: New plants for 2023 to start dreaming about now

Monday, March 13, 2023

Bruce Bennett, Garden Guy
By Bruce Bennett

New plants are usually improvements on existing plants and offer better disease resistance, or more flowers or larger leaves, or……Well, you get the picture.
 
Sometimes it’s just a new color or a different size. New plants aren’t always better, but, to a gardener, they are always exciting and noteworthy. 

As in past several years, I offer readers a very short list of plant introductions that I’ve seen at test sites, growers’ fields and nurseries, not to mention the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival, plants which will begin to show-up at local garden centers. 

The problem with most ‘new introduction’ lists is the plants may be just coming on the market and finding them is a catch-as-catch-can situation. If nothing else, gardening teaches someone new to the hobby and adventure the development and virtues of patience. 

Gardeners not only experience the ‘thrill-of-the-hunt,’ if they wait long enough, they also experience the thrill of ‘saving a buck.’ The $50 daylily I just had to have from a specialty hybridizer eventually appeared on a Flower World display table at $15. It was definitely a case of instant gratification over-powering my economic common sense (and, yes, it was worth it). 

Whether or not I buy, it’s always fun to see what plant breeders have come up with and imagine where I would place it in my yard or a client’s.

During my travels, I look for plants that have more than just one reason to purchase them

A long bloom time is great, but I’d also want, drought-tolerance, or new colors or evergreen status. Considering what plants, especially new ones, cost these days, I want as many enhancements as can be added. 

So, for your general consideration, here's my thumbnail list of new plant introductions with multiple notable attributes, from the major plant groups of trees, shrubs, perennials and, even, an annual which may pique your developing horticultural interest…..

As trees have a longer development phase, not as many new stars reach the marketplace each year as do, say, annuals. However, that doesn’t mean there are no new candidates. 

New specimens that have caught my eye include….

Crabapple
I thoroughly like crabapple trees in the landscape.
They are of a size that is appropriate for most yards and street sides and are moderately fast growers. This year, Malus transitoria ‘Royal Raindrops’ joins the family. This crabapple has multiple aspects about it to like. The first is deep purple cutleaf foliage that does not move to a green coloration during the season. 

For those who eschew the use of chemicals in the yard, this sweetie has superior disease resistance to rust, mildew, etc. Like most established crabapples, ‘Royal Raindrops’ is drought tolerant. With our summers, that is a good thing. The value-added elements of this tree bookmark the growing season. Spring brings with it eye-popping magenta pink blooms that cover the tree. Autumn brings with it little red apples. 

As the fruit are just ¼” in size, birds will love them and will provide homeowners with a month or two of avian aerial aerobics as the birds devour the seasonal morsels. The two- and four-footed members of the family enough the free show for weeks on end. 

Honorable Mentions go to: Birch ‘Emerald Flare’, Parrotia ‘Golden Bell Tower’ and Cercis ‘Black Pearl.’

In the category of new shrubs, you can usually find something interesting to grace an underused spot in the landscape. For this year, what has spoken to me ……

Daphnes
Daphnes are always a value-added inclusion to an area near the front door or along a walkway.
 

The mid-winter fragrance of winter daphne is not to be missed. The same can be said for the spring-blooming cousins. 

In this case, the winter variety, Daphne odora ‘Perfume Princess’ is the one I came across. This long-blooming cultivar, with purplish buds and clusters of soft pink flowers, is a winner. 

Expect the traditional intoxicating daphne fragrance but with distinct citrus undertones. The Princess grows to about 3’ tall and as wide. Honorable Mentions include: Hibiscus ‘Valentine’s Crush’ (Rose Mallow), Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Cherry-Go-Round’ and Ilex verticulata ‘Gold Winterberry’

In the world of new Perennials, among the many that caught my eye……

Salvia greggli
Salvia greggii ‘Ultra Violet’ is a new hybrid western sage
that is more cold hardy than the standards. 

It is also more compact than so many of the S. greggii that are on the market. It has iridescent, deep purple flowers that add a pop of color to the yard, especially in ta late summer garden. 

It starts blooming in July and will continue through autumn. This 18” x 24” sage is a top perennial for dry sites, establishes easily and is both rabbit and deer resistant. Watch as it attracts bees, butterflies and other pollinators. 

Honorable Mentions include: Euphorbia x ‘Miner’s Merlot’, Veronica prostrata (Creeping Speedwell) ‘Aztec Gold’ and Sedum ‘Little Shine.’

Finally, in the Annuals category, ……..

Rex Begonia
Jurassic Heartbeat
I am not a gardener who usually has an interest in annuals, but I couldn’t resist adding this Rex Begonia ‘Jurassic Heartbeat’ because…. well, just look at it! Whether on a shelf in the house or in a shady outdoor container, this amazing plant will be a ‘WOW’ moment for any who see it

There are so many plants which will be vying for your attention at garden centers and nurseries this year. Remember to look past the first visual impression they give you. What other value-added qualities can they provide to you, the landscape and/or the beneficial insects who inhabit your yard? 

A bit of observation and Google research will help to provide you with the best bang for your horticultural buck. 

Happy gardening! If you have a question about this column or your own landscape, or care to suggest a topic to be discussed, contact Master Gardener, Bruce Bennett, at gardenguy4u@gmail.com.



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Flower Power returns to Seattle

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Photo courtesy NW Flower and Garden Show
By Bruce Bennett

From February 15 through 19, 2023 the Seattle Metro Area will see visitors swarming around the Seattle Convention Center like bees around spring flowers. 

This is because the second largest flower and garden show in the country (after the venerable 200-year-old Philadelphia Flower Show), the 2023 Northwest Flower and Garden Festival, will be taking place. 

Themed ‘Spring Vibes Only,’ the event boasts more than twenty-five landscape displays spread across six acres (!) of floor space. 

An expanded ‘City Living’ display on the Convention Center’s Skybridge area provides inspiration to plant lovers who may not have much outdoor space with which to work.

Photo by Lee Lageschulte
Visitors to the festival can learn how to bring those urban garden dreams to life at ‘Container Wars.’ 

And, let’s not forget the mix of design competitions, exhibits, book-signings and the festival’s largest-ever plant market and garden-related vendors who will provide visitors with all things botanical in one, specially curated venue with over 50 nurseries and specialty plant vendors from Washington, Oregon and California. 

There’s a reason this festival has been one of the largest, most-attended shows in the country for the past 30+ years. 

Whether you’re a seasoned gardener, potting petunias on your apartment balcony, just starting to dig in the dirt or happen to enjoy DIY projects, there’s something for everyone here.

Seminars are well-attended
Photo courtesy NW Flower and Garden Show
During each of the five days of the event, Sunset Magazine sponsors an assortment of changing workshops, lectures, and demonstrations. 

I doubt visitors will ever find this many educational programs at any home and garden show in the country. 

Garden Art
Photo by Lee Lageschulte

With some one hundred time slots available across all five days, nationally and internationally known professors, authors and gardening experts are sharing their advice on everything from ‘Great Structural Plants for all Landscapes,’ to ‘Go Bold: Tropical Accents for Inspiring Containers’ and ‘100% Success with Your New Vegetable Garden.’ 

Visit the show’s webpage (gardenshow.com) for a full list and times of seminars and other programs. 

During the show’s peak hours, you can expect the four lecture halls to be close to capacity.

While the varied lectures will provide images, ideas and possibilities for the gardens of the festival visitors, there will also be plenty of gardening organizations in attendance who can provide more specific answers concerning plants, designs or product specialties. 

Photo by Lee Lageschulte
For all-round excellent information and referrals, remember to stop by one of the two Master Gardener Booths. 

As this program is celebrating its fiftieth-year anniversary this year, visitors can look forward to seeing a new Washington State Master Gardeners Booth. 

This is in addition to the Master Gardeners of King County Booth which has been a fixture at the festival for many years. 

The King County program is the original Master Gardener Program and is the forerunner and model of all such programs across the country! 

County residents have in-person access to some forty clinics across our part of the state and year-round email access to access the clinic located at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture. Each county in Washington has its own program and answer clinics in multiple locations.

Photo by Lee Lageschulte
I think a good part of this show’s popularity is based on people’s anticipation for the return of Spring. 

We go through a pretty dreary winter where we are inside much of the time and, when we finally feel like spring is arriving in the neighborhood, we just want to get out and start finding new ideas (and plants) for our dismal, dormant landscapes and containers. 

One particular aspect of the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival I do appreciate is that the displays are not just bunches of forced flowers in bloom and on display. 

The lecturers, vendors and attendees we meet are passionate about, not only gardening but, how to develop the gardens and the reasons behind successful, thriving planting beds. 

This show gives people new ideas and the education of how to develop and implement them.

Single-day tickets for the festival will cost $26. If visitors are short on time, half-day tickets are available for $13. and are good for admission after 3:00pm Wednesday - Saturday and after 2:00pm on Sunday.


Multi-day and children tickets are also available. Speaking from expensive experience, DO consider taking some form of mass transit traveling to the Convention Center. Otherwise, expect your daily parking fee to be north of $20. Check the mass transit web pages as well as the festival’s webpage for more information.

The final suggestion I can offer is, if you have the slightest proclivity towards hay fever or pollen issues, take your favorite antihistamine before you attend this annual Rite of Spring for the Pacific Northwest. Your foresight will definitely benefit you for a few days after your attendance at this flower-rich event.

Bruce Bennett, Master Gardener
Contributing columnist, Bruce Bennett, is a WSU Master Gardener, lecturer and garden designer. 

If you have questions concerning this article, have a gardening question or two to ask concerning your landscape or want to suggest a topic for a future column, contact Bruce at gardenguy4u@gmail.com.



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Garden Guy: Winter Reading - Gardeners Doing Their Research

Monday, January 16, 2023

By Bruce Bennett

Happy New Year all, and welcome to our months-long, nationally known Rainy Season. Whether gardeners grow vegetables and herbs or perennials and flowers, November to April is part of the slow time (which does not mean No-Time). 

This is the time of the year when I can easily imagine my community’s composting colleagues to be sitting in their favorite chair or corner of a comfy couch, a hot beverage and pup or kitten close at hand, with the sounds of rain hitting the roof of the family abode with the rain running down the windows in ever-changing patterns.

Alright, just I might have an overly active and traditional imagination. But, what gardeners throughout our region are doing is dreaming about and planning the coming spring’s projects. To do this, a bit of research and ideas are needed and what better way to do that than with new reading material. So, for the first column of the New Year, let’s take a look at some publications which can inspire new plants to try or designs to implement. With so much potential in those seeds and plant starts, you want to buy from a company you can trust. How do you know which have the best seeds and other selections? By doing your research, of course!

Probably the easiest and least costly references are going to be vendor-provided seed and plant catalogs. Most will be free to $1.00 in cost. Yes, I know I can find most of this information on-line. But, then, I need to worry about spilling my hot coffee on the keyboard (and me) or having my furry friends continually getting in the way of my typing fingers. Besides, I am of the Boomer generation and prefer to have hard copies close-at-hand.

Plenty of gardeners send at least one seed order to a local or regional company and this practice offers certain benefits. For instance, locally grown seed is more likely to be suited to our Zone 7- 8 climate. 

Consequently, when it comes to seed and plant vendors catalogs, I tend to stay with the companies from my part of the world as they tend to have a better understanding of, and hybridization programs for, the Pacific Northwest. 

It probably makes sense that my ‘Go-To List’ has included companies like 
All of them have nice mixes of herbs and vegetables, some with plants and flowers and Kitazawa with lots of Asian culinary herbs and veggies. Gardeners of all skill levels enjoy trying new crops and varieties, and many of them look to mail-order seed companies to add interest to the landscape and discover new favorites.
  
The one downside to mail-order seeds and plants for some gardeners is the imposed shipping and handling fees. If you’re interested in saving a few dollars, think about purchasing seed packets at retail stores you already visit. These days, even box stores carry organic and heirloom seed from Burpee, Gurney, Ferry-Morse, Cook’s Garden and others, or you can look for more specialized selections at your local nurseries, garden centers and gourmet stores. 

Food co-ops and independently owned health food stores may also have displays from regional and national seed companies. Stop in or call them (from your comfy chair) to learn which brands they carry.  It’s not as good as having the actual catalog to read and for future reference, but convenience of most sorts does have its place in the gardening world.

If you would prefer to delve a bit more intensively into the subject matter of differing gardening topics, let me recommend some of the recent resources from my office bookshelves which I sometimes use when answering questions posed by readers:
  • Containers in the Garden by Claus Dalby
  • Gardening for Everyone:  Growing Vegetables and Herbs by Julia Watkins
  • Gardening in a Changing World:  Plants, People and the Climate Crisis by Darryl Moore
  • Maritime Northwest Gardening Guide by Lisa Taylor, et. al.
  • The First-Time Gardener:  Growing Vegetables by Jessica Sowards
  • The Gardener’s Gardener by Madison Cox
  • The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Guide:  How to Combine Shape, Color and Texture to Create the Garden of Your Dreams by Jenny Rose Carey
  • The Western Garden Book by Sunset Magazine
Please remember, these are books and catalogs I have enjoyed using and my list is totally subjective. If you don’t find something here that piques your interest or needs and you are within an easy drive of North Seattle, do consider visiting the University of Washington’s Elizabeth Miller Library at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture (which does not require your driving on-campus). It is an excellent repository of gardening and horticulture knowledge and with very helpful staff. Otherwise, depending on where you live, stop in at your nearest branch of one of the many public libraries around us.

If you decide you want to own a copy of a specific book, we haves many retail vendors, like Third Place Books, who will have the volume which you seek or can order it. Sky Nursery and other local garden stores have books. 

Are you going to the 2023 NW Flower and Garden Festival in February? If so, stop by the UW Bookstore booth (near the seminar rooms) for a great selection of discounted recent gardening titles and, perhaps take-in the author’s talk on the topic.  

Finally, if you have a laptop, again, without moving from that comfy chair and the three cats now sitting on it and you, it is possible to continue your research and learning by accessing blogs and videos on many different horticulture topics.  

A comfy spot to sit, a cup of coffee, pets who like being with you and new knowledge to learn; what better way to spend the dreary days of the Great Northwest Winters?  Here’s wishing you a great new year! 

Contributing columnist, Bruce Bennett, is a WSU Master Gardener, lecturer and   garden designer.  

If you have questions concerning this article, have a gardening question or two to ask concerning your home landscape, or simply want to suggest a topic for a future column, contact Bruce at gardenguy4u@gmail.com  




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Garden Guy: Gifting Plants for the Holidays

Monday, December 12, 2022

By Bruce Bennett


If you have been a gardener for more than a few years, you have probably been pegged by those around you as a gardening authority and someone who is all about plants. If that’s the case, gift-giving is a snap for you. Gifting a plant will make perfect sense. You just need to know the right plant to give to someone. 

And, let’s face it, plants are one of those presents that will keep on providing happy thoughts for years to come. They can also help stave off seasonal depression, improve air quality in their environment and enhance room decor. 

The fact that they are also readily available for last minute shopping and can be very budget-friendly only helps to make your decision the easier. They are, quite simply, great Christmas and holiday gifts, and, you get to take the credit for them. But, of all the possibilities, what are the best plants for you to give as gifts?

Poinsettia - not a good idea for a gift
Knowing your recipient is the most important part of choosing a houseplant as a gift. A water-sipping succulent might be most appropriate for a busy on-the-go type of friend, while a shade-tolerant fern could fit better in a shady apartment with an observant owner. 

If the potential recipient is already a plant-lover, consider an unusual choice that may test their skills. In any case, including a ceramic pot and a bag of the appropriate potting mix can be an excellent addition to the Christmas / Hanukkah plant package you decide to pull together.

That said, before you decide to give a plant as a gift, if you don’t already have the answers to these questions, do a bit of research first so you’re sure that it’s the right type of plant to give:
  1. The next time you are in your friend’s home, check the light levels where plants might be well placed.
  2. Is your friend allergic to flowers? If so, giving succulents or other foliage plants as a gift will be better than flowering plants.
  3. Does your friend have a pet? If so, make sure the plant you are gifting isn’t poisonous to the type of pet they have.
  4. Does your friend hate a certain color? Then avoid giving plants that have that flower color (or that have flowers at all).
If you know that your friend would like a plant for the holidays, but you just don’t know which plant to choose, that’s why I’m here - to provide a few ideas for you. Generally speaking, there are three gift-able types of indoor plants that make excellent holiday gifts: traditional, easy-to-care-for, and extra-special.

Christmas cactus
Among the traditional category, the first thought is probably the ever-popular red-leaved Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima - above). 

Restrain yourself from giving this one. Not only is it too ubiquitous and obvious a gift, it is also a short-timer in the horticultural scheme of things. By the end of the holidays, both the green leaves and red bracts will begin shriveling and falling off. Then, if someone is attempting to recolor the plant for the next holiday season, there are the months of plant sequestration in a dark room and ….... Well, just don’t do it! 

Instead, consider something hardier, like the Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii - shown) or one of its cousins, Thanksgiving Cactus and Easter Cactus, with their nice pink, white, orange and flowers which bloom for more than a month and require minimum maintenance and do well in full sun to part-shade.

Paperwhites
Bulbs are another way to go. You can easily wrap unsprouted bulbs or give ones that have emerged from dormancy and has green leaves growing. 

Amaryllis (Amaryllis belladonna) and the ever-fragrant Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus - shown) are the Christmas poster children for bulbs. 

And, you could also include Hyacinths, Grape Hyacinths and Daffodils in this mix of possibilities. Keep the plant in a well-lit area. 

When the blooms drop later in the winter, cut the flower stalk and keep the leaves until those also die back for the season. 

With proper care, bulbs can happily survive to enhance several holiday seasons.

Rosemary
Another of the traditional plants would be every Italian cook’s favorite aromatic herb, Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis). 

Often trimmed into the shape of a mini-Christmas tree, they make excellent, multi-purpose hostess gifts. 

They can remain an indoor potted herb to be snipped as needed for a meal or can be planted in the yard this coming spring and will grow much larger and have small light blue flowers. 

No matter whether indoors or out, give them as much sunlight as possible.

Spider plant
Among the easy-to-care-for category, consider one of the following: For bright-light areas, the Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) is an old favorite. 

It can be kept as a bushy, pot-sized plant or left to grow its hanging branches from which will grow youngsters upon youngsters down to some four feet long. 

Smaller sun lovers could include Succulents, colorful Bromeliads and the extremely low-maintenance Air Plants (Tillandsia) (which can grow nicely in suspended glass balls). 

For a typical shady room, take a look at the upright Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata) and Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior), as well as the ever-popular hanging/climbing Philodendron (Philodendron).

Norfolk Island Pine
Among the extra-special plant category, I’d include reasonably easy-growing plants such as the Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla - shown), Bonsai (various species), Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis) and the ever red-flowered Flamingo Flower (Anthurium andraeanum). 

In the wilds of the South Pacific, the Norfolk Pine can reach some 200’ tall, while in the average living room, that height will max-out at around 6’ (just right for a layered living Christmas tree in its own right). 

The Moth Orchid is, arguably, one of the easiest orchids to grow. And, the Anthurium has bright red, green, and white colors that can constantly bloom for long periods making them an excellent indoor color spot year-round. 

The blooms are distinctive heart-shaped waxy red spathes with yellow tail-like flower spikes.

Holiday plants aren’t a one-size-fits-all gift. Get your green-thumbed friend something that really suits his or her fancy. Remember, both the friend and you could be looking at that holiday gift for many years to come. Allow one to remember your thoughtfulness and consideration while you, inwardly, smile at your educated and right-on plant gift-giving decision. 

Happy Holidays! to you and yours and Happy Gardening all year long!

Garden Guy Bruce Bennett
Contributing columnist, Bruce Bennett, is a Master Gardener, garden designer and lecturer.

If you have questions concerning this article and your own landscape or care to suggest a gardening topic for a future column, contact Bruce at gardenguy4u@gmail.com.

Previous columns by Bruce Bennett here




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Garden Guy: Autumn tasks in the garden

Monday, November 14, 2022

Photo courtesy simplysmartgardening.com
By Bruce Bennett

I don’t usually write Tasks-of-the-Month type articles. But, with this year’s unusual weather, more questions concerning tasks for the end of our most recent gardening season have been asked of me and we shall follow that path of discussion this month. 

My short answer to most inquiries for the last two months has been, “Yes, gardening for this season is nearly over AND there are still several tasks which can be completed now in order to make your initial spring gardening efforts easier to manage.

First, clean-up garden debris. This is especially true for a vegetable garden. The remnants of herbaceous plants, leaves, stalks, etc., should be removed and added to the compost pile. If the plant was diseased or infested, put it in the yard waste container for removal. Our home compost piles simply do not generate enough of their own heat to destroy all overwintering insects and pathogens. After cleaning the beds, spread some (1”-3”) of compost on the area and let it fuel next spring’s growth. Time permitting, digging-in this amendment will help to loosen the soil for next planting cycle.

Leave the seed heads for the birds
Photo courtesy extension.unh.edu
In the perennial beds, leave the stems of flowers in the garden as well as some leaf litter on the ground. The stems and leaves provide habitat for overwintering beneficial insects, amphibians and reptiles. Again, if there were issues with disease, this plant debris should be thrown away. 

Also, remember to leave the seed heads of grasses and perennials for your winter birds (think Echinacea and berry-bearing plants). Sanitation is always the best and least costly way to reduce next year’s disease problems.

For soil-level planting beds, now would be good time to edge beds. The rain will have softened the soil to make the job easier. Doing it now, in the slow-season, will alleviate the chore from the busy springtime. When the weather warms again, all that will need to be done is a final bed early-season clean-up and, if needed, the addition of a fresh layer of mulch and, I suppose, the addition of some new plantings you saw at the NW Flower and Garden Show. When edging, use a square tipped shovel. This will give you a nice, clean cut.

Bulbs can still be planted
Photo courtesy americanmeadows.com
Remember to take advantage of end-of-season sales that may still be going on in favorite garden centers. Seeds may have a lower germination rate, but will still grow quite nicely. 

In our USDA Zone 8, bulbs can still be planted. Inspect them for firmness before planting. Do not allow them to touch when in the ground. Crocus, alliums, tulips and hyacinths are especially easy to survive a late fall planting. Same spring color impacts with a smaller outlay of cash.

Because our ground hardly ever freezes or does so to a very shallow depth, shrubs and trees can still be planted and actually do better than if planted in spring. Roots have a longer bit of time to develop before stressful weather affects them. Remember not to install the plant any deeper in the ground than it was in its growing container. 

If planting an individual specimen, backfill with the native soil that you took out of the hole. However, if you are planting an entire bed with multiple plants, adding a couple of inches of topdressing compost to the bed and working it in as plants are installed is an easy initial slow-release fertilizer process. 

Keep these newly planted perennials, shrubs and trees watered until the winter rains take over the skies. Often, the death of an autumn- planted shrub or tree is due to our lack of watering, not problems with the plant itself. A general rule of thumb is that the plant needs one inch of water per week, either through rainfall, or garden hose.

Cover your fish pond with netting
Photo courtesy pondexperts.ca
If you have a garden pond that contains fish and water plants, covering the area with netting may be a good task autumn. 

The netting will keep leaves out of the water as well as also keeping blue herons and raccoons from a robust smorgasbord. Once the pond lilies and other plant cover is gone, there is little to protect the fish. Think about adding a tarp over just a portion of the pond.

Hopefully, all your tender plants have been dug up. If not, elephant ears, cannas, callas, etc. should be dug up and stored in a cool, dry location for the winter. 

Tropical plants, like hibiscus, citrus, Norfolk Island pine, and other houseplants should be inside by the end September. 

When bringing them in for the winter, check them for insects. Mealy bugs, aphids and scale like to come in where it’s warm. Particularly check in the leaf axils, stems of the plants and surface of the planting mix. Use an insecticidal soap or an all-seasons oil spray for houseplants before bringing them in. Once they are inside, check them, at least, monthly.

Keep a garden journal
Photo by thisismygarden.com
And in your down time this November, make notes as to what was successful in the garden and what was a failure. Determine whether the failures were due to weather, bad placement, or just improper care. 

Question the successes – did the plants do well because of the rain? Or the sun? Or the attention given to those particular plants? This will help in planning for next year’s garden, whether it’s the vegetable garden, perennial garden, containers, or shrubs and trees. 

Keeping a garden journal becomes a great tool throughout the gardening season in those successes and failures. It is the first reference book used when ordering seeds and choosing plants for next season’s garden.∂∂∂ƒSo there’s lots that still needs to be done before calling the garden season over. 

Outside chores abound, from planting, edging, cutting back and turning compost, to preparing for indoor gardening – growing holiday plants and forcing bulbs. 

Preparing for the holiday decorations becomes a "top of the list" as we approach the end of the month. Enjoy all things gardening, grow plants and enjoy the month of Thanksgiving! Happy gardening all!

Garden Guy Bruce Bennett
Contributing columnist, Bruce Bennett, is a Master Gardener, garden designer and lecturer. 

If you have questions concerning this article and your own landscape or care to suggest a gardening topic for a future column, contact Bruce at gardenguy4u@gmail.com.



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