Posts Tagged ‘trees’
Japanese Maples: Our Favorites for Fall 2022
Japanese maples are a diverse family of deciduous trees, adored for their beautiful foliage and graceful structure. There is huge variation in height, growth form, leaf shape, foliage coloring, and bark appearance, making Japanese maples a versatile option for any garden. Maples thrive in rich well-draining soil and in sun to part shade conditions, both…
Read MoreA Gardener’s Winter Solstice
On the winter solstice, the northern hemisphere will be at its furthest tilt from the sun. We’ll mark our shortest day and longest night of 2021 here in the Pacific Northwest on December 21st . Then, our sunrises will creep earlier and our sunsets later. From the winter solstice on, the half of the planet…
Read MoreGardening for Dinosaurs: Paleozoic Plants for Today
When you think of a classic garden, you might picture an impressionist painting. But let’s try turning the clock just a little further back… or, you know, like 300,000,000 years back. While the trilobites of the Paleozoic era and the overgrown chickens of the Jurassic may be long gone, some of the plants that dominated…
Read MorePlants for a Haunted Halloween Garden
Some gardens are spooky year round! Bloodgood Japanese Maple Two very special seasons collide in our October gardens. Of course, we’re talking about fall planting season, and spooky season! Now is the perfect time for our gardens to get into the spirit of things with wonderfully wicked plants of all kinds. Whether you garden in…
Read MoreThe Fall Garden Fashion Show
While spring and summer boast plenty of blooms, one could argue that the real fashion show belongs to autumn. In our Pacific Northwest fall gardens, flowers give way to colorful berries and intriguing seed pods; leaves transition through a vibrant cavalcade of colors, then drop to dramatically reveal textured bark and twisting branches; and all of…
Read MorePest Damage ID Part 3: Who’s destroying my garden?
Creepy crawlies may come to mind first when we think about garden pests, but birds and mammals can sometimes cause us even more trouble. Damage from smaller critters might look like holes or discoloration. But when it comes to uprooted plants, heavily nibbled veggies or flowers, seeds snapped right up out of the ground, or…
Read MorePest Damage ID Part 2: Who’s Discoloring My Leaves?
Pest damage isn’t always as obvious as holes in your leaves. In our last pest damage ID post, we covered the most common insect pests that chew or rasp away at plant leaves. This time, we’re taking a look at some more subtle culprits: those that suck the juices right out of your plants like…
Read MoreHarvest Season is Every Season: Don’t Miss These Early Bonus Crops
Most of us have been trained to think in terms of linear systems, and new vegetable gardeners often start out trying to garden in a straight line: plant in the spring, water through the summer, harvest in the fall, wait out the winter, then purchase new seeds or seedlings and start over. There’s a lot…
Read MoreWinter Container Favorites to Mix & Match
After the glorious abundance of summer annual blooms, the options for beautiful winter containers are too often underrated or overlooked. As a result, too many containers miss out on their potential to add joy and inspiration to the darkest season of the year, as they end up sitting bare and empty on our porches. While…
Read More2020: Lessons in Gardening from the Sky Staff
We hope you have enjoyed and learned a lot from this year’s growing season. It has certainly been a unique one, for new & experienced gardeners alike, with lots of opportunities for growth. Take a look below for some wisdom, laughs, and observations from the Sky garden folk you know and love. Here’s what they…
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