Garden centers typically can offer their customers several advantages that big box stores can’t fully duplicate. One of these is the ability to provide customers with valid, localized information about the challenges they face. When I ask my neighbors, friends and other gardeners where they would go if they had a question about a problem
Strange as it may seem, plants and clothes have some traits that make them parallel to one another. Clothes are fashionable. New styles appear every year, but there are always some holdovers from previous years. A parallel can be drawn here with plants. Some become more fashionable in gardens, while others fade away. A current
With the new year upon us, I thought it would be interesting to hear what other gardeners are planning for 2019. I selected a diverse assortment of gardeners in and around the metro area. These gardeners are not professionals, but people who enjoy their garden and are always trying to make it better. There is,
The first time that I saw a rose garden with umbrellas over the plants to protect them from rain, I was in disbelief! “Umbrellas keeping the rain off of rose flowers,” I thought. “That must be a very obsessive gardener.” Since that time, I have learned that it is not an uncommon obsession for rose
During the busy spring months, when blooming flowers are everywhere on nursery tables, it’s easy to overlook plants that don’t show off their color until late summer. I have many plants in my garden that are just coming into peak flower in August and September. Whenever we open our garden to guests that late in
Many gardeners are familiar with garden centers, where they can get annuals, supplies, fertilizers, gloves and other items. These are usually found in well-populated areas and carry a wide variety of annuals, perennials and woody plants. But for something a little bit different, gardeners can also turn to specialty nurseries. These nurseries offer an unparalleled
Gardening is a constantly changing hobby for many of us. When we visit garden centers, we are often not only buying plants that are familiar to us, but we are on the lookout for something new. Many private gardens have signature plants that might be a tree or shrub, or perhaps it is a plant(s)
Gardening is a communal activity: it is very common for gardeners to share their plants, tips on growing, new plant introductions and old favorites, and in general, the love of gardening. Eighteen years ago, Hoyt Arboretum in Portland created an event called Plant Nerd Night. The goal was to give local specialty nurseries a venue
“I didn’t know that it would kill the honeybees.” That’s what homeowners often tell me after using an insecticide in the garden and seeing dead honeybees all over the ground. Most people who work in the garden industry realize that insecticides are generally not specific in what insect they will kill, but I don’t think
“Up, down and all around.” That’s a phrase I often hear at clinics where people are talking about fertilizers for home gardeners. It’s an easy way for consumers to remember what the numbers mean on every package of fertilizer they buy. Of course, the numbers I am referring to represent the three primary elements found
During the past few years, I have started to see plants on garden center tables that are not reliably winter hardy in the Pacific Northwest. Often referred to as tender perennials, some of these plants could be said to be “pushing the zone.” Many just will not survive our winters. Of course, there are always
Almost every commodity experiences trends, whether it is the food we eat, vitamins we take, clothes we wear, cars we buy and so on. In gardening, there are changes from year to year in the types of plants that are bought, amendments and spraying practices used, and the ways we garden — in containers, raised