By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist We have been blessed this year with one of the very best summers that I can remember. At my house, you know it’s a good summer when: The house hasn’t been cleaned in months. Seriously, if we have guests, we just reroute them through the garden gate and onto…
By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist It’s a rare day that I don’t come home with a few plants from the Nursery. My sweet and understanding husband kindly points out that our yard is getting pretty full, but it sure is lovely! My stepsons have both observed that there may not be any more space…
By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist I was on my way out to the chicken coop one morning, when I noticed that the new growth on my apple tree was curled and distorted in the way that only an aphid infestation can do. Usually aphids are on the bottom of my ‘bad bugs’ list,…
By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist June to me really means one thing: roses! I love roses, and this past month I have been watching carefully as their flower buds have gotten fatter and more numerous. As June gets closer I go out daily (yes, every day) to see if any have popped open, and…
By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist May in the garden is a wonderful thing! I long for this time when the new leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs are the perfect shade of spring, and even the shadows that they cast seem fuller and greener. There is a fresh lushness all around that I…
The Komo Kulshan Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society hosted a fabulous show of rhododendron trusses in our Propagation House on Saturday, April 27th. The winners of the People’s Choice awards were as follows: First Place: R. Yunnanense from Lori Bayes (middle in photo below) Second Place: President Roosevelt from Lynn Torset (left in photo…
By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist Spring has sprung and boy is it glorious! I always have this internal sense of euphoria, as though this is the first spring I’ve ever experienced, and then it all bubbles out and I find myself saying things like “Oh my gosh! Look at how green the grass is!” or…
And the envelope please….here are just four of the many wonderful images we received in our Fifth Annual Winter Garden Photography Contest. All entries were professionally judged by Scott Terrell, Photo Editor for the Skagit Valley Herald, and all were displayed in our 1888 Schoolhouse during our Seventh Annual Winter Festival on March 2 &…
By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist Yup. It’s still cold and it’s still gray. As I write this, a stiff wind is blowing icy cold and the clouds are marching in as though to permanently occupy the sky. But, as I observe my garden from the cozy comfort of my living room chair, I see…
In conjunction with our Annual Winter Festival, we are excited to once again be hosting a Winter Gardens Photography Contest. Amateurs and professionals alike are invited to participate by submitting up to two photographs of previously unpublished images. Entries should be 5” x 7” photos of a winter garden scene or a single plant and…
By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist February can delight and dismay at the drop of a hat. Its fickle weather toys with our emotions – at one moment sunny and warmish, and then comes the dark, ice and rain bearing clouds to make us scurry for cover and a cup of hopefully uplifting tea (or…
By Rachel Anderson, Certified Professional Horticulturalist Here it is, a new year again! January is a great time to begin your planning for the coming growing season. Plant and seed catalogs are beginning to appear in mailboxes, tantalizing you with the latest and greatest in new varieties of just about everything. I always get sucked…