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What a thrill! Euphorbia "Firelight" is ready to get going! This variety is tall and has dramatic colors. Cute baby Delphiniums!!! One of my favorites. Its nice to see them shrugging off the snows and cold of winter. A big fat BUMBLEBEE in my Sarcococca!!! I am amazed!!! In mid-winter! Subtle sugar-cookie scent. So nice to have something blooming right now. Read Full Story

...makes a perfect anti-weed cover in the new kitchen-garden beds. Hopefully the weeding here will be minimal. This will be a no-till garden as well. The new kitchen garden beds with various kinds of mulch and wood-chip walkways. Start with the old bale of straw. Not hay, straw. Straw "seasoned" in rain and snow since last fall. Use the straw like carpet tiles. The bale comes apart in slices, or flakes. Mice had made a condo under the straw bale. The terriers are fascinated. We are on glacial... Read Full Story

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Above: Snowball Viburnum transplanted from the nursery beds to the now-fenced backyard! Below: Amazing color this season on my Witch Hazel! Below: The dry conditions this fall meant for extra days with clear, crisp, cool, perfect, sunny weather. This was such a day. Read Full Story

The sunflowers this year were amazing. Will definitely grow them again next year! We dried the seed heads (the center of the flower) of the large variety and the birds enjoyed them later. Below: Himalayan Breadseed "Blue" Poppy. What a majestic flower! Easy to grow. Below: Perennial flowers grown in the co-cop veggie garden, now ready to add to my landscaping at home! My garden partners are really great about planting a few rows of flowers, both to attract bees and to beef up landscaping... Read Full Story

Ash-leaf Spirea, "Fireglow" Euphorbia, variegated Azalea, Blood Grass, Smoke Bush, elderberry, evergreen fruitless strawberry, burgundy Heuchera, and Shasta Daisy. Another view showing golden dwarf evergreen, Vine Maple and Washingtom Hawthorn. Smoke bush and Euphorbia are catching the sun, and the fancy elderberry is in front of the rock. More serious fall-like weather moving through, looking west-northwest. Fog bank is racing in over Dabob Bay. Buckhorn Peaks are beyond with their first... Read Full Story

Hey gardening friends - guess what plant this is, shown below with the yellow flower? Hints below. Hint #1: Note the thin-fat-thin leaf shape. Hint #2: It's a root vegetable. This is one of my favorite bee "photos shoots" of the season! Please comment with your guesses. Winner gets some organic Calendula seeds (aka Pot marigold) Read Full Story

The Sourwood tree (Oxydendrum arboreum) is mature enough now to be adorned with white flower panicles. I love Sourwood trees. Highly recommended!! Wikipedia defines a panicle as : A compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers (and fruit) attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes.   The cute Panicles will persist long after the foliage drops. Read Full Story

Here is a Dwarf sunflower named "Double Dandy". It grows about 2 feet tall and has clusters of variegated flowers, gorgeous!! The bees are very attracted to it. BELOW: Here is the mighty stand of "American Giant" Sunflowers! This pic was taken at first direct sunlight, about 7:30 am. The bees really love these too. They stand about 6 feet tall. Their faces are blazing bright yellow, following the sun like beacons. Impossibly blue midsummer skies set off the electric butter-yellow color... Read Full Story

These sunflowers were gorgeous this year. The cool weather helped them stay fresh and looking great longer. I would like to grow these every year! The "Infrared" colors are amazing. They are "pollen free" which makes them perfect for cutting and enjoying indoors. No mess on your table top. Gorgeous burgundy, plum, oxblood and terracotta colors. Here is a link to the seeds I started with, online at Territorial Seed . Try these next year, they are amazing!! Read Full Story