It’s that time of year to revisit ‘Great Plant Picks’. While I was working at the Miller Botanical Garden the ‘Great Plant Picks’ program was developed as an outreach program so I had the opportunity to work on it from the beginning and still do. I am now a member of the perennial committee. I reference the program often when I do the daily Facebook posts if the plant happens to be a ‘Great Plant Pick’. I thought it may be useful to make people not familiar with the program a

Inspiration can come from many different sources. About 33 years ago I had a little lapse of sanity and moved into a condominium. I thought it would make life easier and it did but for me not gardening drove me crazy. After 6 months I was ready to find a house again. Unfortunately it took me 5 years to get out of that condo. There is only so much you can do in 700 square feet so we spent a lot of time walking the neighborhood. We were lucky to be living in the north end of Ca

The Chase Usually on Sunday I feature one of the animals here at the farm. This week I thought I would show you pictures of how they handle the bad weather. We are about a week into snow and the coldest temperatures of this winter. The whole week has seen night time temperatures in the mid-teens to low 20’s and the highs just around or a bit above freezing. Monday we got 5 inches and Friday we got 10 inches. Chicken coop The first day most the birds just stayed in the bird ru

Old Goats First of all, we want to thank everyone who came out and supported us this year or just offered words of encouragement on line. This was probably our busiest year ever. Without you we couldn’t do it. The year started out like it normally does, with lots of propagation going on in the greenhouse. We grow between 50% and 75% of our plants depending on the season. We grow from seeds, cuttings, divisions and barefoot. After the rush of the holidays it’s nice to be in th

Seattle Garden Tour 2018 I’ve had the opportunity to escort several garden tours over the last 15 years. Usually most people accompanying me experience them similarly, taking photos and and asking questions. It is quite a visual approach to the experience. That is not always how people see gardens though, some artists look at things differently than most of us. Chihuly Garden I have had the chance to travel with one particular individual three time, Charleston/Savannah, Engla

Lecture hall Over the last several years I’ve had the opportunity to work on the education committee of the Northwest Horticultural Society. Most recently I helped plan the speakers for this years symposium, ‘Gardening on the Pacific Rim’. The object of the symposium was to look at some the the influences being part of the Pacific Rim has on our Northwest gardens. We had four speakers to help us better understand this connection. Checking out the plants before the lecture The

Mount Rainier from the Chase Garden Today I’m meeting friend for lunch at the Chase Garden. This will probably be my last visit there since it is closing for good this Friday. I’m very saddened by the turn of events that has lead to this. Having worked for years in public horticulture and public gardens I can understand the reasons why but it doesn’t make it any less sad. There are many exceptional gardens in the Northwest. If you are like me, and have one that is close, you

Yuushien Garden Traveling is always an adventure but to Japan gives it a whole new meaning. Just getting around is a challenge. There is very little in the way of written or spoken English. The easiest way is to have local guides. Traveling with Pacific Horticulture was the perfect way to meet these challenges. We had Hiro as our Japanese guide and he was with us the whole trip. He spoke excellent English and had countless stories to tell on the bus all along the way. I asked

the entry ED HUME. When you say his name, every gardener in the Northwest knows who you are talking about. He has been the garden question, answer man for years. He also has a great line of seeds. I always use his vegetable seeds in my garden because they are the best for the Northwest. Topiary This past weekend his warehouse and garden held an open house which I decided to check out. It’s only a few miles from Old Goat Farm but it seems like every time they have their open h

Me on top of Prekistolen in Norway I’ve had the opportunity to travel a lot because of work and organizations I have volunteered for. In these travels it is plants that we have in common both my fellow travelers and the people in the areas we go to. Plants are merely an ice breaker to start conversations that usually go beyond the plant world. I make friends with people all over and some become good friends and some of those friendships last. NHS lecture I’ve also had the opp

I have been ‘Retired’ for 5 years, but for those 13 years at the garden I looked at it with different eyes. I was always on a schedule so would look to see what needed to be done next and kept this constant list not only in my head but also on paper. I did appreciate the state of the garden but since a garden is a living thing it needed constant care and that was my responsibility. Alpine staircase For the first few years after I retired, when I would return to the garden I w

Tiny Tetons Now that the 2016 Northwest Flower and Garden Show has come and gone we can look back on some of the highlights of the show this year.The show gardens are always the big draw. The opening gala is centered around them and they are the first thing you see when you enter the main hall. The judging is done on a point system so it is easy to tell the quality of the gardens by the number of gold and silver garden awards. A lot of them were very well done but my favorite

Winner of the Pacific Horticulture Award – West Seattle Nursery Now that the Northwest Flower and Garden Show has come and gone we can look back on some of the highlights of the show. The show gardens are always the big draw. The gala is centered around them and they are the first thing you see when you enter the main hall. The judging is done on a point system so it is easy to tell the quality just by the number of gold and silver awards. Winner of the floral competition In

salmon swimming down stream Now that the Northwest Flower and Garden Show has come and gone we can look back on some of the highlights of the show. I think the quality of the display gardens was as good as it has been in several years. The judging is done on a point system so it is easy to tell the quality just by the number of gold and silver awards. very cool plantings Besides the display gardens the numerous market place vendors would keep anybody busy. They had offerings