by Nicole Forbes | Sep 29, 2021 | Fall Gardening, Spring Gardening, Summer Gardening, Winter Gardening
The single most valuable investment in your home landscape is soil improvement—healthy soil means healthy, productive, beautiful plants! Soil that is healthy is loose, nutritious (and thereby, fertile), well-drained, and has the ability to retain needed moisture and...
by Nicole Forbes | Sep 15, 2021 | Container Gardening, Fall Gardening, Winter Gardening
As summer annuals begin to wane and container plantings start to lose their luster, it’s time for a change! Planting fall containers is best done by mid-October (at least 6 weeks before our first frost) so they have some time to root in and fill out before...
by Nicole Forbes | Sep 12, 2021 | Indoor Plants, Winter Gardening
Although they live indoors, houseplants “know” what season it is by the length of daylight and the angle of the sun. Winter days can be short and dark, and when the sun does appear, it is low and in the southern portion of the sky. Similar to the plants...
by Nicole Forbes | Aug 15, 2021 | Edible Gardening, Fall Gardening, Winter Gardening
As your summer crops begin to ripen, know when to harvest for ideal flavor and productivity: Pick fresh peas, snap beans, and squash every day or two in the morning; produce degrades rapidly in hot weather Harvest sweet fruit like berries, tomatoes, and melons when...
by Nicole Forbes | Jun 22, 2021 | Fall Gardening, Spring Gardening, Summer Gardening, Winter Gardening
In an area with an abundance of trees, one of the biggest challenges for gardeners is shade. Generally, a partially shaded area is one that receives 3 to 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. Wet, dry, and deep shades are the most common planting situations in our area:...
by Nicole Forbes | Jun 9, 2021 | Fall Gardening, Garden Habitats, Landscaping, Spring Gardening, Summer Gardening, Winter Gardening
Once again, our Portland area garden centers have partnered with the Backyard Habitat Certification Program! This program has more than 5,500 people certified or working towards certification in Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, and Clark (WA) counties. In efforts to...
