With people hoarding toilet paper and none to be found on our grocery store shelves, I’ve seen several Facebook posts about natural alternatives — plants you can use instead. One of those is our common weed, woolly mullein (Verbascum thapsus). It’s a ubiquitous plant, introduced to and growing in every state and Canadian province, according to the USDA PLANTS database. Continue reading
Our front yard native shrub and perennial garden doesn’t look like much this week. The shrubs are just starting to leaf out, we haven’t cut back all of last year’s penstemon stems, and there are weeds everywhere. That’s pretty much the nature of gardens in early spring. We gardeners know what’s coming and get out in the sunshine to clean up the mess so we can enjoy the blooms that will soon start appearing.
We began this part of our garden in earnest in 2017 when we had a big truckload of soil delivered. We spread it out to a depth of one or two feet to improve the drainage. Who would have thought that a gentle slope would be waterlogged most of the winter and into the spring?
In the photo above you can see some of the native shrubs we’ve planted — red-flowering, golden, swamp, and prickly currants; serviceberry; Douglas’s hawthorn; red-twig dogwood; birchleaf spiraea; and ninebark. Native perennials fill in the gaps. Continue reading
We’re enjoying balmy mid-50s sunny afternoons this week as we turn the corner from winter to spring. It’s still too early for many of our native (or non-native) plants to be blooming, yet we can be fairly sure that a profusion of blossoms isn’t too far away. Continue reading
The Northwest Flower & Garden Show is Seattle’s way of saying, “spring is near.” The show includes 17 delightful display gardens (see video below), hundreds of vendors, myriad free seminars on a wide range of gardening topics, and informational booths from many regional organizations, public gardens, and plant societies. The show runs from today (Wednesday, February 26) through Sunday, March 1 at the Washington State Convention Center in the heart of Seattle. You can buy tickets online or at the door. Continue reading
Last weekend Brian and I escaped to Breitenbush Hot Springs for a long weekend of relaxation, learning, conversation, and celebration at the winter gathering of the Cascadia Radical Faeries. It was our fourth visit, and our third in the winter. There’s something wonderful about spending time with a bunch of eccentric and loving men in an environment where we can all feel safe to share our authentic selves.
Breitenbush is a retreat center near Detroit, Oregon. It’s completely off the grid and self-contained, including generating their own hydropower and heating all the buildings with the hot water that bubbles up out of the earth. Your cellphone doesn’t work there and there’s no wi-fi. We rarely spend time these days in a highly social environment where we can’t connect to the outside world. I love it. Continue reading
Sunday promised to be a nice day in the mountains following a long period of heavy rain in the lowlands and lots of snow at higher elevations. Brian and I hadn’t been out on snowshoes yet this winter so we figured it was a great day to hike up to Artist Point and enjoy the grand views of Mt. Shuksan and Mt. Baker. However, we ended up executing Plan B when we got to the Mt. Baker Ski Area and found there was no place to park. Cars were jammed along the road all the way around Picture Lake and the ski area lots were full. Continue reading
We may joke about it a bit, but winter in Pacific Northwest forests is surprisingly green. Continue reading
A week ago we Bellinghamsters were freezing our patooties off in 15° weather and braving several inches of snow to get around. It seemed like a great time to head out and get a few winter images, so I bundled up, put my truck in 4-wheel drive, and headed to town. I spent the first part of the morning at Whatcom Falls Park and then traveled down the creek to the waterfront.
Whatcom Museum, Bellingham’s old city hall, is an oft-photographed landmark. I like this waterfront view from Maritime Heritage Park. Continue reading
Whatcom Creek thundered over the falls in Whatcom Falls and Maritime Heritage Parks on Wednesday morning when I went out in the snow to capture a bit of our fairy wonderland. The creek’s name derives from the Lummi word Xwotʼqom, meaning “noisy water,” and it lived up to its name on this crisp winter morning. Continue reading
Brian and I hiked up the Pine and Cedar Lakes trail to Cedar Lake on Sunday during a break in our current rainy spell. It’s a steep climb, starting right from the trailhead on Old Samish Road and quickly gaining 1400 feet with 1000 of that in the first mile.
