Share my passion for all things gardening!
I hereby declare the garden tour season officially open! Or at least, it will be on Saturday (June 15) when the Spokane in Bloom garden tour takes place. Learn all about it in my garden column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Spokane in Bloom kicks off garden tour season. Or you can read it below (don’t miss this week’s […]
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For today’s garden column, I’ve focused on something that we probably all know, but tend to forget about. That is observing good cultural practices in the garden so our plants thrive. Here’s a link to it in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Follow best practices to keep plants thriving. Or you can read it below (don’t miss this week’s video […]
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My husband, Bill, is a genius! He’s come up with a great method for controlling slugs. I place rings of copper tape around the base of my cabbage family seedlings to keep the slugs away. Here’s the amazing thing. The skin and antennae of slugs reacts electrically with copper. That means you can use it as a deterrent. I’ve been […]
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We gardeners do love our glorious spring bulbs, don’t we? And once they’ve finished blooming, we do love a tidy flower bed, too. But before you remove any bulb foliage, read this: While you might not realize this, those leaves are busily putting energy into the bulbs for next year’s bloom. You certainly wouldn’t want to jeopardize that, would you? […]
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I’ve been really excited about writing this week’s column and even more so about making our very own pollinator garden. It’s something we’ve been thinking about for the past few years and are finally doing this spring. Here’s a link to my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Create an oasis for pollinators. Or you can read my column […]
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Most gardeners know that when it comes to growing cabbage family crops, insects are likely part of the package. In my garden, these crops are susceptible to slugs, aphids, cabbage worms and sometimes even pillbugs. Talk about your bug magnets, eh? Members of the cabbage family (a.k.a. cole crops or Brassicas) include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale). Whenever […]
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Do you grow beans in your garden? They are one of my favorite vegetables. Why? They are so flavorful and abundant enough to also give you plenty to preserve for fall and winter eating. In my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review, I share tips for successfully growing bush and pole beans. Here’s a link to it: Placement counts […]
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And now for something completely different! Bill and I recently decided to build a garden scarecrow. Why? It’s primarily for the purpose of scaring the quail away from some of our vegetable crops. But it’s also there to add a bit of whimsy. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know we are birdwatchers and bird-lovers. We do […]
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This is your friendly reminder about the importance of hardening-off plants before setting them out in your garden. It only applies to plants you started indoors from seed or any plants that have never been exposed to “real” sunlight. Why is hardening-off plants so important? Well, if you think about it, the amount of light you provided your newly-started seedlings […]
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What is your idea of a dream garden event? Mine is a huge gathering of vendors selling oodles of lovely plants, attractive garden art and handy tools. I would educational activities to help me increase my gardening skills and food to keep my energy level up. And, best of all, free admission and parking. Yes indeed! Well, Garden Expo will […]
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