spring is in the air (when it’s not snowing)

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Chris

I know I’m not the only one out there jonesing to get out in the garden, despite tonight’s forecast for some white stuff. To tide you over, here is a small listing of my favorite spring plant sales…

Early Bloomers Plant Sale (2011)

Arboretum, Saturday, April 9, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
At Plant Donations and the Pat Calvert Greenhouse

“Long one of the Northwest’s best-kept gardening secrets, Early Bloomers has become an area favorite. Featuring plants that bloom early in Northwest gardens and many others, the sale offers a great start on spring planting with hundreds of favorite and unusual plants. Perennials, shrubs, small trees, herbs and much more, with many surprises!”

We went to this last year and got lots of great stuff. It is mostly donated by members, and plants tend to be small, but definitely worth checking out. Word to the wise, parking is a PAIN – very small lot. We ended up parking in another lot and trekking back to the sale.

FlorAbundance Spring Plant Sale (2011)

Saturday, April 30, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday, May 1, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Member Pre-Sale & Party

Friday, April 29, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Warren G. Magnuson Park, Building 30

“This magnificent sale, the largest in the Puget Sound region, features a glorious variety of plants from dozens of the region’s specialty nurseries. Species and hybrid rhododendrons, unusual annuals, favorite and rare perennials, trees, shrubs, beautiful conifers, groundcovers, vegetable starts, grasses, vines and even more. “If you love gardening, the Arboretum Foundation’s spring plant sale feels like horticultural heaven,” says garden writer Ann Lovejoy.“

The Arboretum’s big fundraising sale – lots of vendors and plants! Bring a wagon! I got a currant last year, among other things.

NW Horticultural Society 4th Annual Spring Ephemerals…and More! Plant Sale

When: Sat, March 12, 9am – 5pm

Where: 3501 NE 41st, Seattle, WA 98105 (map)

“A larger venue will allow us to increase the number of vendors & widen the range of plants available. World renowned horticulturalist Dan Hinkley will be speaking. In addition, there will be horticultural displays featuring many great plants (with an emphasis on hellebores) & a raffle for some special plants. All proceeds benefit the Miller Horticultural Library, which will be open, featuring books related to the season & topics we’ll explore, & to answer gardening questions. Held at NHS Hall, Center for Urban Horticulture.”

I have not been to this sale, but it sounds interesting and worth checking out.

Northwest Perennial Alliance Spring Plant Sale

When: Sun, April 17, 10am – 3pm

Where: 9600 College Way N, Seattle, WA 98103 (map)

Description: Info@northwestperennialalliance.org. Large selection of choice plants from specialty nurseries, members’ gardens & the NPA Borders. Discover new plant introductions as well as established favorites. Sale held indoors at North Seattle Community College cafeteria. Free parking in the visitor parking lots off College Way N, between 95th & 97th, along the west side of campus.

I made the family go to this one last year – one of my favorites! Lots of vendors and unusual things!

AND The Big Daddy -

Master Gardener Sale

Mother’s Day Weekend, May 7th and 8th

Center for Urban Horticulture

The Lovely Miss Z and I went to this one last year – we splurged and bought the pre-sale tickets where they give you wine and food! Definitely my favorite sale of the year! Got all my tomatoes here! And probably some other things I didn’t need…damn wine.

I tried to post the info for Seattle Tilth’s sales but it doesn’t appear to be posted yet.

And though Swanson’s is a for-profit nursery, they do have a big sale where you can get some sweet bare root plants for 40% off!

Thurs., February 10, – Sun., March 13
Early Spring Sale – 40% Off all Bare root Roses, Fruit Trees & Shrubs
The Early Spring Sale starts Thursday, Feb. 10^th, and runs through March 13^th. Save 25% off on all Perennials, Herbs, Groundcovers, Potted Trees & Shrubs. Save 40% on all Bare root items including: Roses, Small Fruits & Berries, Fruit & Flowering Trees, and Shrubs. The best selection, and the best time to plant fruits and berries is now! We have a huge selection of blueberries, cane berries, fruit trees, and strawberries – All on sale at 40% off.

See last year’s score below!

Now if this supposed snow would hurry up and get on with it, I could start taking inventory and rearranging so I could squeeze in MORE green goodies! Of course, there is an entire backyard to deal with…

hope springs eternal

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Chris

While checking the yard for possible wreath-making bits, I came upon a surprising sight. Buds! (No, not THAT kind.) Just days after it snowed here! To be sure, there is puh-lenty of dead stuff. I was a bit negligent in the putting-the-garden-to-bed area. I need to do some big time shearing. In the meantime, there is this.

Tulip tree

Euphorbia

Rhodie

Harry Lauder, dropping its leaves, preparing for the gnarly branch show

Magnolia

If it EVER stops raining around here, I will get out and take care of last season’s remnants. Already looking forward to spring’s plant sales, just around the corner. After last year, when I went to damn near every local sale, I know which ones are worth it (and which ones are worth the preview ticket). Bur for now, when we are smack dab in the middle of Christmas, there is this.

end-of-summer

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Chris

Wrapping up a chaotic August – 2 trips and 2 birthdays, and not much time to spend in the yard. The weather has also been a bit chaotic – some days of hot, but mostly kinda cool. Hence some tomato ripening issues -

Luckily some of the smaller ones have had enough sun!

This was the year of the Great Apple Thinning Experiment. So far it looks like it was a success – actual APPLE sized apples, and some nice color.

Also in the happily-ripening category – raspberries!

Still a few things in progress; check out the wee tiny cucumbers and a pepper!

As for the Brussels sprouts and the squash, it remains to be seen.

It’s not all edibles around here. Got a few favorite flowers too. Japanese blood grass…

Pansy and coleus…

And one of my favorite new acquistions – sea holly

the piece de resistance!

So while there were no figs or currants to be harvested this year, all in all I’d have to say it was a pretty good year in the garden. We will need to augment the soil in the boxes – guess the fancy stuff we lugged in wasn’t so fancy after all. We’ll add some compost and plant a cover crop of red clover to prep for next year. The tomatoes did MUCH better in the ground than last year in the pots, and the handful of raspberries we got were very tasty.

Now we just have to pray there’s no hard frost and lots more sun or we’ll be getting creative with LOTS of green tomatoes!

july garden

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Chris

Well, it seems I have managed to keep a few things growing, despite our forever-lasting spring and wacky hot days last week. Poor plants must be thoroughly confused. There are still a few babies in pots, mainly the ones meant for the shady side that is still weed-infested, and a red contorted filbert that sorely needs to get in the ground or it will soon be past the point of no return.

The back section of this bed had peas growing up the chicken wire trellis, and a TON of peas we got, too. They’ve been replaced with zucchini and summer squash.

In other veggie news, we’ve got cauliflower…

wee tiny peppers…

and a view through the veggie jungle.

We’ve got lots of tomatoes flowering, but none with fruits yet. There are a few raspberries on the new plants even! The brussels sprouts babies are coming right along despite the nasty green worms that munched them all spring. Lettuces are starting to bolt – I don’t know who I was kidding when I planted those. Not sure what the beets are up to, but I keep hoping. That fig everyone else thought was dead has sprung to life with a vengeance. And check out them apples!

It’s not all fruits and berries around here. We’ve got some nice flowery bits too.

“Black Diadem” bachelor buttons…

Butterfly bush…

Still coming down the pike are some poppies and dahlias. If only we could transplant some of this good-looking-ness into the backyard, we’d be set. Still looks like the Clampetts live back there, minus an acre of weeds. All in due time. Next up, some cherries need to get in some jars with brandy. Stay tuned.

shiny

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Chris

Finally! Something good to write about! And no, sadly, it is not bar-related. (Let’s just get that update out of the way: we are waiting to hear back from the buyers about a lease. Again.)

No, THIS is the fun new toy, a Panasonic LX3…

It came today. I fired up the battery this morning and took it out for a test spin at lunch today. Be warned – I am a complete and utter amateur. Here are a few shots from the Market (note the fierce wide angle on this baby!)

I took this next one for Mike – it’s not the real Skillet, but supposed to be good all the same. From the people of Beechers cheese fame.

This is the view out my office window…

Then I came home and busted out the Macro/Flower thingie…

Oh, hey, if any of you have any blogging/posting photos via Mac tips, I’d be eternally grateful. I swear I do it differently every time, and I’m surely doing it some dumbass, inefficient way. Now, back to the manual…

oh dear

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Chris

I spent an hour while held captive at the Ballard pool yesterday cataloging all the plants that I’ve procured this spring, beginning in March at the Early Edibles sale from Seattle Tilth, then the Early Bloomers sale at the Arboretum, the Northwest Perennial Alliance sale, the Arboretum’s Florabundance sale, and last but not least, the Master Gardener’s spring sale. I believe there was also a trip or two to *cough* Swanson’s, Sky Nursery and Home Depot. Oh, also the sweet delivery from Annie’s Annuals.

Let me tell you, it did not seem like a lot of plants at the time. However, line 1 in my spreadsheet is the title line. The plants start on line 2 and end on line…66. Yep, for those of you who are mathmatically challenged, that’s 65 FREAKING PLANTS. Hello, my name is flush puppy and I’m a plantaholic. At an average of $5 a plant, that’s roughly $300. However, for the budget-minded, bear in mind I haven’t bought a single pair of shoes or even a haircut since January. And I NEED a haircut.

I’ve been pretty good about planting the new arrivals, but there are still some waiting for their forever home to be cleared out. Luckily, the Boy Child works for cheap.

big plant daddy

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Chris

Hello my poppets – I hope you will forgive my recent neglect. I’m told Mercury is retrograde, for you astrology buffs, which apparently causes everything to go to hell in a hand basket, and it has been the god’s honest truth around here. Supposed to clear out in 10 days or so – keep your fingers crossed!

Looking forward to this weekend, because it is the king daddy weekend of plant sales! The Lovely Miss Z and I have tickets to the fancy pants preview sale for the Master Gardener program – they get you drunk so you buy more plants, which is pretty brilliant!

Then Saturday morning the family and I will be heading for Kubota Gardens’ annual sale, where I’m told you can get some excellent bamboo, Japanese maples and other cool Asian plants. According to Ciscoe Morris, local garden guru, the selection will be even better this year since the Parks department donated plants from one of its closed parks.

I doubt we’ll make it to the Tilth sale, since Miss Z and I hit the early one in March and I have NO room for more edibles, unless I take over some of the beds, which may happen.

The weather looks promising for both yard work and cocktails. I am also seriously considering finally replacing the camera so I can get some photos of the new baby plants! And I WILL get those plants labels done, I swear.

And now, apropos of nothing (and because I can’t take new photos yet), here is a photo of Jack, the day we brought him home.

progress

Posted on April 11, 2010 by Chris

Back to spring in Seattle today, shocking my poor lettuces AGAIN, since they woke up cold and crispy on Saturday morning. We bought some little lovelies at the Arboretum Early Bloomer sale Saturday, and spent a good chunk of the day weeding (mostly the Geek) and planting here and there. Still some things left to plant, and at this point in the spring, it can be hard to tell what’s a weed and what might actually be a plant making its return. Especially when we’re removed and rearranged and added so much in the three years since we bought this place. Here it is while we were still doing interior work, hadn’t even had the windows replaced yet…

The only thing still standing in this shot is the Japanese maple. And I am STILL pulling those god foresaken bluebells out. I hate them with a white hot heat.

The windows go in! Added the flower box and some sweet peas under the railing, and decided one day that those shrubberies were getting on my last nerve and had to COME OUT RIGHT NOW. Damn near killed me trying to get it all out.

Below, we brought the lychnis (the pinks) with us from the Green Lake place, and left the azalea on the far corner. The rest is gone. And those freaking yellow flowers whose name I don’t know are still popping up everywhere!

This the same space from two years ago. The area under the window by the railing was planted with Irish moss, brass buttons and blue star creeper, so we could have a place to sit out front (see me and Miss Z before the tilth sale!)

Then last spring/summer I pulled out that climbing rose and the heathers. Put in the star of the show, “Ukigumo” maple. Added some echinaccea, hollyhock, poppies, grasses, daisies, nine bark, sunflowers…

Dusty miller, crocosmia…some of which I might have pulled today if I hadn’t had these pictures to remind me of what was where last year! That liatris was almost a goner today! This space is only a sliver of the yard – we’ve also made some pretty big changes to the front border and under the rhodie “tree”, and on the south side of the house. The north side and the backyard, well, let’s just say those are ongoing. And going. And going. At least I have a good spot in the front yard. Just need one of those standing hammocks now…and a mojito…

fresh booty

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Chris

Yesterday on my doorstep was a box of treasures, fresh from Annie’s Annuals in California.

It’s been awhile since I ordered plants through the mail, so I was a little scared of what condition they would be in. Luckily, they were in pretty decent shape. Several broken leaves, and only one that may need replacing.

Since my camera is on its last legs and won’t be replaced til payday, I thought I’d post the photos from Annie’s site. Of course this isn’t what they look like YET, but hopefully someday soon!

Fragaria vesca ‘Golden Alexandria’

Fragaria_golden_alex