Image by Katuschka from Pixabay

In the In Between

(Seasons, That Is)

Officially, we are in the latter half of “the big dark”, the period of gray skies, rain, and dark days that starts in October in the northwest. We are headed towards the spring equinox, where the days and nights share equal time in our 24 hour day and the earth’s axis tilts neither away nor […]

Spring is Almost Here!

Spring is “official” on Monday, March 20th this year. We all know though, that the Pacific Northwest often shares some spring like weather and early flowering plants during traditional winter months so it’s not unusual for us to be antsy to get into the garden. I’m certain many of us already have been at work […]

Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay

Winter Reading and Learning

The Garden Hotline staff share their favorite gardening books; also where to find great seeds.

Winter is here and this is a great time to sit down with those gardening books you always mean to read but are usually too busy with your hands in the soil to get to.  We want to share our favorite books, ones that we make use of for our personal gardening goals and to […]

tomato seedlings

Long and Cold Spring

What about planting tomatoes?

If you are like the educators on the Garden Hotline, you already have tomato plants in hand, waiting to set them out. OR wait, maybe you already did! It seems like it should be time but this year our spring weather has been particularly cold and wet. If you have set these heat lovers out, […]

Getting Ahead of Winter

How to protect your plants during inclement weather

How well your plants will fare during bouts of winter snow and freezing temperatures depends on many factors. You will want to look at how well your plants are sheltered, the hardiness of your varieties and the maturity of your plants. If plants are already under stress or if they are in containers, they might sustain […]