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 […]

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 […]

Waning into Winter

Garden planning and simple chores during the dark days of winter.

The Pacific Northwest is a special and unique place on the planet. We are blessed with thick coniferous forests in mountain ranges that store our water and keep it clean. We have shoreline galore, from Pacific ocean beaches to the Salish Sea borders. We host a river through our largest city with more creeks and […]

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 […]

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Deciduous Tree I.D. in the Winter

Falaah Jones, Garden Hotline Educator Have you ever wondered what that beautiful deciduous tree is in your neighborhood? Even without leaves, flowers and fruit to help you, winter’s a great time to identify trees. The tree’s bark, buds and twigs and the sad remaining leaves provide great clues. Kick around the litter at the bottom […]