2018 was definitely a busy year at Swansons! We wrote about many of our adventures on our blog, with topics ranging from planting a pollinator garden in the parking lot, to visiting a food forest in Bothell, to raising backyard chickens. As 2018 comes to a close, we thought we’d share some of our favorite blog posts from the year with you. We hope they can inspire you and guide you in your own gardening adventures!
Wishing a fond farewell to 2018 and cheers to an amazing 2019 to come,
The Swansons Team
Top 10 Blog Posts of 2018
An emerging idea as we blur the boundaries between ornamental and food gardening is the Food Forest. A project garnering recent attention is the Cascadia College (CC) Food Forest, on the campus shared by Cascadia and the University of Washington, Bothell (UWB). It is one of a few but growing number of college campuses in the U.S. which are maintained using sustainable practices and without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.
As we move into our 95th year serving Seattle-area gardeners (nearly a century!), we would like to share some thrilling news with our friends, neighbors, and partners.
Fruit tree netting is something I had never used or considered using until this year. I had experimented with nylon apple maggot barriers before with moderate success, but their application is quite laborious and time-intensive. Now that I have tried tree netting I will never go back. Here’s how to use netting to protect your fruit.
On a late-summer day of 2015, a windstorm roared through Swansons. Near the southeastern portion of the property, a fence draped with mature Vitis (Grapes) and Rosa (Roses) came crashing down and was then removed. Over time, Swansons thought about plans for the almost 100ft long empty space and by 2017 it was finally time to begin.
An update on the adopted Swansons chicks from the 2016 season!
With the recent cold and grey weather, we at Swansons thought it would be restorative to take a trip - albeit a virtual one - to the sunny climes of southern California. This is a peek at a visit to the renowned Lotusland gardens made by our Annuals and Indoor Plant Buyers, Liane and Mollie, this past August. We hope it leaves you feeling refreshed and even more ready for spring gardening!
We're on the forefront of our planting season and we're eager to get our hands back into the soil. Before we can get our gardens going, we're pulling out our favorite tools. Our tools are our back-saving prized possessions, and we want to tell you about our favorite ones!
Growing herbs indoors is easy! If their basic needs are met, such as good soil, adequate light
and the right amount of water, herbs will reward you with gorgeous plants and flavorful meals all year round. If you are new to indoor gardening or cooking with fresh herbs, these basic instructions and recipes will get you started.
Strawberries are always a popular plant for the home garden because they are delicious and easy to grow in our Northwest climate. Nothing says that summer is approaching more than the first bite of a sweet, homegrown strawberry. Plus, they can be grown easily in small spaces and containers.
Most warm-season vegetables - heat-lovers like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, and beans - can be grown here in the Pacific Northwest.…. If you can give them the right conditions. But with our cool, wet springs and short summers, sometimes it can seem like an uphill battle. Luckily, there are ways to ensure success for the PNW gardener, from season-extending tools to growing tips for happy plants and great harvests.