Colorful spring containers celebrate the start of the gardening season and creating them is fun and easy if you know which plants to choose. Look for these great gems to create a new spring container or refresh an existing pot.
Who isn't captivated with the lush blooms of the peony? We still get excited when peonies begin arriving! Alex LaVilla, our perennials buyer, has a few planting and care tips to help you be sure your peony is as happy and productive as it can be.
Early-blooming plants help brighten the gray, rainy days and remind us that warmer days are on the way. Here are a few of our favorites for the period we call “early spring” (February-late March). Some even bloom earlier in winter and well into April!
No matter whether this is your first-ever vegetable garden or just the first time planting this year, if you take a little time to prepare before you plant, everything will go more smoothly and you’ll be more successful. Here are a few simple things to consider when starting a vegetable garden this spring.
One of the first activities I want to do outside in early spring is to plant my early spring vegetable garden. There’s nothing like the smooth, clean surface of prepped garden beds, the soil still pristine and just waiting to nurture rows of bright green spring vegetables, carefully planted in perfect rows. It’s like a fresh school notebook - full of promise. But what to plant? Here are a few of my favorite vegetables to plant in spring, with tips on when and how to plant them.
The most recognizable “spring” flowers - tulips, lilacs, azaleas - have finished blooming or are beginning to fade and a host of new flowering plants are ready to take the baton for the race into summer. Here are some of our favorite late-spring flowers; some even keep blooming all summer long. Best of all, these flowers attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds!
One of the perks of working at Swansons is being able to visit PNW gardens. While the majority of gardens we visit are public, it’s always a treat to visit personal gardens and explore what local gardeners are doing in their private spaces. Nestled in an ordinary block north of Seattle, there is a floriferous wonderland called Fishtail Cottage. Complete with a white picket fence, romantic cottage garden flowers, and a bevy of animal greeters, you might feel like you have wandered out of the suburbs and into a modern fairy tale land.
Summer has arrived and the garden is in high gear. It’s beginning to feel like the time to enjoy the fruits of our labor (literally and figuratively). Our top picks for July are plants that come into their own at the height of summer, offering bright colors, beautiful blooms, a tropical vibe, and often, intoxicating aromas. Let the sun shine, the garden grow, and the gardener relax and enjoy!
