There are several flowers that lend themselves particularly well to floating on water rather than bunched on their stems in a vase. These flowers tend to hang downward from the stem, so that their cheery faces are obscured. Many species … Continue reading
Going to the NW Flower & Garden Show yesterday recharged my gardening batteries. Inspiration was everywhere, but mostly in the people I met and those I reconnected with. Landscapers, horticulturists, welders, sculptors, painters–artists all, whose ingenuity and skillful craft lit … Continue reading
Today I took advantage of a break in the rainy weather and went out to pull shotweed. The Sarcococca and white forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum) were perfuming the damp air. Both shrubs had a barely perceptible cloud of tiny flies … Continue reading
I have always been fascinated with insects and am always on the lookout for them. Since I garden using least toxic methods, the balance of good and bad insects is key to pest control. A healthy garden will have it’s share of … Continue reading
What does your main entry say about you? The front door is the first impression when guests arrive. Whether close enough to the street to play into “curb appeal” or privately situated behind a hedge or gate, it matters that … Continue reading
Did somebody say “plant fair”? I like nothing more than to spend an afternoon exploring tables of flats and wandering display beds looking for that plant (or two). Maybe that plant is one I’ve been lusting over for years but … Continue reading
My front garden is a sea of low, mounding plants. In spring when larger perennials are still waking up, the tall, narrow racemes of blue camas are a counterpoint to the undulating foliage. Against the backdrop of golden barberry, the 3′ spires … Continue reading
April is National Poetry Month; how apropos it’s spring observance. Each new leaf expanding elicits a poem in itself, as with Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. And spring flowers are second only to love in their poetic inspiration. “The earth laughs … Continue reading
Weeds are a fact of life for every farmer, forester, ecologist, gardener, and property owner. Plants, like all living things, are concerned with survival and reproduction and mankind has assisted in this endeavor, both to our glee and to our … Continue reading
Such a cool plant–but I can never remember it’s name. I purchased it from the old Heronswood Nursery in Kingston as Persicaria virginiana ‘Variegata’, but I see it listed from time to time now with the genus name of Tovara. This … Continue reading
Mosaic art by an amateur in love with mosaics and yoga
Fresh Thoughts from Colleen Miko
Fresh Thoughts from Colleen Miko
