Posts tagged ‘Garden’

May 3

My Trip to the Master Gardener Plant Sale

My treasures

This was my first year attending the Snohomish County Master Gardener Plant Sale in Mill Creek. It was well worth the trip. Not only did it have plant starts and a vast selection of tomato plants but it also had a couple specialized nurseries selling unique plants.

I found two real treasures today: Aeonium Arboreum (plant in front) and Heuchera Marmalade (orange/pink plant in back)! Loved both of theses the second I saw them.

For the garden I also picked up Aeonium Pinwheel; Aconitum; and 2 Hostas (both big leaf one blue one green variegated)

For the herbs I purchased Berggarten Sage; Salvia Microphylla ‘Hot Lips’; Golden Sage; Rosemary; Cilantro; Italian Parsley; Dill; French Thyme; 2 Sweet Basil; and Mammoth Sweet Basil. Since I don’t have room in the new herb raised bed, I guess I’ll have to dig up some pots – that should be pretty cute.

For the vegetable garden I picked up some peppers, including Blockbuster Bell; California Wonder Bell; 2 Jalapenos; and a mystery pepper with a poorly written name. I also got six tomatoes: Ildi (yellow cherry); Gardener’s Delight (cherry); Big Beef; Stupice; Big Rainbow; and Ensalada (Roma).

This was my last big plant buying trip of the year. I still need to cover up that pesky fence and get some bamboo to shade the chicken coop.

There were a couple nurseries there that had amazing plants, including White Picket Gardens from Stanwood and the Desert Northwest from Sequim. Desert Northwest is were I picked up the Aeonium. He also had a great selection of eucalyptus plants; and some day I will have a eucalyptus tree in my yard. He did mention that he can ship plants if needed so check them out.

May 1

3 Comments

Growing an Apple Arbor – A True Piece of Art

I visited a nursery in Duvall over four years ago called Box Hill Farm and spotted the most amazing apple arbor along one of their garden pathways. I loved it on the spot and was pleasantly surprised to find they had directions on how to create one.

By the way, this turned out to be a very successful day for me since I also got my red twig dogwood start for a $1 at the Jr. High plant sale in Carnation. It’s BEAUTIFUL now.

I kept the directions for at least a year (maybe two) until I moved into my charming little house. This is when I found the perfect spot in the front yard where it could frame the edge of the lawn perfectly. It’s difficult to capture the true beauty of the apple arbor in a photo – especially since I have it planted in front of a very large hedge. But to give you an idea, the picture (middle) shows how my apple arbor looked the second year.

I also love my apple arbor because it looks like an amazing piece of art in the winter and even in the fall. You can even see how much the arbor has filled out. The picture (right) was taken this past winter – the arbor is now three years old.

You can click on these directions to see a larger view and print.

They can’t possibly mind me passing the directions along four + years later. Here’s a link to their site if you want more information about their nursery. http://www.boxhillfarm.com/index.html