We have a large compost on the bottom part of our property and by the fall, it is heaped up.     Late in spring I will be turning one side to get at the composted material below.    We start at one side and lift the uncomposted material and place it on the top on the other ...

As the last days of gardening for the year are upon us, we can go out and enjoy the last flowers and check on the health of our plants.      Soon we will be cutting down the year’s growth and mulching the base of perennials, vines, and shrubs. By the third week of October, some of the ...

The garden is full of vegetables, fruit, and flowers in the middle of summer.   Some work is needed every day.    With watering restrictions coming in, we will add hand-watering to the list of daily tasks. Shared here are images taken in the first 3 days of August.    Click an image for a lightbox view ...

By mid-July, spring flowering plants are finished and the perennial beds are full of flowering plants.    Featured here are daylilies, canterbury bells, gaillardia, balloon flower, and a tomato blossom. Click image for a lightbox view and a caption/ID. This gallery set includes echinacea, heuchera, gaillardia, clematis, and a baby bat. Every day we are out landscaping, weeding, deadheading, ...

By the end of June the vegetable garden is full of spring vegetables, berries are ready to eat, and fruit is ripening on the trees.    Summer vegetables are coming along nicely, but not quite ready yet.    Shrubs and vines have been blooming and a few of the later varieties are now budding and flowering. Featured here ...

Right before the frosts, we had some sunny days and a few vegetables, herbs, and edible plants were still putting out flowers. Zucchini squash was robust, but the larger leaves were withering.    Last blossoms and small fruit was harvested mid-October. Arugula is a cool weather plant and many will survive the first frost.   One plant was even ...

Garden plants continue to flower into mid-October.   With mild temperatures and no-frost yet (as of the date this was written), there is still lots of color and variety to enjoy.    There is also a lot of deadheading and removing withered leaves and stems, raking up leaves and pine needles, and sending lots of material to ...

On the Fall Equinox many of the featured perennials and annuals were still flowering in the garden. Can you identify the flowers? Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption (ID). How did you do with the first seven?   Here are some more: There will be flowers to enjoy for another month or so.    Lets enjoy them ...

As summer winds down, some of the stars of the perennial bed and the rockeries are still “showing off.”   In a south facing rockery Okanogan fameflower (Talinum sedforme) produced small white flowers for a month, only opening on sunny days.   We usually spot it on south-facing rocky ridges where little else grows.   ...

During the hot days of August, the perennial beds are at their height.    Some of the perennials that are featured here include Cupid’s-dart (Catananche caerulea), daylilies, perennial phlox, balloonflower, Gaillardia (blanketflower), Heliopsis (false sunflower), Crocosmia, tall hollyhocks, and Clematis.   Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption. Annuals are mostly self-seeded, but are welcome ...

In July the weather gets hot and the perennial garden is at its peak.   We try to keep up with the weeding and deadheading, but we also stop to enjoy the flowers in bloom.    All shots taken by the author.    Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption. There were no roses in bloom, ...

By May, the fruit trees (apple, pear, cherry, and plum) are in blossom and a number of shrubs (broom, Oregon grape, daphne, hyacinth, and almond) are showing their two week flowering show.   Click an image for a larger lightbox view and a caption. A succession of perennials in the borders, rockeries, and flower beds are also ...