EcoMetro

Seattle’s winter 2008 has been too long, too gray, and too cold for this transplanted soul. But one day of sunshine can erase the memories of the drab and dreary days past and induce a euphoric state of optimism. Saturday was just that sort of day as I left home for a romp in the Washington Arboretum...

The Future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams! Eleanor Roosevelt Twelve glorious days of February sunshine and my bleak yard erupted with winter weeds, in my garden, in my lawn and on my paths. They probably were there before the sunshine, but the sunshine drew me into the garden...

Happy New Year! Where’s the sun? Winter Solstice came and went, so the daylight hours are lengthening right? I am noticing cherry trees budding out, somewhat tentatively, but it’s happening. In the gray of winter I spend too much time reading gardening books and dreaming of spring. Over the holidays...

“If civilization has risen from the Stone Age, it can rise again from the ,Wastepaper Age. “ ~Jacques Barzun, The House of Intellect, 1959 On another dark and dreary day I ventured into my garden, determined to do a final clean up before the weather turned even colder and wetter. Actually, I was tricked...

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge. by Daniel J. Boorstin I love the folks over at Seattle Tilth, they’re right in there with librarians for being resourceful. In early November I attended their Putting the Garden to Bed for the Winter clinic. The big...

I’ve been pondering “green” business practices lately and wondering if things are as green as they appear in the newspapers. According to a recent Seattle Times article about the Seattle Home Show 2 it sounded as if the whole show would be green. I anticipated seeing all the new green innovations and...

Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify. Henry David Thoreau The good news is I’ve got blackberries; the bad news is I’ve got blackberries. Wowzer, do I have blackberries. When I’m not cursing them and fighting them, I revel in having my own personal berry patch, with its seemingly endless...

There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.- Marshall McLuhan Some days I feel like it’s me personally trying to save Mothership Earth from choking to death from bindweeds and blackberries. In my yard alone, they seem to grow a foot a day. I pretend to have a garden, but what I have...

The Twin Cities are an excellent place to be a gardener. With so many options for native plants, it’s easy to create a beautiful plot that thrives with little watering. Through proper planning you can grow climate appropriate plants ranging from Purple Cone Flowers to Brown-eyed Susans. Gardening for...

The climate in our area of Oregon makes this an excellent place to be a gardener. With so many options for native plants, it is easy to create a beautiful garden that thrives with little watering. Options for native plants range from Chocolate Lily to Salmonberry, and Trillium to Yellow Monkey- flower...