Most of us are constantly working on increasing the soil quality of our gardens – both the soil nutrients and the soil structure. Either we’re starting a new garden on less-than-ideal soil or we’re trying to build the soil quality back up after previous crops sapped nutrients from the ground or winter rains compacted the soil. In this post, I will discuss how to enhance the soil
Landscape Design
LANDSCAPE DESIGN Renee Wilkinson received her masters degree in landscape architecture from the University of Oregon. She works as a residential landscape designer in the Portland metro area helping homeowners transform their outdoor spaces. Renee partners with licensed contractors to ensure the design vision becomes a well-constructed reality. Renee is especially interested in planting design, edible landscapes, nature-play spaces and sustainable landscape practices. She incorporates ecologically-sensitive design
Celebrating the Solstice
Celebrating the Winter Solstice is my escape from the holiday frenzy that reaches it’s peak about this time. I am excited to see my extended family come together for Christmas in a few days, but the Solstice reminds us to slow down, savor and celebrate the simple aspects of our beautiful life. Here are some ideas on how you can celebrate the darkest day and
Holiday Solstice Tree
Our holiday traditions have evolved over time, as they should. The childhood season of presents has given way to a season of simplicity in adulthood – quiet hours, comfort foods, making warm memories with family and friends. It’s less about the “stuff” and more about celebrating the season of the Winter Solstice. Our annual holiday tree is a reflection of that evolution: transforming what was once a traditional Christmas tree
Goodnight Garden
Juniper and River were both sleeping inside as Jay puttered around the house, so I seized the moment by taking solitary refuge in the garden. We have had a handful of cold, hard frosts now as fall makes way for winter. What a wonderful way to spend my Thanksgiving, working outside on the homestead to clean up leaf piles, pull the remains of the growing season, fill
Preserving Chanterelle Mushrooms
This fall I spent more time hunting chanterelle mushrooms in the woods than I spent in our own garden. The combination of foraging for wild food, hiking for hours and simply being outside among torrential rains and giant trees made me feel more than alive at an otherwise sleepy time of year. I ended up with baskets full of mushrooms – more than our family could eat fresh –
Hunting Chanterelles
The end of the garden season signals the beginning of the mushroom season, which certainly takes the edge off of the end-of-season gardening blues. Wild chanterelles begin growing all over the Pacific Northwest in September and continue through November. They are a great “beginner mushroom” because they are very distinct looking, so you can’t confuse them easily with another non-edible mushroom. We have had an
Planting the Winter Garden
The harvest basket is reaching the brim and the temperature is suppose to reach 90 degrees today, but believe it or not we are overdue to plant the winter garden! There are lots of vegetables we can grow in our mild winters, but they need enough time to get established before the winter chill sets in. I’ve also got a few tips to share on where
September Garden Update
The harvest basket is over flowing on our homestead – finally! Squash is meandering through every open corner of the garden. Juniper is still finding ripe strawberries from our everbearing plants that carpet the planting areas. Bees are humming from one echinacea flower head to another. This is the homestead I have been dreaming of since we first set eyes on this home. I was hoping the garden
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