The Garden Keeper

The Garden Keeper

Pacific Northwest
Previously traveled the world and rarely stayed anywhere long enough to have a real garden. Now the Garden Keeper is tending one in the Pacific Northwest and writing down what it has to say. Come along!
Mar
01
Anna's hummingbird holding on to a Scarlet Emperor Runner Bean vine. B&G Photo

winged harbingers of spring

With spring just around the corner, we are pleased to have Anna's Hummingbird holding on to a Scarlet Emperor Runner Bean vine grace our March cover. These year-round resident species in the Pacific Northwest are known for their ability to survive in cooler temperatures ...
2 min read
Feb
27
Seed packs for winter sowing. 2/2023. Photo by B&G

winter sowing: hope in a jug

As you may already know, winter sowing involves starting seeds outdoors during the winter months. The intent is to take advantage of the natural cycles of freezing and thawing that occur during the winter months to stratify the seeds ...
4 min read
Feb
24
Dreaming of Sweat Peas. Seeds for Summer 2023. Photo by B&G

february's tender beginnings

The advent of spring brings the rich promise of the growing season ahead. The air smells of hope and renewal, and a universe of possibilities. For us, the feeling never gets old, no matter how distressing the state of the world may be.
1 min read
Feb
21
Prunus domestica 'Reine Victoria’ by Rasbak - Via CC BY-SA 3.0

a hopeful journey from roots to fruits, earth to skies

It is likely that we won't see these trees fruit for 3-4 years; there's no hurrying trees, after all. They take their time to root, to grow, to flower, and to fruit.
2 min read
Feb
17
golden blooms on a summer day

golden blooms on a summer day

My gardening days, truth be told, have followed a broken line ... Now, here in a garden in the shadow of the Olympic Mountains, I've planted evergreens and fruit trees, hopeful for all roots to flourish like a coral reef and for my gardening days to turn into a prolonged, unfaltering line at last.
2 min read
Feb
04
Image by DALL·E 2023-02-03 15.03.01 by B&G

gardening in the dead of winter

It is always exciting to plan the garden at this time of year, to imagine all the possibilities, and to see the dream flower in summer.
2 min read
Jan
27
Mt. Angeles under a blanket of snow. Friday, January 7, 2022 at 9:06 AM. Photo by B&G

a bitter wind roaring under old january's bareness

But the wind, oh the wind ... the kittens and I could hear it rumbled on bitterly, wailing and complaining lustily, and we all were too jumpy to get any sleep.
1 min read
Jan
01
hello january

hello january

Happy New Year to you if you happen to stumble into our little corner of the world. Here's hoping that 2023 is an auspicious year for you and your loved ones, and may it be so for gardens big and small, and all creatures within its universe.
2 min read
Nov
28
Sprouted garlic with healthy roots. November 16, 2022. Photo by B&G

keep calm and plant garlic

I did not have to do anything much with them. A little weeding here and there, watering the plants when there was a dry spell, but otherwise, they were left on their own except for the occasional hi/bye in the garden and the grace of the spring rain.
2 min read
Nov
23
Cattle panel/bamboo bean trellis. Summer 2022. Photo by B&G

bamboo/cattle panel trellis

Growing the hollyhocks and sunflowers on the north side of the cattle panel made them easy to secure when it got too windy here. But this trellis design had its limitations.
2 min read