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The Bradley Sisters and the English Perennial Garden
Being Australians from Sydney, and very “British,” the two Bradley sisters were certainly familiar with English-style perennial gardens and likely had experience maintaining them. Recently, I realized that…
4 min read
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Those Difficult-to-Tell-Apart Yews of the Puget Lowlands
This blog began with a photo of a Pacific yew that I posted here, on the Facebook group page of the Washington Native Plant Society. One of the…
4 min read
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Windthrow, Windsnap, and Decomposition
Almost every year powerful winds from Pacific storms kill full-grown trees in the Puget Lowlands, blowing them down or snapping them off. This post consists of captioned photos…
4 min read
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An Invasive Mushroom in Forest Park
My interest in mushrooms has nothing to do with foraging and is strictly related to the fascinating world of mycorrhizal fungi and their symbiotic relationships with native plants.…
4 min read
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The Incredible Adaptations of Plants to Conserve Nutrients
Though the fall colors of leaf senescence in our native trees, shrubs, and other perennial plants may be less than spectacular visually, what the colors indicate is stunning…
4 min read
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Snowberries and Roses in the Backyard Forest
As the leaves begin to turn, the hard, waxy fruits of fall catch my eye, including the bright red rosehips and the contrasting white snowberries.
4 min read
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Why I Cut Down the Cherry Tree
Last summer, I noticed a cherry tree growing in the backyard forest. Since it had come up wild, I thought it might be the Pacific Northwest native Bitter…
4 min read