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So far Kruckeberg Botanical Garden has created 189 blog entries.

Fall Edibles – Baldhip Rose

Rosa gymnocarpa - baldhip rose The red fruits on this native rose are small but still full of Vitamin C if you were so inclined to harvest them. If you want to make your own rose jelly, then larger hips, as they are called, can be found on other roses such as Rosa rugosa [...]

2021-09-30T13:26:44-07:00September 30th, 2021|

Fall Edibles – Salmonberry

Rubus spectabilis - Salmonberry Early hikers look for the small bright yellow to red-colored fruits to tickle the tastebuds. The darker the color, the sweeter the fruit which can be eaten raw, made into pies, or added to fish dishes. The red blossoms are attractive but sparse on a plant which is best used [...]

2021-09-30T13:24:56-07:00September 30th, 2021|

Fall Edibles – Black Bamboo

Phyllostachys nigra - Black bamboo With the glossy black stems, this is an easy bamboo to identify. It will stay clumped for a long time but eventually will begin to spread further afield if not restrained by various means such as ‘bamboo cloth’. One way to help keep it in bounds is to harvest [...]

2021-09-30T13:19:16-07:00September 30th, 2021|

Fall Edibles – Hairy manzanita and bearberry

Arctostaphylos columbiana and A. uva-ursi - Hairy Manzanita and Bearberry  Next to each other are these two members of the heather family. Hairy Manzanita can get up to 10’ and more, displaying the wonderful polished red-brown bark whereas Bearberry stays low and is much used as an evergreen groundcover. Both bear edible small orange to [...]

2021-09-30T13:14:53-07:00September 30th, 2021|

Fall Edibles – Huckleberry

Vaccinium ovatum and V. parvifolium - Evergreen Huckleberry and Red Huckleberry Side by side are two of our most common huckleberries. The evergreen one has purplish berries while the red is – well, red! Both appreciate damp, organically rich soil but the evergreen flowers and fruits best in sunlight. On mountain slopes where it can [...]

2021-09-30T13:16:15-07:00September 30th, 2021|

Fall Edibles – Western Hazelnut

 Corylus cornuta var. californica -Western hazelnut It’s hard to beat the squirrels to these tasty nuts. You know they’ve been around seeing the opened shells on the ground but being squirrels, they also ‘squirrel’ away some in the ground for later. Trouble is they can’t remember where they planted all of them so expect seedlings [...]

2021-09-30T13:16:30-07:00September 30th, 2021|

Fall Edibles – Red Elderberry

Sambucus racemosa - Red Elderberry You really need some elbow room to grow our native elderberries as they want to spread out to 20’ due to their rather weak wood. Red Elderberry fruits are not tasty raw but best cooked/boiled to use in jellies, pies, and the like. Some will add elderberry flowers to pancake batter. Better tasting [...]

2021-09-30T13:16:43-07:00September 30th, 2021|

September Director’s Note

Goodness, where has the summer gone? Already September is cruising right along. Life in the garden is pretty tranquil, especially with the tich-tich-tich of the sprinklers running in multiple corners. The cottage removal project is complete, and we have staged the nursery retail tables in the new space. Thanks to the City of Shoreline for [...]

2021-09-08T15:07:45-07:00September 8th, 2021|

August Director’s Note

As I sit here typing at my kitchen island, a gentle rain has fallen and lifted my mood. Looking out my kitchen window, there's a Tetrapanax papyifera 'Steroidal Giant', bejeweled with raindrops and dripping steadily from its giant palmate leaves. Oh, the days when we complained of too much rain. Even my sunbaked lawn looks [...]

2021-08-07T10:34:30-07:00August 7th, 2021|

2021 Director’s Wish List

Hello friends, last year's director's wish list was so successful for us, I thought I would issue a new list for the garden. There are three areas of opportunity to consider this year. As always, any consideration of support for these efforts is very much appreciated. Item #1 Fall Bulbs ($500 would be a good [...]

2021-08-07T14:19:38-07:00August 7th, 2021|
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