Walt’s Notes for August Whenever I come to the garden, it’s such a relief on a hot day to step into the cool forest immediately after the parking lot. It sets the stage that this is primarily a shaded garden. Many of the lower plants, shrubs, and groundcovers reflect this preference. Where openings allow [...]

Walt’s Notes for March/April Can’t stop it – the advent of spring! Even with our cool to cold weather and quite a bit of rain to further keep temperatures down, buds are emerging, flowers appearing – it’s a busy time for the senses. One of my favorite harbingers of spring is the Oso berry, [...]

Walt’s Notes on the garden – February 2021 Whether gray or sunny, when walking through the garden I’m always struck by the overall greenness here. After/during a rain, our native plants especially radiate greens that just capture your eye.  Our native woods are not like those in the Midwest where I grew up and [...]

Walt’s Notes on the Kruckeberg Garden – December, 2020 I had intended to venture into the garden after Thanksgiving to gather ideas on another article. Well, it was closed for the holiday but then it gave me a chance to take a better look at the plants along the front. Normally, these are not [...]

Walt’s Notes – September, 2020 What was hidden is now being revealed. I’m referring of course to the various chemical compounds that have been submerged by the green in chlorophyll. With the advent of fall, the oranges of carotene, the reds of phycoerythrins, the yellows of xanthophyll get their chance. With shorter days and [...]

Spring is advancing now with more warmer days than not. I had a chance to visit the garden recently and was struck by how well the early bloomers, often referred to as ephemerals, look. The cool nights help keep some of these blooming longer than usual. A bumper crop of seeds should result this [...]