Want to Get Your Hands Dirty?

Seattleites, get involved!

In a few days my Urban Garden will transplant to hot and humid zone 7 Philadelphia.  I have greatly enjoyed my five years in Seattle and its amazing gardening opportunities.  I've listed a few of my favorites below.  I will continue to explore the mid-Atlantic horti urbani as soon as I get settled.  Enjoy the Seattle summer!!

Volunteer:

Seattle Tilth needs volunteers at its big annual events (plant sales and the Harvest Fair) as well as on a weekly/seasonal basis teaching in the Children's Garden and general maintenance in the Demonstration Garden.

Washington Park Arboretum needs volunteers in their gift shop and seasonal landscape workers--it's a great way to get to know the Arboretum!

Take a Class:

Seattle Tilth offers amazing and affordable classes such as Beekeeping 101 and Comprehensive Organic Gardening.

Plant Amnesty, started by local horticultural celebrity Cass Turnbull, offers classes in pruning techniques to prevent plant damage--this website is also filled with great links and resources!

Get Dirty:

P-Patch Community Gardens are named for the original community garden at Picardo Farm in South Seattle.  They are now located in most parts of the city, some of which have lengthy waiting lists so, if you don't want to wait, try:

Urban Garden Share which connects homeowners with willing local gardeners to share the work and the wealth of an urban garden.

Get Informed:

UW's College of Built Environments offers year-round lectures and educational materials!

Sustainable Seattle, Sustainable Ballard and Sustainable Wallingford are also all good places to start!

May Blooms

May Blooms

Ceanothus

Ceanothus is an evergreen shrub or small tree with many clusters of small blue flower clumps in spring and summer.  Bees swarm to the bright flowers in early May.  Spring is a good time to trim out any deadwood in the plant.

Heliathemum

 

Helianthemum (also called Rock rose, Sun rose or Sun flower--as its Greek name translates) is a bright spring and summer flowering plant in the Cistaceae family that does well in rock gardens and in full sun.

Cistus

 

 

Also in the Cistaceae (Rockrose) family, the Cistus genus has pink and white short-lived flowers that bloom in the springtime on an evergreen shrub

. 

Chives

Allium schoenoprasum or Chives not only add great flavor in the kitchen but their spring blooms add a pop of color to your garden. They are perennial bulb plants in the Allium family.

Photinia

 

Photinia was featured in April Blooms for its unique shade shifting leaves (red new growth).  Now, the red new growth is almost fully green and the shrub is bursting with bountiful clusters of small white (pungent) flowers. 

Thyme

Thyme, part of the Lamiaceae family, makes a great year-round ground cover with bright tiny flowers in late spring and summer.  Thyme is a hardy plant that does well in rock gardens and around patio pavers for a sweet smelling alternative to grass or moss.

Lavender

Lavender (genus: Lavandula, family: Lamiaceae) is bursting with fragrant new growth in mid-May. 

Kniphofia

Kniphofia, commonly named Red-hot poker or Torch lily, is a native of Southern Africa and its striking orange blooms dot the urban landscape from mid-May through the end of the summer here in the Northwestern USA.  It is an evergreen pernennial which is closely related to the Aloe plant.

Iris 

Irises (from the Iridaceae family) are part of a genus of over 250 species of varying types (some rhizomatous and some bulbous).  Their name derives from the Greek word for rainbow and this evergreen perennial blooms in a range of colors including purple, yellow and white.

California Poppy

An all-time favorite of mine, the California poppy (Escholzia californica) in the Papaveraceae family, has been slowly popping up in Seattle through April (as the spring weather was finding itself) and now in May, they are finally as ubiquitous as the sunshine. 

Resources:

Perennials: The Definitive Reference with over 2,500 Photographs by Roger Philips and Martyn Rix

**I just got this book and it is a fantastic reference filled with pictures of perennials in situ all around the globe--a great buy!**

The American Horticultural Society encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers

Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners by William T. Stearn

Seattle Tilth's Edible Plant Sale!

70,000+ edible starts for sale!  Go get 'em!