Author Archives: Keith Possee

By August the ground gets pretty dry around here. The grass has turned brown, many unirrigated landscape plants are in a holding pattern, maybe even wilting or dropping some leaves.  Our location near the coast and west of the Cascades … Continue reading →

It’s true. Seattle is now zone 9a. That’s the word from the USDA. Even so, we’ve had two winters in a row with temperatures in the middle-low teens for extended periods. The special challenge we face here has to do … Continue reading →

In the many months since the last post, pretty much everything has changed in the garden.  Insects have been born, lived full lives and passed on, plants have grown inches, in some cases several feet. Buds have turned to flowers … Continue reading →

It has been a while. The weather in May was about as good as it gets and June is starting out the same. No complaints. Once again, winter cold damaged the Australian tea trees (Melaleuca alternifolia) and Chilean guavas (Ugni … Continue reading →

Since late summer it has been a rare week without a coyote sighting in the garden.  There is plenty of evidence that they are preying on rabbits and squirrels; their abundant scat is full of fur and bones. Tufts of … Continue reading →

The last post was in March, a transition month between winter and spring. Now we’re in a transition month between summer and fall. Sun’s up later, down earlier and nights are cooling off. Clouds appear on the horizon. If you’re … Continue reading →

This winter that we are about to happily leave behind brought a cold spell that was a good reminder that USDA hardiness zones are all about low temperatures. The lowest lows set the limit for what perennials we can grow … Continue reading →

It’s been a while. The last post was way back in July. Still thinking about that heatwave. On our hottest day ever recorded, we reached 108°F on June 28. And it stayed hot, over 100°F for a long time, too … Continue reading →

Where does the time go? Our heatwave blasted some leaves on a few plants, tree roots and deep shade have increasingly made certain garden beds a challenge for growing plants and rabbits are forever finding new plants to eat, but … Continue reading →

It’s been a very, very quiet year on campus. With the days grown shorter and darker, it seems even quieter. Let’s accept that as a gift. Our world is so full of electrically charged, artificial light that unless we live … Continue reading →