Category Archives: Uncategorized

On June 29, on this blog I posted a piece called Our Toxic World , about neonicotinoid pesticides and the harm they do to our pollinators. I did so after being alerted to this issue by Webster Walker from Central … Continue reading →

Coffee (usually Coffea arabica or Coffea canephora) is one of the many things Seattle is known for. No matter where you are in the city, you’re never far from a business that will sell you coffee, quite possibly coffee that … Continue reading →

We’re in the thick of it now; yes, it’s high summer. So far, it’s been a bumper year for tomatoes; my black krims and brandywines at home are covered with ripe fruit. This summer has been hot a lot. The … Continue reading →

Most people who pass through the Medicinal Herb Garden do not make it across the street (Stevens Way) to the garden’s fruit forest. There’s no sign and it is surrounded by hedges and tall trees. The plants have gradually filled … Continue reading →

The last few days I’ve found myself often by the globe thistle, and it’s no accident. Globe thistle flowers smell like spiced jelly beans taste. Or something like that. It’s difficult not to linger and touch my nose to their … Continue reading →

Sometimes it’s best to stand aside and let the plants do the talking. We’re in the middle of a heat wave in Seattle and I’m feeling lazy. This day calls out for iced tea and a swim in the lake. … Continue reading →

This summer has gotten off to a warm start. I forgot my camera today but here are some of last week’s shots. According to Daniel Moerman, in his encyclopedic Native American Ethnobotany (Timber Press, 1998), the Karok people, native to … Continue reading →

A couple of weeks ago, a group of 4-H students from north of Seattle came to visit the Medicinal Herb Garden and the nearby honeybees maintained by Evan Sugden and his students.  One of their teachers spoke to me briefly … Continue reading →

The scent from the flowering Japanese privet  (Ligustrum japonicum) in section D, wafting through the warm, humid air, is the scent of early summer in the city. Ah, summer. We do not, in my opinion, get enough summer in Seattle, … Continue reading →

Tomorrow is the solstice, when summer officially begins. The garden is filling in and, the traffic noise from Stevens Way excepted, it feels like a little bit of paradise. After 15 years of growth, the sacahuista is flowering for the … Continue reading →