Gardening

Read more about the article Wallingford Greenhouse Seeks New Home

Wallingford Greenhouse Seeks New Home

Editor's note: For several years, generous neighbor Cyrus Appel has hosted the Wallingford Greenhouse in his backyard. You can read more about that here. Cyrus is unable to host the greenhouse this year, but the volunteers who run the greenhouse, the gardeners who grow the starts into food for the hungry, and the organizations that receive the food are all hoping that a new home can be located quickly so that this amazing program can continue. Your personal home, your work,…

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Backyard Mushrooms and More Urban Orchard Fun

Ruth from the Freeway Estates Community Orchard (FECO) let us know that fungi fun will be mushrooming at FECO this weekend when mushroom coaches help future backyard mycologists (that's you!) learn about the art of mushroom growing. Sound Transit recently removed two beautiful Scarlet Oak trees near Roosevelt High School in order to make way for light rail. Rather than let that wood go to waste (and since oak is perfect for growing several different varieties of edible mushrooms), FECO teamed up with Roosevelt…

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Grand Unveiling of Community Orchard Designs

Last month, the Freeway Estates Community Orchard solicited input from the neighborhood to help shape the design process for this new community space. While, sadly, zeppelin dock did not make the final cut, plenty of other great ideas did including: food, flowers, classes, butterfly garden, flea market, exercise/play station, P-Patch, solar panels, sound wall movie nights, berries, herbs, HDA walkways, goats, bees, food exchange, tool sharpening and meeting area. Orchard mistress Ruth wrote to invite the neighborhood to convene again for the…

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Sharing (and Mapping) Fruit

Editor's Note: The following post originally ran last year, but Wallyhood reader, Luna, recently asked us to remind our neighbors about the various ways we can share our ripened surplus fruit. Luna also adds, "If nothing else, suggesting people who won’t eat their crops put a sign in their yards that say something like “help yourself – and leave some for the next person!” Last month’s post about the orchard pruning class resulted in lots of inquiries about what to do with a…

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The Little Orchard That Could

What do you do if you live near a strip of WSDOT-owned land that abuts I-5, is overrun by invasive plants and rapidly fills with unclaimed dog excrement? In Wallingford, you might introduce yourself to your neighbors, petition the government and dream bigger. That’s exactly what a group of friends and neighbors did at the Freeway Estates, starting back in 2010. Now, the land they have reclaimed from blackberries and dog poop has grown into a community meeting space which hosts…

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Springtime in Wallingford

Yeah, we know it's summer, at least, according to the calendar; but it's never too late to admire the spring blooms in our neighborhood. Wallingford resident, Emily, captured some of Wallingford's prettiest springtime flowers, and she sent us this note with a link to her photos: I have been doing a photo project this spring that I've been calling "Spring Time in Seattle".  Most of the photos are flowers from Wallingford yards, and so I wanted to share them with my neighbors. The photo…

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John Stanford Plant Sale Tomorrow

The kindergarteners at John Stanford International School are hosting their annual plant sale to raise money for their sister school Juan de la Barrera in Puerta Vallarta. The sale will be on the playground (on 4th Ave. NE, above 40th St. NE) near the basketball court on Saturday, May 11 from 10-1 pm.  We’re told there will be lots of tomatoes and basil, cucumbers, and other veggies, flowers and houseplants including lots of beautiful orchids. Perfect timing for Mother’s Day! All of the seeds this…

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