I have a small backyard that gets a couple hours of good sun a day. In the rainy season our dog completely destroyed what little grass existed when we moved in last summer. We are interested in planting grass and don't know where to start. The yard is mostly mud now. Please let me know any tips and when we should start. ---Heather Heather, Your observations illustrate several things going on that contributed to the loss of your lawn: grass needs…
We are lucky to have so many late winter and early spring bloomers in the Northwest. I've had a request to identify some of the flowers popping out, so here we go: There are lots of great big mature Camellia shrubs blooming. They've been used in landscapes for a long time and Wallingford's older homes have a number of really large ones Vinca minor (periwinkle) is widely sold and used as a groundcover, but it is becoming invasive and is on…
Imagine acquiring the power to produce your own food. Boom! Veggies over here. Bam! Herbs over there. Wham! Strawberries! Zap! Fresh-laid eggs, coming right up! Most city-livers are so distant from the sources of what they eat that this seems like magic. But in her new book Your Farm in the City, Lisa Taylor of Seattle Tilth explains that starting an urban farm is no mystery, but rather something deeply satisfying that we can all do. Meet Lisa, learn about the…
(Ed. Note: Wallyhood welcomes Jeanie Taylor as our new contributing writer, focusing on gardening. Jeanie owns Taylor Gardens, a gardening coaching service and Wallyhood sponsor, holds a B.S. in Botany, an M.S. in Conservation Biology , and teaches workshops for home gardeners on propagation and sustainable gardening. If you have questions on gardening, please e-mail her at [email protected] and she'll try to answer them here. Welcome, Jeanie!) Welcome to the inaugural Wallyhood Garden Questions column. I am pleased to be taking questions that will…
With a name like that, how can you resist, right? Wait til you hear the rest of the story. Lower Wallingford resident and pruning specialist Mike King, also known as Pruning Man, is injured and unable to work. His neighbors want to help him stay in the 'hood & get back up on the ladder, so they hosted a rent party on Saturday night (sorry! we couldn't advertise because it was over capacity as soon as it was planned!). It's too…
Jane C. spotted Wallingford on This Old House's Best Old House Neighborhoods 2011: Gardening list, and it's a pretty little Wallingford they paint: Colorful kites flying and kids rolling down grassy hills are common sights in south Wallingford's Gas Works Park, a 19-acre green space populated by early-20th-century coal gasification structures—decommissioned, rust-colored symbols of Seattle's industrial revolution. Wallingford is a walkable neighborhood with access to Seattle's Burke-Gilman Trail, a 14-mile path for cyclists, joggers, and skaters. A farmers' market, an independent…
Here's an interesting Wallingford fact: did you know we are neighbors to the most exotic "doo" in the Pacific Northwest? Well, if you didn't know--now you do! Call yourself lucky because Woodland Park Zoo is the home to this amazing and nutrient packed "doo" and if your luck continues you may be able to obtain some of this prized Zoo Doo for your garden or yard. The twice yearly event, Fecal Fest is fast approaching at the Woodland Park Zoo. Due to a limited amount of…