trees – While I Was Gardening

In the Shade of Giants

I was offered cool, refreshing shade on a long walk early one warm July morning. This gift is received with much gratitude – I wish I could reciprocate. What they give us, we must treasure and protect.

A Treasure of Trees

Yakima, Washington, is home to an exceptional and surprising treasure – the Yakima Area Arboretum. I first learned of this beautiful and educational arboretum in 1976 from a co-worker, with my first visit coming in early 1977. Having only experienced arboretums in Seattle, Oregon and western Canada before this, I admit that I was aContinue reading “A Treasure of Trees”

Traveling and Hiking in the Rain

My spouse and I just returned from our anniversary vacation to the Olympic National Park and Rainforest – specifically, the Hoh and Quinault rainforests. The Park was established in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and encompasses 922,650 acres of unique landscapes: rainforests, magnificent beaches on the Pacific coast, meadows, rivers, and mountains. The extensiveContinue reading “Traveling and Hiking in the Rain”

Neighborhood Gardens, Part 1

One of my favorite activities besides gardening (and hiking) is walking through my city’s neighborhoods. An enormous variety of gardens exists here in Seattle – from classic, formal gardens to casual lawn and flower bed yards, to unique mini-forests or native-plant landscapes, to yards full of veggie beds or yards full of dandelions (a veryContinue reading “Neighborhood Gardens, Part 1”