PNW Gardening Blog — Seattle's Favorite Garden Store Since 1924 - Swansons Nursery

March 14, 2025

Container Gardening

Charlo W.

Colorful spring containers celebrate the start of the gardening season and creating them is fun and easy if you know which plants to choose. Look for these great gems to create a new spring container or refresh an existing pot.

April 11, 2023

Planting & Plant Care

Alex LaVilla

Peony Planting & Care in the Northwest

Who isn't captivated with the lush blooms of the peony? We still get excited when peonies begin arriving! Alex LaVilla, our perennials buyer, has a few planting and care tips to help you be sure your peony is as happy and productive as it can be.

February 28, 2023

Plants for Each Season

Jackie Watts

Our Favorite Early Spring Flowers

Early-blooming plants help brighten the gray, rainy days and remind us that warmer days are on the way. Here are a few of our favorites for the period we call “early spring” (February-late March). Some even bloom earlier in winter and well into April!

March 23, 2021

Edible Gardening

Aimée Damman

Starting a Vegetable Garden

No matter whether this is your first-ever vegetable garden or just the first time planting this year, if you take a little time to prepare before you plant, everything will go more smoothly and you’ll be more successful. Here are a few simple things to consider when starting a vegetable garden this spring.

March 7, 2021

Edible Gardening

Aimée Damman

Vegetables to Plant in Spring

One of the first activities I want to do outside in early spring is to plant my early spring vegetable garden. There’s nothing like the smooth, clean surface of prepped garden beds, the soil still pristine and just waiting to nurture rows of bright green spring vegetables, carefully planted in perfect rows. It’s like a fresh school notebook - full of promise. But what to plant? Here are a few of my favorite vegetables to plant in spring, with tips on when and how to plant them.

flowers for bees

Alex LaVilla

August 17, 2020

Plants for Each Season

Alex LaVilla's Must-Have Plants for Late August & September

Alex LaVilla

August 17, 2020

Plants for Each Season

Alex LaVilla's Must-Have Plants for Late August & September

Late summer can be the best time for sitting in the garden and enjoying the fruits of your spring labors. Keeping this in mind, I have structured my own garden to always have something blooming in August and September. Here are some of my must-have plants for blooms in late summer and into fall.

Marina Bambans

May 17, 2018

Attracting Pollinators

A Pollinator Garden at Swansons

Marina Bambans

May 17, 2018

Attracting Pollinators

On a late-summer day of 2015, a windstorm roared through Swansons. Near the southeastern portion of the property, a fence draped with mature Vitis (Grapes) and Rosa (Roses) came crashing down and was then removed. Over time, Swansons thought about plans for the almost 100ft long empty space and by 2017 it was finally time to begin.

Aimée Damman

June 12, 2017

Edible Gardening

The Secrets Of Companion Planting

Aimée Damman

June 12, 2017

Edible Gardening

Companion planting is the practice of growing certain crops near each other and keeping others separated so that they all thrive. Companion planting can help attract pollinators and beneficial insects, repel pests, and even help you use your space more wisely! Even armed with the "why" of companion planting, it can be difficult to know where to start, so here are some guidelines you can use in your own home garden.

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