Posts by Toby Madrone
Tillandsia: The Amazing Easy-Care Air Plant
Tillandsias are enjoying a well-deserved surge in popularity lately, but there are still many indoor gardeners who have yet to give this easy, fun, and rewarding houseplant a try. Also known as “air plants,” tillandsias are unique in that they don’t require soil. This makes them extremely versatile indoor plants, and enthusiasts delight in finding…
Read MoreOver-Wintering Hummingbirds in the Puget Sound Area
Make your garden a haven for overwintering Anna’s hummingbirds!
Read MorePoinsettias: A Little History & A Lot of Tips
There’s no question that people love poinsettias. At Sky alone, we sell over a thousand poinsettias every winter. But for all their popularity, poinsettias remain deeply — and some might even say tragically — misunderstood. We’d like to lay some myths to rest, help you get to know your botanical holiday guests a little better,…
Read MoreWinter Container Favorites to Mix & Match
After the glorious abundance of summer annual blooms, the options for beautiful winter containers are too often underrated or overlooked. As a result, too many containers miss out on their potential to add joy and inspiration to the darkest season of the year, as they end up sitting bare and empty on our porches. While…
Read MoreCaring for Carnivores
The outdoor gardening season may be winding down, but it’s always time for indoor gardening. If you’d like to create your very own little shop of horrors, then this post about carnivorous plants is for you! Flesh Eating Foliage Yep, these plants really do eat meat! While most of the ones you’ll find in our…
Read MoreDividing Perennials
Fall is an excellent time to divide many perennials.
Read MoreMushrooms: A Sign of Healthy Soil
As the fall rain returns, mushrooms tend to pop up in our gardens overnight. And just as abruptly, all kinds of questions and concerns pop up as well. Gardeners want to know if mushrooms will harm their plants, their children, and their pets. They want to know where they came from and how to get…
Read MoreSeed Saving Basics
Seed saving is making a comeback! Like other survival skills from home canning to foraging, saving seeds was all but forgotten for a short time, but the practice is thriving once again among a new generation of enthusiasts. Seed saving is just what it sounds like: collecting and saving the seeds from your gardens plants…
Read MoreFeed Your Soil, Feed Your Plants: build a soil ecosystem
A garden is a living ecosystem that starts with the soil. Each handful of healthy soil contains billions of microscopic fungi, bacteria, and animals that are hard at work transforming organic material into food your plants can use. That’s the secret to organic soil fertility: You feed your soil microbes, and the microbes feed your plants.…
Read MorePests With Benefits: Give these critters a second chance
Just like many garden flora have a reputation as “weeds,” certain fauna are often labeled as “garden pests.” Some are vehemently accused of damaging our plants or wreaking havoc in our lawns. Some may pack a nasty bite or sting we can’t forget. A few unwelcome guests might even get a little too cozy in…
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