Life at the Village

Garden tours are coming up!
We are sponsoring the West Seattle Garden tour and selling tickets to the tour.
It' the 17th annual on July 17th.

White Center Garden tour, a FREE tour is also coming up on July 9th.
 This is a community event, sponsored by many local business's and residents, including Village Green Perennial Nursery.
The Jubilee days are going to be amazing this year-the music line up is fantastic!
This is a Seafair sanctioned event.

Eating the Arugula

  We were lucky and got our cilantro, arugula, peas and lettuces planted weeks ago.
We are eating the leafy greens daily.
 I love the nutty flavor of arugula- and I tend to just pick it and eat it when I'm walking past. A very generous leafy green- it bolts in warm weather- I'm trying to be ok with the cold!!!

A perennial leafy green that I often suggest to gardeners is the Rumex or Bloody dock -just cut the flowers off-it will seed. This plant is very pretty, adds depth to wild greens salad, can be stir fried...use like chard.

Our peas are slower. BRRRR....I will be sowing a new crop soon to prolong the harvest.
Here in our climate we can plant peas until mid-June for long season harvests. My personal favorite's are the snow pea, but we all love peas!

If you haven't planted onions or garlic, do so now. For the garlic- I suggest starts at this point.

The soil conditions and the fertilizers are 90% of the success for high yield gardens. If you are starting  your garden this year (or last) with new soil- you are ahead of the game.
However, don't forget to amend the soil AGAIN.
Every time you plant, I strongly suggest you add homemade compost, worm castings, organic fertilizer
or water with compost tea- you will be amazed at the difference.

It is way too cold to even set out any tomato plants! If you've bought them somewhere, keep them indoors until the soil temps are at least 55-60 degrees.

Dandelion pesto

Look at it this way...make friends -not enemies out of the free greens

Last weekend we collected and ate an entire salad out of wild harvested greens.

Greens collected...

dandelion

indian plum

oxalis

wash and toss is all together

I  like to add feta, slivered almonds and cranberries (my favorite is fresh strawberries)

my favorite salad dressing for this one is

balsamic vinegar and honey mixed to taste, with thyme, oregano and sage mixed in...

enjoy!

We also made pesto out of the dandelion greens

Dandelion greens,

 olive oil,

parmesan cheese

garlic
lemon juice

pine nuts

blend it all up in a food processor

I don't measure, I just go by taste and consistency

EASY!!

Eat it on pasta

with crackers and red peppers

use as sandwich spread

or any way you want!

Rain Gardens 101

Sat. April 30th, 10AM - 12:30PM

Rain Gardens 101

   Join Kimberly Leeper, owner of Mariposa Naturescapes (FB page), to learn what rain gardens are, why they're important for the health of Puget Sound, and steps to creating a successful one. They'll be a hands-on component where class participants determine if a rain garden will work on Village Green site. $30 person

Spring flowers- Northwest Native Trillium

NW native Columbine in my front yard

Double flowering Hellebore

NW Native Ginger

 What is spring without these

NW native Trillium Ovatum

NW Native Trillium Ovatum

  early flowers that bring in the hummingbirds.
 I wake  up from my winter slumber! Come out and play!

Black barlow columbine

Fairy hideaway

Toadstools for sale (high fired clay)

Organic veggie starts

Open- Seasonal hours
Thursday/Friday 12-7
Sat/Sunday 10-4:30

5 varieties of garlic
onions
chives
Lettuce of many varieties
spinach
arugula

chard
alpine strawberries
Everbearing strawberries
tarragon
parsley
sage
rosemary and thyme
Valerian
mint
mint basil
dill
hot and spicy oregano
chamomile
peas peas peas

• BLUBERRIES are here! Dwarf self-pollinating Top Hat (great for balcony/ containers) and Polaris (needs friends to produce)

• Evergreen huckleberries just in...Fruit trees on the way...late March

• Driftwood obelisks made by David Taber, Camano Island Artist. these are so cool! Grow your peas/roses/clematis on a beautiful handcrafted trellis.

• Yelm Worm Castings are here- Bagged of course! Test it yourself!

Seeds available...$2 pack

• peas (Oregon giant and Sugar pod), 
• tall marigold
• columbine
• bread seed poppies (a.k.a. opium)
• fragrant sweet peas
• purple coneflower
• calendula...and more 

Don't forget to check out the upcoming classes!
We have some really great Spring events lined up!

Best of White Center

Organic plants
Seattle Metropolitan magazine article...

Best of White Center

Organic Plants

Serious gardeners flock to the Village Green Perennial Nursery—nearly two acres of eye-popping perennials planted behind owner Vera Johnson’s lime-green home—to find collector’s roses or native ground covers, while small-scale growers snatch up pansies and pretty plant pots. Village Green Perennial Nursery, 10223 26th Ave SW, White Center, 206-767-7735;www.villagegreenperennialnursery.com