Author Archives: Keith Possee

This year, there are nine species of cucurbits growing in the Medicinal Herb Garden.  Cucurbits are representatives of the Cucurbitaceae, the plant family that supplies us with squash, melons and cucumbers. All of the species in the garden except the … Continue reading →

Our unseasonably hot spring has turned into unseasonably hot summer. What a year for the mainline water pipe that controls irrigation to a third of the garden beds, all surrounding borders and other areas beyond the Medicinal Herb Garden, to … Continue reading →

Evey year, just before graduation, it’s time to trim the hedge that runs along Stevens Way from the west side of section D to the east side of section E. It’s a mixed hedge of privet (Ligustrum japonicum) holly (Ilex … Continue reading →

We’ve finally gotten some rain again. It hasn’t amounted to much but it has helped, especially since the irrigation system in two sections of the garden is temporarily broken. That means I’m shuttling watering cans from the cistern in Cascara … Continue reading →

There are more than 70 species of Lomatium growing in western North America. Surely there are a few people who can recognize all species, but I’m not one of them. However, I’m currently growing six species in the Medicinal Herb … Continue reading →

As you probably know, in addition to medicinal plants, there are fiber, dye, ceremonial and food plants in the Medicinal Herb Garden. In recent years I’ve been growing a bed of South American food plants, including oca (Oxalis tuberosa), yacon … Continue reading →

April air around the Medicinal Herb Garden and Botany Greenhouse is rich with the scent of cottonwoods (Populus spp.) whose fragrant, sticky buds  smell like beeswax infused with jasmine flowers.  On these warming days, the hum of bees, the bird … Continue reading →

From the remote trailsides and meadows of national forests and parks to suburban lawns and abandoned lots in temperate regions here and around the world,  dandelions (generally Taraxacum officinale in this country)  make themselves at home.   They appear to … Continue reading →

If you believe the calendar, spring begins on March 20, but if you garden in Seattle you know that spring begins in February. This year it has been unseasonably, freakishly warm. The lack of snow in the mountains is worrisome. … Continue reading →

This morning I heard cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) in Cascara Circle. But where were they? Shy birds that they are, the whole flock were clustered at the top of the western dogwood (Cornus nuttallii). Why? They were checking out the … Continue reading →