Blog
June 26, 2025 Mulch Madness It’s my goal to cover bare soil at FECO, both in the garden beds and in the tree guilds. You can see a variety of living and non-living mulches at FECO. See photos of of various plants and other materials: Hazelnut shells, early-flowering borage (Trachystemon orientalis), straw, leaves, prunings and […]
The Facts of the Bracts
May 27, 2025 The Facts on the Bracts I don’t even own a copy of Hitchcock’s Flora of the Pacific Northwest. (Different Hitchcock but just as scary.) However, now and then I dive down the rabbit hole, determined to figure out the species of a native plant. I scooped this lovely plant (see photo) out […]
Plant-based Resistance
April 29, 2025 A friend said to me, “I am not doing anything for the resistance.” But, when I think of what they spend time and energy on, I think they are! After all, these days it doesn’t take much to be rebellious. What plant-based activities might demonstrate resistance? Which ones might be interpreted as […]
Purchase, Plant, and Prosper!
March 28, 2025 The FECO Fifth Annual Plant Sale! Coming up Sunday, April 13, 1-4pm. Veggie starts, flowers, native and ornamental plants, dahlia tubers, other misc. bulbs, fruiting plants, fairy furniture, free seeds and more. You’re a gamer? We can offer Plant ID Bingo and a Native Plant Quiz! Meet nice people. Take a tour […]
The Fight for Food-Growing Space
February 28, 2025 Nature howls in February. The sun is stronger and slowly warms the soil. Buds are swelling and bulbs are reaching. The itch to garden is upon us. At FECO, we are spoiled to have a perpetual lease on public land. Others are not so lucky and the waiting list for community garden […]
Resilience! What Can We Learn from the Pacific Yew
January 19, 2025 We will face challenges in our future. Will we stay rooted when we feel torn apart, burned out, stepped on, whipped by the wind, undernourished, out in the cold, sick from the pollution? How long will we last? These challenges might be figurative for humans but plants face them quite literally throughout […]
A Medal for the Medlar
December 12, 2024 Our Medlar tree exploded with plump fruit this year, enough to share and also cook up a delectable paste. Squish out the seeds (roll them around in your mouth for a tasty bonus) and cook the fruit with a little water and a tiny bit of brown sugar. The fruit is about […]
The Essence of Senescence
November 6, 2024 To say “deciduous plant” implies seasonal leaf senescence (leaf shedding), a process that helps the plant optimize photosynthesis and nutrient efficiency. Senescence is a good survival strategy for plants in that the abundant nutrients within the leaves are not lost, they are transferred to shoots and roots, readying the plant to spring […]
Gotta Have a Spy to Make a Good Pie
October 21, 2024 The 2024 14th annual Cider Fest was the most successful to date. On Saturday, October 19, 180 visitors sipped hot fresh-pressed cider. A record for attendance! We fretted all last week about the rainy, windy forecast. Knowing that the winds would be out of the south, we set up the Fairy Furniture […]
The Ant Rant
September 12, 2024 The Ants Go Stinging One By One, Hurrah, Hurrah?? Ants exploded out of the gravel and dashed in all directions. In no time many scurried up my glove and onto my skin, blasting formic acid from bottom of their butts. Trying to solve an irrigation problem, I had disrupted an ant colony. […]
Place based, Kids and Curiosity
August 28, 2024 For eight years, several times each summer, children from the nearby KidsCo summer camp have been visiting FECO. When we see them march around the corner we rush up to the shed to greet them. They range from five to 12 years of age. They are delightful. Often the older kids help […]