King 5 Gardening With Cisco

Costa Rica

Brad Cilley of Northwest Travel just put together an exciting new tour: Gardens and Natural Wonders of Costa Rica Winter Escape. January 11 through January 24, 2022. Escape the cold and travel with me to sunny Costa Rica!

Happy Birthday to a total nutcase

Izzy's birthday: Nov 6, 2017. She is 4 years old and is still as goofy as ever. What did I expect when I chose the "really active" puppy over her calm siblings?

Adopt-a-Drain

Customers in participating cities, including Seattle, Tacoma, Redmond, Duvall, Newcastle, Maple Valley, and Sammamish, can sign up to adopt a drain-and name their drain-- at ADOPT-A-DRAIN.ORG/WA. Early adopters have embraced drain naming, with favorites like Hermione Drainger, Sir Drains A lot, Midnight Drain to Georgia, Drainasaurus, and Singing in the Drain. Drain adopters also report their clean-up work online, which helps participating cities see how residents are making a difference.

Remember to Plant your Spring Bulbs

Fill your spring garden with spectacular color by planting spring blooming bulbs this fall. Spring blooming bulbs need at least 10 to 12 weeks in the cold ground to establish the roots necessary to bloom, so make sure to plant them by the end of November. When planting, mix organic bulb food and bone meal into the soil, and water them in to remove any possible air pockets. Try to plant them in an area that isn't irrigated too often in summer constant watering can cause bulbs to rot. Next spring give the bulbs a nutritional boost by working in an organic bulb food around the plants as soon as they begin to set flower buds. Wait to cut the foliage down until it dies back completely to allow the plant to store as much energy as possible in the bulb.

Webinars

There are still lots of webinars to attend while things begin to open up. Here are just a few organizations / series to consider:

Bellevue Botanical Garden.
Northwest Horticultural Society.
UW Botanic Gardens.
Plant Amnesty.
Bellevue Demo Garden Workshops.
Washington Native Plant Society.
Northwest Perennial Alliance.

What's New?

KSQM 91.5 Radio Show

I am on the air on KSQM in sunny Sequim. The show airs every Saturday at 9 a.m. Phone number to call with a question (between 9 and 10 on Saturday): 360-681-0000 ... or email your question (anytime) to office@ksqmfm.com.

If you can't get it on the radio dial, you can stream it.

Ciscoe's Plant of the week

Salvia elegans (pineapple sage)

Salvia elegans (pineapple sage): A fragrant, perennial herb to 4ft tall, with showy scarlet-red flowers. It flowers in fall and early winter just in time to keep the Anna's hummingbirds fat and happy and hanging around your garden until winter plants that feed hummingbirds begin blossoming in winter. The blooms contrast nicely against the bright, pineapple-scented yellow green foliage. Crushed leaves have the aroma and taste of pineapple, and can be used to make tea, potpourri, jams and jellies.

Pineapple sage is indigenous to Mexico and regions in Central America. It is barely hardy in the Seattle area. Ours has survived the last few winters because we use an old English gardening trick. We planted it against a sunny south wall that absorbs whatever heat there is even on the coldest winter days. At night the absorbed heat is given off by the wall, and is often enough just enough to keep a semi-tender plant from dying through the winter. If it does die, buy a new one in spring for beautiful blooms loved by hummingbirds in fall.

Past Pictures

By the way, all my past Plant-of-the-Weeks since January 1, 2021 are on my Plants page (under Tips).

Upcoming Ciscoe

My next events will be in January, 2022. I will be at the Puyallup Home and Garden show in early January; then will be at the Tacoma Home + Garden Show in late January. I can't wait to see people in-person rather than over zoom.

Recent Ciscoe

Nita-Jo and Daniel came to my garden to film the November 4th BBG facebook live segment. Watch it to find our picks for Plant of the Week!
October 26, I was on King5 Evening. King5 Evening to talk about plants with great fall color.
The evening of October 11 was predicted to be very cold for this time of year. King5 came out to my garden to discuss protecting plants from the cold.
October 4, I was on King5 New Day, showing how I plant spring bulbs in a pot.
September 24, on King5 Evening, I showed how to acquire free plants!

... more are on my videos page.

About Ciscoe

Ciscoe is a well known personality in the Pacific Northwest. He is featured regularly on King5 New Day Northwest, King5 news, and King5 Evening. After writing a newspaper column for many years, first for the Seattle Post Intelligencer followed by the Seattle Times, he left to concentrate on writing his newest book, Oh La La which came out in January of 2020. On average, he gives over 50 garden presentations a year. Ciscoe can often be found working in his Northeast Seattle garden which has been featured in several publications. Besides gardening, he is passionate about travel and leads garden tours to countries all over the world.