Blue thimble flower pockets West Coast landscapes every spring. It erupts with blue flower clusters that look like pincushions, attracting birds, butterflies, and bees into your yard. Plant this annual wildflower in sunny borders, wild gardens, or raised beds. Native wildflowers are excellent choices for empty soil. They thrive with little maintenance or care, providing endless blooms with few inputs. Blue thimble flower, also known as Gilia capitata, is one such native wildflower—it’s drought hardy, full sun tolerant, and adapts to many different soil types. I first saw this plant at a native plant garden in Oregon. It burst into bloom in midsummer, with dozens of bees flocking to its flowers. At that moment, I knew this was a wildflower to treasure. I collected some seeds and sowed them in my garden. Now I have annual blue globe-shaped blossoms every summer! It’s that simple. Blue thimble flower thrives throughout meadows, grasslands, and chaparral landscapes in the western United States. Find it naturally amongst common madia, native grasses, and California poppies. It comes to fruition in late spring or midsummer as ephemeral wildflowers fade. Plant it in the same area as checkermallow, western spring beauty, or large leaf avens to stagger continuous blooms. Whether you’re new to native wildflowers or a seasoned enthusiast, the blue thimble flower is a wonderful plant for West Coast gardeners. Consider adding it wherever you have full sun and good drainage. What Is It? The blue thimble flower is an annual wildflower in the phlox family. It is a close relative of “bird’s eyes,” another California native plant in the genus Gilia. It also goes by the names blue gilia and globe gilia. Each spring, seeds germinate into little clusters of fancy, dissected foliage. The leaves resemble divided parsley leaves at first glance—look closer and you’ll notice your blue thimble flower’s foliage is lacier and more succulent than parsley. Native Area Find blue thimble flowers flourishing from British Columbia south through California, and east to the Rocky Mountains. They prefer locales with six to eight hours of direct sunlight. This means they thrive in meadows, as well as in valleys, chaparral ecosystems, and rocky hillsides. These wildflowers prefer warm temperatures to set flowers and seeds. As days grow longer, blue thimble flowers grow taller. They adapt to clay soils, although they benefit from additional shade and drainage when growing in clay. Characteristics Gilia flowers are one of the greatest pollinator magnets! Their flower clusters contain loads of blue pollen and nectar; native bees, bugs, and birds flock to them for sustenance. If your vegetable garden is low on pollinators, this is a good annual to sow amongst them. As they bloom, they’ll help bugs pollinate your crops. Delightful wildflowers are often easy to care for; this species is no different. Plants reseed readily on bare soils at the end of their lifetimes. Do not fret if you notice your plants dying after they form seeds—that is a part of these annuals’ natural life cycle. They bloom, form seeds, and then die before winter cold arrives. Because they are reseeding annuals, these wildflowers don’t function well with competition. They typically grow year to year in areas where their seeds readily access light, soil, and water. Where perennials thrive, they may overshadow young thimble seedlings and prevent them from germinating. Planting Blue thimble flowers flourish wherever they grow—they work well in containers, raised beds, borders, or wild plantings. So long as they receive good drainage, low water, and full sun, these annuals will pop up every spring from seeds. These wildflowers don’t grow over three feet, so you can plant them in small or large spaces. Some species they work well with are sunflowers, purple coneflowers, and western buttercups. These plants aren’t overly competitive, and they’ll leave some bare soil so the seeds can germinate. Growing from Seed Seed sowing is the easiest way to start this wildflower. Sow seeds in spring or fall on bare soil—you can lightly cover them to keep them in place with an eighth-inch layer of soil, although this isn’t necessary. Blue thimble flowers naturally reseed themselves on the surface. Once you’ve broadcast your seeds, water the area well. Fall-sown seeds will germinate earlier than spring-sown ones. Determine whether you’d like early, late, or continuous blooms, and sow accordingly. Find these seeds alone, or in wildflower mixes. They often make up wonderful pollinator mixes with other native phlox, sunflowers, and wallflowers. Transplanting Don’t worry if you missed seed sowing, as you can often find these annuals in pots at nurseries before they bloom. Transplant young plants without blooms into your garden from spring to early summer. Dig a hole as deep and twice as wide as the root ball. Then, put the roots in the hole and backfill until soil covers them. Water the soil well to help your transplants establish themselves. After a week or two of consistent watering, you can cut back on your schedule. Overwatering established gilia causes root rot; avoid this by watering less as these wildflowers begin to bloom. How to Grow Blue thimble flowers grow easily from seeds. They’re so prolific, they’ve spread and naturalized in some regions in the eastern United States! Care is so simple that you’ll wonder why you don’t have these wildflowers in your garden already. Light These native flowers appreciate full sun—they need six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily. They’ll grow in partial shade, but not as well as if they’re under full sun. The only time you’ll want to choose partial shade is if your soil is clay; in clay soil, these wildflowers benefit from some shade from the afternoon sun. Water Blue thimble flower is a low-moisture plant. It survives harsh direct sun and drought throughout its native range. These wildflowers often take advantage of spring or early summer rains, soaking up the water. They then bloom and set seeds for the next generation before dying back. You’ll want to simulate these natural conditions within your garden. Water if early spring rains are absent; don’t water if you have continuous spring rainfall. These plants need considerably less water as they flower and set seeds, so you may not have to water while plants grow and bloom. In the native plant garden near my home, these annuals survive without additional irrigation through the summer. Soil Gilia plants must have adequate soil drainage to survive. They function poorly in waterlogged, boggy, or moist soils. Plant them in sandy or rocky locales where water drains freely. They benefit from some organic matter in the soil but rarely need extra fertilizer. Mulch or compost benefits these native flowers—apply it once or twice a year around the plants’ stems during spring or summer. A top layer of mulch simulates organic matter in the wild that naturally falls and decays around established plants. Avoid placing compost down after this plant has sown seeds in the fall, as a thick layer of organic matter can stifle germination next spring. Fertilizing Fertilizer is not necessary! Compost or mulch applications once or twice a year supply the nutrients this wildflower needs to survive. Maintenance You have control over this plant’s life cycle in your garden. Deadhead spent blooms to force new blue pincushion flowers. Deadheading tricks the plants by convincing them they haven’t produced seeds yet. They’ll keep blooming until winter frost arrives. Deadheading also prevents self-sowing. If you’d rather this wildflower not spread, cut spent blooms before they drop seeds. Propagation Annuals don’t typically propagate like other plants–you can’t take cuttings or divisions of this native species. The main way they reproduce is through self-sown seeds. Utilize these seeds to influence where they germinate.

With little care and attention, hardy kiwi vines produce hundreds of pounds of small, fuzzless kiwis each year. They thrive in climates too cold for fuzzy-skinned kiwi vines, and they’re an excellent fruiting vine for gardens. Read on with PNW gardener Jerad Bryant, and you’ll soon have unlimited supplies of fresh kiwi fruit! One reason to love fruit is for nostalgia’s sake. As a kid, my mother would slice kiwi fruit with lunch. Whenever I bite into it, the tropical flavor catapults me back to those warm, fuzzy feelings I felt as a child. Kiwis are available at most grocery stores. Why buy them when you can grow them for free? Growing them at home allows for unlimited fruit on a perennial vine. With a ‘Prolific’ hardy plant in the backyard, you’ll never have to spend money on kiwi fruit again. When growing this vine, plan to prune, maintain, and limit its growth. Hardy kiwis are vigorous spreaders in the garden and benefit from maintenance similar to that of grapevines. What Is It? Hardy kiwi vines grow fruit with a similar flavor to those you find at the grocery store, although hardy kiwis are much smaller and fuzzless. They taste superb in fruit salads, smoothies, and preserves. They’re also the best kiwi for fresh eating with their edible skins. All kiwi vines share the genus Actinidia, and the hardy kiwi’s scientific name is Actinidia arguta. ‘Prolific’ is a self-fertile hardy kiwi that grows more compact than other kiwi species. This type excels in home gardens, as it can squeeze into small spaces and climb trellises. It doesn’t need a male plant to pollinate itself. Why are there male and female kiwi plants? Most kiwis are dioecious, meaning that each plant is entirely male or entirely female and that each produces flowers that match its sex. ‘Prolific’ stands out amongst other kiwis because it grows both male and female flowers. It pollinates other female varieties with its pollen. Rather than wasting space on a male pollinator kiwi that doesn’t produce fruit, plant a ‘Prolific’ hardy kiwi, and you’ll have garden space for other fruits and veggies. Native Area All kiwi species originate from eastern Asia and prefer growing in temperate and subtropical climates that match their home. In their native range, winters are cool, moist, and humid, while summers are warm, sunny, and humid. In wild forests, hardy kiwis climb on trees with their reaching tendrils. They use other plants for support to launch themselves into the canopy. Wild vines reach anywhere from 40-100 feet tall! As they grow, they twine themselves around other plants and become woody over time. This creates a strong, wooden base for hardy kiwi plants so they can climb higher and higher each year. Nowadays, hardy kiwi vines grow across the globe in temperate and subtropical zones. They require some chill hours in the winter and a long growing season, and they thrive throughout North America from New York to Oregon. Some species invade local forests on the East Coast where they escape cultivation. Avoid contributing to its invasive spread by harvesting all the fruit, and avoid planting this vine close to forests and natural areas. Characteristics ‘Prolific’ hardy kiwi vines sprout climbing new growth that turns woody with age. Much like how grapevines grow, these fruiting plants rely on other woody shrubs and trees for structure. They can support themselves. However, their growth and fruit production won’t be as optimal as when they have support from other structures. Hardy kiwi vines sprout round light-green leaves with whitish undersides. They create flowers that are creamy white, and they fade to a yellowish-brown color while the season progresses. ‘Prolific’ fruit is greenish-purplish and tastes like a mix of bananas, melons, and strawberries. When growing ‘Prolific’ vines, consider that they spread less vigorously than other varieties. They climb at least six or seven feet, so plant it onto an arbor, trellis, or archway for best results. Propagation ‘Prolific’ hardy kiwi is a specific variety, so propagate it with cuttings to retain the variety’s growing and fruiting characteristics. Growing hardy kiwi vines from seeds is a fun activity, but it leads to new plants that differ genetically from their ‘Prolific’ parent plant. Try sprouting seeds for a growing experiment, or take cuttings for reliable reproduction.

If you’ve faced difficulty growing carrots in compacted or heavy clay soils, try growing Chantenay carrots. This group of carrots have short and stocky roots that grow well where other carrots will not. Farmer Briana Yablonski will share how to plant and care for these delicious roots. Even though I’ve grown over 50 different vegetables and herbs in the past few years, carrots remain one of my favorites. Biting into a sweet and crunchy homegrown carrot can make you wonder if the cellophane-wrapped roots you find in the grocery store are the same plant! And there’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of pulling a well-formed carrot from the ground. However, these beloved veggies aren’t always the easiest to grow. If you’ve experienced spotty germination, a carrot bed swallowed by weeds, or misshapen roots, you’re not alone. Over the years, I’ve learned how to grow carrots that are a joy to harvest. Start with strong Chantenay carrot seeds, follow the care tips I’ll outline below, and you’ll soon be harvesting beautiful carrots. What Are Chantenay Carrots? Chantenay carrots are grown for their short and fat roots with blunt ends. Since the roots only grow six inches long, they’re a great option if you’re working with compacted or heavy soils. Characteristics Carrots are biennial plants. That means they spend their first year producing a strong tap root and produce flowers in the second year. Although these plants can survive multiple years, we grow them as annuals in order to enjoy their tasty roots. Chantenays are known for their short and stocky roots and blunt tips. The roots rarely grow over six inches long, but their chunkiness means they still provide a sizable harvest. You can find multiple cultivars of Chantenay under various names, but they all feature roots with the same shape. Native Area and History Humans began cultivating carrots over a thousand years ago from the wild carrot, Daucus carota. Growers in the Middle East and Central Asia selected plants with flavorful and tender roots. However, the Chanetay type didn’t arrive until over 500 years later. Growers in the Chantenay district of France created these unique crops in the 1700s and first used them to help with medical issues. Eventually, the roots grew in popularity and became widespread by the 1960s. While you can grow Chantenays anywhere you would grow other varieties, their stocky roots make them especially well-suited for areas with heavy clay soil. Planting Chantenay carrots grow best when you direct sow the seeds in your garden. Although you can plant them from spring through fall, the roots grow best in cooler temperatures. You can even overwinter fall roots in the field and harvest them throughout the winter. How to Grow Chantenay carrots are moderately difficult to grow. Although the plants don’t require much maintenance, providing the proper type of soil and staying on top of weeds can be challenging. Maintenance Carrots require little maintenance beyond regular irrigation and weeding. Since the small, slow-growing seedlings compete poorly with faster-growing weeds, remove any weeds that appear in the first few weeks.