May 19th – Celebration of Food Festival!  Lynnwood WA Booth #47

June 1st & 2nd  – The Mother Earth News Fair  in Puyallup.  Booth# 225
Check out the List of Workshops and Speakers!  Jessi is in the line up both days.
Hours are Sat 9am to 7pm and Sun 9am to 6pm.

June 7th, 8th & 9th- Sorticulture Fair!  in Everett ,WA Booth # 174

July 27th  - Solar Fest in Shoreline WA

Sept 7th – Seattle Tilth Harvest Fest in Seattle, WA

One of Jessi’s seminars at the 2012 Mother Earth News Fair had standing room only!

(Available in our nursery in one gallon size)

It sounds like something from Harry Potter doesn’t it? Well we certainly think it has many magical medicinal properties, and is something you can easily grow in your own food forest! I first found out about it when I visited a local lady spa. There, they have a trough of Mugwort Tea to dump on yourself. It smells heavenly and we were told it’s a topical anesthetic with antibacterial and anti-fungal properties.  Naturopaths continue to use the herb as a remedy for disorders of the digestive and reproductive systems. It can also be used to treat intermittent fevers with chills and shivering and is added to healing baths to ease discomfort from eczema, gout and arthritis. Its sage-like, spicy flavor makes a delicious seasoning for meat dishes too.  Mugwort also stimulates appetite, promotes good digestion, reduces fevers and relieves tension. When prepared as a tea (to drink), mugwort also provides an excellent source of minerals, especially calcium.  Also, you can use it to make ale! What more could you ask for?!

Mugwort is a vigorous grower and can get up to 7 feet tall. It will spread out in a cluster very easily but is also easily maintained. We have quite a few clusters coming up around the mugwort we planted last year in our food forest. So we decided to do a little propagation:

• First, I dug up 2 clumps about 6″ in diameter.
• Second, I filled a few 1 gallon pots with some good 3-way potting soil.
• Third, I used the dandelion weeding tool to create a hole or plug space for the little tap roots to live in.
• Lastly, I watered them in and wah-lah, mugwort for everyone!For more information about Mugwort and it’s many uses (including edibility rating) be sure to check out one of our favorite resources.

Partners: King County EnviroStars, Seattle Public Utilities, WA State Nursery & Landscape Association (WSNLA), WA Association of Landscape Professionals (WALP), Cascade Water Alliance, Tacoma Water District

The first training and test is being held this March at South Seattle Community College and registration info can be found here    through WSNLA.  The registration is almost full – so pass this along quickly to anyone who may be interested!  There are links to the required reading material as well as prerequisites to register.

I am excited to be the kickoff presenter for the training and our Project Manager Zac Kopra will be among the first class going through the training.  We hope to see you there!

Perennial edible plants have arrived!

Also, Jessi will be teaching two seminars both followed with book signings:

• Easy Peasy Edibles  Plant Once & Enjoy the Harvest for Years  Thurs, Feb 21 at 9:30 am/Hood Room Join landscape designer Jessi Bloom talk about her favorite low maintenance edibles for the Pacific Northwest – all perennials! Plant them once and enjoy the harvest for years to come, plus arrange them beautifully for a gorgeous edible landscape!
• What the Cluck?! Everything You Need to Know for Chicken Gardening Sat, Feb 23 at 12:15 pm / Hood Room  Join best-selling author and designer Jessica Bloom as she helps you master the basics of how to integrate chickens into your garden, starting with chicken raising myth busters, to designing habitat for them and you to benefit from; Jessi Bloom, author of Free Range Chicken Gardens will also share her favorite top 10 chicken garden plants!”

To see our involvement at the show over the years, be sure to check out these links for photos and recaps: 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012.   Keep an eye on our facebook page if you want to follow what is happening at the show including cool finds & great garden ideas!

In the majority of our projects there are usually plants that the client wants to get rid of — for various reasons; maybe it was growing too big for the spot it was originally planted in… maybe it was the wrong color of flower.. maybe it was in a spot slated for a more desirable plant.  Regardless, we don’t believe good plants should go to waste!  Many of the plants we end up transplanting are the same – rhodies, boxwoods, roses, lilac, ornamental grasses, etc because they take to transplanting well.  Even though these are common in many landscapes, there are many projects that have no plants to start with or have a low budget, and getting more mature plants can save a lot of money!

Using her best, cheesy Vanna White impression, Jessi shows off a large orphan camellia. This large plant was being installed into a new landscape project which will provide the client instant privacy from their neighbors deck!

Hundreds, if not thousands of salvaged plants have found new homes in our garden projects.  It has been always been a common practice at NW Bloom since the business first started out!  Now, even the internationally recognized green building program LEED even gives projects points for reusing plants!

2013 is already much busier than we expected and we need new team members both out in the field, nursery and in the office!  If you are passionate about building sustainable landscapes and enjoy hard, but fulfilling work then read on – if one of these positions resonates with you, we are accepting resumes and letters of interest right now.

• Landscape Crew Member (FT): Looking for a candidate able to work with landscape construction and maintenance teams who work on a variety of interesting projects. Prefer at least 1 year of landscaping experience with knowledge of various materials and tools. Must be reliable, possess the ability to take initiative, work alone or as a team. Must be able to lift 60 lbs and be able to work in all weather conditions. Horticultural (and organics) education or knowledge preferred, but not required. Must have a valid WSDL and clean driving record. And most importantly must have an excellent attitude!  Applicants send resume and letter of interest to nwbloommaintenance@gmail.com

• Office/Admin Assistant (PT): Ideal candidate would have 2+ years experience and be proficient with all MS office applications, social media, have excellent communication and organizational skills. Must be a self-starter with the ability to work independently and handle multiple priorities within a fast paced team atmosphere. Plant ID and horticulture knowledge a plus and must like pets and kids!  Applicants send resume/letter of interest to info@nwbloom.com

• Landscape Designer/Landscape Architect (PT/FT): Ideal candidate will have knowledge and passion for ecological design, CAD skills and be able to perform overall project management tasks including but not limited to bidding and quality control of the project. Must be able to work productively and develop strong interpersonal relationship with others while maintaining all necessary correspondence and documentation. Prefer a portfolio carrying individual with at least 3 years of experience but willing to work with the right individual who has less experience.  Applicants send resume, letter of interest, samples of work and salary requirements to jessi@nwbloom.com

Location: Our office is in Mill Creek WA, however we work on projects throughout the greater Seattle area.

Pay: DOE and qualifications. We offer health insurance, Simple IRA, paid holidays, bonuses, training/educational opportunities and more.

The nursery will be BY APPOINTMENT ONLY and to get an idea of what will be in stock, see below:

Most of the plants we will carry are multifunctional having one or some of these attributes:

• Edibles – mostly perennial plants that you only have to plant once and can enjoy the bounty year after year!  We will carry a variety of plants, from fruits, berries, nuts and roots.
• Medicinals -  herbs used for healing purposes
• Dynamic accumulators – These plants mine nutrients from the soil and store them in their leaves and roots which can be used to build your soils and increase your soil fertility!
• Insectary Plants – These are great for attracting insects, whether it be forage plants for honey bees and other pollinators or by providing shelter for other beneficial insects that help keep pest populations in check.
• Nitrogen fixers – these plants can help build your soil by adding nitrogen naturally
• Rainwise -these plants are great for raingardens, bioswales or bioretention projects!
• Other plants on hand will be plenty of natives, deer “resistant”,  for wildlife and chicken forage, shelter as well as beautiful chicken “resistant” plants.

To make an appointment and to get directions give us a call at 425-486-6902 or email info@nwbloom.com

The White House's Front Yard has a kitchen garden (left) and a beehive! (middle)

My first day in DC I went for an all day hike to see the sights and in search of gardens in the Mall.  I was pleasantly surprised by the food gardens in the front lawn of the White House and a nice big beehive to boot!  Next, I think the Obama’s need to get some chickens! Just think: Executive poultry– I could imagine them keeping Silkies for sure! 

On the left of the picture is a better view of the hive!

Throughout the Mall three is a ridiculous amount of lawn.  Almost no shrub layer, and Liriope seems to be the favorite ground cover used everywhere.  But, I was also happy to see “weeds” in the lawns throughout.

Lovely "Ecolawns" throughout the Mall in DC

Not having spent much time on the East Coast I was blown away by so much impressive masonry and intricate designs and details throughout the monuments and even in the smallest buildings.  The diverse architecture is amazing – lots of brick and stone — has a old prestigious feel.

Details on the old gate house building at one of the White House south entrances.

Loved the stonework on this little building on a busy intersection near the World War II Memorial

Much of my time was spent visiting many of the Memorials which was a very emotional and powerful experience.  I spent hours in the Holocaust Museum, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial among several others.

Abe Lincoln - 20' marble statue

The Washington Monument

Several of the “gardens”  labeled on the maps weren’t exactly gardens, but I spent all day walking around and ran out of time.  If I can I am going to try and make it back to the East side of the Mall and see the US Botanic Garden.  I also got a tip to see the Enid Haupt Garden and Ripley Garden!

As NW Bloom has wrapped up many exciting projects so far this spring, I have been in the middle of a whirlwind of activity since late January when my book was released.  Traveling, seminars and book signing have packed my normally chaotic spring schedule even more than usual and here I am about to head to the East Coast for a new leg in my book tour.  I’m off to Maryland and will hopefully have a chance to see the Capitol and other cool tourist attractions and even get some research done for my next book!  I’ll be speaking in a few different venues and for the schedule check here

Book signing at the 2012 San Francisco Garden Show (with messy Jessi hair)

One of these days when things settle down I will get around to writing and posting some pictures of my San Francisco/Bay Area trip, where I fell in love with so many gardens. There are so many inspiring people and places I visited and am looking forward to sharing.  I hope this trip will be just as great!