By Jane Valencia A reflection from 25 years ago, when our family lived on the Island’s west side. We are deep into autumn – on All Hallow’s Eve, it so happens – a day whose crone eyes decree decay and change, and spark with new beginnings. The apples on the old tree in our front lawn…
Children, Fiction, Gardening, October 2025
The Story of Tomtomtidimiddletom
By Andy Valencia Tom woke on the second day and got busy fortifying his position. He looked at how much energy and materials remained, and decided to push his shoot up just a bit more, and then thicken the stalk to make it stronger. If it snapped off, he didn’t have enough energy left over…
Children, Fiction, Gardening, September 2025
The Story of Tomtomtidimiddletom
By Andy Valencia There is a weed named Tomtomtidimiddletom who lives on our property. How did he get that name? That’s a long story, and won’t fit here. But he – and all his friends – shortened the name to “Tom.” But having a name, and a shortened name, is not what makes Tom amazing….
Gardening, Island Resilience, May 2025
Native Plant Appreciation Month
By Kim Cantrell, Little Bird Gardens April is National Native Plant Appreciation Month. It began in 2003 as a weeklong observance, sparked by a conversation between Fred Weinmann, President of the Washington Native Plant Society (WNPS), and Bill Brookreson, a state board member. “Native Plant Appreciation Month celebrates all the individuals and groups who have…
Gardening, Island Interviews, March 2025
Littlest Bird Farm
By Andy Valencia For Kim Kambak, owner of Littlest Bird Farm, her farm is deeply intertwined with a catastrophic event in her life. There was her life before, and then there was how she continued afterward. The latter part happened here on Vashon, as she healed the land and brought it back to life as…
Gardening, November 2024
Enjoying Your Garden This Fall
Color, Mulch, Cut Back, or Not By Kim Cantrell, Little Bird Gardens I hope you’ve been soaking in the rich hues of autumn! I mean, how could you miss them! Fall has arrived in full force this year, showcasing the most spectacular display of deep reds and brilliant golds, blended with rich oranges. I was…
Gardening, Island Resilience, May 2024
Pruning, Part 3 – Fruit Trees
By Kim Cantrell and John Rettmann Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful spring. As the trees are budding out, the blossoms have been nothing short of gorgeous, and the early pollinators are at work. Let’s continue forth with talking about pruning; this time, we are getting specific in our endeavor. In the first two…
Gardening, March 2024
Pruning – Part 2
By Kim Cantrell, Little Bird Gardens I just spent the last few weeks talking with you all at the nursery. We agreed we were in the clear weather-wise, and then some of us had snow! And as I write this today, we are expecting a bit of a freeze again. We’re gardeners; we talk about…
February 2024, Gardening
Pruning, Part 1
By Kim Cantrell and Little Bird Gardens It’s been hard not to notice that this winter has been unseasonably warm, minus our little cold snap in mid-January. Many plants came out of the freeze as if nothing had happened, and then there are those that showed signs that the extreme drop in temperature was not…
Children, Gardening
Gardening with Children – Late-Season Carrots
By Caitlin Rothermel It can be challenging to garden when you have young children, but you also want to get them excited about growing things. It’s a dilemma. It is totally possible to introduce small, focused projects that can be fun for everyone. Like carrots. They can fit into small or otherwise hard-to-use spaces, and…