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Channel: Life at the Nursery – Derby Canyon Natives
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It’s cooling down – time to plant!

Bumblebee on cutleaf penstemon (Penstemon richardsonii) What a hot summer!  It’s been hard on people, wildlife (especially fish) and plants.  Even with diligent watering in the nursery there were a...

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2016 – Up and Growing Again!

Flower buds on Barrett’s penstemon (Penstemon barrettiae), from cuttings we rooted over the winter  Derby Canyon Natives is now open for business.  Through March we open by appointment Monday through...

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Red-flowering Currant

It happens every year.  As soon as the red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) blooms in the nursery there is a rufous hummingbird on it.  I saw my first male hummer of the spring on Saturday,...

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Blanketflower – and NPAW!

  What is NPAW, you ask?  Why Native Plant Appreciation Week, an annual event organized by the Washington Native Plant Society to recognize and celebrate the beauty and diversity of our native flora....

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Penstemon Time

I get excited  about this time every year when the penstemons start to bloom, both in the nursery and in the wild.  The colors and diverse forms of the penstemon species found in the West are amazing....

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A Good Season Winds Down

Colorful fall leaves on red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) With autumn weather (rain!) and colors upon us it’s good to take some time to look back at the season that is winding down.  It is gratifying...

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Opening soon (I hope!)

The pictures above and below were taken March 8th.  At this time the previous four years we had the hoop houses covered with poly and little seedlings were emerging.  Not this year! While much of the...

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Live stakes and cuttings

In late winter, before any seeds have germinated in the nursery, we are out in the snow with loppers and clippers in hand.  Our objective?  Collecting live stakes and cuttings from stands of willows...

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It’s a seedling fiesta!

With the advent of longer days and warmer weather (at least on some days!) we now have seedlings emerging in great quantities at the nursery.  We covered our hoop houses with poly film a month ago and...

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The Nursery gets all “Artsy”

This time of year at Derby Canyon Natives we have a lull in activity before fall shipments and propagation begin, so I have time for building projects, maintenance… and art! Last month I finished...

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The 2018 Nursery Season is Underway!

Derby Canyon Natives is once again open for business!  We are entering our 16th year of native plant propagation and sales; we’ve learned alot and continue to improve and grow. The snow has melted, the...

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May Flowers at the Nursery

May is a wonderfully busy time for a native plant nursery.  Plant orders are going out, customers are coming in, lots of transplanting is underway… and it is too easy to get wrapped up in the pressing...

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Fall planting, Fall flowers and Fall hours

Pacific nine bark (Physocarpus capitatus) with fall color in the nursery With the lowering of the sun’s angle, and the yellow school buses on the roads, we have signs that fall will soon be here....

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Signs of Spring

Where is spring? A bleak March 12th in the nursery Winter has been hanging on late this year in the Wenatchee Valley, leading to the latest start we’ve ever had.  Those overwintered plants are fine...

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Getting busy!

Jeff, Erin and Lulu preparing the wildflowers for sale The spring may have been slow to appear but it is here at last and, by the efforts of many, Derby Canyon Natives has opened for business for...

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What’s in a Name? The new “Flora of the Pacific Northwest”

Tweedy’s lewisia (Lewisiopsis tweedyi) –  a favorite wildflower of many in Chelan County When you are working with native plants it is essential to know what you have (especially if you are selling...

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The nursery viewed anew

The month of May is a beautiful time for the native flora of Central Washington, from the shrub-steppe to the mountains – and in the nursery! Employee Erin Carlson has a keen eye for the plants, seeing...

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The 2020 nursery season fast approaches

  Tweedy’s lewisia (Lewisiopsis tweedyi) will make its stunning appearance before long In fact, the nursery season for Derby Canyon Natives is well underway!  With the lack of snow at our elevation and...

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Nursery Scenes during the Shutdown

Shrubby penstemon (Penstemon fruticosus) – I spotted this pink form on a hike five years ago and snapped off a shoot on the way back down.  I rooted it and can now propagate more of this lovely shrub...

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Baby Birds Need Native Plants

Violet green swallow...

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