Up against the wall: That phrase usually carries a sense of anxiety or exhaustion with it. Not so in the horticultural world. What you are looking at in the photograph is an example of espalier. It is a fruiting pear, literally up against a wall — a brick wall.
Madison Park worked extremely well for the singles set in the ’60s and ’70s with its cheap rent, great shopping and the many beaches and parks. The best form of entertainment in the summertime was boating
You’ve heard it all before. The pandemic upended everything, including residential real estate. It seemed like everyone needed more space. For those who could work from home, it meant buying without thinking about commute times or access to transit and was spurred by low interest rates. While that happened here in Seattle, it also played out across the country.
Sword fern, polystichum munitum: It carpets the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest; it is one of the crown jewels of our native plant kingdom. While it is easy to grow and ubiquitous in our landscapes, natural and human made, it is beloved, giving the lie to the notion that familiarity breeds contempt.
My dad’s parents’ farm on Little Finn Hill in Kirkland was very much like Riverton Heights in the late ’30s, as they were definitely country. When we visited mom’s parents in Madison Park, it felt like a big city to me.
