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Outdoor spaces are brighter with flowering containers

(Pictured: Planted in spring, Canna Short Rosita bulbs bloom spectacularly in summer. Photo credit: Longfield-Gardens.com)

By Melinda Myers

Add unexpected beauty to your patio, deck, or balcony with summer-blooming bulbs. You may have grown elephant ears, lilies, dahlias, gladiolus, and caladiums in your garden, but did you know they also thrive in containers? Some summer bulbs grow even better in pots than they do in the garden. These include the exotic-looking flowers of Abyssinian gladiolus, calla lilies, pineapple lilies, and spider lilies.

One of the reasons these bulbs perform so well in containers is that you can be sure they get warm soil, consistent water, and plenty of nutrients. Taller plants like gladiolus, lilies, dahlias, cannas, and elephant ears are the perfect thrillers for large containers. Their bold foliage and extravagant blooms are sure to steal the show. Just plant the bulbs in spring along with your other annuals. As temperatures rise, these heat-loving bulbs will begin to fill in and soon burst into bloom providing added texture and color from late summer through fall.

You may find that summer-blooming bulbs like the pineapple lily (Eucomis), calla lily, and fragrant Hymenocallis perform better in their own containers because there is no competition with other plants for space, nutrients, and moisture. Before the bulbs begin flowering, their foliage provides an attractive backdrop for other container plants that bloom earlier in the season. Once flowering begins, you can move the pots front and center to fully enjoy the show. In cold climates, growing in containers also makes it easier to overwinter the bulbs. Just move the pots indoors to a cool, dark location until it’s time to replant the next spring.

Combine plants of different sizes and shapes to create visual excitement. Containers filled with tall plants such as gladiolus, cannas, tall varieties of dahlias, and large elephant ears provide striking vertical accents. Shorter plants like caladiums, pineapple lily, and triplet lily (Brodiaea) can be positioned in front of the larger pots. Add a few planters filled with your favorite annuals to keep the color going all season long.

Many summer blooming-bulbs are wonderfully fragrant. Growing these plants on a patio, deck, or balcony, ensures you won’t miss out on their delightful perfume. Late summer evenings are even sweeter when you are surrounded by containers filled with Oriental lilies, spider lilies, and acidanthera. 

Small bulbs can grow into enormous plants, so choosing the right size container is important if you want your summer bulbs to reach their full potential. Longfield Gardens provides helpful tips in its Best Summer Bulbs for Containers article.

Most mid-sized dahlias will grow well in a five-gallon container. Dahlias that get to be more than 3 feet tall need a larger pot as well as sturdy stakes for extra support. Cannas and elephant ears are thirsty plants and can develop a very large root system in just a few short months. For these tropical beauties, the bigger the pot, the better!

Extend the bloom time for gladiolus and its cousin, Abyssinian gladiolus, by planting the bulbs in batches about two weeks apart. Both of these summer bulbs have sword-like foliage that provides vertical interest while you wait for the beautiful blooms. If you like cut flowers, grow a few extra pots of gladiolus so you can include them in summer arrangements.

Calla lilies are easy to grow in pots, even for gardeners in cool climates. Choose from a rainbow of beautiful flower colors, from white and yellow, to peach, red, and nearly black. The blossoms last for a month or more, and the lush foliage stays attractive all season long.

Extend the season into early fall with the exotic-looking flowers of Nerine bowdenii. Plant three or more bulbs per container and look forward to fragrant, candy-pink blossoms in September.

Let the unique flowers of pineapple lily (Eucomis) shine by growing them in their own container. The long-lasting flowers feature a green topknot that makes them resemble a pineapple. As with nerines, callas, and other non-hardy summer bulbs, Eucomis can be overwintered indoors and replanted in spring.

The possibilities are many. No matter which summer bulbs you choose, growing them in containers is a sure way to add pizzazz to your patio, deck, balcony, or entryway.
 

Melinda Myers (melindamyerrs.com) has written 20 gardening books, hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD instant video series and the n Melinda’s Garden Moment TV and radio programs, and is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds and Blooms magazine.

The Senior Scene by — April 30, 2025 in Lifestyle, Home, Adventures

Nearly half of voters in Washington say the Trump administration had a negative impact on them personally during his first two months in office, according to a new Cascade PBS/Elway poll. 

Almost 25 percent mentioned negative effects on their finances, and the same cited increased stress and uncertainty. Others named harmful effects on rights and other topics.

The poll was conducted in late-March, before President Trump levied tariffs on more than 100 countries, which sent U.S. stocks on a rollercoaster. 

It was also conducted before more than a thousand rallies took place across the country calling for Trump to end the mass firings and budget cuts he’s brought to the federal government. Dozens of these events took place in Washington, where Democrats say they want to see more of this from their party. In the poll, 76 percent of respondents who identify as Democrats said they want the party to “more vigorously attack Trump’s agenda;” 40 percent of independents said the same thing. 

Asked about whether the president was making specific elements of life in the U.S. better or worse, clear majorities said he was making things worse for Americans, including on political division (66 percent); U.S. stature in the world (60 percent); the economy (58 percent); fairness and opportunity (58 percent); and democracy (57 percent). 

Large majorities of self-identified Republicans in the poll, however, said things were getting better in the start of President Trump’s second term. (Though Washington doesn’t require party registration to vote, when asked in the poll how they would register if necessary, 40 percent said Democrat, 23 percent responded Republican, and 36 percent said Independent.)

Voters of all stripes said they have been following political news closely. Nearly 90 percent reported having a conversation about government, current events, or political issues in the previous week, and 58 percent reported having such a conversation in the past 24 hours. More than half said they are paying more attention to government and politics than they used to. 

“Conventional wisdom holds that many voters are exhausted by political news and have been taking a break since the election,” said pollster Stuart Elway, who conducted the survey. “That may have been the case for a few months, but these results suggest a highly engaged electorate.”

The poll was conducted March 27-31 with 403 registered voters in Washington. About 20 percent of respondents participated in live calls by landline, one-third by live cell phone calls, and just over 46 percent online after receiving text-messaged invitations. The poll  has a margin of error of plus-5 percent at a 95 percent confidence level, meaning that had the same survey been conducted 100 times, the results would be within 5 percentage points of the results reported at least 95 times.

Source: Cascade PBS, a non-profit public media organization serving the Pacific Northwest with PBS national programming, local TV, and independent political and investigative journalism. 

The Senior Scene by — April 30, 2025 in News

New standards for memory care at assisted-living facilities in Washington are now the law.

Senate Bill 5337, passed by the Llegislature and signed by the governor in April, requires certifications for assisted-living communities that provide memory care. Advocates for long-term care residents say the measure will help improve care and accountability.

The legislation is supported by the Alzheimer’s Association and the Washington State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, as well as SEIU 775, the labor union for thousands of care workers.

The measure standardizes the definition of memory care, allows oversight by the state Department of Social and Health Services of facilities, and gives the state attorney general enforcement authority under the Consumer Protection Act.

An estimated 70 percent of assisted-living residents have some form of dementia, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH): “As dementia and behavioral symptoms become increasingly common in AL (assisted living) settings, so do questions about the quality of dementia care in AL facilities,” NIH stated in a study of the issue.

Industry analysts say assisted living facilities tend to be large, with hundreds of residents and relatively low staff-to-resident ratios, and sometimes have track records that are difficult to monitor due to complex ownership and rebranding. In addition, unlike nursing homes, AL care workers currently aren’t required to be certified nursing assistants or registered nurses and have minimal training and minimum wages—factors that can affect the quality of care for residents, according to supporters of the proposed state standards. 

The Senior Scene by — April 30, 2025 in News
Living proof that ‘people still do this’

(Pictured: Paul Wagner pounds away in Fort Nisqually’s blacksmith shop at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma).

From the field in the center of the Fort Nisqually Living History Museum at Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park, the blacksmith shop could be one of a number of buildings that line the perimeter. Get closer, however, and the sounds are unmistakable. There’s the deep, rattling breath of the forge bellows and high ring of a well-struck hammer blow. 

On this day, Master Blacksmith Paul Wagner is working with an apprentice to guide him through the final steps in making his first functional tool: a pair of scrolling pliers. The pliers are used for making fine adjustments like smoothing out the curves on the twisting candle holders occasionally sold in the fort gift shop. 

When a family walks in, Wagner steps away and talks to them about the activity and shows off an example of the final product and how it will work. The kids hover excitedly near a pedal-operated grinder being used to shape a bolt that will hold the plier handles together, while dad asks about the comparison between period and modern tools. 

“We always have a wide variety of people coming through,” said Wagner. “Some are really interested in the details and have lots of questions or maybe know something about blacksmithing themselves. Others have no idea that people still do this. They’ve only read about it in a book or saw it in a video game and are gobsmacked to see it actually happening.” 

Wagner started blacksmithing in the late 1990s but joined the fort as a volunteer in 2018 after attending its annual Brigade Encampment. 

“I was already interested in the fur trade era of history, especially the early stories of colonization by the Russians, British, and French,” he said. “I came out to the Brigade Encampment and connected with some people, realized what a great organization it was, and did the volunteer orientation after that. Bringing the historical reenactment together with my blacksmithing seemed like the perfect fit.” 

Since then, Wagner has volunteered over 2,200 hours, becoming the fort’s master blacksmith and establishing the apprenticeship program. As Wagner’s students move from apprentice to journeyman they can begin to work at the forge unsupervised and help expand volunteer coverage in the shop. 

“It’s not a blacksmithing school,” says Wagner. As much as he would love to do more teaching, the limitations of a shop set in 1855 aren’t conducive to teaching someone without prior experience. “I’m taking people who already have some shop skills and are interested in volunteering at the fort because of the history, then introducing blacksmithing on top of that. History and the context of the fort have to come first.” 

One of the biggest differences, and a first lesson for many apprentices, is becoming familiar with the fort’s coal forge.  

“Fire is one of your main tools,” said Wagner. “There’s a learning curve. Figuring out how to place something in the fire so that the part you’re working on heats and the part you need to handle doesn’t. You have to understand how a fire burns and has different zones depending on structure and airflow,” he continued. “Knowing how to produce it and being able to create the tools that make fire, it’s all wrapped up in blacksmithing. 

The tools Wagner is referring to are steel fire strikers which they use with a piece of flint to light the forge each day. He’s lost count of how many hundreds he and his apprentices have made over the years, along with coat hooks, s-hooks for hanging, and the previously mentioned candle holders. 

“Getting the hammer skills down and building muscle memory. The repetition and getting that into your body is a big part of blacksmithing,” said Wagner. “The gift shop is great for that because there’s an unending demand for those things.” 

Once they have the basics down, Wagner also teaches them to innovate and problem solve using the materials and skills they’ve developed. 

“Blacksmiths make a lot of their own tools, and that’s something I emphasize heavily with the people I teach,” he said. “I want my apprentices to know how to make a tool and feel comfortable with it. If they’re working on something and don’t have the tool they want, they should have the ability and knowledge to make it.” 

Wagner and his team have made tools for just about every group in the fort including the wood and leatherworkers, tinsmiths, and the kitchen.  

“I like making things that people interact with on a regular basis,” Wagner said. “I replaced a latch on a gate at the back of the clerk’s house. It was a cheap one from the hardware store that failed. My replacement was basic, but everyone uses it.  

“When someone touches a piece and it works so well and feels right in their hand, and it just feels like the thing that belongs here,” he continued. “That’s what I want.” 

These everyday items and other small touches around the fort have been some of his favorite projects.  

“Historically blacksmiths were really pivotal in a community,” he said. “That’s the way it’s been for thousands of years and when we can do a repair, it feels like the way it would have been done back in the day.” 

Wagner retired from his job as a wildlife ecologist last spring and is looking forward to spending more time on blacksmithing  at the fort and at his home smithy, where he also does woodworking.  

“I’m leaning hard into the ‘do stuff by hand’ things these days,” he said with a laugh. “I never want to take another Zoom call again.” 

Source: Metro Parks Tacoma

The Senior Scene by — April 24, 2025 in Food, People