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Green Tips from the Community - March 2025

  Edible Perennials   As much as it is so wonderful to plant an annual vegetable garden, it is also a treat to have some edible perennial plant, shrubs and trees in your yard. In the PNW we have many options to choose from. Here are a few ideas… Plants/shrubs: Evergreen huckleberry, blueberry, lingonberry, currents, gooseberry, salmonberry, oregon grape, pomegranate, honey berry, goji berry, strawberry, elderberry, black elderberry, american cranberry Vines/ Canes: Grapes, kiwi berry, marion berry, raspberry, thornless blackberry Herbs: Rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, lemon balm, bee balm, fennel, chamomile, mint, chives, marjoram, nettles, lavender, yarrow, dandelion  Trees: Apple, pear, asian pear, fig, hazelnut, almond, peach, plum, kiwi, cherry, olive Please remember to read about each plant of interest before you purchase to see if they are self fertile or if they require more than one plant to produce. Also, what sort of conditions are best to plant in, full sun, sh...

From The Archives - March 2025

  This one is a stinker…literally.  It’s everything you wanted to know about dumps and dumping around Haller Lake past and present.  In the old days ,say, prior to the 1930’s,  people would use fire pits, burn barrels or burial pits to dispose of waste.  No rules applied.  It was also common to dump trash in any vacant lot.  The North End Herald reported  in 1927 that Haller Lake, under King County jurisdiction (before Seattle annexation), would acquire a drive in dump on both sides of 125th just east of North Trunk Highway (Aurora today).  The article says “A man will be in charge and supervise disposal.” Twenty years later, 1947, a group of Haller Lake residents meet with King County commissioners complaining of the dump eyesore, smoke and stench.  One comment from a Lake neighbor, “We’re ashamed about it, we have to tell our friends  come out Aurora Ave. and turn right at the dump.”  Although the commissioners said they’d in...

Tried and True Recipes - March 2025

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Tried and True Recipes - February 2025

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Tried and True Recipes - January 2025

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From The Archives - December 2024

As a teen floating around the Lake on my all wood paddleboard I made in the 1960s, I couldn’t help but notice the many flowering lily beds tucked on shorelines.  The bright green pads fashioned as designer plates looked stunning against multi- colored full-open flowers.  Add blue dragonflies whizzing about to get the full effect.  R. C. Byers, an early Haller Lake pioneer dating to 1910s, was known as the “lily man” not to mention he built his own cabin, cleared land, and replanted trees, shrubs and…25 varieties of lilies.  A story appeared in Sunset magazine “The Lily Grower of Haller Lake” claiming his status.  Our own Shawn MacPherson’s aunt, Anne Segale, told her local kids would sell Mr. Byers lilies at Pike Place Market. Today many Lake homeowners have the coveted lilies, well, perhaps some are coveted. They spread from Byers's shore front to around the Lake over 100 years.  It’s a tedious job to clear lilies. I’m told people spend several sessio...

Green Tips From the Community - December 2024

  Green stocking stuffers and holiday gifts ideas that are good for the environment and your pocket book. Dr. Bronner’s Soap (Drbronner.com) price varies Smart Sheep Wool Dryer Balls (Amazon) $19.95 Bugzooka bug catcher (Amazon) $30.95 Niagara Conservation Water Saving Toilet Tank Bank (Amazon) $8.55 WhiteRhino 1 gal food safe measuring pitcher for catching shower water while it’s warming (Amazon) $22.00 Perforated Radiant Barrier Foil - great affordable additional insulation for attic (Ecofoil.com)   Tumbling Terra Turner composter 43gal (Amazon) $59.00 Rain barrel (Seattle.gov) $131.00 Earth Minded Flexfit Universal Diverter Kit for Rain Barrel to Gutter hook up (Amazon) $32.00  The Essential Living Composter/ Worm Bin 6gal (Home Depot) $60-$70 Happy Holidays! Kippy Irwin