Lorene Edwards Forkner

As a Seattle-based writer, Lorene seeks a harmonious and balanced life of family, friends, travel and good food together with all things horticultural believing that the really good part is in the blending of one’s passions.

Whether evaluating the garden performance of a favorite perennial, reveling in the changing light of the seasons, or enjoying the exquisite flavor of a juicy peach, Lorene never tires of exploring details of the natural world.

In addition to her background in fine art and many years experience owning and operating a small specialty nursery, Lorene believes just being in the garden is a constant education in observation and understanding.

At home in West Seattle Lorene has a city garden abundantly filled with favorite plants, a small but productive vegetable garden, room for relaxation and her tiny vintage travel trailer.  She fully admits she is a garden geek most at bliss when covered in dirt.

My Home Garden – forever in process, never quite done

I am fortunate to live and garden in the magnificent Pacific Northwest.  My house in West Seattle is just about 100 yards from the gentle moderating influence of Puget Sound, a large body of saltwater whose temperature remains constant throughout the year.  Today we’re a solid USDA zone 8, up from zone 7a when I began working the site 20-some years ago; my plants tell their own story of climate changes despite the noise of dissent.

It’s a small city-sized lot – about 60x 120’.  Thank goodness, because in the absence of garden help it often threatens to engulf me and my good humor.  I seek and environment filled with warm colors, varied textures and delicious flavors.  I am especially enamored with bronze, rust and olive foliage, ornamental grasses and the fragrance of winter blooming shrubs.  I believe you can never have enough tiny wild strawberries, shade on a summer’s day or fava beans – I must have fava beans.

Over the years my garden has seen many (many, many) incarnations.  I have fallen in and out of love with my little Eden over the course of these many seasons – cursed the blackberries, despaired at the loss of the neighbor’s trees, and wrestled with pests – animal, insect, fungal and vegetable!  But I always return to its charms and forgive it its transgressions.  Year in and year out, my garden is my constant companion.