Kat Harman
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pnwkat.bsky.social
Kat Harman
@pnwkat.bsky.social
1K followers 460 following 620 posts
🇺🇸 Native plant and wildlife nerd. Raised in AZ, married to a 🥝 🇳🇿. Gardening for the birds in Central WA Zone 6b (Yakima Folds/Slopes) and Seattle Zone 9a.

May also post about hiking-MTB-skiing-travel-music-AoNZ-AZ and other random interests.
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pnwkat.bsky.social
There were a handful of volunteer seedlings around the new penstemon. So I dug them up and put into 1 gal pots and planted them pot and all, in the garden. Fast forward to today, I’ve dug them up, pot and all, and will take them to Seattle to overwinter. Next spring they’ll go in the ground!

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These were the tiny seedlings i potted up in June. They grew very well in their pots in the ground all summer/fall. More salvia greggii in one gal pots Salvia greggii in the ground
October 31, 2025 at 9:27 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
🌱 Salvia Greggii “Furmans Red” is my fave salvia. They’re supposedly cold hardy to Zone 6. But after three years of trying, not one survived a winter. I really thought this year it would. So I pivoted to Venus Penstemon. I planted and went away for a month. Much to my surprise,
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Photo Credit: Dana, Michael on wildflower.org Brighton red flowers on green foliage
October 31, 2025 at 9:21 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
I am likin’ these lichen
Trumpet or pixie cup? lichen next to a brown cedar twig and fir needles Trumpet or pixie lichen growing up around a carpet of brown fir needles
October 25, 2025 at 3:10 AM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Loved the bucket drum brigade!! We were right next to you guys for awhile. 🩷🩷
October 19, 2025 at 7:40 AM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Proud of Seattle today. HUUUGE event! The only monarchs I support
October 18, 2025 at 9:49 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
“Snow in the passes at 4000ft” they said.
First snow at our place (2100ft). A lawn and garden with a thin covering of snow. Plants are in fall color, some are still blooming.
October 13, 2025 at 3:03 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
The last hummingbird feeder came down yesterday, and the 2 Anna’s that are here will have to get what they need from the garden. There’s still plenty there, but I hope they decide to go somewhere warmer for the winter.
One of the Agastache Rupestris is huge this year. It was planted in 2022. Its roots must be deep. The Cutleaf Penstemon is still blooming, and the bumblebees are still around. There’s enough to share with the hummers. This Furmans Red Texas Sage is one of a dozen volunteers that sprouted in June. I left this one but potted up the others to be overwintered in Seattle. I’ve not had good luck with these overwintering in our zone 6b in the past, so I’m not too hopeful this one will make it. The Penstemon Barbatus (Scarlet Bugler) just keeps going and going. This one is hands down the summer hummer favorite. The Scarlet Gilia is putting up more stalks and blooms!
September 30, 2025 at 2:23 AM
pnwkat.bsky.social
The Labor Mountain Fire grew significantly with the high winds yesterday, jumping Hwy 97 towards Tronsen Ridge. This is a beautiful area with a large population of the rare Tweedys Lewisia. Hopefully dormancy, their large taproot, and preference for rocky growing conditions will protect them. 🌱
Tweedys Lewisia growing on a steep bank in rocky soil. These are endemic to the Wenatchee Mtns. Tweedys Lewisia with Shrubby Penstemon The top of Tronsen Ridge in June. The Shrubby Penstemon is so lush and tall up there. Arrowleaf Balsamroot plants are huge. The Lewisia is not present on the ridge here but on the steep western slope.
September 26, 2025 at 6:18 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
A few late summer/fall surprises in the garden! The spreading phlox must have accessed moisture from somewhere - it started blooming sporadically again last month! The Red paintbrush, Oregon Checkermallow, and Scarlet Gilia were late to bloom in their first year of life. 🌱
Scarlet Gilia started from seed this winter. These are typically biennials, forming a rosette the first year, flowering and dying the next. The Oregon Checkermallow is much smaller than I had thought they would be. I was envisioning hollyhocks I suppose. I’ve had huge success with Paintbrush this year. The Harsh Paintbrush bloomed first (I don’t know how I ended up with that seed and all the rest C. Miniata). The wire cages are to keep the deer from eating the Idaho Fescue - host plant for these guys - and inadvertently the paintbrush. The spreading Phlox (P. Diffusa) was a sad stub in early spring after being eaten by deer or elk.
September 25, 2025 at 6:47 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
We still have a fair number of non breeding/immature rufous hummingbirds here, and a few Anna’s have arrived. Late summer nectar sources are Scarlet Bugler Penstemon, Rocky Mtn Bee plant, Sunset Hyssop, Cutleaf Penstemon, Purple Sage, Red Paintbrush, Munro’s Globemallow and Golden Columbine. 🌱
Penstemon Barbatus has always been the favorite nectar source for hummingbirds in my garden. I brought these seeds from our family cabin in AZ Rim Country years ago - they are easy to grow, and with so many plants there are blooms from end of June to mid-September. This was my first year growing Bee Plants. Yes the Bumblebees love it, but the hummers are also frequent visitors to the purple variety - Rocky Mtn Bee Plant! Grew these Castilleja Miniata from seed this spring. I was thrilled to see blooms this first year. Dryland pollinator garden. I hand water only the Agastache once in early August. Hummer favorites in this garden are Agastache Rupestris, Penstemon Richardsonii and Salvia Dorrii. Scarlet Bugler Penstemon and Munro’s Globemallow. This patch is a morning favorite for the east-of-the-house crew.
August 26, 2025 at 7:19 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Bro has taken his guarding the feeder game to a whole other level 🌱
#hummingbirds
Rufous hummingbird sitting on the top of a feeder
August 26, 2025 at 6:05 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Cuddled up in the Munro’s Globemallow.
August 22, 2025 at 3:43 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
I’ve just been instructed to clean up my mess before our guests arrive for the weekend 😆

It’s seed collection season I can’t help it. 🌱
A “mess” of wildflower seeds at the dining table.
August 8, 2025 at 11:01 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Been an interesting day for birds here. This morning we had a Sooty Grouse hanging around for a couple hours. Just now I observed my first case of brood parisitism - a white crowned sparrow was feeding a brown-headed cowbird! No other fledglings just the one cowbird.

#nativeplants for the birds
A bad photo of a sooty grouse in the grass heading for the Serviceberry bushes.
August 8, 2025 at 10:56 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
We get eggs from a neighbor family. Look at these beauties! Almost too pretty to eat 😁 #countryliving
Two dozen chicken eggs of different colors from deep rust to light blue.
August 8, 2025 at 5:50 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Harsh Paintbrush (C. Hispida) and Scarlet Paintbrush (C. Miniata) in my meadow garden, both started late winter from hyper-locally collected seed. Although similar, C. Hispida is hairier with deeply lobed leaves. TBH I’m not sure how I ended up with this C. Hispida seed! 🌱
Harsh Paintbrush - Castilleja Hispida - has longer stem hairs and deeply lobed leaves. Scarlet Paintbrush - Castilleja Miniata - is usually taller, has lanceolate leaves from base to inflorescence. It often has a reddish stem. These are usually a hummingbird favorite, however in my garden they are dwarfed by penstemon barbatus, so the hummingbirds have so far completely ignored them.
July 31, 2025 at 1:56 AM
pnwkat.bsky.social
The Rocky Mtn Bee plants are FINALLY blooming. Whew! Here’s a happy customer 🌱
Bumblebee coming in for a landing on a Rocky Mtn Bee Plant. The yellow in the background is Yellow Bee Plant.
July 30, 2025 at 8:28 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Mine are just starting to bloom! The yellow Cleome have been blooming for the last few weeks. I have annual sunflowers every year as well. Keeps the goldfinches around through the fall!
Yellow cleome with a bumblebee
July 25, 2025 at 4:25 AM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Peak bloom in the Cascades rn - 5400ft
Lupine, arnica, heather, paintbrush and lousewort in bloom Pasqueflower in “Dr Suess” seed stage at Naches Pk. Magenta Paintbrush and Broadleaf Arnica Spreading Phlox, Arnica and Cusick’s Speedwell
July 25, 2025 at 3:47 AM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Finally the Bullocks Orioles turned up! They missed the cherries, but they’re all in on the golden currants. Our fenceline hedge has become a controlled thicket of deciduous native shrubs that the birds love. Details in alt text. 🌱
This native shrub hedge hides our neighbor’s elk fence. Woods rose, golden currant, serviceberry, and mock orange have been in for about 15 years and has finally reached about 10 feet tall. A couple years ago we had to replace some currants - we planted Twinberry and Chokecherry. It’ll be a few years before we see any measurable growth from those - I’ve found shrubs really slow to establish over here, even with consistent water the first few years. The birds absolutely love it and it provides food, cover and nest habitat. I have one tall Oregon grape which is evergreen but unfortunately the elk have managed to rip the cage off both years since I put it in and it’s only about a foot tall! There’s about 6 feet between the shrubs and the fence, it’s a good path for the deer to cross the property when they want to stay out of sight.
July 22, 2025 at 5:59 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Rupicola is one of my faves!!! I grew them from seed last year but I don’t know what bird/creature it was, it pulled every seedling out from the crevices they were planted into. I love the leaves of Rupicola. I have another with glaucus leaves - Barrett’s - endemic to Gorge. May-Jun bloomer.
Glaucus leaves of Barrett’s Penstemon. Lots of new foliage since blooming. 7/18 End of the blooms on Barrett’s Penstemon, 6/10.
July 21, 2025 at 10:48 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
I love the color of these two Cutleaf Penstemons. One is an ombre pink-purple, the other is fuschia. I haven’t needed to water yet this summer. Blooms late June through frost. The garden color palette is cool blue-gray foliage and white/silver/blue/purple/pink blooms to offset the basalt “heat” . 🌱
Cutleaf Pemstemon in my dry garden. This may be two different plants. I transplanted volunteer seedlings a few years ago, planting two or three together to make sure at least one survived. The result last summer was five gigantic bunches/mounds, which were crowding out the Hummingbird Mint and grasses. Last fall I removed (I thought) all but one plant from each. This garden seems to attract more bumble bees than hummingbirds, which spend the majority of the day zooming around the Scarlet Bugler penstemon in another part of our yard. This penstemon is taprooted, so division isn’t possible. But cuttings are, so I plan to try that with side shoots. The lighter pink mounds to the left and in the background are also Cutleaf Penstemon.
July 21, 2025 at 7:53 PM
pnwkat.bsky.social
So this just happened. I have hummingbird in Scarlet Bugler penstemon and a mule deer grazing in the lawn. She just about walked right into the garden! 🌱
A hummingbird browses at the Penstemon Barbatus (scarlet bugler - lower right corner) while a young mule deer grazes in the lawn. The Mulie definitely got a surprise when she finally noticed me!
July 17, 2025 at 3:42 AM
pnwkat.bsky.social
Bumble butts 🐝 🌱
Our native Cutleaf Penstemon is the perfect size for a bumblebee and the perfect color for hummingbirds. Makes the garden a busy place!
July 17, 2025 at 3:22 AM
pnwkat.bsky.social
And then there was one! Poor little guy - the other four all left at once after a few minutes of scuffling in the nest.
The last of five barn swallows is still in the nest. The others left in one go a few minutes ago!
July 14, 2025 at 6:53 PM