The Best Nurseries in Whatcom & Skagit County

When spring hits the PNW, I turn into a kid in a candy store—I’m instantly dreaming up garden plans and itching to dig in the dirt. I can't help myself... I have to visit all my favorite local nurseries to get my green fix. Whether I’m on a mission for veggies, hunting down a show-stopper shrub, or just wandering the aisles for inspiration, these spots always deliver. Without further ado, here’s my go-to list of garden spots around Whatcom and Skagit:

🌿 Christianson's Nursery & Greenhouse (Mount Vernon)

Christianson’s is my favorite nursery in the whole region. It’s like stepping into a romantic European garden—there’s even a restored glass greenhouse from the 1880s! They’ve got a huge selection of plants, and the staff are seriously plant geniuses.  The gift shop is fantastic. I can seriously spend a whole afternoon here!

🌿 Kent's Garden & Nursery (Bellingham)

Kent’s is a five-acre wonderland in North Bellingham. They’ve been around since 1976, and the selection of trees, shrubs, and perennials never disappoints. My favorite part is the people that work there, they are so nice and knowledgeable, and they’ll even make great recommendations for landscapers who can help with yard installs.

🌿 Garden Spot Nursery (Bellingham)

Right in the heart of Bellingham, this nursery is packed with personality (and houseplants!). They’re open year-round, and their gift section is cute. They have a nice selection of both indoor and outdoor pots. It’s a great place to go if you’re out running errands, don’t have a ton of time and just want a quick plant fix!

 🌿 Cloud Mountain Farm Center (Everson)

This one’s a little more off the beaten path, but totally worth the drive. It’s actually a non-profit organization that’s all about food-growing and sustainability, and the nursery has the best selection of fruit trees in the maritime Northwest.  UPDATE: Sadly, this farm is closing at the end of June! They are currently having a big sale on their fruit trees. Get out there while you can!

 🌿 Salazar's Nursery & Landscaping Supplies (Mount Vernon)

Need plants and mulch and river rock? Salazar’s has you covered. It’s not the “wander around and sip coffee” type of nursery—it’s more practical—but they’ve got a lot of great stuff.

 🌿 Skagit Acres (Mount Vernon)

Okay, this place is basically Disneyland for gardeners. There’s a garden center, gift shop, little café, and seasonal events that are actually really fun. Great spot to bring friends or out-of-town guests.

 🌿 Burkland Gardens (Mount Vernon)

Conifer fans, this is your place. They specialize in dwarf and unusual conifers. They’re open by appointment only.

 🌿 My Garden Nursery (Bellingham)

This one does a great job of making gardening feel fun and approachable. The purple-everything theme is a little much for me, personally, but they have a great selection of gardening tools, and a selection of both classic and quirky plants. They also offer a lot of classes and seminars on a variety of topics.

Whether you’re a seasoned green thumb or just looking for something cute for your front porch, these nurseries are all local gems. Let me know if you want recommendations for what to plant when—or if you need help making your front yard feel a little more “you.” 💚 Or my favorite question, “How do I increase curb appeal with my yard before I sell my house?” Don’t hesitate to reach out… I always have ideas!

Also, feel free to follow me on Instagram for more PNW life / real estate content!

Installing Solar Panels in Bellingham

We recently had Western Solar out to our office to give a presentation on solar power, and specifically how it works in Bellingham and across Western Washington. Here’s a little recap of what I learned.

The basics of solar power

Solar power captures sunlight and uses it to power your home.  Roof mounted panels capture the sunlight and send the converted electricity to an inverter in your home that then uses the electricity in the home, and gives any excess power back to the utility company.  Any power given back to your power company allows you to build up energy credits for times when you are not producing enough energy like night time or dark winter days.

Solar power in rainy and gray Washington?

Many people wonder if solar is a viable option in Western Washington because of our latitude and climate. Actually, our long and sunny summer days make for great solar energy production!

You can expect to get about 24 percent less electricity per panel in this area than cities such as Austin, TX, or Miami, FL,. Western Washington receives 30 percent less solar per year than Southern California, and 20 percent more than Germany, which interestingly enough, is the world leader in solar installations.

The upside of solar in Washington is that solar is less expensive to install per watt here than sunnier states like California, Nevada, or Texas. This helps offset the lower production. 

Bellingham is a great place to install solar

In fact, I was surprised to learn that Bellingham is one of the most cost effective areas in the entire country to install and operate solar systems! One of the reasons is competition. There’s more solar installation companies locally than in other markets, which drives the price down. And, we have the largest provider of solar energy technology in North America right in our backyard (operating out of facilities on the Bellingham waterfront): Itek, which is now Silfab Solar.

Federal and state incentives

There is a 30 percent federal tax credit available for solar installed prior to the end of 2019.  It drops to 26 percent in 2020 and then to 22 percent in 2021.

Washington State has recently been offering an 18 cent rebate check for every KW of power you produce per year for the next 8 years, up to 50% of the cost of your solar power system.

Combining state and federal benefits you may be able to get up to 80 percent of the cost of your systems back.

Cost benefit of solar conversion

Providing you were able to take full advantage of both state and federal benefits it would take an average of between 6 and 8 years to “break even” on the upfront cost of installing a solar system.  Since solar systems are rated to have a life span exceeding 20 years that would be like having 12 to 14 years of “free power” out of the next 20.

Your home’s value

In addition to financial benefits to your power bill, having an effective solar power system installed on a home also increases its market value. A Forbes magazine article estimated that a home got an increase in value in the 3 percent or $14,000 range when the home had a solar power system installed.

When is the right time?

With the significant federal tax credit that is getting smaller over the next few years, it feels like now is the time to invest in solar. However, one thing to consider is that you need to have a relatively new roof before you install solar, as it wouldn’t be prudent to install panels on a roof with short life span.

When you are ready, the experts at Western Solar will come out and do a free assessment that will give you a fairly accurate idea of how much production you’ll receive on your own roof (based on the number of panels, the angle of the sun, your shaded areas, etc). This will help you decide if it makes sense for you to invest in a solar system.

Because the tax incentives are so good right now, the demand is high. Solar installation companies are quite booked out (well into 2019 from what I’ve heard) so if you’re thinking about going solar, it’s best to get on the list right away!