About Rainy Side Gardeners

 

Come spring 2028, Rainy Side Gardeners will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Over the decades, our site has blossomed into a vibrant community of gardeners dedicated to cultivating the lush landscapes west of the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest.

Gardening on the rainy side of the region offers both rich rewards and unique challenges. Rainy Side Gardeners was born as a haven for those navigating this distinctive climate, at a time when most gardening advice overlooked our region’s quirks. Together, we pooled our stories and expertise, filling our articles and plant gallery with reliable, firsthand knowledge. Long before Google became everyone’s guide and 'content' became a buzzword, we were here, sharing what we learned.

Over the years, we’ve nurtured and refreshed the site, always striving to make it better. The plant database is ready for a fresh facelift. Debbie plans to rewrite old listings and showcase her growth as a writer. We’re also rolling up our sleeves to redesign the site’s layout and embrace the latest technology.

About Debbie Teashon

Hello! I’m glad to see you here.

Currently, I’m immersed in the world of my literary fiction novel, woven with magical threads throughout the story. The book is detailed in the harsh truth of an era where women lived in constant fear, in the shadow of witch hunts. With the first draft finally done, I am overwhelmed by the raw reality of what women faced. Tears fell on many of my handwritten pages as I stepped into the lives of my female characters, trying to survive their messed-up world. Their lives became my heartbreaking reality as I wrote.

At the center of the story is a widow, haunted by the constant fear of being branded a witch. Her gift of healing could easily lead to accusations, torture, mutilation, or death. With loved ones already lost to burning pyres and strangling gallows, she still doesn’t play it safe. She’s called upon to help women in need, so she lives each day convinced she could be the next one accused.

With revisions and the completion of the book in sight, my hairdresser is just a phone call away. She is ready to swoop in and rescue me when the revisions drive me to tear my hair out.

A recent research trip to Wales (2026) helped me better understand the region and dive into its history. My goal is to finish the book by the end of 2026.

Gardening for the Homebrewer GWA* 2016 Award

I’m a garden writer, co-author of the award-winning Gardening for the Homebrewer, a garden speaker, and an award-winning photographer. My career spans many decades. My speaking engagements have included the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, Tacoma Home & Garden Show, Peninsula Home & Garden Expo, and numerous garden clubs. It was an honor to be a guest on the Garden Time television show in Oregon and on radio programs such as Gardening with Ciscoe on 97.3 FM KIRO and Poppy Tucker’s Louisiana Eats on NPR.

My articles and photographs appear in local, national, and international magazines and newspapers, and as a contributing garden writer for Plant Something Oregon, Digger Magazine, and West Sound Magazine. My work has been published in Fine Gardening, Master Gardener, Tardigarde (Sweden), and HGTV Magazine. At the same time, newspapers, including the Oregonian and a monthly garden column, “Garden Life,” in the Kitsap Weekly (unfortunately, the latter is no longer in print).

My website, Rainy Side Gardeners, focuses on regional gardening west of the Cascades. Gardening most of my adult life, I have always searched for new varieties of plant material or created new container designs using beautiful pottery or repurposed items.

*Garden Writer’s Association is now Garden Communicators International.

Our forum has been moved into three active garden groups on Facebook. You can find them by following these links:
Container Gardening Northwest
Pacific Northwest Native Plants
Pacific Northwest Rainy Side Gardening