June has arrived and the days are getting warmer.  It is also the season to dodge the occasional rain shower.  Enjoy these refreshing days, soon it will be the middle of summer and we will be battling hot and humid weather and wondering  where the showers have gone!

This week we featured...

Tsugawa Strawberry Fest

It is that time of year when the local strawberries are starting to show up in your local market.  That means it is also time to visit Tsugawa’s Nursery (360-225-8750) for their annual Strawberry Festival.  Tsugawa’s has a farm that also grows strawberries and raspberries.  This weekend they show their appreciation to their customers by sharing some strawberry shortcake.  Saturday from 11:00am - 3:00pm you can get free strawberry shortcake when you stop by.  Another event of interest is the bonsai demonstration.  Bonsai is a form of gardening that intimidates a lot of people.  This Saturday you can come, get all your questions answered, and see how easy it is to create a small garden you can enjoy year round!

Sedum Wreath

A variety of plant that is hard to kill is the sedum.  These little wonders grow in areas that other plants find hard to endure.  Donna Wright from Black Gold shared a way to enjoy your wreath on a garden wall or on your picnic table.  She used a wire wreath frame and then planted 5 - 6 varieties of sedums in patterns of three for a beautiful display of color and texture.  If you would like to build your own wreath, check out these directions. 

Garden Molds – Sconce

On an earlier show we saw how to make your own garden step stones using some GardenMolds (1-800-588-7930) forms.  Today we saw how to make a wall sconce using a different form.  Catherine Failor walked William through the steps to create a cute candle holder.  Catherine also showed him how to add a special touch by using a mixed paint applied without a brush!  If you are interested in trying to make your own garden art you can check out GardenMolds on-line or at your local independent garden center.

Hedge Choices

When people want privacy, they will often use a row of plants to do the job.  It creates texture and it is cheap to install.  The problem is the same old choices that people use in their plantings, photinia, laurel, and ….  Lee Powell from Garland Nursery (1-800-296-6601) found a few other choices that people can consider.  He showed us some really different choices for the home gardener which included English boxwood, Cotoneaster ‘Parney’s Red’, Waxleaf Privet, Dwarf Cranberry Bush Viburnum, Ninebark ‘Diablo’, Roundleaf Osmanthus, Holly ‘Blue Princess’ and a couple of roses, ‘Frau Dagmar Hartopp’ and ‘Rabble Rouser’.  If you are looking to create a hedge, check out something different before you plant.

Amdro Ant Block

Ants are the #1 pest problem in the U.S.  There are lots of products that can get rid of them once they get inside your home, but we found a new product that will stop them before they invade your home, yard or garden.  Norm from Lilly Miller explained how the Amdro product creates a barrier to your home.  One of the big differences…ants treat this as a food.  The other products only take care of the ants that touch the product.  Amdro is a bait that they take back to the nest.  They take it back to the queen and once she is gone, so is the problem.