Happy
4th of July weekend! The weather
has finally gotten a little hotter and that means
it is time to bar-b-que. Check out our tips
for grilling in this weeks show. We also
have some great segments on fixing your soil, a
neat garden tool, a beautiful garden to visit and,
of course, some interesting plants. Have a
safe and festive weekend.
This
week we featured…
Portland
Classical Chinese Garden
We
paid a visit to the Portland
Classical Chinese Garden (503-228-8131) to see
some new plants and learn about some of the events
they have coming up for the summer. First
Jodi Gurtov took us "down low" to see a
couple of hidden beauties that you have to search
for to find. We saw a couple of Arisaemas,
also known as Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema
candidissimum (pink flower spath) and Arisaema
costatum).
These plants have pitcher-shaped blooms that have
unusual colors in the throat of the pitchers.
Then we caught up with Amy Freyer to catch up on
events and programs that are being offered at the
garden. The first event is the popular
"Tuesdays by Twilight" series of
concerts starting July 11th.
These concerts, sponsored by Nordstrom’s, allow
you to enjoy a great mix of music and see the
garden in a different light. Amy also filled
us in on classes and seminars being offered at the
garden, including flower arranging and Feng Shui
design. For a complete list of events, check
out the garden web-site.
Stihl
Yard Boss
With
the smaller size of the gardens that people now
have, it is hard to find the right tool for the
job. Most of the garden equipment you find
is too big for the smaller areas we are faced
with. Stihl
has found a solution for that. They have
designed the Yard Boss rototiller. This
versatile tiller was designed to be used by
anyone. Features include safety guards, a
weight kit, ergonomic handles and folding handles
for easy storage. It also comes with a
number of attachments that really makes this an
all-in-one tool for the gardener.
AMS
– Soil Amendment
Drainage
issues seem to be the main trouble with lawns here
in the northwest. David Curtis from AMS showed us
a new process that gets drainage problems for
good. AMS has a product called Axis that is
a dry diatomaceous earth that is injected into
your soil to change its structure. It not
only helps with your drainage problems, it can
give you a healthier lawn and garden, and save you
a bunch of money on watering. If you are
interested to having AMS come to look at your lawn
you can contact them at www.axisplayball.com
or call 503-367-3640.
Zoo
Butterflies
Everyone
wants to attract butterflies to their garden.
We found a place at the Oregon Zoo where you can
see a bunch of exotic butterflies and learn how to
attract the local flutterers to your garden.
It is called the Winged Wonders exhibit.
Mary Jo Andersen is the zoo keeper in charge and
she brought a couple of "friends" to
meet William. We also heard from Linda Coady
Richardson about some of the plants you can add to
your garden to attract these flying beauties.
When attracting butterflies you have to add plants
for the 3 stages of their growth. Visitors
learn that planting herbs such as fennel and dill
attract the caterpillars of species such as black
swallowtail and anise swallowtail. Visitors
also learn about the importance of
butterfly-attracting nectar plants like asters,
zinnia and yarrow -- and the need for sunlight,
water, shelter and avoiding pesticides. The
exhibit will remain open until Labor Day.
Gartners's 4th
of July Bar-b-que
It
is time to relax. And the best way to do
that is to have a nice grilled meal on your deck
or patio. Jerry Yost, from Gartner’s
Meats (503-252-7801) has the perfect meal for
this holiday weekend. He grilled up a bunch
of chicken and beef ka-bobs from the store.
Gartner’s has been in business for decades and
they can really liven up your grill with some of
the meats they offer. Jerry's choice of
ka-bobs was great for two reasons. First,
they are cheap. And second, they are easy!
He paired them with a salad, watermelon, and
chips. If you have 15 minutes, you have a
great meal!
