My, time flies! We just celebrated our 100th episode. It was just two-and-a-half years ago that we started this show. William and Judy were green and willing to join me on this great experiment. Now we have passed 100 shows! We would like to thank all of you who have watched and supported the program. Join us for the celebration. See the details below for more information.
Jeff Gustin
Owner/Producer
Garden Time
This week we featured...
100th Episode Celebration
We would like to invite you to a party to celebrate our 100th episode of Garden Time. We will be at Larsen Farm Nursery (503-638-8600) on Stafford Road in Wilsonville on Friday, September 5th from 2:30 – 5:00pm to meet viewers. We will have refreshments for everyone. There will be drawings for some great raffle prizes, including tools, plants and Garden Time t-shirts. Stop on by and say hello.
State Fair Flowers
The Oregon State Fair (800-833-0011) is a great place to take the family, ride the attractions, eat some really tasty food and have a good time. It is also a great place to check out some great gardens. We stopped by the ‘Hart of the Garden’ area at the fair to see the beautiful display that was put together to showcase the different varieties that are grown at Hart’s Nursery in Jefferson. Doug Hart showed William some of the nice plants he had chosen to include. A couple of the varieties that he said people liked were the new varieties of Zinnias and the Ptilotus from ‘down under’ named Joey. Hart’s would also like to find out what flowers you like in your hanging baskets. This weekend if you stop by the garden and fill out the survey they have you can take home a 4 inch plant and also register to win a $100 gift certificate. So if you head to the State Fair stop by and enjoy the garden.
Dahlia Design
You can build an award winning flower arrangement with flowers from your garden if you follow a few simple rules. We stopped by the Swan Island Dahlia Festival (800-410-6540) to learn how easy it is to do. The Festival is in full swing and features over 400 cut flower arrangements on display. Heather from Swan Island walked us through the steps of building a great display. First she heat treated the stems in 160-170 degree water, which will make the cut flowers last longer. Then she started with one variety of flower which established the size and height of the arrangement. Then she filled in with the other styles and types of blooms. She even used the discarded stems to add filler to the display. It is very easy to do! If you are looking for ideas or you want to fill your day with color, stop by the Dahlia Festival and check out the display or the fields of color.
Oregon Garden Kids Area
The Oregon Garden (1-877-674-2733) is known for the diversity of gardens and displays of plants. One of the signature gardens is the Children’s Garden, and we heard that it has recently undergone some improvements. Jeff Pera took us on a tour to show us what they have done. We started in one of the favorite parts of the kid’s garden, the Dinosaur Dig area. We then moved to the Tree house and the houseware planters. Everywhere we turned there was a new feature to the garden. There is one more major feature we are waiting for and that is the garden train. Jeff told us about the plans for adding a train to the garden. All they are waiting for is a little funding. We recommend that you stop by the garden and see all the new changes. You can even stay at the new Oregon Garden Resort for the night. Or if you want to help make the train in the garden become a reality, give them a call.
Hypertufa Pots
Hypertufa is the art of making lightweight cement pots. Donna Wright from Black Gold/Sungro gave us the step by step instructions for making these wonderful pots. Hypertufa means ‘light weight cement pots’ and she walked William through the process of making them. The 3 ingredients to remember are ‘Peat, Perlite, and Portland Cement’. You can customize them by adding moss, creating patterns and changing the color when you make them. It is a great project for families and will last for years! Check out the recipe if you missed it on the air.
Village Green #1
There is an oasis in the mid valley for gardeners who are looking to get away. The Village Green Resort (800-343-7666) in Cottage Grove is not only a place to take a vacation; it is also a paradise for plant lovers. The resort is home to 14 specialty gardens. Head Gardener, John Albrecht, took William on a tour of 2 of the gardens. The first stop was the Tropicana Garden. This little piece of tropical paradise is right in the middle of the resort grounds. It is combination of plants that lend a Hawaiian feel to the garden because of their color, flowers or foliage. Then we walked across the grounds to the Woodland Garden. This garden is a shady wonderland that contains over 20 varieties of ferns and even some terrestrial orchids. If you would like to see the gardens just pull off I-5 in Cottage Grove and follow the signs. You can also see the gardens during the ‘Gathering of Gardeners’, the annual celebration of fall gardening that is happening on the weekend of the 20-21 of September. William and Judy will be speaking at the Resort during the event. They will be joined by live music, garden artists and plant vendors. Mark the weekend of September 20-21 in your calendar!
Berry Botanic Seed Bank
Some of our native plants are in danger. Every year we lose a little bit more of the plant diversity in the Northwest. We found a place where they are making sure that we don’t lose all of our local native plant species. The Berry Botanic Garden (503-636-4112) is the home of a extensive seed bank that houses rare and endangered plants of the Pacific Northwest. Andrea took Judy on a tour of the bank and the cooler where they store seeds. It has already paid off dividends. A while ago a landslide took out the last grouping of a rare NW plant. The bank was able to provide the seed to repopulate the area with plants. For more information, check out the Berry Botanic website.
