The heat is backing off and its time to get outdoors and enjoy the garden again. It seems like I was just running out to water plants and then heading back inside to the cooler temps and the constant buzz of the fans. The one thing I noticed was the way my plants were responding to the hot weather. Plants are amazing the way they react to the weather. In fact, check out the Garden Time Blog this week to read Williams thoughts and observations about the winter damage to his garden. Enjoy the cooler weather and enjoy the cooler evenings.

This week we featured...

Terrestrial Water Bowl

A few weeks ago we learned how to build a water bowl in less than 5 minutes with Eamonn Hughes at Hughes Water Gardens (503-638-1709). This time we returned to learn about his ‘surf and turf’ special. What we are talking about is combining a water feature and a planter in one pot. First Eamonn showed us a miniature fountain that contained a mushroom-like feature in the center of it. This is placed in a large planter. Then we started to add plants around it. These plants don’t have to be water plants because we treat the rest of the container as if it were a regular planter. Once everything is planted we dressed the area around the fountain to hide the edges and then we plugged in the fountain. It was done in less than 10 minutes! It is a great way to enjoy the best of both worlds, a planter and a fountain. If you are near Hughes you can see more of these little combination pots and enjoy the final weekend of the 7th Annual Waterlily Festival and Invitational Art show (through Aug 2nd) this weekend. You can also check out the huge Victoria Lilies (check out the time lapse of the night bloom here)  while you are there.

Summer Lawn Tips

The heat of summer can really beat up your lawn and turn your lovely green grass into dry crunchy straw. To get some tips on creating a healthy and happy lawn we visited with Dave Jones of TruGreen (1-800-TRUGREEN). Dave told us that the health of your lawn can be tied to 3 things, mowing, watering and fertilizing. The first thing we talked about was watering. Determining the correct amount of water to apply to your lawn can be difficult. Dave recommended trying to find out the amount of water you have coming out of your system. You can do this with the ‘tuna can’ test (or with gauges provided by TruGreen) Put the cans out and run your system, check the amount in the cans and adjust so you are putting about 1 inch of water per week on your grass. Once you have determined how much water is applied check to make sure it is enough for your lawn. You can do this several ways. The first way was the ‘step test’. Step on the grass and see if it bounces back. You can also use a shovel to see how deep the moisture reaches into the soil. If there is a need for more water you can adjust your system accordingly. Next we moved to mowing. Raise the level of your mower to allow your grass to grow to 3 inches. This will create a barrier so your grass won’t dry out, and never take off more than 1/3 of the height of the grass. A sharp mower blade is also extremely important. Finally we talked about fertilization. Having a balanced fertilizer program is very important. You will want to monitor your lawn and feed it more than once a year. Grass needs nutrition and you provide a lot of that with a good fertilizer. If you have any questions about your lawn you can always call your local experts at TruGreen.

State Capitol State Park

A couple of months ago we stopped by the State Capitol State Park in Salem to see the cherry blossoms putting on a fantastic spring show. We decided to return at the invitation of the Park Manager, Jim Bader, to learn more about this overlooked state park. We started on the west side of the building to learn about the history of the park. Willson Park is on the west side and it was originally a city park until the Columbus Day Storm left so much damage that the city gave the park to the state. This part of the park has a wonderful children’s Parade of Animals sculpture, Waite Fountain and the ‘Moon Tree’ which was grown from seeds that were carried to the moon on Apollo 14 in 1971. On the east side of the capitol you will find some of the oldest trees in Salem. They have found landscaping maps from the turn of the century that show some of the plantings. This side of the building also has statues of prominent figures from Oregon history. The front mall area of the capitol contains our favorite cherry trees and the 2 signature fountains of the grounds, the Wall of Water and the Capitol Fountain. You will also find some great collections of flowering perennials and roses. If you are in Salem, take some time to walk the grounds and enjoy this jewel of the State Park system.

Long Handled Tools

If you need to know about tools, there is only one place to stop, Red Pig Tools (503-663-9404) in Boring. Bob Denman is the expert on tools and how to use them correctly. We asked Bob to put together his recommended long handled tools for the beginning gardener. The long handled tools are the ones you will use to tackle most of your larger projects. Bob started with the shovel. This is the most used tool garden tool in the United States. It is very efficient for breaking ground and moving soil. If you are using it to break up ground Bob recommends a different tool, a spading fork. The fork will penetrate the ground more easily than a shovel and it has less surface area so it is easier to maneuver in the soil. The next tool you will want is a rake. This tool can do lots of chores. You can level ground, you can break up clods with edges and even tamp the ground down when you are finished planting. Once your garden is established you will need a cultivator to keep the ground loose. A 3 or 4 tine cultivator will allow you to break up the soil and that helps loosen weeds and allows better penetration of water. Finally, Bob recommends the hoe. This is used for weeds, light cultivating and can even create furrows for planting seed. Bob makes most of these tools at his shop in Boring. For these and many more, check out his website or give him a call.

Soil Solutions

Building a good garden starts from the ground up. We stopped by to chat with Kith at Bethany Nursery (503-439-0707) to learn about how they used mulch and compost to make their soil the healthiest it could be. Kith showed us the display gardens at the nursery where they started with heavy clay soil. They brought in sandy loam and compost and mixed it in the soil and it is now a fine soil that breaks apart easily. The compost will attract small bugs, worms and other animal life that helps breakdown the organic matter in the soil and makes that nutrition available to the plants for them to use. We moved to another area to see the vegetable garden. This area is proof of the difference that a good soil will make in your garden! The veggies were huge! If you are interested in getting the most out of your garden you can contact Kith at the nursery or attend one of their seminars at the nursery and at Portland Community College.