It’s ‘Le Tour’ time. This fall festival is a celebration of the changing seasons. There are over 30 different garden centers that are participating and we invite everyone to check out all the activities that are happening during the next 9 days. You can get a full rundown of events, seminars and specials at the Le Tour des Plants website. With this great weather we can not only enjoy all the great activities but we can get some new plants in the ground to enjoy now and also get a jump on the garden for next year.

This week we featured...

Farmington Tomato Festival

Tons and tons of tomatoes! That is what you will find at Farmington Gardens (503-649-4568) 7th annual tomato festival. Stop by the nursery between 11:00am and 3:00pm on Saturday and taste dozens of varieties of tomatoes. Also featured during the day; cooking demonstrations, tomato talks where you can learn how to grow healthy and productive tomatoes at home, and plant specials around the nursery. It is a free event and fun for the whole family. It also kicks off the Le Tour des Plants at Farmington. They are packed with activities that run almost every day, including classes in new perennials and Girlfriends Afternoon Getaway! You can check out the Le Tour des Plants website or the Farmington Gardens website to learn more.

Tool Shed – Broad Fork

Our trip to the Tool Shed took us to Boring Oregon again to chat with Bob Denman from Red Pig tools (503-663-9404). Bob pulled out an old tool that is finding favor with new organic gardeners. The Broad Fork is a great tool for breaking up the soil without ruining the soil profile. This tool works to loosen the soil and keeps it intact. Sometimes by using a tiller you are breaking up the structure of the soil and actually causing damage to the structure and beneficial animals that you are trying to create. You use this tool by first creating a row along one end of your garden. Then you slowly work backwards from that row and break up the soil by using that negative space. This is a great tool if you are trying to get the job done without a lot of negative impact on the soil.

Dancing Oaks Fall Bloomers

Fall in the northwest is a season for a whole new group of plants to shine. We traveled down the valley to visit Dancing Oaks Nursery (503-838-6058) near Monmouth to see some of their spectacular fall blooming plants. Our first stop was the Chaste Tree, Vitex agnus-castus. This one is a late season bloomer that loves the heat. It sends out sprays of fragrant blooms that will hang on until the first frost. It gets a little tall so you may want to place it at the back of a border. It looks very similar to the Butterfly Bush without the invasive tendencies. Next we passed a beautiful pink flower in the display gardens. That one was Salvia involucrate. It has a tropical look with its pink fuzzy flowers, but it is hardy for our area. It grows up to 4 feet tall so it can cover a large area with late summer color. Finally, we ended up next to a California Fuchsia, Zauschneria ‘Bowman’. It is a big hummingbird magnet! They love the profusion of flowers and you will love the bright red-orange blooms as well. They love full sun and are very drought tolerant. You can see these late summer plants and many more in the display garden during Le Tour des Plants. Dancing Oaks has a discount coupon as part of the Le Tour event and they will also have tea and cookies every day at the nursery. It is a great place to enjoy a stroll and pick up some cool plants.

Larsen Tropicals

Bring the look of the tropics to your garden. It is not too late to bring the vibrant color of flowers and foliage to your summer garden with some plants we found at Larsen Farm Nursery (503-638-8600). Ryan Seely has filled the demonstration patio at the nursery in Wilsonville with tons of exotic and not so exotic plants for people to look at. He showed Judy some of the best of the best. These favorites included the Lily of the Nile/Agapanthus ‘Elaine’, Mandevilla ‘Red Riding Hood’, Canna ‘Tropicana’, Bougainvillea ‘Purple Queen’, Hibiscus ‘Cherie’ and the Colocasia or Taro. There is still a lot of summer left and you can dress up your deck or patio with great tropical color for months to come.

Monnier Goodbye

It is tough to see changes in the garden industry. You expect the great plant growers to continue doing what they are doing for many, many years. But things do change and so we stopped by Monnier’s Country Gardens (503-981-3384) to say goodbye to Ron and Debbie Monnier. They have decided to close down their nursery and try a new path in their life. They are using the Le Tour des Plants to wrap things up and say goodbye to their great customers. You can stop by and check out the largest fuchsia display garden in the US or get a great deal on some beautiful, hardy fuchsias that you can enjoy for years to come. They wanted to thank all of the Garden Time viewers for the great support you have given them during the past few years. Stop by and say goodbye to these wonderful people.

Drake’s Open House

One of our favorite nurseries is growing! Drake's 7 Dees (503-292-9121) has expanded to the west side and is having their big grand opening the next 2 weekends. This weekend is all about kids, with kid-friendly projects and activities. You can even meet children’s author Ruth Saltzman, the author of ‘Poppy Bear’. The following Saturday you can meet Michael Allen Harrison and sign up to win a private gardener for a day. With food, music and prizes, it should be a great couple of weekends.