Wow, the warm weather has returned! Boy, does it feel good to have the sun’s warmth in your face again! The last few weekends we have been out in the garden cleaning up and now the plants are really responding. You can almost see them growing right before your eyes. Of course the weeds are growing too! Stay on top of your weeding and you will have fewer problems in the future. The same is true with slugs. Of course some of you have not finished your cleaning up yet and this weekend is perfect for you to get out and get that chore done. William is still working on his hedge, check out his progress on the Garden Time blog. If you just can’t see getting out in your garden to do work you can also take a trip to your local garden center and just enjoy the blooms! There are a couple of big events to mention this weekend. One is the 29th anniversary at Tsugawa Nursery in Woodland, with lots of events and specials going on. Also, the Lan Su Chinese Garden in downtown, formerly the Portland Classical Chinese Garden, is kicking off their Festival of Fragrance this weekend and they are having a huge plant sale at the garden. Either event would be a fun time!

This week we featured...

Slug Control

SLUGS!!! These little pests will devour your new plants and vegetables. If you are looking for a way to keep them in check, William met with Norm from Lilly Miller to cover some of the different ways you can deter them. Norm told us that 80% of the slug bait manufactured is used here in the Northwest. First William talked about the non-chemical methods of control. He covered beer traps, some of the scent traps, copper tape which gives them a shock and even an electric fence. Norm then covered a couple of the broad range applications. First was the Worry Free product that is safe for pets and wildlife. Then we talked about the Corry’s product that has a great track record of success, the Deadline liquid product and finally a powdered meal from Lilly Miller. There are various ways to handle them including chemical and natural methods, and if you have pets or small children you need to make your choices wisely. Take the time to find the method that’s best for you and check with your local garden center if you need help.

Chinese Fragrant Plants

Some of the best plants of the year bloom in spring. Some of those same plants are some of the most fragrant. We stopped by the Lan Su Chinese Garden, formerly the Portland Classical Chinese Garden, to visit with Glin and to learn about the Festival of Fragrance that they are kicking off this weekend. It runs from March 20-31 and they have a ton of exciting events planned. Check out their website for more details. Our focus today was to check out the great plants they have in the garden right now. We started in the Scholars Courtyard. Here we found the Rhododendron veitchianum which is a little tender for our area, but with a little protection it can really put on a show right now. The fragrance is soft and little and really nice. One plant that is not so subtle is the Evergreen Clematis in the entrance courtyard. This one will knock your socks off. We then walked over the covered bridge in the middle of the garden and were surrounded by numerous plants, some fragrant and some not, but all beautiful. These plants include the Edgeworthia (Chinese Paperbush), Daphne odora ‘Marginata’ and a stunning magnolia. You can stop by the garden and enjoy all these plants during the festival. Of course if you want to take one home, this weekend is your opportunity. The garden is having a huge plant sale in the parking lot behind the garden. Stop by and fall in love with the garden, then take a plant home to enjoy!

KinderGarden – Easter Grass

There is nothing like ‘REAL’ grass in your Easter basket. In this Kindergarden segment we saw how easy it is to grow grass for your Easter (or spring) baskets. All you need is weed fabric, potting soil, any type of grass seed (rye grass works well), and water. First you line the basket with the fabric. Remember the fabric will allow the water to drain so make sure it is a basket that can get wet. Next put in the potting soil and keep it an inch or so below the edge of the basket. Then sprinkle grass seed in the soil. Don’t go too light on the seed; you want it to be really full looking! Mix the seed into the soil and water lightly. The seed should start growing in a week to 10 days. Keep the soil moist until the seed germinates and it will be ready by Easter morning!

Small Fruit Trees

Smaller gardens have special requirements for use of space. These smaller spaces have some people thinking that they can’t enjoy fruit trees. The people at Tsugawa Nursery (360-225-8750) don’t believe you have to give up on your dream of fresh fruit if you have a smaller garden. Brian Tsugawa showed us some of the different varieties that are either grown on dwarf stock or were hybridized so you can have fruit in any garden space. He pointed out a couple of columnar apples that would be perfect for a small lot or even in a container. Columnar trees have a main leader and not a lot of branching. Then we moved to a cherry tree that was grafted on smaller root stock. This tree will provide cherries and since the plant will stay around 8 feet tall, you can easily reach the fruit. Finally we moved to the grafted multiple varieties. You can now get 3 to 6 varieties of fruit on one trunk. We saw how you can train the different branches and have different types of fruit at different times during the late summer. Don’t forget, you can also pick up your strawberries and cane berries right now too. Check out the variety at Tsugawa’s and your local independent garden center.

Top 10 Easiest Seeds

We recently received a press release from the Home Garden Seed Association that had a list of the top 10 easiest seeds to grow in your garden. This list had vegetables and flowers included on the list. Of course you will want to read the back of the packages to see when they should be planted in your area. For most of these plants it is a little too cold to go in the ground right now. The list they provided included these wonderful varieties: beans, cucumbers, lettuce, peas, pumpkins, radishes, squash, cosmos, sunflowers and zinnias. When shopping for these seeds or any other varieties remember to look for those that are bred for the shorter Northwest growing season. Some good companies to look for include Ed Hume, Territorial, Nichol’s and New Dimension. Below are some links to some growing tips from different suppliers and OSU.  Territorial - New Dimension Seeds – OSU Extension

Attracting Garden Wildlife

The spring weather has awakened the garden and you may notice that the wildlife is returning as well. If you are a lover of plants AND animals, then you need to attend Garden University at the Oregon Garden in Silverton. They are kicking off this series of classes with a talk by John Riutta a local naturalist who can help you welcome wildlife into your garden. The class begins at 1pm on March 27th at the garden. John joined us in the garden to talk about the birds and the bees… ok, and also butterflies and other creatures too. The importance of attracting wildlife can not be overestimated. The addition of birds, bees, butterflies and other species to your garden brings a fullness to your garden. A healthy life and garden come from this fullness. John mentioned that you need to welcome all different types of wildlife to your garden and to do that you need to think like nature. Nature is not neat. Providing food, water and shelter create the habitat that animals need to survive and shows them that they are welcome in your garden. With the growth of the suburbs and the encroachment on people on traditional ‘wild’ areas means that we have to provide resources that they can no longer find on their own. Take the time to attend this seminar, and learn how to be a friend to the animals in your garden.