Ahhhh... it is wonderful outside. I love these summer days. Just this
morning we were sitting outside and enjoying our coffee while we read the
paper. We have also been enjoying the late evening outside on the patio.
It is truly a lovely time of year.
We are also starting to gear up for the newest event from the
Garden Time crew. Gardenpalooza: The Tour is going to be happening in early
September. Most of you have heard about the Gardenpalooza event in the
spring. This one is different. This event will take place at select
nurseries and garden centers around the area. Check out
www.Gardenpalooza.com for the announcement. You can also read about the event on our blog.
Enjoy these wonderful nights and days and mark your calendar for
Gardenpalooza: The Tour.
This week we featured...
Garden Lighting
You can extend your outdoor entertaining and your enjoyment of
your garden with the creative use of light. We met with Steve Varga of
Prograss (800-776-4727) to
learn about all the new and exciting types and styles of lights on the
market. Steve told us about the biggest change in lighting with the move to
LED lights. These lights use less energy than your conventional lights, but
they do have a few drawbacks. LED lights can generate a lot of heat. That
heat means that you have to be careful of their placement in the garden. If
you are thinking about adding outdoor lighting there are a few questions to
ask... do you want area lighting, display lighting, entertaining, pathways,
safety. What your needs are determines the type of light you need. Steve
then showed us the 3 main types of lights that they use including a hooded
path light, a wide spot light and a narrow spot light. There were a couple
of warnings from Steve as well. He was very concerned about packaged kits
that you can get at discount stores. These kits are made of cheaper
materials and some have a lot of plastic. These will not last as long and
will soon fall apart. The adage 'you get what you pay for' applies here!
Spend the money for a quality system and you will get years of use out of
it. Also, he addressed the question of solar lights. These lights are
great for decorative purposes and for small accents, but Steve would warn
against using them for large areas or your main lighting. They will dim
down in just a few hours and during the winter month we don't get enough
light to recharge them completely. If you are interested in outdoor
lighting you can always get all your questions answered by the experts at Prograss!
Garden to Grill Ribs
The harvest season has arrived and gardens are starting to share
their bounty. We stopped by Drakes 7 Dees (503-256-2223) to see what Lynn had cooked up
for her latest Garden to Grill class. These Garden to Grill classes are
held throughout the summer to help people get the most out of their garden
harvest. When we walked in you could smell the BBQ sauce in the store.
Lynn had put together a simple Dutch oven rib dish that was incredibly
simple! All she used were some beef and pork ribs, her own BBQ sauce
(though you could use a store bought brand), 4 different colored bell
peppers and 1 onion from her garden. Less than one hour in the Dutch oven
and it was done! For dessert she made some delicious lavender cookies. These were done cooking in less than 5 minutes and incorporated fresh lavender buds. They had the taste and smell of lavender! You can try both recipes for yourself by clicking here: PDF Document - Word Document
Lynn also wanted to let us know that it isn't too late for a
vegetable garden. With the cool, wet spring and late summer, everyone has
had a late start to gardening. You can find tons of mature plants at your
local garden center. Some of these plants are already fruiting and just
need to be planted in the ground! Stop by either location of Drakes to see
what they have in stock. You can also check out their website for the
complete schedule of classes and events.
Sedum Bird Bath
It is a hot summer already and it is time to think of plants
that can handle the heat! Sedums are the perfect plant for heat and drought
tolerance. Plus you can plant them anywhere! We found a bird bath at Al's
Garden Center (503-981-1245) in Woodburn and decided to plant one
up! The sedums cover all shapes and sizes, from the simple 'Hens and
Chicks' to the very interesting 'Pork and Beans'. We started with a special
cactus soil mix from Black Gold. We then removed most of the soil from the
plants because the bath was so shallow, but also because the sedums don't
need a huge amount of soil. Then all we did was arrange them into a nice
pattern and we were done. Once established they will do well with very
little water and provide us with great color and texture all year long!
Maple Accents
A lot of us have plants in our garden that become signature
plants. Because they stand out it is hard to find plants to accent them.
We traveled to Garland Nursery (1-800-296-6601) to check with Lee Powell
on his suggestions for one of those common plants, the lace-leaf Japanese
Maple. These plants are planted in a lot of newer homes and they have a
wonderful weeping habit, but because they are so low to the ground they can
be hard to plant under. Lee found a few plants including a dwarf azalea
called 'Gumpo Pink' that has beautiful pink flowers that will accent the red
maple color. He also showed us how grasses, hostas and mosses can create a
nice area in your landscape.
Newberg Water-Wise Garden
What can you do with a parking lot on one of the busiest
highways in the state? How about build an award winning, green, water wise
garden! We had heard about this garden early this spring when we were in
Newberg for the Camellia Festival. We decided to return to see how it
looked in the heat of summer. Bryan Stewart of the City of Newberg gave us a tour of
this spectacular garden which is located on the corner of E. Hancock and
Blaine Streets. This garden is only 3 years old, but it is looking full
and in color. Bryan pulled together various groups from around the
community to build this great garden. The Yamhill Master Gardeners, OSU,
the Newberg Rotary, and Newberg High school are just a few of the many
groups and businesses that made this dream a reality! Some of the features
of the garden include a smart irrigations system with sprinklers adjusted
for the lowest flow and only in areas that require additional watering.
They also capture and recycle the rainwater runoff from the parking lot in a
500 gallon cistern under a 'green roof' kiosk. The 'islands' in the middle
of the lot receive no supplemental watering at all! If you are looking for
some tips to get you started, Bryan gave us these...
1. Planning and Design - This is the most important step. Grouping the
right plants together is very important to their long term success.
Questions to ask include: how will you use your landscape and how will your
landscape use water?
2. Compost and Cultivate - Proper soil preparation is the foundation of
a successful water-wise garden. The better the soil, the healthier your
plants. In this garden they used gravel to break up the clay soil and
provide some great drainage.
3. Create a Functional Turf Area - Grass requires more water and
maintenance than other plants. Use grass only in areas that need it like
play areas or paths. Also, use a low water variety that works in your area.
4. The Right Plant For the Right Place - Different plants need variable
amounts of water, sun and shade. Group plants that have similar
requirements together. Plants that are native to our area are great because
they are better suited to our climate and conditions.
5. Water Wisely - water efficient doesn't mean 'waterless'. Plan your
irrigation so that it meets the needs of the plants in your garden. Also,
water early in the day to avoid excessive evaporation. Plants will have
more problems with over watering than they will with under watering.
6. Use of Mulches - Think of mulch as a blanket and sun block for your
plants. Just 2-4 inches of mulch can help retain soil moisture, slow
evaporation and protect your plants roots from low and high temperatures.
Hate weeding, start mulching.
7. Keep up the Maintenance - Water-wise gardens are designed to be low
maintenance, but not maintenance free. Key things to watch include;
watering wisely, weed routinely, compost and mulch, lightly prune as needed
and keep a lookout for pests and disease.
You will also find more water saving tips on the Regional Water
Providers Consortium website, www.Conserveh2o.org.
