The holiday season is upon us! Yes, I know that it is just past Halloween,
but you can tell the season is changing when you start to see the decorated
trees in the local garden centers. This year I can't get too mad at the
speed of change. It has been an interesting year in the garden and maybe
the change of season will bring a change of weather for 2011. I, for one,
would like to see a better tomato season next year. Plus, with these
changes it really gets me in the mood to think about winter plants. This
week we were able to stop by Farmington Gardens to check out some cool fall
plants. Check out our story for more information.
It is also the time for holiday festivals. Nearly all of your local garden
centers will have some kind of holiday events planned. Just looking at
their websites I could find events at Fresh to You in Silverton, Portland
Nursery, Tsugawa's, Garland Nursery in Corvallis, and Smith Berry Barn, just
to name a few. We also did a story at the Nella Chestnut farm in Hood
River, where they have a Chestnut Roast this weekend at the farm. Check the
website of your local nursery or garden center to see what they have
planned!
This week we featured...
Chestnut Roast
'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire'... We have all heard the
old holiday carol, but few of us have ever tasted a roasted chestnut, even
though they grow in our area. We heard about a chestnut farm near Hood
River so we decided to pay a visit and learn more about these traditional,
but underused nuts. Bernardo is the new owner of Nella Chestnut Farms
(1-800-400-3658), formerly called Nutquacker Farms. Bernardo is Italian and
his experiences with this nut have a deep rooted tradition. Even Judy, who
is also Italian, has had chestnuts with her family for meals and snacks.
First of all Bernardo told us that many cultures from Italian, to French to
Asian, use this nut in their cooking. In Europe you can find vendors on the
street corners during the fall, roasting these for shoppers. To harvest
them you have to make sure that you are not using the Horse Chestnut (these
can make you sick), the correct ones are like a big sharp, fuzzy looking
pod. Once the pod falls from the tree you can step on the pod to have the
nut pop out. Then take the biggest ones and cut them with an 'x' on the
outside (to prevent them from bursting in the oven) and then roast them for
25 minutes at 400 degrees, you can then eat the yellow meat inside. You can
even cook them in the microwave! There are lots of other ways to enjoy
these naturally delicious nuts and you can find more recipes on the brand
new Nella farms website. You can even order them on-line. Check them out
this weekend for their annual Chestnut Roast at their farm in Hood River.
Fall Color Plants
The transition between fall and winter is happening and that
means that the summer garden is falling asleep. But it doesn't mean that
your garden has to become bare and brown. We stopped by Farmington Gardens
(503-649-4568) to see what kind of fall and winter color we could find.
Clare from Farmington walked us through some of her favorites. She pulled a
huge selection of plants out of her nursery to share with us and these are
just a few of the varieties that she found. First on her list was the Picea
glauca or Spiral Alberta Spruce. Small conifers are great for establishing
structure in your garden. They are there year round providing constant
beauty to your garden. Next we saw a couple of interesting hydrangeas,
'bluebird' with it's lace cap blooms and dark fall foliage and 'Little Lamb'
with the cone shaped flowers of pink, white and green. Clare had also
pulled out a couple of Smoke Trees for us to look at. The first one was the
traditional dark purple variety named 'Royal Purple', but the newer one was
the stunning 'Grace' with its leaves turning bright red and gold. Another
plant that was showing off some beautiful red and gold was the Barberry 'Pow
Wow'. This was the new favorite of everyone on the crew because of its
showy colors. A couple other plants that have great year-round color are
Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' and Ceanothus 'Diamond Heights'. William
mentioned that pairing these plants will create wonderful patterns of color
in your garden for the whole winter and into next spring and summer.
Another plant that will have year-round interest, and seems to be overlooked
by most people is the 'Japanese Holly Fern'. Ferns in general have great
foliage and texture and will help keep the green in your garden when other
plants die back. The final plant is a native to the Northwest and can be
found in many of our local forests. It is the Common Snowberry. It can be
packed with colorful berries that change color during the fall and winter,
and as a native you know it will do well in our climate. It is a great
addition to any garden. One of the plants in the background that we didn't
talk about featured the twisted branches and curly trunk of the Harry
Lauders Walking Stick, another interesting plant These were just a few of
the many plants you can find at Farmington Gardens or at many of your local
independent garden centers.
Fall Rose Care
Now that the cold winds are blowing, your roses may be in need of
some fall and winter care. Kathleen Baughman of Heirloom Roses
(503-538-1576)
showed us how to clean up your roses now to keep them healthy through the
winter. She recommended that you cut your plants down to about chest high
right now so they don't get damaged in the wind. If you are not
experiencing heavy winds then avoid making your cuts until the first frost
to prevent the plant from adding new growth. You also cut them back to clean
up some of the dead and diseased branches and to remove 'black spot' and the
'moldy' older flowers. This will get rid of the disease carrying part of
your plant and help it remain strong. It is also recommended that you remove
the leaves and throw them away (don't compost them) to prevent disease next
spring. You can also look for crossing and rubbing branches, these can
create an open wound on the plant and a spot for pests and disease to enter.
If you would like more tips on caring for your roses, check with the experts
at Heirloom.
Chainsaw Museum
We traveled to Amboy Wash. to visit the private chainsaw museum of Wayne
Sutton. Wayne is the representative of Stihl tools and began collecting chainsaws years ago.
He now has one of the biggest collections in the country. He took us on a
private tour of his collection and showed us the evolution of the chainsaw
and how it has changed over the years. Of course, one of the first
chainsaws was a Stihl and they are still the leader after all these years.
If you would like to see Wayne's collection or learn more about it, drop him
an e-mail at Wasaw@tds.net.
Unique Hardy Plants
We all had a few plants that didn't make it through this last
year of weather extremes. First we had the cold, snow and ice of winter and
then we had the extended stretch of hot weather. That had us wondering
about some of the more unusual plants in the garden. Which ones did well?
To learn more we stopped by Rare Plant Research and visited with Burl Mostul. Burl's
company deals in some truly unique plants. He shared with us his surprises.
First we saw a plant that most people treat as a tender house plant, the
Tradescantia discolor or Moses in a Boat plant. This one roots easily and
even though it died back to the ground it has thrived and grown. Next we
checked out the Eucalyptus grove by his home. Even when the plants were
pulled to the ground by the ice and snow they bounced right back. Even one
that was snapped off at the base is coming back! The next one he showed us
was a tree also, the 'Silver Waddle' Acacia. Burl thought he had lost this
one. During the big cold, he noticed that the bark was pealing. Little did
he know that was a characteristic of this plant. It is still going strong.
Next we saw the Agave 'Truncata'. This one is very hardy and it didn't miss
a beat. It also loved the extreme heat we had this summer too. Finally we
stopped by the Italian Cypress. This tall thin mini-tree looks very light
and delicate and is subject to any little breeze or storm that comes along.
Still Burl told us that it didn't even lose a branch, leaf or anything. To
learn more about these and other plants check out Burl's website at Rare
Plant Research.