SHOW ARCHIVE

Episode 209 • June 25, 2011

VIDEO ARCHIVE

Strawberries are finally appearing in our garden!  I guess for me that is the start of summer.  We can grow so many things in our area, but there is nothing like the start of our fruit season.  Many of the places we visit have berry festivals and they are all great, but grabbing a handful of berries from your own garden can’t be beat!  And speaking of fresh fruits, don’t forget to sign up for your free subscription to the Garden Time Magazine.  This monthly magazine is delivered for free to your e-mail each month.  For July we are featuring an article on blackberries (and how to make a ‘killer’ shake), how to make your own jams and we preview the Oregon Lavender Festival.  You will find a link to sign up here.

This week we featured...

Woolly Pockets

Woolly Pockets

Green walls is not a hot new rock band, it is a trend in gardening.  This trend is to take your gardening up and off the ground by creating planting spaces on your indoor and outdoor walls.  We stopped by Portland Nursery (503-231-5050) on Stark to learn about a new product called Woolly Pockets.   These are fabric ‘pockets’, made of recycled materials, that you can mount on your wall and plant just like any other container.  The Woolly Pocket is lined on the inside with a moisture barrier so your wall won’t get wet.  This will prevent moisture from building up on your wall and creating problems there.  Laura also showed us how they have been using them at the garden center with indoor and outdoor plantings.  We have to say they looked spectacular!  They even have modular garden pockets that are free standing and even one that would fit on a table top.  You can find the Woolly Pocket at some of our local garden centers.  Both Portland Nursery stores have a great selection.

Grande Valley Iron

Grande Valley Iron

Grande Valley Ornamental Iron (503-981-6923) is one of those places that we passed every couple of weeks or so and we never seemed to find time to stop in.  Boy, have we been missing out!  Jan and Ed Viska sent us an invitation and once we did stop, we fell in love with their creations.  Jan and Ed started Grande Valley as a hobby to keep them busy in retirement.  That hobby has grown to be one of the best places to get metal art and structures for your garden.  Jan talked with William and had a hard time covering all the different items that they carry on their 1 ¼ acre lot.  You can find trellises, arbors, gates, benches, garden stakes, planters, gazebos and grates.  They also do fountains and sheds.  Pretty much everything you need for your garden that doesn’t grow!  Jan also told us about their custom work.  Just bring them an idea and they can make it!  If you are heading down I-5 and have a few minutes, you need to take the Canby exit and stop by their place near Hubbard.  You will be glad you did.  

Farmington Pink Days

Farmington Pink Days

Breast cancer is a terrible disease that affects thousands each year.  Recently hundreds of nurseries and growers from around the country have been joining the cause to help raise funds for cancer research.  Locally, the biggest fundraiser is taking place this weekend at Farmington Gardens (503-649-4568).  The Pink Days celebration is raising money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Farmington has packed a weekend full of activities to get people excited about donating.  Of course, the Pink Days theme revolves around plants.  MJ joined us to tell us about some of the plants that they have available.  The first one was the Pink Knock Out Rose.  This one is a disease resistant shrub rose that will just keep blooming all summer long.  Next we checked out the Rockrose ‘Orchid’.  These are also known as ‘cistus’ and they will also bloom all summer long, are low growing, and are really hardy in our area.  Finally we looked at the Hydrangea ‘Invincibelle Spirit’.  The growers of the hydrangea are donating $1 of each plant sale to cancer research.  But that isn’t all.  Farmington is donating a portion of all nursery sales to the Foundation.  Linda then joined us to tell us about all the other events happening.  There will be hourly drawings, wine tasting, cooking classes with Chef Dan Brophy, live music and a Kids Korner area with plants for the kids.  You can also get a chance to meet local celebrities Helen Raptis and Ann Jaeger who will talk about their survivor stories.  For a complete list of events you can check out the events page on the Farmington Gardens website.

Deer Resistant Plants

Deer Resistant Plants

Bambi is cute, except when he is munching on your tasty garden plants.  We stopped by Garland Nursery (541-753-6601) in Corvallis and talked to Lee to learn about deer resistant plants and other ways for thwarting Bambi’s advances.  First of all, when we say ‘deer resistant’ we are not talking about ‘deer proof’.  For the most part, if a deer is hungry he will eat anything, even plants that taste terrible to him.  For that reason Lee recommended that you use a deterrent spray to help chase them away.  These sprays usually have a combination of natural ingredients like cloves, garlic and pepper to make even tasty plants yucky.  Of course if you pick resistant plants to begin with, that helps.  Lee pulled some of his favorites to show us some that work.  Varieties included Lavender ‘Violet Intrigue’, Agastache ‘Red Fortune’, Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’, Caryopteris – bluebeard ‘Dark Knight’, Barberry ‘Golden Ruby’, Feather reed grass ‘Avalanche’, and Daphne ‘Eternal Fragrance’.  These varieties are all good at deterring the midnight munchies of our woodland friends.  If you like deer and want them to come to your garden create a place for them to forage and that might help save some of your plants, but remember once you invite them in it is hard to ask them to leave.  For more deer resistant plants and other ideas you can stop by Garland Nursery or check out their list on the Garland website, just click on the ‘handouts & guides’ link. 

Kindergarden – Dirt Babies

Kindergarden – Dirt Babies

William and Judy are proud parents, of Dirt Babies.  Dirt Babies are a great project that you can do with your kids or grandkids.  All you need is a knee high stocking, some grass seed, a couple cups of Black Gold Potting Soil and some decorations for the face.  Start by opening the stocking and pouring a little grass seed in the toe of the stocking.  Next pour in the soil and pat it down into a round shape.  Tie off the end and leave the long ‘tail’ of the stocking on the end.  Then use some glue and decorate or put a face on your baby.  Place the tail in a glass full of water and rest the baby on top of the glass so the baby’s head is just touching the water.  Don’t let it become totally submerged.  In a few days you will start to see the grass sprout and the ‘hair’ will start to grow.  Keep it watered and your baby should keep growing hair for quite some time.  For a full list of instructions and a ‘birth certificate’ you can click here.  Black Gold has also provided us with an activity sheet full of puzzles and games, check it out here.
 

 
main page this week

plant of the week

tip of the week tool shed how to gardens to see sponsors events calendar the happy spot
streaming video read our blog join our twitter e-mail us archive press relations links to other websites
 

Website design and content ©2006-2021 Gustin Creative Group.  Please send website inquiries to gustingroup@comcast.net.  This page last modified July 30, 2021.