Spring break! Well for the kids in school it is. For those of us working to clean up the garden, there is no break. We are trying to get all the spring chores done while the weather is good so we can enjoy the garden when the heat finally arrives. So far we have had a good stretch of weekends for getting things done. Let’s hope that continues.
We also invite everyone to stop by and see William and Judy on Saturday the 23rd at Garland Nursery. They will be doing a seminar at 1pm. It is ‘Member’s Only’ day, but don’t worry everyone is invited and can sign up to become a free ‘member’ at the event. Members get cool discounts and other perks. Then the following Thursday William and Judy will be at French Prairie Gardens for their Ladies Only event. Check out the story below and then go to their Facebook page to sign up!
We are also giving everyone a reminder that our GardenPalooza event is coming up in 2 weeks! Check out the GardenPalooza website for more details.
This week we featured...
Pruning Japanese Maples
Japanese maples are a very popular plant for the home gardener. Most of these varieties are pretty small and they are pretty care free when it comes to maintenance. The one thing that scares most people is the pruning of these wonderful little trees. To get some tips we stopped by the home of Terrill Collier from Collier’s Arbor Care (503-72ARBOR). Terrill has a couple of Japanese maples in his yard and he brought in a crew to show us how easy it is to trim these trees back. Terrill told us that there are 2 main tips for pruning your maple. #1, always trim out the dead and diseased wood from the tree. #2, remove overlapping branches and create space while doing that. Doing those 2 things will go a long way in getting you started. Once those 2 main items are taken care of you can go to work doing some light thinning. Try to create an ‘open’ look by thinning throughout the tree. Think of a 3 dimensional puzzle and make even cuts all around the plant that creates a layered appearance. This will help to make your tree appear less ‘chopped’ and more stylish. It will also keep your tree from looking like Cousin It. If you make a mistake don’t worry. These trees are very forgiving and will grow back to cover your mistakes. If you feel like you are still in over your head, give the pros at Collier Arbor Care a call and they will prune it for you. They can also assess all your trees to make sure they are healthy.
French Prairie Gardens Ladies Only Night
Kick off your spring at the 3rd annual Ladies Only Night at French Prairie Gardens (503-633-8445) near St. Paul. They have a whole bunch of fun planned for March 28th from 3:00 to 7:00. The evening starts off with strawberries and champagne. Then you will learn about some new plants coming to the market with William and Judy, taste local wines, create your own hanging basket, and sample small plates and appetizers. They will also have a raffle that includes lots of cool gifts! It should be a great evening. The event is free and if you want to save some money you can go to their Facebook page (or call them) and RSVP to get an additional 20% off your purchases. The first 100 ladies to show up will get a goodie bag. Sorry guys, this is ladies only!
Natural Easter Egg Dye
Easter is a week away and it is time to dye those Easter eggs, but this year we decided we needed to add a little twist so we stopped by Geranium Lake Flowers (503-228-1920) to get some ideas from one of the most creative people we know, Kim Foren. She brought out her recipe for ‘botanical inspired’ Easter eggs. These eggs are made by using onion skins or beets to create a dye. First you need to get some raw, unboiled eggs. Then you take some small, pressed flowers and foliage from your garden and then hold them in place with a small piece of nylon. You pull the nylon tight over the egg (don’t break the egg) and tie it tight with zip-tie or string. Then you boil the water with vinegar and the onion skins in the water bath. After it boils about 10 minutes you pull the egg out and let it cool down. After it cools, cut off the nylon and rub a little vegetable oil on it to give it a sheen and you are done. People will be amazed how great they look and they add a great touch to your holiday table! You can find the step-by-step directions here.
Spring Basket Rejuvenation
Our hanging baskets are pathetic! If your containers are a little tired we’ll show you how to give them a fresh start. William got some helpful hints from MJ at Farmington Gardens (503-649-4568) in Beaverton. First of all she talked about the old basket. If you REALLY loved the plants and you want to save them you should look for new growth. Look for green buds or scratch the surface of the stems to see if they are green underneath. This will tell you if the plant made it through the winter. The other thing you will need to do is refresh the soil. Dig out the plants you want to keep and use fresh potting soil. The old soil has had all the nutrients taken out of it by the plants last year and they will need more ‘fuel’ to get going for the new season. After all that, it will still take lots of time to get your planter back to the shape it needs to be in! So you can see why MJ recommends starting all over. She told us how to use structure and color to build a winning hanging basket. MJ also showed us how to mix perennials and annuals to get great color all season long. She also rotates her annuals to freshen up her pots every couple of months. If you are looking for some great plants, or a little help in getting started on a new planter or basket, stop by Farmington Gardens!
Spring Lavender Pruning
Lavender is a great garden plant. It combines great texture, color and blooms with an outstanding fragrance. Still after a couple of years it can get leggy and woody and not look so hot in the landscape. To learn how to get it back to normal we stopped by Lavender at Stonegate (503-638-5218) and chatted with owner Sarah Bader about what she would recommend! Lavender is a tricky plant to prune if you let it go too far. Most plants will respond with new growth if you cut them back. In fact the lavender doesn’t take well to ‘hard pruning’ especially if you get into the woody portion of the plant. Sarah said the key is to start pruning your plant as soon as you bring it home from the nursery. In the first couple of years your pruning will help establish the size of the plant for many years to come. If you have an older plant that has lots of wood be careful to only cut the plant back and leave 1-2 inches of green growth above the woody part. If you are confused about your plant, check out Sarah’s website for more information and videos to help you out. You can also order plants (including her culinary herb 6-pack) and her book, which is a great read!
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