Have you ever had a good week going and then it kinda went downhill? This week everything was going smoothly and the show was going together really well. Then my computer happened to get a bad key. The ‘f’ key started to jam and if I turn away for just a few minutes I end up with 2000 ‘ffffffffffffff’ s. It is like that with gardening. You think you have a great garden and then you look and one plant is dying, another is sunburned and yet another is overgrown and needs to be divided. Kind of frustrating! Still if you keep with it, you can be rewarded in the end. So take the time to wander in your garden and take some notes on your plants and then in a few weeks, when it cools off you can make changes to your garden. Fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ARRUUUGGHHH!
This week we featured...
Beneficials and Pollinators
We have a problem in our area… it has to do with pollinators and beneficial insects in our gardens. We have become a little too dependant on applying chemical solutions to our problems instead of letting Mother Nature help us out. We stopped by Portland Nursery (503-231-5050) on Stark to chat with Sara about some of the things you can do to make your garden more ‘beneficial friendly’. One of the most common beneficials that we all know about is ladybugs. These little beauties are well known aphid eaters. They can help take care of those pests on your roses and can eliminate the problem without too much help from us. But what a lot of people don’t know about is the larva stage of this bug. In its younger form it looks kind of nasty. People kill the younger version and then will not have this little helper in their garden. So to help bring the ladybug and other beneficials to your garden there are thing you can do. The 3 things that they require are food, water and shelter. Food can be a wide range of flowering plants. Make sure you have continuous blooms in your garden; this will help most of the good bugs stay happy. Native plants are a great source of food. Also remember water, If you have sprinklers they can leave small puddles in your garden which are a good source of water for friendly bugs. Small bowls of water are also good. Shelter is also a must. Stepping stones for critters to hide under and even a deep layer of mulch will help keep them in your garden. If you are looking for a great book that can help, check out ‘Attracting Native Pollinators’, they have copies at Portland Nursery. The great staff at the nursery can also help you pick out some wonderful plants too, so you can keep those good bugs around a little longer.
County Fair Master Gardeners
One of the best places to get garden advice is at the local state and county fairs. One of the best local fairs is the Clark County fair in Vancouver. The Clark County Master Gardeners have a great booth there and we stopped by to see some of the changes that they have in store for this year’s fair. First we met with Erika the Master Gardener Coordinator to talk about one of the featured themes in the booth, edibles. The Extension Service from Washington State University wants to educate gardeners about edibles in the landscape. There are lots of plants that will reward you with beautiful color and also food for your table. They have a great display of different plants that can fill the bill. The other area that they are focusing on is education, especially about good and bad bugs in the garden. Barbara showed William some of the great games and interactive activities that they have for the kids that drop by, including coloring sheets, a bunch of passport stations and even a bean bag toss with good and bad bugs. If you are not into the games or want to gain some bragging rights, they also have a cut flower contest where you can show off your best blooms for cash and prizes. You can also bring in floral art designs, handmade garden gifts and even containers and houseplants. Just bring your best work in on Tuesday the 6th from 5-9pm or Wednesday morning between 7am and 9am. To learn more about the contest you can go to this link. If you are interested in becoming a Master Gardener you can check out their website.
Summer Rose Care
Summer is the time for roses to shine! It is also the time when problems may start to pop up. To talk about some of those rose problems that we may be encountering we stopped by Heirloom Roses (503-538-1576) in St. Paul to chat with Ben. Ben talked to William about black spot which is usually seen in the garden this time of year. But this year with all the warm weather it has not been that big of a problem. We also talked about summer pruning and dead heading. Deadheading now will help promote more blooms in just a few weeks. You can also cut back your ‘once blooming’ roses after they have finished blooming. This will allow for cane growth so you have good old wood or next year’s blooms. You can also give your roses a good feeding right now too. Just a little fertilizer and lots of water will give them a boost when they are pushing out those late summer blooms. If you love roses as much as we do, this weekend was made for you. Heirloom is having their annual summer clearance sale. You can get some of their roses at huge discounts this weekend. They will also have people there to answer all of your rose questions. They will also have some of their larger plants available to buy as well. If you are looking for more information you can always give them a call, or better yet stop by during the big annual sale this weekend, August 3-4, for a deal on some great roses.
Terra Casa Fountains
There is nothing like the sound of water in the garden and one of the best ways to bring the sound to your backyard is with a fountain from Terra Casa (503-577-8242). We took a walk with Diana to see some of the different styles that they have at the store. At Terra Casa they say that they can make a fountain out of any container at their store and now we believe them. Diana showed us how you can build a fountain above ground or even make a small feature that can be buried in your backyard. They will even come out and dig the hole for you and install it. The coolest feature that we saw was how they designed their water features so you can adjust the amount of splash you get. The valve is just right below the surface of the water, so all you have to do is reach in and turn the valve! If you love décor whether indoors or out, stop by Terra Casa. They are just 10 minutes east of Clackamas Town Center in Damascus.
Red Pig Spades
What is a shovel and what is a spade? For most gardeners these are interchangeable, but there are some specific differences. To learn what those differences are we traveled up to Red Pig Garden Tools (503-663-9404) in Boring to chat with Bob Denman. Bob has worked in the tool making industry for years and can make just about any type of tool you need. He is the expert in gardening tools. Here is what he told us. The spade is for breaking ground, a shovel is for moving material. The first shovel he showed us had a square look to it. That design was meant to scoop up material like soil so you can move it. The spades had a pointed blade that is meant to break ground or cut sod. Some of the older models of spades tend to look more like the shovels with less of a point to the blade. These tools were designed to work in the tight spaces and smaller gardens of England. We saw some different varieties of spades and shovels from other cultures like Irish, German and Dutch and how they have been adapted to our gardens. Bob also talked about the length of the handle that each tool had. The length and angle of each handle is designed for a specific purpose and can make the job of digging easier if you know how to use them. If you are looking for the right spade or shovel for your gardening needs make sure you stop by Red Pig or give them a call.
