Fall is definitely here! This week we finished the Fall GardenPalooza event and, other than a midafternoon shower, it was dry, warm and sunny. The next day the fall weather arrived and we have been dodging rain showers ever since. This morning we even toyed with the idea of turning on the furnace to take the morning chill off! We seem to have a problem turning on the heat before the first of October. Still there are lots of things to do outside. This weekend kicks off a lot of the fall festivals in the area. We preview one of them with a visit to Bauman’s Farm and Garden. We also visit with Chef Philippe from the MAC club as he puts together a fresh salad from their local farmers market. You may not be able to find all the same ingredients that he has, but you can feel free to substitute

This week we featured...

Chef Philippe Fresh Market Salad

With all the farmers markets all over the place it has been great getting wonderfully fresh produce directly from the people who grow it. One of the most unique markets is the one at the Multnomah Athletic Club. They have an occasional market that is set up to serve the 22,000 members and neighbors from the community. Chef Philippe Boulot joined Judy on the sidewalk in front of the club to make a wonderful salad from the local vendors who were present. He started with some fresh lettuce and he just cut the washed head of lettuce in half and placed them on a plate. He also had a wide selection of late season berries that he had brought in to the club, but he also told us that you could use just about any fresh fruit. Other local ingredients included goat cheese from Portland Creamery, bread from Fleur De Lis bakery, Olive oil from the Durant olive mill and Jacobsen salt from the Oregon Coast. Chef added 2 crostini’s to the plate with some duck confit from Chop, a specialty butcher shop in downtown Portland. 2 other crostinis were spread with the goat cheese and had huckleberries and a pinch of salt on them. The local berries were mixed with a raspberry vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was a mixture of raspberry vinegar, some salt, and a little bit of olive oil. This was tossed and then added to the lettuce to complete the dish. If you ever get a chance to enjoy a meal at the MAC Club, you will probably get something this great from Chef Philippe, or you can visit your local farmers market and make it yourself!

Front Door Décor

The change of seasons means it is also time to change the décor to match. The first place to look may be as close as your front door. This is, after all, the first thing people see when they come to visit. To get some ideas for changing your look we stopped by Farmington Gardens (503-649-4568) and talked with MJ. The first stop was a more formal looking door. This one incorporated some structural plant material of the existing landscape. This included the arborvitae, pyracantha and barberries. These could also be kept in pots and then added to the permanent landscape later this fall or early in the spring. The color ‘pop’ was the addition of mums and gerbera daisies. Then we moved over to a display with a more ‘holiday’ look to it. This one had hay bales, cornstalks and pumpkins. But there were elements that allowed this one to go beyond Halloween. The ‘pumpkin’ containers actually could be turned to a non-pumpkin side and then they simply became fall containers. The cool part of these containers was not just the pumpkin/fall look to them, they also had cool plants in them. One just had a fall hanging basket that was dropped into it. Then when it needs to be changed out, you can just pull the old basket out and insert a new basket for a different look. The other pot had a mum in it. Either way they really dress up the doorstep. If you are looking for some decorating ideas just stop by and see the gang at Farmington.

Indoor Fountains

The sound of water in your garden can be very soothing, but why stop there? Why not bring that soothing sound into the home so you can enjoy it all year long? We stopped by Terra Casa (503-577-8242) to see what Diana had brought into the shop for people to enjoy. She showed us some incredible table-top units that were very cool. The first one we saw not only had a zero splash water feature, it also had a small space at the base where you could plant small plants as well. This one had faux sedums in it, but if you had a little sunlight, you could use the real thing in the base. We also saw one that had a rotating ball in motion at the top of it and one that looked like a bird house. Why not bring the soothing sounds of flowing water indoors by stopping at Terra Casa.

NW Bird Book

There is a new book for the bird lover in your family. “Must See Birds of the Pacific Northwest’, published by Timber Press, is a look at 85 of the most fascinating birds in our area, their lives and where you can find them. Judy visited with the 2 authors, Sarah Swanson and Max Smith, and talked about how they came to write such a wonderful resource for the local birder. Being avid birders themselves they jumped at the chance to write this book. Sarah talked about the difficulty in narrowing the list of interesting birds to just 85. She also talked about the list of tours in the book where you are pointed in the direction of some of the best places for seeing our feathered friends. Max then had the hard job of picking out some of his favorite birds from the book. The first one was the hummingbird. He was very impressed with their ability to gather food and fly long distances during migration. He is also impressed with sandhill cranes because they will be making an appearance in the area shortly on their annual migration and for their unmistakable call as they fly overhead. If you would like a chance to meet them and hear more you can stop by the Al’s Garden Center (503-726-1162) in Sherwood today, September 28th at 1pm to hear them talk about their book. You can also pick up their book at any of the local bookstores around the area.

Bauman Fall Fest