SHOW ARCHIVE

Episode 306 • November 23, 2013

VIDEO ARCHIVE

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? We were talking in the car the other day as we were out shooting some of our final stories for this season, when we all realized that Thanksgiving seemed to creep up on us this year. It also means that we are closing in on the end of our 8th season of Garden Time. We will have our last show of the season on the 30th. Now, I know that makes people upset that we have to go away for the next 3 months, but there are ways to still get your gardening information. You can subscribe to our monthly magazine that will come to your e-mail at the beginning of every month, or you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter. We will also be updating our website occasionally with new and topical gardening information.

So don’t worry, we will be back in March of 2014. In the meantime enjoy these last couple of shows for 2013.

This week we featured...

Fragrant Winter Plants

Fragrant Winter Plants

Just because the weather has gotten colder doesn’t mean that your garden is done for the season. We can still have something of interest in the garden during these cold months and it can be something great for your eyes and your nose. We stopped by Cornell Farm (503-292-9895) and talked to Deby about winter fragrant plants. She showed us about a dozen different plants and these are just a few that you can find at your local independent garden center. The first one we looked at was the winter blooming camellia. These are lightly fragrant, but they are also loaded with tons of wonderful blooms. You can keep them in a pot near your front door to greet all your holiday visitors. Next we saw Sarcococca, which is also known as ‘Sweet Box’. This one is a lower growing perennial and it doesn’t have large flowers, but these tiny flowers put out a lot of fragrance in the middle of winter. We have one near our front door and it greets all our friends with a powerful and sweet fragrance every time someone stops by. One of the favorites of the winter garden was next, the witch hazel. These also don’t have large flowers, but they are unique and they really are colorful when they bloom. We had two to show you including the ‘Jelena’ and the ‘Golden Winter’ varieties. The witch hazel is also known for their incredible fall color when the leaves change for winter.

The next plant was a very unique one that has a long history, the Chinese Paper Bush, known as Edgeworthia. This plant has very interesting bark and branches the split in group of 3. It also has bright yellow flowers (some varieties have orange flowers) and has a huge fragrance in the late winter. It was also used as a source to make paper by pounding out the bark into thin sheets. Edgeworthia is a relative to the daphne which explains why it is so fragrant. Speaking of daphne we moved to the Daphne Odora ‘Aurea Marginata’. This is one of the most fragrant daphnes on the market and one of the oldest. This variety also has the benefit of having a beautiful color variation around the edge of the leaf. One of our favorite native plants was next. The mahonia loves the Northwest and the weather we have here. The variety that Deby brought out was the ‘Lionel Fortescue’. Even though this one was from the Himalayas it is closely related to its Northwest cousin. The benefit of this one is the tall spikes of yellow flowers that are very fragrant in the late winter and early spring. Another plant that loves our climate is the Skimmia japonica. This one loves the shady areas in your garden. The white flowers may be small but you will notice this one when it blooms because of the fragrance. One of the most distinct fragrances came from our next selection, the Azara microphylla. This plant can get lost in the landscape because of its small flowers and leaves. But once it starts to bloom the fragrance of chocolate can fill the yard! There was a large leafed variety called Azara serrata ‘Andean Gold’ which has larger flowers and a slightly weaker fragrance. Like we said before, these are just a few of the many fragrant plants you can choose from. Stop by Cornell Farm or any of your local independent garden centers for a larger selection.

Making an Open Terrarium

Making an Open Terrarium

Terrariums used to be BIG in the 70’s. I remember having a big acrylic ball with one in our living room. It was cool; it even had a little scene in it with a gnome skiing down some white rocks in the center. Well, terrariums have come a long way and now they have ‘open’ terrariums that can be planted with different types of plant material and require little maintenance. To see the latest in designs and to learn how to plant a simple one we went to Portland Nursery on Division Street (503-788-9000) to check out these small self-contained gardens. Sara started with a layer of decorative rocks on the bottom of the container. You can also use marble, glass beads, etc. anything to allow for good drainage. Then you need to add a layer of charcoal. This will help absorb and filter the fumes and smells from the decomposing plant material. Next we added a small succulent and then added a cactus mix for our potting soil. It is a quick draining soil that will keep the plants from sitting in water. Remember; do not fertilize these plants because you don’t want them to grow fast. You can check out a great selection of pre-built terrariums at either location of Portland Nursery, or stop by your local independent garden center for more information.

Chainsaw Museum

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. We saw one of the first chainsaws, actually made in Portland, and even one that was designed for underwater use. Of course Wayne didn’t just stop with chainsaws; he has all the accessories that go along with the chainsaw including oil cans, different types of chains and other equipment. He also has some of the other things that feature chainsaws including toys, signs, coffee mugs, clothing and even sports equipment like beach balls and basketballs. If you would like to see Wayne’s collection or learn more about it, drop him an e-mail at wayne.sutton@stihl.us.

Gartner’s Grilled Prime Rib

Gartner’s Grilled Prime Rib

Every year we end our season by stopping by the home of Deb and Jerry Yost. Jerry works at Gartner’s Meats (503-252-7801) and he loves to show us how easy it is to grill different cuts of meat. This year he raised it up a notch by grilling a prime rib on his Traeger grill. It was very easy to do. First he picked up a prime rib at Gartner’s. They cut the bone off the meat and then re-tie it on the meat for cooking. The night before, Jerry applied a meat rub on the prime rib. Then he put the meat on the grill and seared it for ½ hour at 450 degrees. Then he turned the heat down to 350 and left it on for another 4 hours. For a rare/medium piece the internal temperature has to reach 120-125 degrees, for a medium piece it has to be 130-135 degrees and for a well done piece it has to be around 140-145 degrees. After it reaches the right temperature you take it off the grill and let it set under a piece of foil for 20 minutes (the meat is still cooking from the heat of the bone). Then you slice and serve. It was fantastic. They also have a combination ham if you want something other than turkey. This combination ham is one half peppered ham and one half sugar cured ham. Now if you didn’t pre-order your meat for Thanksgiving they still have some left! Just give them a call or stop by the store. If you are looking for help you can always contact the experts at Gartner’s!

Sonar Refrigerator

Sonar Refrigerator

We are always hearing about new developments in appliances. When we hear of something new we always stop at Standard TV and Appliance in Beaverton (503-619-0500) to get the low-down on what is cool. This month we heard about a refrigerator that uses sonar. Edie met us at the Beaverton store to show us what that meant. The sonar is actually used by the water dispenser in the door of the refrigerator. This sonar can measure the size of your container, whether it be a water glass, coffee pot or a travel mug. It will fill the container up to about 90 percent of the volume and then stop. It was great! Even better… when you need a precise amount (for a recipe or any other purpose) you can program that into the refrigerator and it will give you that precise amount. If you are interested in seeing this sonar technology, stop by Standard and check it out.
 

 
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.