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The final show for the season is always a little bittersweet. It is nice to have a break going into the holidays, but then the crew wants to crank it up again for another season right after Christmas. This show marks the end of our 13th season and the occasion finds us celebrating a number of milestones. We passed 500 episodes last weekend. This week we achieved 30,000 YouTube subscribers and next week we will reach 21 million YouTube views. Lots to celebrate this year. We have even more to celebrate! We just signed the contract to go another two seasons. See you again in March of 2019!!
Still the main reason for all these wonderful milestones is the fact that they would have never happened without all of our great viewers. For you, we are very grateful!
One more number this week… we are now over halfway sold out on our Garden Time Tour for next fall. See? We told you the seats would go quickly! Check out all the details and, if you can, join us! Sign up before January 1st and get up to $250 off per person!
This week we featured...
Christmas in the Garden
One of the best events in our area for the holidays, and one of the most fun is the Christmas in the Garden at the Oregon Garden (1-877-674-2733). Now in its 4th year, this is an outdoor event that is patterned after a traditional German Christmas Market. The Discovery Forest at the garden is decorated with over 1 million lights. There are lots of things to do with the family when you get there. A couple of years ago they added an ice rink and a snowless tubing area! You can enjoy ice skating and tubing even if the days are warm! Now they are right next to each other. For the adults there are different local vendors offering holiday gifts and crafts. Adults can also enjoy gluhwein, a mulled wine and other adult beverages while listening to live music and carolers. While you are enjoying the scene you can sit by one of the many fire pits and enjoy the warmth. Kids can see Santa every day of the event. It promises to be one of the best holiday events in the state. Plus, the Oregon Garden Resort is offering a special package where you can stay at the resort and enjoy the event as well. Packages include admission to the garden for the event and even breakfast the next morning. Check them out, rooms are going fast! The Christmas in the Garden event continues through December (except Christmas Eve and Christmas day) until the 31st. For more information you can call the Oregon Garden or check out their website. They even have a great new website dedicated to the event, http://christmasinthegarden.com.
A Holiday Vintage Flea
The current decorating trends are pushing antiques as a hot item, but they can also make great gifts for that hard to satisfy person on your shopping list! Flea markets have always been known as the place to be for some of these valuable, ‘buried’ treasures that you can use in your home or your yard. Today, November 24th, there is one place where you can get your holiday shopping and flea market fix at one time. Margie’s Farm and Garden is hosting ‘A Holiday Vintage Flea’. A Vintage Flea is a vintage/flea/antique market with anything from antiques and mid-century vintage to crafts and castoffs. Kathy joined us to tell us about this holiday event which is the biggest they have ever had, with over 80 vendors! At the event you can find cool furniture that had been repurposed, homemade crafts, and one-of-a-kind items, in addition to the antiques. You will also find a lot of holiday décor items to get your home ready for the holidays. There will be food and other holiday treats as well. This is a great event for the one-stop shopper! This is a wonderful FREE event to kick off your holidays. Check out their website or Facebook page for all the details!
Finished Foot Path
A couple of weeks ago we visited a home where Rick from French Prairie Perennials (503-679-2871) and Visualscaping was replacing a garden path. We had mentioned that the difference between this and Rick’s other projects was the scale. Not only does he do larger landscapes, he also helps repair and replace parts of older landscapes as well. In this case it is a garden path. The homeowner had originally built a step stone path along a driveway and into the backyard. However, over time that path began to sink in some areas and became unstable, and unsafe. After talking to the homeowner Rick recommended that they replace the old path with a newer more secure one. To do that, everything was stripped down and layers of sand and gravel were alternated and compacted into a new hard surface! This detail to the basics created a nice firm surface for the new paving stones going in.
Now the project is done and looking fantastic! Not only did Rick and his crew from Desire Landscaping position and lay the new path, they also adjusted the in ground sprinklers and filled in the new soil around the path. The timing is perfect too. The path is done and now the homeowner can plant new plants and by spring time the area will be more functional and beautiful!
Holiday Gifts for the Gardener
Every year, friends and family members of gardeners are in need of some ideas for gifts for those with a green thumb, and at Garden Time we would like to make you the hero with a few suggestions! This year we visited Portland Nursery (503-231-5050) on Stark Street and chatted with Sara about what you can find for gardeners of any age. First, with the return of the seasonal rains William pulled out a rain chain. These are great for any person, not just gardeners, and this one was very appropriate for our Northwest gardens. It had bells and pinecones on it, so the rain can dance and sing as it runs down the chain and into your garden. For the smaller gardener we found a mini terrarium that a child can paint. It was just one of many kid centric tools and toys that can get those gardening tykes excited. And who doesn’t love birds in the garden? For those people there are numerous feeders and houses for all types of birds. We saw a very inexpensive hummingbird feeder that would be a perfect gift. Let’s not forget plants! You can get a wonderful indoor plant or even an ‘air’ plant that would require little or no care. They also have a wonderful assortment of planters for those who have too many plants (can anyone have too many plants?) and not enough containers. If you want to display a container, we can also find a macramé hanger to get those plants at eye level. Yes, macramé is back! Of course the gloves and pruners are a must have for any gardener. Portland Nursery also has a nice assortment of ‘bee friendly’ supplies including a cool looking ‘mason bee/native bee’ house. If you are still running out of ideas, why not a gift card. Most local garden centers offer them and it shows you are thoughtful without getting them something they already have! These and many other great gift ideas are available at your local independent garden center.
Terra Casa Gifts
One of the coolest places to get a gift is at Terra Casa (503-577-8242) in Damascus. Diana always has something cool on her shelves. A couple of weeks ago we talked about decorating with light, now we return to see a couple of gift ideas. In keeping with the light theme we found ourselves in front of some decorative lights that are really a return to a lost art called lithophanes. This is a carved or etched artwork that can only be seen when it is backlit. It involves carving wax and then using that carving to create a cast that you can use to make a porcelain pane. These lights are incredible and there were lots of different themes to choose from.
Then we moved over to another display full of ‘Fitz and Floyd’ hand painted ceramics. These are detailed collectable pieces that can be used, in the case of dinnerware, or displayed for home décor during the holidays. Fitz and Floyd have been around for over 50 years and have produced pieces for presidents and royalty around the world. They are just one of the many signature, handcrafted gift producers that Terra Casa carries. Stop by and check out these wonderful gifts!
A Bylines Song to Wrap Up Our Season
As we wrap up our 13th season this weekend, we wanted to thank you all for your support in watching our little garden show. It truly means a lot to us!
To wrap up this last show, our friends, The Bylines offered to sing a song for the show. The Bylines are a husband and wife team composed of Reece Marshburn and Marianna Thielen, who write and perform sophisticated, jazz-inspired, story-driven pop music. They appear all over Portland and the Northwest. You can check out their website for a list of places where they perform. They are a blast to watch! They played us out for the season with one of their original songs ‘Goin’ to LA’. Check out the full version here…
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