Hello, and welcome to the new season of Garden Time.  This is our 4^th season of the show and we look forward to bringing you timely information about gardening in the northwest.  This week we kick things off at the Yard, Garden and Patio Show.  I’m often asked what the difference is between all the garden shows.   I can honestly tell people that this one is all about gardening.  Most of the vendors are garden centers, growers or garden companies.  When you come to this show you are seeing the latest in garden plants, tools and trends.  Stop by this weekend, get some new ideas for your garden or just enjoy the color in anticipation of spring!

This week we featured...

Heirloom Roses and Al’s Garden Center

Our first stop was at the Heirloom Roses (503-538-1576) booth. Cheryl teased us with the promise of warm days to come by having a cart full of fresh roses in their booth.  You may think that Heirloom is a little early in talking about roses, but now is the perfect time to be thinking about roses.  Heirloom is in the process of getting their gardens ready for the season and that means a lot of pruning for the staff, but it also means it is the perfect time to learn from the experts.  Heirloom has a pruning seminar happening this weekend (Saturday) at the nursery.  You can head out and get some tips from the experts about making the right cuts.  While you are there you can pick up a special booklet called ‘A Year in Roses’ Wish Book, that will help you keep track of your roses throughout the year.  While you are at the YGP you can also pick up a discount coupon at the Heirloom booth for a ‘Buy 2, get 2 free’ offer.  Then head out to the nursery, buy a couple of roses and get ready for spring.

Al’s Garden Centers (503-726-1162) are known for how helpful they are to the beginning gardener.   This season they are kicking off their ‘GIY’ program.  That means ‘Grow It Yourself’ and it is what a lot of people are looking to do this year to help save money and resources.  Mark joined us to show us how easy it is to grow fruits and vegetables in a small space.  He had an ‘Earth Box’ on display.  These growing boxes are like a mini, self contained, growing facility.  Once you get the soil in it, you just add plants, a couple of packets of fertilizer and water and they are good to go.  If you have a larger area to garden, you can look at a raised bed.   There are now kits to help you build a raised bed.  You just stack the boards and put the pin in the corners, fill with soil and you’re ready for planting.  These are perfect for vegetables but they can also be used for small fruit trees.  Stop by the Al’s booth or one of their 3 locations to learn how to GIY (grow it yourself)!

Hughes Water Gardens and Dennis’ 7 Dees

Water features are a great addition to any garden and we stopped by the Hughes Water Gardens (503-638-1709) booth to see the latest in fountains and garden art.  Eamonn met with us to show us some of the cool things they have for the coming year.  Water features can be intimidating and Eamonn explained how easy it is to get started.  He’s even having a seminar at the YGP at 2pm on Saturday to help take the fear out of building a water feature for the home gardener.  Hughes Water Gardens is also a great supporter of garden artists and their booth reflects that.  We saw art of all different sizes and shapes.  There were playful koi sculptures, large totems, and even a gate with an Asian touch.  If you are looking to make an investment in your garden that you can enjoy year-round check out the different ponds, fountains and art at the Hughes Water Gardens booth or store.

We reach the middle of our YGP tour at the Dennis’ 7 Dees (503-636-4660) display garden.  Drew gave William a visual tour of their garden and how it tied to the show theme of sustainability.  We saw how everything in their booth tied together.  We started with the great pavilion with its green roof and followed the flow of the rain drop through the roof to the drain (and rain chains) to a water feature, then down a stream to a pond and a wetland.  We also saw the drought tolerant plants, the raised beds and the porous pathways that help mitigate rain runoff.  There were so many good ideas in one landscape it would be hard not to find something that you could do in your garden to save money and help the environment.   

Bauman Farm and Garden, Mutual Materials

So far we have seen sustainability in earth and water and how we can use both to be earth friendly.  At Bauman’s Farm and Garden (503-792-3524) we saw how we can use the sun to extend our time in the garden.  Brian had the latest in solar garden lights.  These energy efficient lights store the sun’s power and then release it for a glorious night time show.  The types of lights are great for creating a warm glow for your summer outdoor entertaining.  What a bright idea!  Brian also told us about the great range of succulents that they carry at the nursery.  He brought out one agave that is hardy to 10 degrees called ‘Mr. Ripple’.  Agaves and other succulents can often be seen as desert plants, but the hardy ones can be the perfect plants for the Northwest garden.  Speaking of plants, Bauman’s is also sponsoring a giveaway of diascia and carnation plants (with their friends at Proven Winners).  These pink plants, to be given away to the first 1000 people on Saturday, are to be planted to honor the memory and hope of cancer survivors around the area.  Also, Bauman’s will give 5% of their weekend profits to a local cancer group called Play for the Cure. 

Our last stop of the day took us to the Mutual Materials (888-688-8250) booth and a quick visit with Fred.  Mutual Materials recognizes the need for their hardscapes to be functional and good to the environment too.  Their new Eco-Priora system of pavers is designed to do just that.  These pavers, if installed correctly, will help mitigate rain runoff and filter it so it can return to the ground water clean and pollution free.  We also saw how these pavers are designed to minimize reflective heat.  They are a great addition to the Mutual Material line of products.  We also saw how they can make adding a hardscape to your garden easier.  We saw the modular system of building a natural rock pillar.  This pillar was actually built in sections so installing one is a snap.  Mutual actually has a complete line of natural rock products, plus, with their easy step-by-step instructions, you can have a great hardscape addition to your garden in no time.    

Garden Time Container at the YGP

Below is the list of the plants in the Garden Time container that was showcased at the Yard, Garden and Patio show.  The plants and containers were courtesy of Portland Nursery on Division (503-788-9000) and prices are included if you are looking for costs.