What a difference a few weeks make! At the beginning of April things were
small and just starting to grow in the garden. Now we have all kinds of
color. Plus we have started to see hanging baskets making an appearance and
veggies are showing up in the garden centers. It is a great time for new
beginnings and rebirth in the garden! In fact we are showing more stories
on planting, with lots of tips to get you excited about the season ahead.
If you are getting excited about gardening, you should check out William's latest entries in the Garden Time blog.
This week he talks about his new easier attempt at composting and he talks
about some of the great plants he recently bought at Gardenpalooza.
Another reason to get excited for spring is the giveaway we are having for
new subscribers to the new Garden Time On-line magazine. If you sign up this week you will
be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card at Al's Garden Center.
Garden Time On-line is a free monthly magazine that is delivered to your
e-mail. Each month you get some great articles from the Garden Time crew
and some special guest authors as well. So if you haven't signed up yet, do
it today and you may win!
The week we featured...French Prairie Spring Color
Yes, it is spring. You can tell by the warming weather, but the
best way of telling is the explosion of color you can find at your local
independent garden centers. This week we stopped by French Prairie Gardens (503-633-8445) and visited
with Karren to see what she was excited about in the garden center. First
she showed us a couple of varieties of citrus that they carry. The Improved
Meyers Lemon was the first one we saw. This lemon is known for their
compact size, hardiness and productivity. They can produce fruit throughout
the entire season. The other citrus was the Pink Variegated Lemon. This
one grows fruit year round as well and even though it is on dwarf stock it
can get a little bigger than the Meyers. Then we looked at Petunias.
Karren really liked the Vista Bubblegum which is a striking pink. The other
one that everyone seemed to like was the double, bi-colored bloom of
'Peppermint'. Next we saw the Sun Coleus. These coleus are a bright cousin
of the standard coleus and have been hybridized with bigger leaves and
colors. They are not hardy for our climate, but they are real showstoppers
for your garden. The deep red one we saw was 'Kingswood Torch' and it had
brilliant light and dark red on its leaves. Finally we saw the different
kinds of baskets that they carry. If you are looking for a hanging basket
you will want to know where it will live. Most baskets are designed as
either sun or shade and are planted with plants that favor one or the other.
The shade baskets had some great color from fuchsias ('Swingtime' in the one
we saw), bacopa, and verbena. We also saw a sun basket which was packed
with petunias, calibricoa and verbena. Remember that hanging baskets are
heavy feeders so that means regular fertilizing and lots of water. You
can't leave them dry out because they will stop growing and may take a while
to get back on track. If you are looking for some great plants, drive down
I-5 and stop by French Prairie Gardens. They are just 8 miles west of
Woodburn.
Planting Onions
If you like fresh vegetables, you can't beat onions fresh from
the garden. Some people have a tough time with onions, but they are really
easy if you follow these simple rules. First get your starts from your
local garden center. You may find them in 2 different packages. One
package will be the tray pack; the other is a bunch of starts that are
rubber banded together. In either case you will want to separate them into
individual plants and plant them in the ground as a single stalk. If you
plant them close together you will get smaller onions. If you have a larger
variety like Walla Walla you can plant them further apart to allow them to
get larger in the ground. William also shared his rules for success. Use
good loose soil and water well for the best success.
KinderGarden - Mothers Day Pots
Our Kindergarden segment takes us back to Al's Garden Center
(530-981-1245)
in Woodburn. Amy Bigej and her little helpers showed us how easy it is to
decorate a small clay pot. All you need are the pot, a tube of tile
caulking and some little decorative pieces to dress it up! Spread the
caulking on the pot. Spread it out with a knife and stick your small pieces
to the still soft goo. Let it sit for a day and it is done! If you get the
caulking in areas you don't want it, just wipe it off with a wet paper
towel. After it is dry, pot up a plant and surprise your mom with a cool
gift that says 'I Love You'.
ODOT Roses
As you are driving along I-5 or many of the other highways in the state you may notice the beautiful color of rose blooms on the ramps and in the median of the road. These are not accidental roses, these are cuttings of some special roses that are grown and planted by the Oregon Department of Transportation and their
horticulture department. We stopped by their growing operation and talked
to Mark Buffington to learn about how they got started and how they grow
these wonderful plants. Mark told us that they discovered the roses over a
decade ago in one of their plantings near I-405 and 26. These roses were
thriving in the dirty conditions along the freeway. They were also one of
the fastest growing plantings with little or no maintenance to take care of
them. It was decided that they would take some cuttings and see if they
could grow more. It was such a success that they started growing more
plants in many different colors. Now you can see some of these same roses
along many of our freeways. Mark told us about the many different plants
that they buy from local growers, but by propagating their own stock of
these roses, they are able to save the taxpayers a lot of money! Granted,
these roses are not the type that you would want to try in your garden, in
fact some of these plants can grow to be 4 feet tall and 8 feet across, but
we are sure that you can find a variety you like from your local garden
center or many of the local growers like Heirloom Roses. So, as you drive
down the freeway this summer. Take a quick glance to your side and see some
of the great color that makes Oregon, Oregon.
Jan's May Tips
The winter can be tough on plants as well as people. We find
this out with our monthly trip to see Jan McNeilan for some tips of the
month. Jan took us out into her garden to show us a beautiful rhody that was in full bloom in her garden, but there is a second part to this story. This rhododendron will probably fry in the sun if they don't move it to another part of the garden. It was protected by a big apple tree that was knocked down during a winter storm. That wasn't the only thing that was knocked down. They also lost their greenhouse! The old greenhouse took a direct hit from a falling tree limb. Luckily they had 'outbuilding' coverage on their home owner's insurance policy so they were able to replace it and even got a bigger one installed. Inside they had all their seeds planted and growing. It is not too late to get your seeds started. If you have a greenhouse you can use a seedling heat mat to give them a kick-start or you can just start them in a south facing window in your home. You can then easily transplant them outside later or into bigger pots in just a week or so. For more tips on seed starting check out the OSU Extension website.