We are enjoying the heat, how about you? This weather is reminiscent of the summer days we have yet to come. We have already had the sprinklers on in the garden just to save the plants from frying. It is a good idea to set up a drip system so your plants can get the water they need without a lot of waste. In fact, in this week’s show we take you to a demonstration garden where they are set up with a drip system and a soil probe that turns the system on when the ground needs it. We are thinking about getting one!

This great weather is also a good time to head out to some of the local events in the area. Not only do we have the Rose Festival downtown, you can check out the Festival of Flowers at Pioneer Courthouse Square. There is also the Rose Days event at Heirloom Roses and the Berries, Brews and BBQ events this weekend. Check out our preview stories on all those events below.

This weekend we will also have a repeat of the Garden Time show on Sunday in the Portland area on KOIN TV at 10am.

Finally, we want to send our thoughts and prayers out to the Gitts family at Swan Island Dahlias. Ted and Deborah Gitts were in a terrible car accident this past weekend and Deborah passed away on Monday. The Gitts family has brought us lots of beauty and smiles with their business, Swan Island Dahlias, and we send our heartfelt condolences to the family at this time.

This week we featured...

Garden Rock Wall

Building a decorative rock wall doesn’t take much in the way of engineering; it just takes a lot of rocks. During a recent visit to Out in the Garden Nursery (503-829-4141) we were in amazement with the short rock retaining walls that they had built around their display beds in the garden. Dale, one of the owners, showed us how he just used rocks that he had found around the property. First he dug out a trench down to the compacted earth. Then starting with the larger rocks as a base he just stacked them into low walls. The best part of these walls is that they are as permanent or temporary as you need them to be. They stay where you build them since they are so small or they can be moved or dismantled if needed. If you would like to see these rock walls and want to learn how to build them, feel free to stop by the nursery and talk to Dale or Carol. While you are there take some time to wander around the display gardens and enjoy the wonderful plants they sell, growing in a natural setting.

Bee Plants

Bee colony collapse has become a real problem for growers and gardeners in the US. Bees have been dying in record numbers and people are afraid of what might happen if we lose these active pollinators. You can help combat this decline by creating a welcoming environment in your garden by planting bee friendly plants. We stopped by Garland Nursery (541-753-6601) in Corvallis to see what types of plants they recommend to attract bees to your garden. Lee Powell pulled out a few of his favorite plants to show us. Here are the plants he recommends… Vitex agnus-castus or the Chaste Tree, Ceonothus ‘Victoria’, Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’, Ninebark ‘Center Glow’, Gaillardia ‘Gallo Orange’, Salvia ‘East Friesland’, Potentilla ‘Goldfinger’, Scabiosa ‘Vivid Violet’, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and Escallonia ‘Pink Princess’. Of course there are other varieties and different plants that will do the same thing. It is always best to check with your local garden center to find the plants that will work the best in your area.

Dipping Strawberries

Early summer has arrived and that means the strawberries are looking ripe and ready for picking. You may enjoy strawberry shortcake and slicing strawberries over ice cream, but there are so many more ways to enjoy them. William and Judy thought up some interesting combinations for dipping sauces for you to enjoy. We featured ‘night and day’ which had strawberries in half white chocolate and half dark chocolate. We also had ‘Coco-berry’ which was a dip into frosting with coconut flakes. All of them were delicious! We also enjoyed the filled berries! For this we hollowed out a berry with a small melon baller and then filled it with cream cheese frosting, then topped that with ground graham crackers for a mini-cheese cake berry. If you are looking for more ideas, check out the Garden Time On-line magazine from June of 2009. The Garden Time Magazine is free and it comes to you in your e-mail box each month. Just go to the Garden Time home page or click here to sign up.

Berries, Brews and BBQ

June is berry time and that means it is also time for Berries, Brews and BBQ at French Prairie Gardens (503-633-8445). We met up with Stacy in the greenhouse to first get some tips about hanging baskets. Stacy talked about the need to give those baskets a shot of fertilizer about every 2-3 weeks to keep those blooms coming. They also need lots of water during the hot weather to keep them from drying out. If you have questions you can call them at the nursery for some more tips.

Then we moved over to the ‘brews’ area to talk about the upcoming event. The Berries, Brews and BBQ event is happening over the next 2 weekends at the farm. The admission is free for the farm and once you get in you can find tons to do for the whole family. If you are into brews, they will have different breweries sampling brews on each weekend. If you like fresh berries the fields will be open for u-picks (or you can get some fresh berries in the store) and if you like BBQ they will have a BBQ competition that you can watch while you enjoy some fresh grilled treats from the farm. Of course they will have the farm animals out for visitors and hayrides for the family. Stop by and enjoy a day in the country with the best tastes of the season.

Heirloom Rose Days

We paid a visit to Heirloom Roses (503-538-1576) for their annual Rose Days event. Heirloom is one of the leaders in growing roses and this weekend you get a chance to see some of the great varieties in bloom. In addition to the roses, you can catch seminars from local gardening experts, enjoy the gift shop and stroll the huge display gardens. You can also sample wine and buy some wonderful plants to compliment your rose garden. Featured vendors include N&M nursery, one of the leading perennial growers in our area, and Barron-Wahl wines. If your roses are having problems, they will help you give them a jump start with some tips and information. They will even have a special guest speaker, 103 year old Margaret Morse, a rose historian. You can also meet the new owners of Heirloom Roses, Ben and Kara Hanna and talk to them about the future exciting plans for Heirloom. Now is a great time to stop by and see (and smell) the best roses in the state!

Kim Foren Cut Flower Garden

Kim Foren from Geranium Lake Flowers (503-228-1920) always has some great ideas for decorating and design for your home, and she pulls a lot of inspiration from her garden. This week we visited her in her garden to learn how she uses her garden as a ‘cutting’ garden to help build wonderful displays. A cutting garden is the goal of a lot of people. If you have the right flowers in the right combinations, you can create beautiful bouquets all season long. Kim has the additional requirements of needing a garden that is low maintenance. She relies on garden roses, foxglove, smoke bush, peonies and yarrow just to name a few. These flowers can handle minimal care and are pretty tolerant of the conditions. Other plants in her garden include valerian, dahlias and lavender. You will want to also include foliage plants. Colorful flowers can overpower each other if you are not careful. Including foliage softens those colors and adds texture to your arrangements. Since Kim owns a floral shop she also has a business philosophy about her garden as well. If it doesn’t make her money, it doesn’t stay in the garden! She uses everything in her garden for her business too. So if she can use it in a display, she grows it in her garden! Finally she recommends that you look at adding plants that you would not normally consider as ‘cutting’ plants. Kim uses green cherry tomatoes and blueberries to add texture and different colors to her arrangements. For more ideas you can check out Kim’s blog on her website or stop by her shop in downtown Portland.

Lawn Rejuvenation

In late spring the weather improves and we are all looking to get out and enjoy our lawns and gardens. Unfortunately our lawns take a beating over the winter and are sometimes in need of lots of help. To get some tips on building the perfect lawn we stopped by the OSU Turf farm and talked to Alec Kowalewski, a turf management specialist. Alec broke it down into 5 simple points from the most important to the least important. Those points were mowing, fertilization, irrigation, cultivation and pest control. First we talked about mowing. Most homeowners cut their grass too short. If you see the grass growing in the grass seed fields it can be a foot tall or higher. When we cut the grass we are not giving the plant a lot of material above ground to help it grow and stay healthy. A home owner should set their lawn mower to the highest setting they are comfortable with. A longer lawn is a healthier lawn and will use less water. Next we talked about fertilization. You should fertilize 2-4 times a year depending on the grass type you have in your yard. If you fertilize 4 times a year you can follow the ‘holiday’ plan. That means fertilizing on Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and Halloween. You will also want to use a high nitrogen for those applications. The third practice to follow is irrigation. For most of the Northwest we have plenty of water on our lawns and really only need to irrigate about 3 month of the year. When you irrigate you will want to do it in small amounts but more frequently, still adding up to only an inch a week. The fourth practice is cultivation. What we mean about that is aeration. This is also called core cultivation. If you have certain grass varieties like perennial ryegrass or tall fescue you may never have to aerate your lawn, it may not need it. If you do aerate you should do it in the early spring. This aeration will allow for more water saturation, airflow, fertilizer absorption and reduces soil compaction. Finally, we talked about pest management. There are not a lot of lawn pests in our area. We do have some grubs, cut worms and crane flies, but for the most part our ‘pests’ consist of weeds. If weeds are a problem, you should try to get rid of them in the fall. Alec told use about an easy to remember saying, ’10-4 good buddy’. You spray your weeds on the 4th of October to get rid of them and then over-seed with new grass. This will get your lawn ready for the new season, ‘weed free’. If you have questions about your lawn, you can check out the OSU Turf Management website or stop by your local independent garden center.

Festival of Flowers

If you are not into tattoos we have one that might change your mind! There is one downtown at Pioneer Courthouse Square that is made entirely of flowers! ‘Tattoo Portland’ was created by local landscape architecture firm Lango Hansen, and celebrates the love for all things Portland. The Square is 'inked' with a giant heart composed of over 20,000 begonias, impatiens and pansies. The Square, also known as ‘Portland's living room’ also has red hot, larger than life flames formed from marigolds and zinnias. We met with Elaine Kearney from Longo Hansen to learn about the process that went into making the ‘tat’. They started with coming up with the tattoo design in their office and then had to try to fit that design inside the boundaries of the square itself. Once they had a rough layout they had to build a grid pattern and place that grid over the square. Now lots and lots of volunteers placed the 4 inch pots of plants on the bricks to create the pattern. The design will stay in place until the 11th of June. The following morning at 8am they will have a plant sale to benefit Pioneer Courthouse Square. This weekend you can show up at the square and if you stop by the tent they will give you a temporary tattoo. The square only has part of the tattoo pattern. The tattoo continues along the downtown transit mall with an anchor design at the Congress Center and a pair of dice at Unitus Plaza. If you want to see something that is uniquely Portland, this is a must see.

Hazelwood Demonstration Garden

The right plant in the right place is more than just a saying; it is the key to a successful, healthy and beautiful garden. We learned this by stopping at the Hazelwood Demonstration Garden in NE Portland. Sarah Santner from the Regional Water Providers Consortium walked with William through the garden and talked about the different growing conditions that she encountered while planting. This garden was originally a grassy area that had terrible drainage and compacted soil. Sarah had to come in and tear out the soil, add soil amendments like compost and work those in to a depth of about 18 inches. Still there were problem areas. One area became the ‘wet’ area. This garden bed got all the rain runoff from the parking lot and became a bog during certain parts of the year. This meant that certain plants were not going to do well here. Unfortunately Sarah found this out after losing a plant or two. On the other side of the garden she found out that she had a ‘dry’ area. Once again, some of the plants didn’t do well here and so she had to look for ‘dry’ area plants and now that part of the garden is thriving. Because of her choice of plants she can now use the water more efficiently and save resources as well as money. Finally we talked about irrigation. Irrigation is still needed because sometime the weather can be too hot or too dry. They use a drip system to compliment the natural rainwater and runoff. This system delivers water to the roots and help the plants get over those rough spots. Their system also has 2 zones, one zone for the dry area and one for the wet area. They also use a soil moisture sensor to help regulate the water usage. The soil probe tell the system if there is enough moisture in the ground and can shut off the system if the plants don’t need water, not more sprinklers running in the rain! If you would like to learn more about watering tips and gardening check out the Regional Water Providers Consortium website www.Conserveh2o.org.

Parr Traeger Grill – Bacon Explosion