ARCHIVE


Judy Alleruzzo

 Episode 23
 September 9, 2006

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William McClenathan

Back to normal…. School is back in session, the sun is rising later and the telltale signs of fall are starting to appear.  It is a great time of year to be a gardener.  The unbearable hot sticky days of summer are past and we can spend long hours enjoying our gardens again.  It is also a great time of year to add to your garden.  Check and see where your garden has bare spots, needs a fresh look or seems a little over-grown.  Buying and planting new plants now will still give you time to enjoy them before the winter rains return and will make your garden look better next spring!

Also, make your plans now for the Le Tour de Plants.  This 9 day, self-guided tour of local garden centers features events, seminars, and plant specials that will get you excited about gardening in the fall!   Check out www.OAN.org for details and directions.   

This week we featured...

Cornell Farm Pansy Fest

Pansies, despite the name, are the workhorses of the winter garden.  They take a beating and keep on coming back.  It is great that Cornell Farm (503-292-9895) has a festival just to celebrate them.  We caught up with Deby at Cornell to hear about the 50 varieties they have available at the Pansy Fest starting September 15th and running until October 1st.  She told the story about the ice storm a few years back when the pansies were covered in ice.  After the ice melted, the pansies were back into full bloom and looking great!  During Pansy Fest you can cash in your Pansy Bucks, enjoy a garden art show and enjoy a variety of classes that will make you a better gardener.   Plus, when Le Tour de Plants kicks off on the 16th you can use your Monrovia Bracelet to get 20% off anything in the nursery. 

Ferguson’s Tour Preview

Late summer brings out a whole new variety of plants to enjoy.  Danielle Ferguson from Ferguson’s Fragrant Nursery (503-633-4585) picked out some of her late summer favorites for us.  She first showed us a hardy hibiscus.  This plant will die back to the ground in the winter and then come back the next year with huge blooms.  The newest introduction she had was called ‘Bordeaux’, with a huge deep red bloom.  The second plant was Salvia ‘Black and Blue’.  This one has a dark violet to black bloom that is set against a light green leaf.  Very striking.  The third plant was Daphne ‘Summer Ice’.  This one blooms all summer with white fragrant blooms and variegated leaves.  The final plant was a Goldenrod called ‘Fireworks’.  Don’t get scared, this one is a non-running non-seeding variety.  Perfect for any garden. 

Ferguson’s is also involved in Le Tour de Plants.  Dani and her crew has a full slate of events planned, finishing with a seminar on container planting and a Fruit and Pastry Brunch on the 23rd.

Parr Small Planter

As we roll into fall we look at creating colorful planters or making more gardening space closer to your doorstep.  Chris Erskine and our friends at Parr Lumber (503-644-1178) have come up with a simple plan for a small cedar planter that uses only 2 boards.  With a couple of minutes, a hammer, some 5d galvanized nails and a miter saw we were able to construct a planter that will last for years.  The best part?  It cost less than 10 bucks to build.  Chris also recommended that we seal the cedar so it lasts longer and that we drill a couple of drainage holes too.  Still, not bad for a simple, quick to assemble planter!

Hop Harvest

It is time to crack open a cold one as we showed you how a perennial vine gives your beer its bite.  We went to the Goschie family farm to check out the annual hop harvest.  This is a family farm that has been in business for over 100 years.  Gayle Goschie took us from the field to the baling room to show us the process of getting hops from the field to the brewer.  In the case of the Goschie family that brewer is Budweiser.   She showed us how this prolific vine is cut in the fields, how the cone is separated from the vines and leaves and then dried to be used by the brew-master.  Hops are used to flavor beer and also as a preservative.   So the next time you lift your glass in a toast, you could be toasting with an Oregon grown product.

Perfect Perennial Garden

If you are looking for a garden of year round color, try perennials.  But since they bloom at different times of the year how can you choose the right ones for your garden.  Try our ‘Perfect Perennial Garden’ chart on the ‘how to’ page of this website.  This simple chart will get you started on picking perennials of various shapes and sizes, which will provide you with all season color.  It is divided into seasons and heights so you will never be short on blooms.  Remember, this is a starting point.  There are so many more choices at your local garden center.  Take the chart in and ask them for even more colorful options.
 

 
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