ARCHIVE


William McClenathan

 

 Episode 58
August 11, 2007

 

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Judy Alleruzzo


Aloha!  We lost Judy to the tropics this week as she took a trip.  OK, maybe she went to the mid-west… The Garden Time crew is squeezing in vacations as time allows.  If you are planning a trip we hope you have a restful one. 

This week we featured...

Al’s Garden Plant Trials

Want to know what the hot plant for 2008 will be?  Actually, you can help make the choice.  We paid a visit to the plant trials that are happening at Al’s Garden Center ( 503-726-1162) in Sherwood.  The plant trials are where growers are trying out new and different varieties of plants.  This is where they determine what will be grown for sale for the coming year.  Now through the end of the month you can check out the newest of plants and vote for your favorites.  Paul Fukasawa told William about the trials and the hundreds of varieties on display.  This year's trials, “Paradise in Bloom”, have a very tropical feel to it.  The garden is free and open to the public during store hours beginning Thursday August 9th and runs until August 25th.  On August 26th the display plants will be available for purchaseThe trials display fills a half-acre greenhouse area at the Sherwood garden center.   Take some time to check out this huge display and vote for your favorite.  Who knows?  You may pick the hot plant for 2008!

Elephant Garlic Festival

Something stinks west of Portland, but it is soooo delicious!  We made a quick trip to North Plains to check out the set-up for the 10th annual Elephant Garlic Festival (877-E-Garlic, 877-342-7542).  This festival is a real family friendly affair.  They have a parade, live music, a car show, a festival run and a huge arts and crafts area.  But the real star of the show is the Elephant Garlic.  Every food vendor has to have at least one product with garlic in it.  The will have garlic burgers, garlic ice cream, garlic milkshakes and even a garlic beer for you to taste!  Take the family out and enjoy the stink!

Scree Garden

What is a scree garden?  To find out we traveled to Fresh to You Produce and Garden Center ( 503-769-9682).  Jack Richards told us that a scree is very close to a rock slide.  It is the pile of rocks and debris that occur on mountains where plants grow.  These areas are known for the quick drainage.  This is the one important thing to remember when you build a scree garden in your yard.   Jack built one in a small demonstration garden in front of the nursery.  He built up an area with cinder blocks and rocks that he collected.  Then he used layers of rock, pumice and soil to recreate the sharp drainage he needed.  This garden is allowing him to try some of those rock-garden plants that can be very touchy about their location.  It looks great and it really gives the display garden an interesting look!  Stop by the nursery and check it out.

Heirloom Summer Roses

We have heard that you can’t plant roses in the summer.  We have also heard that some people can’t get a second flush of blooms on their roses.  We stopped by Heirloom Roses (503-538-1576) to get some pointers from Louise Clements about having successful summer roses.  First she told us that you can plant roses anytime during the summer.  They follow the 2 foot rule!  The hole should be 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep with some compost in the bottom.  This allows the plant to thrive in the first year when it is under the most stress.  Second you can do mid-summer pruning on most of your roses and they will send out a new flush of buds and blooms.  Cut the dead flower off down to the 5-leaf cluster and let the new growth take over.  Be careful not to prune plants after the 1st of September.  That is too late in the season and it may make the plant susceptible to freezing and disease.  If you have any more questions now is a great time to ask them.  Heirloom is having their annual sale where over 350 varieties of roses are on sale, with some varieties up to 75% off.  Stop by and check them out.

Bloomer's Summer Perennials

Sometimes the home garden can get a little tired looking.  The fresh blooms of spring are gone and the other plants can be looking old and faded.  To solve that problem we traveled to Eugene and stopped by Bloomer's Nursery (541-687-5919) to check out some of the hot summer perennials you can use in your garden.  Jackie Chama, the nursery manager, pulled a truckload of color for us to look at.  These perennials are great performers and will give months of blooms with out a lot of work!  She featured Echinacea (coneflower), Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susans), Platycodon (Balloon Flower), Pinks ‘Firewitch’, Penstemon (Beard Tongue), Perovskia (Russian Sage), and the ever popular Shasta Daisy.  Most of these will also make great cut flowers so you can enjoy the colors of summer indoors and out!

Mini-Hydroponics

The tastes of summer can be at your fingertips all year long.  We found a counter top mini-hydroponic system that is incredible.  The Aero-garden is a small self contained system that allows you to grow vegetables on your kitchen counter.  It can be purchased with different types of seeds or you can use your own.  It also has watering and fertilizer reminders that take the guesswork out of the maintenance of the system.  Michelle of the Greenhouse Catalog (800-825-1925) then showed us another little gadget that will let you make your own salad dressing with the fresh herbs you’ve grown.  You simply cut them back and drop the pieces in this mini-blender and you have fresh dressing for your greens!  Very tasty.

Fire Pits

There is nothing like an outdoor fire to take the chill out of these cool summer nights.  The way to do that safely is with a fire pit.  We found that most of the independent garden centers have a good selection of fire pits to choose from.  We found a bunch at Guentner’s Gardens (503-581-7133) in South Salem.  If you decide to purchase one you have to remember to clear out an area of all flammable material.  Use a base of sand or pavers to keep the heat from setting anything on fire.  You may also want to get a spark screen to keep the flames in and a plastic cover to keep the rain out!
 

 
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