The summer is slowly trickling away, before it is gone, get out and enjoy the wonderful events in your area. You can find a bunch of places that feature the late blooms of summer and early fall. Get out and enjoy!
This week we featured...
Swan Island Dahlia Festival
WOW! If you have never been to the dahlia festival you have missed one of the most spectacular shows of the summer. 40 acres of blooms greet you as you drive up. But that is only part of it… Nick Gitts from Swan Island Dahlias (800-410-6540) told us about summer dahlia care and some care tips for beautiful (future) blooms. He also filled us in the special events that they have planned for the 2 weekends of the festival. If you stop by on August 25, 26, & 27 and September 1, 2, & 3 (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) you will also get a chance to see 15,000 blooms in 400 different cut flower arraignments. You can also enjoy food, cut flowers and informational talks to help you grow dahlias like the experts. And it is all free. Take some time to head down to Canby (not Swan Island) for the annual dahlia festival.
Summer Coast Plants
The beauty of Oregon is the rich diversity of plants we can grow here. But if you have lived at the coast or east of the cascades you know that some plants don’t like the change in conditions that can happen on either side of the mountains. We visited the Oregon Coast Garden Center (541-563-6001) in Waldport and Mary Eriksen to learn about some plants that perform well in the winds and sea air of the central Oregon coast. Mary brought out 5 that really do well. She featured Clusterberry ‘Parney’s Red’, Escallonia ‘Pink Princess’, Mirror Plant ‘Rainbow Surprise’, Hebe ‘Tricolor’, and Ceonothus ‘Silver Surprise’. These are also great for the Willamette Valley gardener too. If you are on the central coast check out the Oregon Coast Garden Center for more ideas.
BBQ Rum Peaches
A couple of weeks ago we featured a recipe on grilling peaches from Olson Peaches (503-362-5942) east of Salem. They are growers of lots of local, fresh produce. We were joined by Christina who showed us another of their great grilling recipes. This one is a bit on the wild side, it uses a little bit of rum to add a great flavor to the peaches. She mixed the rum with some interesting ingredients including mint leaves and almond extract. If you are looking for an interesting dessert that you can prepare quickly on your grill try this recipe out!
Connie Hansen Garden
We visited the Connie Hansen Garden located at 1931 NW 33rd Street in Lincoln City. The garden was a labor of love of Connie’s for over 20 years until she passed away. The Garden has been featured in the Fine Gardening Magazine, Sunset, Better Homes and Gardens Quarterly, and is open daily from dawn to dusk. There is no charge for admission, but donations are always accepted. We took our tour of the garden with garden volunteer Sue Bride. The garden is a great place to take out of town visitors if you are at the coast. It is also a great place to see which plants do well at the coast with the different weather conditions. You can get more information at www.conniehansengarden.com or by calling 541-994-6338.
Garden Photography
We visited with Allan Mandel, an award winning garden photographer to get some tips on taking your own award-winning photos. Everyone can take great garden pictures, if they follow some simple rules. The basics… watch the lighting; don’t look for a bright sunny day, overcast days will eliminate the hard shadows and provide a more even light. Wait for a calm wind; this will give you a crisp, clear picture and not a blurry one. Use a tripod and take your time; stability and patience are the most important items for the garden photographer. You will be rewarded with some great shots if you follow these simple tips. You can catch his latest work in the new Timber Press book ‘Garden to Vase’ with author Linda Beutler.
Kindergarden – Sun Paper
This is a perfect kid’s project for those sunny summer days. Amy Bigej from Al’s Garden Center (503-981-1245) found some sun sensitive paper from Steve Spangler Science, where they have it listed as "Sun Print Paper". This paper changes color when it is exposed to sunlight. Have your kids pick flowers, collect leaves or other interesting things from the garden and then place those things on the paper. Leave the paper out for 2 minutes and then immerse the paper in water. Whatever you had on the paper will now leave its ‘shadow’ on the paper. You can frame the image, make note cards or give them as gifts. It is a great way to get outdoors and save a part of your garden to enjoy year-round.
Silver Falls Seed
If you have been driving through the countryside in the valley, you may have seen fields full of flowers. This is not the work of a flower fanatic; they are flowers that are grown for their seed. Angela Rose from Silver Falls Seed Company (503-874-8221) showed us some of the varieties that they grow. In the field where she took us we found poppies and godetia. Then we went to the cleaning operation where we saw how they clean, sort and package the seeds they grow. We also learned that since the seeds are grown locally, they are acclimated to the area and you have a better chance for success. You can find Silver Falls Seed at most of the local garden centers in the area, or you can buy them on-line through the Silver Falls website.
