Just the other day we were sitting outside and loving the wonderful garden around us. Even with the heat, the garden is looking fantastic. It is a great time to live in the northwest, but is there really a bad time? The afternoons are getting a little hot, but not enough for us to complain, yet. Remember there are more hot days ahead so enjoy and keep an eye on those plants.

This week we featured...

Garland Art in the Garden

If you are looking for something of interest in your garden that doesn’t require watering, you may be thinking of garden art. The local garden art scene is packed with talented people and you can see many of them this weekend at Garland Nursery (1-800-296-6601) in Corvallis. Erica told Judy about the 28 local artists that will be displaying all types of art including paintings, metal work, stained glass, wood carving and stone work. They will also have food and wine tasting on both Saturday and Sunday from 10-4. If you are down in the Albany or Corvallis area, stop and check it out.

Daylily Care

One of the best bloomers in the summer garden is the Daylily. When all the other flowers are looking a little tired, this flower comes on strong and looks great. We caught up with Gail Austin the retired grower of these plants to learn about the rules for growing these successfully. The first rule we learned was that there are NO rules. You can plant them at any time; you can dig and divide them at any time. If you do it in the heat of the summer you will need to water more, but other than that, they are very resilient. Speaking of the heat; the bloom is slightly affected by the heat, but remember they only bloom for only one day! The next day there is a new bloom to great you. If you have questions for Gail you can contact her through her blog or attend her last open garden of the year on Saturday, July 19th.

Red Pig Tools

This pig can dig! After years of constant grumbling about the quality of hand tools available to the gardener, we were eager to meet with Bob Denman of Red Pig Tools (503-663-9404). Bob and his wife have a long history of developing and building hand tools. Bob is an expert blacksmith and he gave us a demonstration on how he builds a trowel. He explained how he reinforces certain parts of the tool so it stays stronger and lasts longer. He is also an inventor and showed us the different types of trowels he has developed. If you would like to see some of their tools you can stop by their store near Boring, Oregon off of highway 26, it is a cute old barn that Bob built himself. Or you can check out their website. Either way you will be very happy with the garden tools you will find.

Sunburned Plants

The heat of the summer is really doing a number on some plants, but for some it is hard to diagnosis summer burn on their plants. William took a tour of his garden to show us what the burn looked like on his plants. If you see browning on the exposed part of the leaf, but the new growth is green and healthy, then it is most likely sunburn. If you feel you need to get rid of it you can trim off the burned parts. It is recommended that you don’t remove more than 1/3 of the plant. If you are looking for preventative measures, keep an eye on the forecast and if you see a heat wave coming, try to water more frequently and more deeply. If you have a plant that is constantly getting burned, then mark it and move it to a shadier place in your garden when the weather gets cooler. If you have questions about sunburn and whether your plants have it or another disease, contact your local garden center. Remember to bring a piece of the plant with you!

The Truth About Organics

Jeff Gillman is a university researcher and author. He has written a couple of books for Timber Press (1-800-327-5680), but this one is creating a buzz in the gardening world. He takes a non-biased look at organics in his book, The Truth about Organics. He has looked at the organic craze and found some interesting facts concerning chemicals, organics and all-natural products. He has found that there are chemicals that should be avoided at all costs, but he also found that some of the all-natural elements are mined minerals and can eventually be depleted over time. Also, some people can over-use ‘home’ remedies and cause more damage than good. If you are trying to get rid of a weed or 2 it may be better to use a chemical product in a small quantity, than to pour a salt or vinegar solution on the weed. The salt/vinegar solution may cause more long term damage to your soil than the chemical. To learn more about his research, check out his book from Timber Press or his university website.