Left to right: Garden TIme Owner/Producer Jeff Gustin, Business Manager Therese Gustin, hosts Judy Alleruzzo and Wlliam McClenathan

Friends and supporter of Oregon's #1 garden show gathered to celebrate the program's first 100 episodes with fabulous food, superb wines and several cakes adorned by the Garden Time mascot, "Mortimer".  Thanks to all who attended for your help and support during the past three years.  Special thanks to Willamette Valley Vineyards, Gartner's Meats and Larsen Farm Nursery for making our celebration an evening to remember!

Is fall here?  With the kids back in school and vacation memories fading you might be starting to write off your garden.  Believe it or not, we still have 2 weeks of summer left, though fall is not too bad around here either!  So, get out and harvest those late season vegetables and flowers, and enjoy the ‘summer’ sun!  Winter will be here soon enough.

This week we featured...

Ferguson’s Summer Vines

Late summer is the perfect time to enjoy vining plants and how beautiful they can become in the garden.  We stopped by the wonderful display garden at Ferguson’s Fragrant Nursery (503-633-4585) to see some of the wonderful vines they have on display.  Dani walked Judy through the garden and one of the first vines we saw wasn’t even growing up-right.  Dani had a Star Jasmine on the ground as a ground-cover.   Next we stopped under a trellis to see an ornamental grape and marveled at the translucent leaves.  We then moved to another part of the garden to check out a couple of other vines including a climbing hydrangea that will cling to walls and trees. We saw the unusual Snail Vine which has flowers that look like little snails and has a knock-out aroma.  We finally ended up at an arbor that had a combination planting of Golden Hops and a clematis ‘Will Goodwin’, that were growing together.  If you would like to learn more about these plants or vines in general, stop by Ferguson’s during the Le Tour des Plants next week when they will be having a seminar on these great plants.

Top Watering Tips

During this story we told you that we would have the top 5 watering tips for your garden, but we ended up with 8 tips!  We may think that summer is nearing an end but we will still be watering well into the fall if the weather stays warm.  To learn more about conserving water in the garden we went to the Regional Water Providers Consortium (503-823-7528).  The RWPC is THE source for using water wisely.  Jim walked Judy through some of the many tips you can find on their website.  First we talked about the amount of water you should use.  One-inch of water a week is all that is needed to make sure that your grass will stay green.  Next we learned that a timer is the best way to make sure you don’t go over that 1 inch rule.  It is also recommended that you water before 10:00am or after 6:00pm to minimize evaporation.  It is also good to water specific areas according to their needs.  Planting similar types of plants, with similar needs, together will make sure that you water them all the same.  To help in watering specific area you can use a soaker hose or drip irrigation system.  This will make sure that water is used in areas where it is needed.  Maintenance is also a big issue. Once your have a watering system in place you will want to make sure that it is aimed correctly (you don’t want to water the street) and has no leaks or breaks.  For more water saving tips for inside and out, check out the RWPC website.

Fall Fertilizing

The super hot days of summer are fading and the brown lawns are begging for a little help.  Nothing shows that better than the lawns around the Oregon State Fairgrounds.   Norm from Lilly Miller joined us to show us how grass can take a beating and how you can get it back into shape.  First you will want to use a good all purpose fertilizer.  We advised people not to fertilize during the heat of the summer, to protect your lawn from ‘burning’.  Now, though, is a perfect time to add that fertilizer.  In about 6-8 weeks you will want to add a fall and winter lawn food.  This type of food will promote good root growth and make a stronger plant going into the spring.  The fall and winter fertilizer also contains a slow release nitrogen that will stay with your grass and be released when temperatures warm up next year.   Plus, as the summer temperatures start to drop you can start to over seed your grass.  The cooler days will allow the seeds to germinate (and not fry) and that will make your lawn thicker and stronger and better able to crowd out weeds and moss.  For more lawn tips check with your local independent garden center.

Gartner’s Fall Grilling

It may be after Labor Day but summer grilling season is not over!  Jerry from Gartner’s Meats (503-252-7801) joined us to show us how you can still enjoy grilling well into the fall (and maybe winter!).  This time he covered some tips for getting everything off the grill at the same time.  Sometimes when you grill you can end up with different courses finishing at different times.  Here are some of his tips.  For potatoes, put them on the grill ½ hour before you place your meat on the grill.  To keep your corn on the cob from drying out, soak it in water for 2 hours before grilling.  You can also wrap it in foil with butter and a dash of salt to keep it moist.  And the big tip… how to get a rare and well-done steak done at the same time.  Jerry recommends scoring the meat to accelerate the cooking.  If you score a piece of meat, in this case a delicious tri-tip, it will cook faster.  When the scored meat is done the other piece will be rare.  Everyone can sit down to eat at the same time! 

The other thing we learned today was how to make a great table decoration from a cabbage.  Debbie showed Judy how to plant the center of a cabbage head with flowers for a great table centerpiece. 

Try some of these tips and enjoy the last days of summer at your grill.

Easy Pesto

One of the great tastes from the summer garden is fresh basil.  You can add it to salads, dressings and other culinary delights, but one of the best ways to enjoy it is to make a pesto from it.  Joelle from Smith Berry Barn (, 503-628-2172) joined us to show us how easy it is to make a delicious pesto that you can add to many dishes from the kitchen.  First she gathered about 4 cups of fresh basil leaves and a handful of parsley, and then blended them together with about 4 cloves of garlic.  Then we added pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and some olive oil and blended again.  You can use it fresh or you can freeze it for later.  Joelle uses a flexible Teflon muffin tin to freeze single servings.  If you want to try this yourself you can find the recipe on the Smith Berry Barn website.  You can also join in the fall harvesting at Smith.  For details check out their Le Tour des Plants activities.

Village Green #2

We return to the Village Green Resort (800-343-7666) to learn about more of their wonderful gardens.  Jon, the head gardener, took Judy through 2 of the 14 gardens they have on site.  The first one was the Bird Garden.  This garden is all about our feathered friends.  Feeders are around the area, but the staff also leaves plants to go to seed to feed the birds as well.  There is a thicket of sumacs in the garden that provides cover for the smaller birds too.  While we were there the hummingbirds were in an aerial war over prime feeding areas.  We even had one fly through the interview while we were there!  Next we moved to the Mahogany Garden.  This garden is all about color.  Dark browns and chocolates are the color of choice.  Plants like the canna, chocolate cosmos, dark-leaved heucheras and the chocolate mimosa are all here.  Also, around the grounds you will also find mailboxes.  These contain the ‘mission statement’ for each garden.  It is not a listing plants but a description of the type of a garden and the feeling they were trying to capture.  You can stop by the gardens anytime, but better yet, check into the resort and stay awhile.  The Resort is also the host of the Gathering of Gardeners which takes place the 20th and 21st of September.  William and Judy will be speaking there and joining over 40 other garden vendors and artists.  It is another event that is tied to the Le Tour des Plants!