The holiday season is upon us! Yes, I know that it is just past Halloween, but you can tell the season is changing when you start to see the decorated trees in the local garden centers. This year I can't get too mad at the speed of change. It has been an interesting year in the garden and maybe the change of season will bring a change of weather for 2011. I, for one, would like to see a better tomato season next year. Plus, with these changes it really gets me in the mood to think about winter plants. This week we were able to stop by Farmington Gardens to check out some cool fall plants. Check out our story for more information.

It is also the time for holiday festivals. Nearly all of your local garden centers will have some kind of holiday events planned. Just looking at their websites I could find events at Fresh to You in Silverton, Portland Nursery, Tsugawa's, Garland Nursery in Corvallis, and Smith Berry Barn, just to name a few. We also did a story at the Nella Chestnut farm in Hood River, where they have a Chestnut Roast this weekend at the farm. Check the website of your local nursery or garden center to see what they have planned!

This week we featured...

Chestnut Roast

'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire'... We have all heard the old holiday carol, but few of us have ever tasted a roasted chestnut, even though they grow in our area. We heard about a chestnut farm near Hood River so we decided to pay a visit and learn more about these traditional, but underused nuts. Bernardo is the new owner of Nella Chestnut Farms (1-800-400-3658), formerly called Nutquacker Farms. Bernardo is Italian and his experiences with this nut have a deep rooted tradition. Even Judy, who is also Italian, has had chestnuts with her family for meals and snacks. First of all Bernardo told us that many cultures from Italian, to French to Asian, use this nut in their cooking. In Europe you can find vendors on the street corners during the fall, roasting these for shoppers. To harvest them you have to make sure that you are not using the Horse Chestnut (these can make you sick), the correct ones are like a big sharp, fuzzy looking pod. Once the pod falls from the tree you can step on the pod to have the nut pop out. Then take the biggest ones and cut them with an 'x' on the outside (to prevent them from bursting in the oven) and then roast them for 25 minutes at 400 degrees, you can then eat the yellow meat inside. You can even cook them in the microwave! There are lots of other ways to enjoy these naturally delicious nuts and you can find more recipes on the brand new Nella farms website. You can even order them on-line. Check them out this weekend for their annual Chestnut Roast at their farm in Hood River.

Fall Color Plants

The transition between fall and winter is happening and that means that the summer garden is falling asleep. But it doesn't mean that your garden has to become bare and brown. We stopped by Farmington Gardens (503-649-4568) to see what kind of fall and winter color we could find. Clare from Farmington walked us through some of her favorites. She pulled a huge selection of plants out of her nursery to share with us and these are just a few of the varieties that she found. First on her list was the Picea glauca or Spiral Alberta Spruce. Small conifers are great for establishing structure in your garden. They are there year round providing constant beauty to your garden. Next we saw a couple of interesting hydrangeas, 'bluebird' with it's lace cap blooms and dark fall foliage and 'Little Lamb' with the cone shaped flowers of pink, white and green. Clare had also pulled out a couple of Smoke Trees for us to look at. The first one was the traditional dark purple variety named 'Royal Purple', but the newer one was the stunning 'Grace' with its leaves turning bright red and gold. Another plant that was showing off some beautiful red and gold was the Barberry 'Pow Wow'. This was the new favorite of everyone on the crew because of its showy colors. A couple other plants that have great year-round color are Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' and Ceanothus 'Diamond Heights'. William mentioned that pairing these plants will create wonderful patterns of color in your garden for the whole winter and into next spring and summer. Another plant that will have year-round interest, and seems to be overlooked by most people is the 'Japanese Holly Fern'. Ferns in general have great foliage and texture and will help keep the green in your garden when other plants die back. The final plant is a native to the Northwest and can be found in many of our local forests. It is the Common Snowberry. It can be packed with colorful berries that change color during the fall and winter, and as a native you know it will do well in our climate. It is a great addition to any garden. One of the plants in the background that we didn't talk about featured the twisted branches and curly trunk of the Harry Lauders Walking Stick, another interesting plant These were just a few of the many plants you can find at Farmington Gardens or at many of your local independent garden centers.

Fall Rose Care

Now that the cold winds are blowing, your roses may be in need of some fall and winter care. Kathleen Baughman of Heirloom Roses (503-538-1576) showed us how to clean up your roses now to keep them healthy through the winter. She recommended that you cut your plants down to about chest high right now so they don't get damaged in the wind. If you are not experiencing heavy winds then avoid making your cuts until the first frost to prevent the plant from adding new growth. You also cut them back to clean up some of the dead and diseased branches and to remove 'black spot' and the 'moldy' older flowers. This will get rid of the disease carrying part of your plant and help it remain strong. It is also recommended that you remove the leaves and throw them away (don't compost them) to prevent disease next spring. You can also look for crossing and rubbing branches, these can create an open wound on the plant and a spot for pests and disease to enter. If you would like more tips on caring for your roses, check with the experts at Heirloom.

Chainsaw Museum

We traveled to Amboy Wash. to visit the private chainsaw museum of Wayne Sutton. Wayne is the representative of Stihl tools and began collecting chainsaws years ago. He now has one of the biggest collections in the country. He took us on a private tour of his collection and showed us the evolution of the chainsaw and how it has changed over the years. Of course, one of the first chainsaws was a Stihl and they are still the leader after all these years. If you would like to see Wayne's collection or learn more about it, drop him an e-mail at Wasaw@tds.net.

Unique Hardy Plants

We all had a few plants that didn't make it through this last year of weather extremes. First we had the cold, snow and ice of winter and then we had the extended stretch of hot weather. That had us wondering about some of the more unusual plants in the garden. Which ones did well? To learn more we stopped by Rare Plant Research and visited with Burl Mostul. Burl's company deals in some truly unique plants. He shared with us his surprises. First we saw a plant that most people treat as a tender house plant, the Tradescantia discolor or Moses in a Boat plant. This one roots easily and even though it died back to the ground it has thrived and grown. Next we checked out the Eucalyptus grove by his home. Even when the plants were pulled to the ground by the ice and snow they bounced right back. Even one that was snapped off at the base is coming back! The next one he showed us was a tree also, the 'Silver Waddle' Acacia. Burl thought he had lost this one. During the big cold, he noticed that the bark was pealing. Little did he know that was a characteristic of this plant. It is still going strong. Next we saw the Agave 'Truncata'. This one is very hardy and it didn't miss a beat. It also loved the extreme heat we had this summer too. Finally we stopped by the Italian Cypress. This tall thin mini-tree looks very light and delicate and is subject to any little breeze or storm that comes along. Still Burl told us that it didn't even lose a branch, leaf or anything. To learn more about these and other plants check out Burl's website at Rare Plant Research.