SHOW ARCHIVE

Episode 370 • August 22, 2015

VIDEO ARCHIVE

Are you ready? It seems that summer is coming to an end. Kids are going back to school and the dahlia fields at Swan Island Dahlias are in full bloom! For a lot of gardeners that marks the end of the summer season. Not to worry the summer weather looks like it is going to continue and the official end to the season is still a month away. Still plenty of time to enjoy the outdoors. I am starting to enjoy the cool breezes of evening and the cooler air of the morning. Those temps will help keep those dahlia blooms around longer. Get out and enjoy the fields now and don’t forget to plan a visit for their festival starting next Saturday!

Another sign of fall are apples! We visited Portland Nursery on Stark and saw that they already have a couple different types of apples available in the store. Stop by and get a taste of what’s to come in October when they have their annual apple tasting!

This week we featured...

Parr Cinderblock Garden Bench

Parr Cinderblock Garden Bench

There is nothing like sitting in the garden during the summer and enjoying all the plants and wildlife around you. The problem is finding a nice and inexpensive bench to sit on when you are out in the garden. Have you ever consider building your own? Amber at Parr Lumber (866-214-7277) had a great idea that she decided to share with us. This one was pretty easy to build and it was cheap too! All you need are some cinder blocks, some 4x4’s, a little paint, some adhesive and some cushions. First Amber bought 12 cinder blocks and painted them a nice warm color with exterior paint. Even the paint was inexpensive since she bought it at the local rebuilding center. Then she stacked the blocks about 6 feet apart and secured them with adhesive (liquid nails worked well) so they wouldn’t fall over, and ran the 4x4’s between the bricks. She then placed the cushions on the boards and she was done! It was quick and easy and with the colorful cushions and warm paint it looked very cute! For all the materials you need, stop by your local Parr Lumber.

Black Gold Winners

Black Gold Winners

If you attended the spring GardenPalooza event in April you know that we give away a TON of great prizes and one of the best prizes that was offered this year was the ‘Build a Better Garden’ contest by Black Gold. Black Gold was offering a $500 check and a landscape consultation with the experts at Portland Nursery on Division (503-788-9000). Well, we have our winners. Jeanette and Nick from Newberg. They were excited to win and are planning on building a cottage style garden with their winnings. Donna from Black Gold was there and she presented them with the check, and a few bags of Black Gold to get them started!

If you would like to win, look for the Black Gold booth next spring at GardenPalooza. You can find the wonderful Black Gold products at your local independent garden center, and if you need help with your landscape design, stop by and schedule an appointment with the experts at Portland Nursery on Division.

Street of Dreams Cabinets

Street of Dreams Cabinets

The NW Natural Street of Dreams will soon be over but there is still time to stop by and see these wonderful homes. These homes are packed with the latest and greatest furnishings and appliances. To learn more about the latest in cabinetry we stopped by the Atterbury house and met with Brianne Johnson from DeWils Fine Cabinetry. She showed Judy some of the differences you will find when you install a quality product. Dewils is a 3rd generation company that started in Vancouver. They are a much larger company now but are still based in Vancouver and providing great cabinets to local builders and homeowners. Brianne started with the kitchen cabinets and talked about how they use a thicker board and quality design to build a cabinet that won’t sag or warp. She also showed us the drawers and how they make great use of the space and are easy to use. We liked the ‘easy close’ feature so there is no slamming of drawers or doors! We also saw how they are using a peg board system to keep the dishes in the drawers from rattling around too.

DeWils doesn’t just do kitchens, they also did the great room, the bar, and the bathrooms at the Atterbury. They can help you tackle your cabinet needs as well. Stop by the Street of Dreams and see what they have done and then stop by one of their showrooms or dealers to learn more.

Al's Lawn Lift

Al's Lawn Lift

The hot weather has fried a lot of lawns around the area. Most people have just given up on trying to fight the battle, while others are continuing to pour water on their dormant grass and hoping for a miracle. We found a product that might just make everyone happy. Judy met with Aaron at the Sherwood location of Al’s Garden Center (503-726-1162) to learn about Lawn Lift. Lawn Lift is a grass paint. You simply mix it with water in a sprayer and apply it to your lawn. Make sure your lawn is mowed and clear of debris before you spray. In a few minutes your lawn goes from brown to green! The paint lasts a couple months or more depending on how much rain we get. Once you apply it you don’t have to water. The color will last longer if you don’t. It is safe for kids and pets, though you shouldn’t let them run through the lawn until the paint is dry. You will have a green lawn and since you don’t have to water, you will save money too! They even have the paint in a ‘ready to use’ spray bottle so you can do spot jobs without breaking out the big sprayer! If you would like to learn more, just stop by any of the 3 Al’s locations and check it out.

KG - Avocado Seed Starting

KG - Avocado Seed Starting

Our Kindergarden segment this week involves growing from seeds and cuttings! We found that there are lots of plants that you can grow from plants that you have already used. These cuttings are from plants like lettuce and kale. You simply cut them back and they start growing new leaves in the garden, but did you know you can do that with celery too? When you buy and use celery in the kitchen save the end of the stalk where it used to have a root. It is best to have a little of the stalk left as well. Just plant it in some potting soil and soon you will see leaves sprouting from the center. Take care of the stalk and when it gets bigger you can plant it outside. The seed starting comes in the form of an avocado seed. These seeds are tough to crack, but if you have the time and patience you can grow your own avocado tree. Stick 3 toothpicks in the sides of the seed to create support (you need to use a fresh seed because it is easier to push the toothpicks in) with the bottom side down. Suspend the seed over a cup of water with the toothpicks and make sure that the lower half of the seed stays in water and in sunlight. We used a clear plastic cup so we could see the roots growing. In about 2 weeks you will see some cracking of the seed. Then in about a month you may notice some roots. Let those roots continue to grow in the water until they touch the bottom of the cup. When they do you can start adding some potting soil (we used Black Gold natural and organic) and slowly added it to the cup. You will need to add a little bit each day. Eventually the cup will be filled with soil and the seed will continue to grow when your plant gets leaves you can plant it in a larger container. Grow you plant indoors until the heat outside is above 50 degrees. If it gets colder, you can bring it back indoors. The good news is that you now have an avocado tree. The bad news, you will have to wait quite a few more years for any fruit. Still, it is a great project for the little gardener in your home.

TOW - Rock Plant Markers

Rock Plant Markers

If you have problem remembering where all your plants are, join the group! We always say that we will remember where everything is and then, later in the fall or early spring, when we are planting or transplanting, we dig up a perennial or some bulbs! We found a way to remedy that. You simply take a large rock with a flat surface on it and then write the name of the plant on that surface. Then you place the rock, facedown, next to the plant! Then when you are looking for a location to plant after the foliage is gone, you will know where you plants are located. The best part is that the rocks look natural and don’t stand out like a regular plant tag or marker.

Silverspot Butterfly

Silverspot Butterfly

It seems like every year we hear about a species that is dying or threatened. I often wonder if there are any species that are local and if there is anything I can do. In answer to the first question, yes there are lots of local threatened species. One species that has gotten a lot of attention recently is the Silverspot Butterfly. Once found all over the Oregon and Washington coasts the Silverspot was reduced to just 4 areas on the coast due to habitat loss. The Oregon Zoo (503-226-1561) was one of the first facilities in our region to step up! The Oregon Zoo works with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Xerces Society, the Nature Conservancy, Woodland Park Zoo, Washington Department of Corrections, Department of Defense and several local universities to breed captive populations of butterflies and then releases them into the wild to help sustain the native populations.
First we talked with Karen to hear about how they work with these various groups to release thousands of these little pollinators every year. Habitat is key and part of that habitat are the plants that they feed on. Karen mentioned that Viola adunca, the early blue violet is one of those key plants. They are actually fed this plant during a key part of their lifecycle. To learn about that lifecycle we moved over and talked to Kim. She told us how they collect the females and bring them into the lab, collect the eggs, overwinter them and then release the new butterflies the following summer.

How can you help to preserve this cool little butterfly and some of his endangered friends. First, you can check out the ‘Conserve’ section of the Oregon Zoo website and click on the ‘Small Actions’ link. This will give you a list of things you can do to help endangered species of all types. Another way to support the efforts with saving the Silverspot is to drink beer! The Pelican Brewery at the Oregon Coast is now brewing a ‘Silverspot IPA’, an English style India Pale Ale, with a portion of the proceeds going to saving this little winged native. We would suggest having a pint or 2 and toasting the great work done at the Oregon Zoo on species and habitat conservation!

Summer Hostas

Summer Hostas

When you think of hostas you probably think of shade. And it is true that most hostas thrive in the shade, but there are some varieties that do well in the sunniest of locations as well. Sebright Gardens (503-463-9615) grows one of the largest selections of hostas in the U.S. and we stopped by to chat with Thomas about some varieties that he would recommend for the sun. First he mentioned that these plants will always do better if you have them in the right conditions, good soil and well-watered. Thomas also brought up a point about the flowers on hostas. The more fragrant they are the more tolerant they are to sun. It is a characteristic of the species. Also about the blooms, they bloom on a stalk and in progression. You will get a new flower on the stalk every day and this will continue for over a month on some varieties. The sun loving hostas also continue to send up new leaf growth during the summer. So even if they do get a little sunburn, you can just cut those leaves off and more will grow back. Keeping that in mind we looked at his ‘religious’ themed hostas. It is funny, but they all have a religious type of name. The first one we looked at was ‘Praying Hands’. This one had thick leaves and a tight leaf structure that also had a small highlighted edge to it. Next, we moved to a bright foliaged variety called ‘Stained Glass’. This one had a flower stalk on it and, with the bright foliage, it was a real knock out. The final one was called ‘Cathedral Windows’. This one had much larger leaves with a great texture to them. All these would look great in any summer garden!

Sebright is also part of the Cascade Nursery Trail sale this Saturday at their nursery. They are welcoming their nursery partners like Garden Thyme Nursery, Highland Heather, Nowlens Bridge Perennials, Out in the Garden Nursery, Secret Garden Growers and Wild Ginger Farm. Stop by, enjoy some tasty food and wine, and take home a great plant!
 

 
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