Is it time? As the weather starts to change I’m wondering if I should get the Christmas decorations out? Should I be getting up on the house with the lights yet? An even bigger question; should I be getting my poinsettias and wreaths yet? The answer to all those questions is yes! Like it or not, the holidays are here. I’m now looking for a nice day to get those light hung and why not get the poinsettias and wreaths? There are ways to keep them from drying out and dying, just check with your local garden center now for tips and the best selection.

Another question about time… we are just a couple weeks away from the final show for our 10th season. The 28th of this month we will have our final show for this year. We always go away during the winter as our advertisers take a break. Not to worry, we will be back in March for our 11th season. People are always asking how they can stay in touch and continue to receive some gardening information during our break. We recommend that you sign up for the Garden Time on-line magazine (it’s FREE) and the Garden Time Facebook page.

This week we featured...

Winter Interest Conifers
 

With the arrival of winter expect to see a lot of gray and brown! That is what we’ve come to expect in the garden, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We stopped by French Prairie Perennials (503-679-2871) and talked to Rick Naylor and he pulled out some conifers that will keep your garden looking good all year long. He told us that everyone focuses on color in their garden for just about every other season, but the winter can be beautiful too. The first plant he brought to our attention was Abies koreana ‘Ice Breaker’. This is a smaller, lower growing fir that just glows with its silver foliage. Great for the front beds in your garden. The next plant was a rare cypress called Cupressus glabra ‘Aurea’. This is a taller bright gold tree that still loves full sun. It can really brighten up a dark area in your garden, but give it some room to grow! The one next to it was another cypress call Cupressus glabra ‘Raywood’s Weeping’. This one has a very narrow growth habit with a lighter foliage. It will get up to 20 feet tall if you stake it, but it will have a weeping, pendulous form if you don’t. Another bright tree that you can add to your garden is the Leland Cypress ‘Golconda’. This is another great tree that really stands out in the garden due to the bright foliage. The best part about this cypress is that you can let it grow tall, or you can prune it into a hedge! We then went back to a shorter plant, a blue spruce called ‘St. Mary’s Broom’. This plant is another very slow growing conifer that stays short and tight with lovely blue/green foliage. The best part about this plant is the new growth, which comes out a nice creamy color. Finally, we talked about an old favorite in the winter garden, the Lodgepole Pine called ‘Chief Joseph’. This one is green during the summer and gets really gold during those colder days of winter. It is another slow growing tree that you can keep shorter if you do some selective ‘candling’ (removing the new growth in the late spring).

So you can see that there are lots of choices for winter color in the garden. Give them a call to find out more. Right now you can see them as they move to their NEW location in Aurora. They are making the transition to a new, larger retail space at 14936 SE 3rd St, in Aurora. Check them out for great plants and gifts.

Garden Gallery Iron Works Holiday Event
 

The holidays are here. The kickoff for most people happens after Halloween (though some start a little sooner!) and that means it is time to start your shopping for everyone in the family, including you! All of our garden center and nursery friends are having their open houses over the next month and we start to fun at Garden Gallery Iron Works (800-452-5266) in Hubbard. Don met us in their huge showroom to talk about the HOT items for the holidays. Already they can tell that decorative lanterns are on the top of the list for decorations. William even got in the act by dressing up a simple lantern with burlap, pinecones and a little reindeer. These lanterns can easily be changed to fit any style or holiday. We found these lanterns in their new ‘Farmhouse Style’ area of the store. It is full of vintage and faux antique items. We also heard that nativity scenes are making a big splash this year. Don showed us the huge selection they have available, plus they are all good for indoor or outdoor display.

Next we moved to another part of the store to see the great wreaths that they are making this year. They have 5 different designs to choose from and you can even order them on-line and have them shipped to you (or someone you love). Or you can order yours this Saturday if you stop by the store for their annual Holiday Open House. They are having a big party on Saturday from 9 to 4 with gift ideas, décor items and refreshments. There will be a gift for the first 50 people and 20 percent off your entire purchase. It’s a great way to kick off your holiday shopping!

The Bloom Project

We heard about a great local organization that we just had to tell people about. The Bloom Project (541-241-8845) is a wonderful, one-of-kind program that brings beauty to people when they need it most. We met with the founder of the Bloom Project to learn more about this program. Heidi Berkman started the Bloom Project nearly 10 years ago, in Bend, when she started collecting day-old flowers from local florists and flower markets, to make bouquets from them to take to hospice and palliative care organizations. These beautiful bouquets bring joy and a ray of sunshine to caregivers, patients and their families during end of life care. They have expanded to Portland and now, with a troop of volunteers, in a space donated by Teufel’s Holly Farm, they create these uplifting bunches of blooms. It is amazing to hear the stories from recipients and to see the smiles on the faces of the volunteers. What a great organization!

If you would like to become a volunteer you can find all the forms and information on their website. If you want to help them with funding, that information is on the website as well. You will have a hard time finding a better project to support!

Jan’s November Tips

It is the middle of the month and that means it is time for the Tips of the Month with Jan McNeilan. She was in her backyard trimming back her fuchsia baskets. Once she had them trimmed back and cleaned up, she was going to move them to her basement and place them next to a window. She will water them once a month and then bring them out next spring for another season. That was just one of the chores she is doing right now. One of the other chores she had on her list was to mulch her beds with the fallen leaves from her trees. These are a great mulch for your garden. They will create an extra layer of protection and they will also slowly break down and return nutrients to the soil over the winter. She was also going to cover some of her root vegetables with a little leaf mulch as well. These included her artichokes, carrots and beets. This will help protect them as well and then Jan can come out during the next few months and harvest them when she needs them. We also talked about lawns. First, a lot of people are noticing mushrooms popping up in their yards. You can either leave them alone or, if you are worried about your pets or kids getting into them, you can knock them down and let them break down in the grass or put them in your compost bin. They are just a natural sign that you have a soil with lots of organic material in it. The material is breaking down and that is feeding the mushrooms. Another thing about lawns… it is now too late to overseed your lawn. The temperatures are getting too cold for the seed to germinate. You should now wait until mid to late spring when those soil temperatures get warm again.

Finally, we chatted about die-back in your conifers. This time of year you will notice a lot of browning in the conifers around your home. This is normal. The trees are shedding the older, sometimes shaded, interior foliage for the winter. As long as you have green at the end of the branches there should be nothing to worry about. Of course, if you do have questions about your tree health, you should call a licensed arborist to take a look at your trees.

For more tips on what you should, and should not, be doing in the winter garden, you can check out the OSU Extension website http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening.

30 Seconds Spray and Walk Away

We have featured the family of 30 Seconds Cleaners (http://30secondscleaners.com) before on the show and have always been impressed with the quality and effectiveness of their products. This week we stopped by to learn about their best kept secret. The fall is for cleaning everything up for the coming season, and the Spray and Walk Away product is great for fall. James, the owner, met with William to explain just how easy it is to use. James explained that this product is one of the easiest to use. You just spray it on and walk away. Over the coming months the product works to break down the lichen, moss and algae on your deck, roof, patio, driveway and concrete. It is safe around your pets and kids too. If you are looking to use the Spray and Walk Away product you can find the closest retailer on the 30 Seconds Cleaners website. You can tackle one of your biggest spring chores this winter while you sit in front of a fireplace and enjoy the winter season.

Parr Christmas Trees

Parr Lumber (866-214-7277) has tons of great ideas for the do-it-yourselfer and even the crafty person in your family. We always learn something new when we stop by. Once again Chad opened our eyes to a couple of projects this week. The first idea dealt with creating more space in your home or garden. He showed us how they used an ordinary ladder to create some quick and easy shelves. They had taken the ladder and placed boards across the steps and rungs to make these sturdy shelves. In the store they used this to display tools, but it could be used outside on your patio or even in your garden to display plants or to use as a trellis. The whole display looked like a giant tree. That led us to the next project.

We then looked at some cute little Christmas trees that they had made out of old pallets. They had taken all the old boards off the center support pieces and then built the frame with the larger support pieces and cut the thinner pieces to become branches. Very decorative! These are just a few of the ideas that you will find at your local Parr Lumber. For more ideas or just help with those household projects, stop by your local Parr store!

TOW – Burning Poinsettias for Display

Our Tip of the Week this week is about preserving your cut and broken stems of poinsettias. Last year we broke off a couple of stems of poinsettias when we were transplanting them and we found a tip on-line that told us to burn the broken/cut end of the stem. This effectively seals the end of the stem and preserves the flower. After you seal it you can place it in a vase with water and it will last a long time We were able to have ours on display for a couple of weeks. It’s a great way to save those broken stems and still use them to decorate your home.