One month! That is the time we have before the great eclipse happening on the 21st of August. This week we all heard that the traffic will be horrendous as people from around the state and the Northwest will descend on Oregon to view the big event. They tell us that traffic will come to a standstill. This week we give you an option on how you can avoid that mess and have a great time too.

We also take you on the next step for creating a wonderful outdoor space when we start the installation of the new deck with Fiberon.

If you are looking for a wonderful international space for having fun, check out the details of our trip to tour gardens next August in London, Paris and Belgium. We are just kicking off signup in August of this year. Space is limited, so sign up early!

This week we featured...

Lily Festival

We recently heard about a new mid-summer festival west of Portland. We took a trip to Forest Grove and discovered a gem of a festival all about lilies. Kenn Parry is known for the great Christmas trees he grows, but a few years ago he decided to take his hobby, and love of lilies, to the next step, the Lily Flower Fest (503-348-9601). He started to sell them on-line. One year he was left with a lot more lilies than he expected and so he decided to plant them and invite people to come out and enjoy them. Now here we are a few years later and he has a festival. People can come out and stroll the grounds and look at lovely blooms, or a great view of Mount Hood! While they are there they can also enjoy wine tasting and some great BBQ! It is just $2 per person to see a ton of great blooms!

You can also get all your lily questions answered. One of the most asked questions was 'how do I deadhead, cut off my dead blooms'? Kenn showed us how you can cut them a little long and produce more tiny bulbs, or you can cut them short and create a larger bulb. It was amazing to hear that the amount of stalk you leave determines the type of growth you get in the bulb. If you are looking for some great blooms and a fun time, plus getting all your lily questions answered, then the festival is the place to be. Can't make it out, check out their on-line store.

OG Art in the Garden

The Oregon Garden (503-874-8100) in Silverton is a showcase garden any time of year, but this summer it has so much more to offer. This year they are featuring 'Art in the Garden' an event that runs through the end of September. Art in the Garden features dozens of stunning art installations in the Garden featuring pieces from 8 artists. All pieces are available for sale. We met with a couple of the artists during our visit. First we met with Tyler Brumfield about his mixed media installation. This installation featured plastic and a pressboard product. His art was about man taking stuff from nature and then repurposing it to insert back into nature again. He took his inspiration from flower forms and worked that into his art.

Then we moved to a glass artist, Judy Kunkle who had art that looked like fused glass, but it was actually a more traditional stained glass technique. Her process uses a glaze that gives the impression of a fused glass finish. She also had little whimsical plant stakes that were made from recycled glass and other pieces.

We finally talked with Sara, of the Oregon Garden, near some glass art from Lauren Wingert. These 'blooms' were near the entrance and were in clusters around the walkway. A wonderful display of real blooms and glass blooms! Sara told us that the Art in the Garden event is included in your normal admission and all you have to do is ask for a map when you come to the garden.

Fiberon Deck Installation

For the past few weeks we have been walking you through the replacement of a deck. The producers of the show had decided on installing Fiberon, a composite product, instead of cedar. Today we talked with Josh of NW Outdoor Living and Renovation (503-995-0174) about the progress we've seen so far. We covered the removal of the old deck and the pouring of the new foundation for the new deck. These new supports were more than just pre-formed little concrete supports. These new poured supports are going to be here for a while. Another way to build support is the addition of joists to your project. 24 inch (on center) joists are normal for a deck. These were 12 inch on center and so this deck will not have the bouncing of older decks. It was a perfect foundation for the new Fiberon product.

Derek, from Fiberon, then joined us to talk about the different Fiberon products and which ones had been chosen for this project. The producers had chosen the Horizon 'Ipe' product for the main surface, with a border of the 'Cinnabar' symmetry product. This 'picture frame' application creates a border around your project which adds a touch of style to your new deck, something that you can't get with your normal wood products. These Fiberon products also have a 25 year stain and fade warranty, plus you will never have to deal with rotting, warping, or splitting. You can even go to the Fiberon website and use their design tool to figure out styles and amount of square footage for your project. They also have lighting and railing to choose from on their site too!

For a dealer near you , we found our product at Conrad Lumber (503-625-7535), you can check out the Fiberon website, and then you can get your project done and enjoy a worry-free deck for decades to come!

French Prairie Gardens Eclipse

The solar eclipse is coming and the call is out to be prepared for tons of people to be in our area, clogging the roads and overtaking the hotels. What if you didn't have to worry about that? At around 10:10 the eclipse will traverse across the Willamette Valley and French Prairie Gardens (503-633-8445) has a solution! They are offering 2 or 3 day dry camping at the farm. You can bring your tent or camper and enjoy a couple days of farm fun. They will have beers on tap and picnic brunches. There will be nightly bonfires as well as a private viewing party out in their fields! Of course they will have pig barrel rides, tire swings and lots of farm fun! For more information and to book your campsite (there are only 100 available), check out the French Prairie Garden website.

Rain Barrels

We definitely get a lot of rain here in Oregon. Capturing that rain for other uses can be tough though, unless you have a rain barrel in your garden, or another system. A lot of people think that setting up and using a rain barrel is bulky and can't hold enough water to do anything. To learn the truth we stopped by Urban Farm Store and talked with Patrick Grady from GradyBarrels and Tanks (541-554-6753). He told us that a rain barrel is easy to use and people just need to think about it differently. Think about it as a 55 gallon savings account. You can use it by itself to do small jobs, like providing water to your pets or chickens (or small groupings of plants). You can also use the single barrel as a starting point for providing a large supply of water for your home or garden.

Do you have that narrow walkway between your home and your neighbors? Use that and put in a daisy chain of barrels to supply water for a longer period of time or for emergency use. If you have more room Patrick says you should consider a larger system. They help install systems that can handle thousands of gallons of water and can supply a normal household for months! If you have any questions at all, you can check out their website for a location near you that carries Gradybarrels or even ask for a consultation on a specific system for your yard or garden!