If you ever travel, you will discover that there are many unique and unusual plants around the world that we don’t know of in the US. You don’t have to spend any money on plane tickets to discover a lot of these, all you need to do is drop by One Green World (1-877-353-4028) in SE Portland! On a recent visit we found a bunch of plants that are from Chile. Sam took some time to share 4 of them with us. The first one is probably the only familiar one for some of us in the Northwest. It is the Aracaria Araucana or Monkey Puzzle Tree. These spiky trees are covered with threatening spines and can get pretty tall, but did you know they produce a wonderful starchy nut? We don’t see that a lot here because we plant lone specimens in our gardens, but in Chile they have large groups/forests of these and they can cross pollinate, producing nice fruit! We then moved to a Chilean Guava (Ugni molinae). A guava, we found out, is simply a myrtle that can produce a fruit. This plant is a small plant in the garden with blooms that smell amazing. That wonderful smell is followed by a delicious small, dark fruit. The third plant we looked at is a temperamental little plant. The Chilean Hazelnut (Gevuina avellana) performs well in a marine climate with moderate temperatures, dappled shade and misty conditions. Closely related to the macadamia nut, this has a wonderful flower and glossy foliage that is used in floral design, but it also has a tasty nut too. We had one and it started out tasting like a hazelnut, but the flavor was very rich, just like a macadamia nut. The final plant we checked out was the Luma apiculate, or Chilean Myrtle Berry. This shrub was covered in tiny berries that were just starting to form. This berry was also edible and was used to make a wine and in sauces. This plant seemed very happy in our conditions!

If you are looking for some great plants from around the world that produce some delicious, and unusual edibles, then check out One Green World, either in person off of SE Foster, or on-line!

Summer Fuchsia Care

The heat is on and for most of your garden plants it has been brutal! Fuchsias love the heat, but they are not immune to the ravages of summer. Sara Ori from Portland Nursery on Stark (503-231- 5050) joined us to give us some tips on summer care for your fuchsias. Right now you should be looking at watering! Give your fuchsias the water they need, especially if they are in baskets. A quick way to check to see it they need a drink is to lift up on the pot. If it is light, give it a drink. To help the plant cool down you can take your hanging basket down and place it on an upside down bucket and water the plant and the ground around it. This will help cool the plant down and recover. If you find the leaves are still curling, it may be from the heat and not a lack of water. Give the foliage a good misting to help the plant cool down. If your plant is healthy and not stressed you can also give your plant a little shot of water soluble fertilizer to keep those blooms coming. Fuchsias are heavy feeders, meaning that they need good fertilizer more often than your other plants. You can also promote more blooms if you deadhead the little cherries/berries after the old blooms drop off. These are little seed heads and they will draw energy from the plant, diverting the energy from more blooms.

If you are a lover of fuchsias and want to get more of your questions answered, then you need to stop by Portland Nursery on Stark this weekend for the big annual Oregon Fuchsia Society Show. Member plants have already been judged on Friday and then those award winning plants will be showcased through the weekend. If you would like to become a new member of the society you can get all your questions answered and join up at the event. There will also be a lot of fuchsia plants on sale too! Stop by and check it out or go to the Oregon Fuchsia Society or Portland Nursery websites for more details.

The Wall Small Garden

What to do with that small area in your front or back yard? It is too small to build anything and too tight for entertaining! Actually, that is not true at all. We heard about a small front yard that seemed like it had no room at all, and how it was transformed into something spectacular by The Wall (503-735-9255). We met with Heidi the homeowner to talk about what she inherited when she bought her home. What she got was a small front yard that was dominated by a huge fir tree, a little lawn and a slope that drained the rain water toward her home. Not good! She contacted The Wall and they brought in landscape designer Larry Borlin. He met with her inside her home to chat about the outside. Larry knew that Heidi loved color and so he wanted to bring the inside color outside to a new entertaining area. They started by removing the tree and installing large French doors, replacing a large picture window. The soil was made more level and drainage was installed. This is where Jake from the Wall returned to the project. While Larry was helping to pick plants, The Wall poured a patio of colored stamped concrete. This created a large patio for entertaining. The new French doors now open on to this large area and help to tie the inside to the outside.

The Wall also installed a small retaining wall around the patio. They used a material called the Allan block courtyard stone. This looks great no matter which side you look at. It also helped create a little more privacy to the patio area. Drainage was also installed around the wall to help with the drainage problems. The Wall worked to make sure that all the potential problems were solved before they finished the project! The result is a great entertainment area that is now more welcoming and usable. If you have a small area that you don’t know what to do with, just call The Wall!

TOW – Pool Plants

The heat makes us all thirsty! Our garden tip of the week helps quench the thirst of your hanging baskets and small container gardens. We found a small ‘kiddie’ pool, filled it ½ full of water and set our driest plants in the water. During those days that have excessive heat, the plants really like the extra water and we don’t have to worry about constant watering. There are a couple of precautions you have to follow. Don’t leave them in there for more than a day or two; they can get too much of a good thing and that may create mold, fungus or disease problems. And don’t over fill the pool. Allowing the plant to take what it needs from the pool is good, drowning it is not!