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Greetings and welcome to summer! Finally! The weather that we had hoped for all spring is finally here. Not only is it here, but someone has turned up the volume to 10! We have gone from 50s and 60s to the 90s in just a few days. The change in weather has come at the same time as the change in the Garden Time show. This week marks our final episode of the TV show. After 17 years we are going to slow things down a little bit and semi-retire. Everyone is healthy and the show is experiencing its highest ratings and sponsorship, but it just seemed time to slow down a little bit.

Now, we are not going far! We were asked by clients and viewers to continue to do something, so we are going to try our hand at podcasting. Starting the beginning of July we will be doing a twice a month podcast. The podcast will be posted to many audio streaming services, but there will also be a video portion of the program that we will carry on our website and YouTube channel. Keep coming back here to get more information.

Next week we will also have our last edition of the Garden Time magazine. We will still be sending out information, but it will be about the podcast and will include links to some of our past stories.

We understand that many of you are sad that the show is ending, but please continue to visit your local independent garden center or nursery to get more great garden information and continue gardening!

See you on the podcast!

Miss this week's episode? Watch the entire show here!

This week we featured...

French Prairie Perennials - Perennial Design

Rick and Kerry Naylor of French Prairie Perennials (503-679-2871) have been great friends of the Garden Time show. Rick always has some great plants to share with us and even a song or two (check out his latest ditty as a tribute to Garden Time here). Kerry has great perennial advice to share and this stop by the nursery was no different. We started with Rick in the front of the nursery with a couple of his favorite plants. He started with the Shirasawanum Maple 'Moonrise'. The new growth on this wonderful maple starts out red and then turns to orange/chartreuse color, and with all these light colors you would think that it would prefer shade, but you would be wrong. This one handles the sun pretty well. It only gets 15 feet tall but it takes a while to get to that height. He then moved to the Rhododendron 'Superflimmer'. This rhody is stunning with dark and light green variegation that can also handle a lot of sun. Then you also get some lovely lavender blooms. This rhody also stays small, topping out at 4-5 feet tall at maturity. This one is a good one for year round interest in a small space.

Then we moved over to visit with Kerry to talk about designing with perennials. She told us that a lot of people build their gardens around spring blooming perennials and then they have nothing colorful in their garden when August rolls around. She used the example of a yellow 'Hot Poker' plant. This is a 'one and done' plant. Once that spectacular yellow bloom is gone then you have nothing left. Kerry recommended that you plant other similarly colored perennials that bloom later in the season. Your eye, which was attracted to that bright yellow color, will now continue to see that yellow color through the summer season. You can do this in all parts of your garden. Mixing plants that bloom at different times with colorful blooms or striking textures will give your garden a beautiful appearance for weeks and weeks. Kerry also recommended that you shop your local garden center every few weeks to see what is blooming at different times of the year. Then you can be sure that you are adding the right plants to create year-round interest.

Bonide Repels All

Now that the vegetable garden is planted, some gardeners will have the second hardest job to do. That job is keeping the local critters from eating your tasty veggies before you do! We talked with Tom from Bonide  who had a couple of products to help make the job easier. We started with Repels-All Animal Repellant. This is an all-natural product that works off of three different ingredients. One tastes bad, another smells bad to critters and the third is an irritant. These will not kill your pests, but it will make them uncomfortable so they end up doing their vegetable shopping elsewhere. This product works on rabbits, deer, squirrels and another 47 animal pests. You don't spray this on your vegetables and plants, but around the area where you have planted. If the animal gets past the Repels All then you can use the Go Away, Deer and Rabbit Repellent. This product is also all natural and can be applied directly to the plants to make them less tasty to them. This can be applied up to the day of harvest and can be washed off before you eat your harvest.

Tom recommends that you reapply both products every 10 days to two weeks to keep the critters away. To find a retailer in your area you can go to the Bonide website and check out their Dealer Locator.

Rosie Herb Plants

Rosie at N&M Herb Nursery (503-981-9060) is a great grower of wonderful herbs and colorful plants. We love going to her nursery and we usually leave with a car full of plants (as we did on this trip!) This time we stopped by to talk about herbs, but we first talked about her Hummingbird Buffet. This is a pot full of 7-8 different hummingbird favorite plants. Salvias and cupheas loaded with blooms make this a must have if you want hummingbirds in your garden. As we were at the nursery, the birds were buzzing them non-stop.

Then we moved to a couple of herbs that N&M is famous for. Rosie had an ornamental oregano that she grows in pots as a trailing plant for containers and baskets. It has pinkish/purple booms and a cool fragrance that is great to brush up against or to use as a garnish for dishes. It can also be used in cooking where it adds a mild flavor. Then we moved to the ever-popular basil. Rosie grows 8 different basils for people to choose from. She had Everleaf Emerald basil which blooms much later than the regular basil. This is great because most basils get bitter once they set blooms. This one gives you more time to harvest before it sets flowers. Another great one for taste is the Amazel Basil from Proven Winners. This one can bloom and it won't get bitter. You can even use the blooms in salads and other dishes. Other basils include the Thai basil, lemon basil and the African Blue Basil. Most have culinary applications and can also be used in cocktails too.

To get the best out of your basil, place it in full sun, give it fertilizer every couple of weeks and keep harvesting it. The easiest way to harvest is to just pinch off the tops of your plants and use it in dishes or make pesto. This prevents the blooms from forming and makes your plants bushier.

If you would like to pick up some great herbs, and other great flowering plants, stop by the nursery by the 5th of July. That is when they close their nursery for the season. If you can't make it out to the nursery, pay a visit to your local farmers market. Rosie will still have her crew at the Beaverton, Milwaukie and Vancouver Farmers markets through their respective seasons.

Garden Gallery Drawing

When we announced the end of the Garden Time show a lot of clients understood the reasons why and thanked us for helping their businesses. One business in particular was Garden Gallery Iron Works. Don Sprague and his crew wanted to thank us for being a partner in promoting their business over the years. To thank us, and you the viewer, they decided to offer a drawing for a $200 gift card to their shop in Hubbard. Garden Gallery Iron Works is full of great garden art for indoors and out. You can find arbors, trellises, garden stakes, plant stands, patio furniture and raised beds for outside and designer elements for inside you home. Their store is practically a warehouse for building a beautiful home and garden, it is packed so full of great stuff. You need to stop by and check out their great selection.

We are proud to say that our winner is Carol A! Carol, Garden Gallery will be contacting you to get your prize to you. We want to thank everyone who entered and Garden Gallery Iron Works for being such great sponsors and friends!

Moles, Voles and Gophers

These 3 are the big names in large garden pests. Everyone will blame one of these 3 if they have damaged plants or bulbs in their garden! Sometimes we don't even know they are around until we see a mound in our lawn. We met with Dana Sanchez from OSU on the campus in Corvallis to learn more about Moles, Voles and Gophers; and to see if what we had heard was true. Dana first told us how to identify these different animals. The pocket gopher is typically the largest of the 3. It has a mound of dirt that sometimes looks like a horseshoe shape with one end open. The mole is generally just a mound of dirt, sometimes with a small crater or hole in the center. The vole is the smallest and is more likely to have trails above ground right at the soil line. People sometimes confuse the different diets that these animals have as well. The gopher is most likely a vegetarian. He will eat your bulbs and plant roots. The mole is going after grubs (though, if you have a large mole they can eat bulbs and roots as well), so if you have them in your lawn it is a sign that you have critters in your lawn. Now the next question is do you need to get rid of them? If they are in an area where there isn't a lot of activity or a part of your yard that isn't important, then it might be better to leave them alone. They do good things with the soil by rotating it, moving nutrients around and breaking up the clay. If you do need to move them or get rid of them, the best methods are poisons and traps. The poisons can be placed in the ground and so there is not as much exposure to other animals in your garden (it is always good to keep these baits away from pets and children). It is recommended that poisons be your last resort. The other effective method is with a gripping trap like the Cinch Trap. The things that don't work so well are the vibrating methods, which are supposed to scare them away and things like chewing gum. There has not been a lot of studies to prove that they are effective. If you would like to find out more you can check out the OSU Extension site. They have an 'Ask an Expert' link where you can send in your questions and get a good science based answer.

Digging, Dividing and Planting Daylilies

This early summer time is the time for daylilies! These are great bloomers for the early summer and, with some varieties, even longer. To learn more about these wonderful and versatile plants we stopped at Schreiner's Iris Gardens (503-393-3232) to talk with Ben. Now you may think that Schreiner's only grow iris, but you would be wrong. They grow hundreds of varieties of daylilies from famous hybridizer, Bill Maryott. The colors are fabulous and the plants are incredibly durable!

How do you plant them, divide them and care for them, those were the questions we had for Ben! Daylilies can be divided and planted anytime between April and September. To divide them you find the fans. These are groupings of leaves that appear separate on the plant. Grab two different fans and pull them apart, now you have two plants! It is that simple! You can even divide them when they are blooming! Before you plant them you need to do a little trimming. Ben used a shovel and cut off the flowering stems and leaves and even trimmed the roots a little bit. He had prepared a hole with some good soil and compost and planted the new plant up to the base of the fan. He told us that watering a new plant is very important. Make sure they stay in moist soil, but not drowning in water, and you should be good. If you are looking to give your plants a little boost once they are established, he recommended a good balanced fertilizer like a 10-10-10.

If you are looking to add some great summer color to your garden, look for daylilies and check out the selection at Schreiner's!

Stoller Grape Care/Landscaping and Summer Wine

Stoller Family Estate (503-864-3404) not only produces some of the best wines in the world, they are also a destination for visitors at their winery in Dayton, near McMinnville. The facility is home to their vineyards and offices, plus it also has their wonderful tasting rooms including the new Experience Center. We usually stop by to get tips on growing grapes for the homeowner. That means a visit with Jason Tosch the VP of Vineyard Operations. He took us up into the vines to talk about the cool and wet spring that we are now just leaving. The weather has only delayed the start of the growing season. That delay has the plants responding a little differently this year. As temps got hot and cold the plants started to grow new shoots and then even more new shoots as the weather warmed. Right now they are removing those new shoots to put all the plant's energy into a few main fruit producing vines. As Jason said right now they are harvesting sunlight. As the summer gets going they will start to peel leaves off the east facing vines to allow more sunlight to reach the fruit, but they will leave the foliage on the west side of the vines to protect the fruit from the harsh sunlight on summer afternoons.

The vines were starting to look great and the grounds around the tasting rooms were looking great as well. We ventured down the hill to Judy where she was meeting with Corinne Goswell, the Head of Corporate Gardens, to talk about the landscaping and how they are working to benefit the grapes and the pollinators at the same time. This idea comes from a Seattle based concept called the 'pollinator pathway'. Corinne said the idea was to bring pollinator plants to areas that had a monoculture of plants, like grape vineyards and lawns. She is working to create a beautiful place for visitors and a home for birds, bees and other wildlife. This concept even applies to the signature oak tree and tire swing near the tasting room. This area is now left unmown in the area around the tree. This area is now growing natural grasses and plants that help keep the ground cooler for the tree roots, and it creates a healthier microbiome, an area that promotes a community of microorganisms that feed the soil and the tree. They even have a map at the tasting room of a path which leads you around the grounds so you can see and enjoy the beautiful garden during your visit. A healthier home for grapes and pollinators makes for a better wine.

To hear about the great Stoller wines for summer we joined Ryan with our dear friend Melissa Burr and VP of Winemaking near the Experience Center to taste a bright and refreshing Rose' that they make at the winery. Melissa had their Pinot Noir Rose which they have been making since 2005. It is a delicious wine that has a clear taste and can be paired with any summer dish or just enjoyed by the glass. It was so good that the term 'Rose all Day' seemed like a wonderful way to spend our time at Stoller.

If you would like to see the wonderful gardens or taste some spectacular wines, stop by the winery for a visit. Check out their website for details and reservations. You'll not be sorry!

The Wall - Front Yard Makeover

We have visited many of the projects that have been built by The Wall (503-735-9255). This is a great company which prides itself on listening and responding to the homeowner/client when it does garden projects. This latest project was no different. We met with Mike in the front yard of his Portland home. He and his wife have been in the house for many years and the conifers in the front yard had kind of taken over. It was time to clean up and clear out the old with a new design and landscape. Enter 'The Wall'. Rick and the crew from The Wall stepped in and listened to Mike. He wanted to have a landscape that incorporated a lot of the aspects of a Japanese garden that mike had seen many years ago. That meant a lot of natural rock hardscaping. Large steps made from huge rocks, a rock retaining wall that didn't look like a typical wall and a cleaner landscape with fewer plants and a natural looking gravel river bed were added. The Wall also replaced the driveway and front walkway with stamped concrete. They even made a nice little sitting area tucked into a corner by the garage. They even kept a large Japanese maple by the front door. It looks stunning with all the changes.

This was just another example of the great work that The Wall does for every homeowner they work with. We have seen dozens of the projects over the year and the Garden Time crew has even used their services at our own homes. If you are looking for a company that responds to your needs and wants, and gets the job done right, the first time, then call The Wall.