Coming up . . .

Not sure how much to water your yard and garden needs? Get some help at Seven Dee’s in Cedar Hills. Talk to the folks from the Regional Water Providers Consortium on Saturday, May 30th, 10 am – 2 pm to learn how much water your lawn needs each week and how to use water wise plants to add color, drama and texture to your garden. You’ll find a free watering gauge kit and other helpful water conservation resources, too.

This year’s Sellwood Garden Tour will feature our own 1190KEX "Garden Doctor" Dave Etchepare to answer garden questions, along with seven top-notch gardens including HGNW columnist Dulcy Mahar in her own spectacular garden. There will also be a Garden Marketplace featuring garden-inspired art and entertainment.

The tour takes off Sunday, May 31st, from 11 am – 4 pm. Tickets are $20 and available (including the day of the tour) at New Seasons Market in Sellwood, all Dennis' Seven Dees' locations, Eastmoreland Market & Kitchen, and Twin Paradox coffeehouse. This tour benefits Sellwood Middle School programs.

I’ll mention again the 4th annual Seeding our Future Garden Tour. It will take place on Saturday, June 27th from 10 am - 4 pm. In addition to the charming Bella Madrona garden, you can take in five other fabulous, private gardens in Tigard, Tualatin and Sherwood, each one a unique blend of beauty and passion.

Draw inspiration and knowledge from garden hosts, tour volunteers, special guest Kym Pokorny, garden writer for The Oregonian, and Oregon State University Extension Master Gardener volunteers. Rain or shine. The tour benefits the Foundation for Tigard Tualatin Schools. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased on-line or at selected local nurseries.

There may be a few tickets left for the Berry Botanic Garden is sponsoring a tour of Bella Madrona – an Northwest treasure. This five-acre landscape is chock full of whimsical and sophisticated artistic flourishes. From the structure and texture of exotic perennial beds to the woodsy atmosphere of the native groves, its magical air is the result of 25 years of green thumb perspiration and inspiration. You'll have a delightful time exploring its nooks and crannies while enjoying wine and refreshments. Rain or shine, Bella Madrona shows a gracious face in spring. Sunday, June 21st from 2 pm – 4 pm. Tickets are $25 at 503.636.4112

Plant Food Basics – the Numbers

The dizzying array of plant food boxes, bags, bottles, and jars call out from the garden center or nursery shelves. How to choose? Catchy name? Brightly-colored package? Organic? Fast-acting? Mix-it-yourself? Ready-to-spray?

One way is simply by the nutrient content – those three numbers that are on each and every fertilizer package (usually on the front, but sometimes hiding elsewhere). And they are always in the same order – so there’s no trickery going on.

The first one is nitrogen. This is the element that plants use the most of. It’s the one that encourages leafy growth and green color. Of course it’s used to build the proteins in every cell in a plant, but lots of nitrogen means lots of green growth.

That’s why you see the big first numbers on lawn food – ‘cause you want lots of green growth on that grass.

But, beware – using lots of nitrogen on a tomato may get you lots of lush, green leaves at the expense of lots of yummy tomatoes. So, when choosing a tomato food, pick one where the first (nitrogen) number is smaller than the second number.

That second number is for phosphorus. Phosphorus is also in every cell in the plant. It stores the sun’s energy for use by all the plant systems. Building a root system and producing flowers, fruits and vegetables takes a tremendous amount of energy. So, we often say that phosphorus helps plants get started (make roots) and encourages flowers (fruits or vegetables).

The third number is potassium (potash). Potassium is used in many systems in the plant that have to do with drought resistance, fighting off disease, and winter hardiness.

There are many ways to decide what plant food product to choose from – the three numbers can be a place to start.

Coming up . . .

Garden tours are a great way to get ideas for your own space or just enjoy time in a garden you didn’t have to weed yourself. Here are two of interest:

The Berry Botanic Garden is sponsoring a tour of Bella Madrona – an Northwest treasure. This five-acre landscape is chock full of whimsical and sophisticated artistic flourishes. From the structure and texture of exotic perennial beds to the woodsy atmosphere of the native groves, its magical air is the result of 25 years of green thumb perspiration and inspiration. You'll have a delightful time exploring its nooks and crannies while enjoying wine and refreshments. Rain or shine, Bella Madrona shows a gracious face in spring. Sunday, June 21st from 2 pm – 4 pm. Tickets are $25 and registration is limited. 503.636.4112

A week later you’ll have another chance to see Bella Madrona on the 4th annual Seeding our Future Garden Tour. It will take place on Saturday, June 27th from 10 am - 4 pm. In addition to Bella Madrona you can take in five other fabulous, private gardens in Tigard, Tualatin and Sherwood, each one a unique blend of beauty and passion. Bask in a sun-filled Southern charmer, a designated western bluebird habitat. Daydream in a lushly planted, woodland wonderland. Be dazzled by fragrance and flowers. Listen to waterfalls and bird song.

Draw inspiration and knowledge from garden hosts, tour volunteers, special guest Kym Pokorny, garden writer for The Oregonian, and Oregon State University Extension Master Gardener volunteers. Rain or shine. The tour benefits the Foundation for Tigard Tualatin Schools. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased on-line or at selected local nurseries.


And if you need more formal help in your garden, this Saturday, May 23rd at 1 pm, Garden Fever! will be hosting “Elements of Garden Design” with Gary Fear of Garden Solutions.

The lecture is free but reservations should be made at 503-287-3200.

Another Fun Weekend Out of the Studio

What a glorious day at the Tigard Fred Meyer Garden Center! It was a riot of color and quite a number of listeners came up to say “hi!” I was so pleased when Stephanie sat down at the microphone with me to ask her question on the air.


Jim Dostert, Fred Meyer Home Manager, also took time to talk to us about all the plants (and soils and pots and garden art) that were coming into the garden center.

David called with a question about leaf spots on his yucca. I have to admit that I’m not as up on my yucca culture as I might be, so I did some research. This appears to be a fungus disease that is found in Oregon. It gets its start in our wet springs on the new leaves, and can do some serious damage. See a photo here.

Removing the leaves that already have the spots will keep the disease spores from spreading to new leaves. To protect leaves just coming out, take a look at the ready to use Cueva™ Copper Soap Fungicide by Lilly Miller. Try it on a couple of leaves to make sure there’s no damage.

Several callers have had problems with blossom end rot on their tomatoes in past years. Tomatoes get black and sunken at the bottom or the “blossom end”. It’s not caused by a fungus or bacteria or insect – gardeners can take steps to prevent it. Here are some things you can do:

1) Have a soil test to ensure that the soil acidity (pH) is where it should be. Add lime when needed.
2) Keep soil evenly moist – don’t let it dry out completely or let leaves wilt. Mulching around the base of the tomatoes will help keep moisture even.
3) Fertilize with a vegetable formula (low first number, higher middle number) and only as the plant food box recommends – don’t over-fertilize.

Have a good gardening week!

Coming up . . .

It's Founders Days at Fred Meyer and we're going to be broadcasting from the Garden Center at the Tigard Fred Meyer (11565 SW Pacific Hwy). It's going to be a gorgeous weekend out in the yard. So, stop by, say "hello" and then get gardening!


The Master Gardeners are back – in Multnomah County

So, bring your baffling bugs, problem plants, and curious questions.

After several years without one, the Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardeners™ have secured an office in Multnomah County to help gardeners identify the source of garden dilemmas and to provide solid, research-proven advice to resolve them. (Thanks to the West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District‎.)

Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Give the trained volunteers a call at 503-445-4608
Take a sample to Montgomery Park, room 453, 2701 NW Vaughn St.


Help the Portland Classical Chinese Garden celebrate the peony, China’s unofficial national flower.

From May 16th to the 21st, the Garden will host a Peony Showcase and give visitors the opportunity to learn more about this much-loved garden perennial from the folks at Adelman Peony Garden. A percentage of your peony purchase will support the Garden’s horticultural program.

On Sunday. May 17th, at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm the Garden’s staff will lead a Garden Peony Tour.


On Saturday, May 16, 2009, while you’re enjoying spring in the Portland Japanese Garden, you can see a demonstration of a Japanese tea ceremony at 1pm and 2pm, prepared by Kashintei Kai.


On Saturday, May 16th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, check out Leach Botanical Garden’s Children’s Nature Fair (6704 SE 122 Ave.) to explore the garden, meet local environmental groups, and celebrate spring with hands-on activities and crafts! Suggested donation: $2 per child.

Mother's Day Weekend

It was a lovely Portland day at Fred Meyer in Hollywood. Joe (garden center manager) and I enjoyed the morning with a seemingly endless number of plants. I hope every mother in Portland got one.

One Saturday caller was starting a new vegetable garden and wanted suggestions on what to plant. Some easy ones for first time gardeners came to mind.

Here are a few that grow easily from seed – a fun process to take part in:

Beans – there are so many types from yellow to green to purple, thin and fat, string beans and snap beans.
Summer squash – zucchini, yellow squash, or patty pan. Almost too easy to grow.
Carrots - long and thin, short and stubby, finger-sized, ping-pong ball-shaped, or even purple.
Cucumbers - for refreshing summer salads.
Beets – these come in lots of colors, too.
Spinach – Use the New Zealand type for warm summer weather.


Wisterias look so gorgeous on a porch or arbor – when they bloom. Another caller hasn’t been having luck getting his to bloom. Here are the main things to look at, if you have that problem, too.

Pruning – there’s lots of somewhat differing advice on this. It all boils down to keeping the overly-vigorous, leafy tendrils from grabbing all the plant’s energy. Cut that super-long, side growth back by about 1/3 in summer (July/August), to encourage flower buds for next year.
Watering – water sparingly, once the plants are established. These are pretty drought-resistant.
Sun – at least 6 hours. Watch out that neighboring trees aren’t growing up and to shade your spot.

Fertilizer – low in nitrogen; the first of the three numbers on the package.

Coming up . . .

To kick off the Mother's Day weekend and crank up the gardening season, we'll be broadcasting the Garden Doctor segment of the 1190KEX At Your Service Saturday from the Hollywood West Fred Meyer Garden Center - 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Come on out and say "hi!"

There's lots of other gardening events this weekend for you (and your mom) to check out.

• The Bonsai Society of Portland Exhibition is happening Saturday and Sunday at the Japanese Garden. It's from 10 am to 6 pm in the Garden Pavilion with tours and demonstrations throughout the day. See it free with general admission to the Japanese Garden.
  
  
• How about a stroll through the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden? For many it's a Mother's Day tradition. Portland's Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society will be on hand with their spring show and sale. See the striking blooms and talk to the experts.

And coming up this week:

• Monday, May 11 at 7:00 pm
  
  Emerging Pests of Ornamental Plants
  Robin Rosetta, Associate Professor, Oregon State University Extension, will speak on the latest scientific findings concerning pests of garden ornamentals.
  Clackamas County Master Gardeners™, Milwaukie Center, 5440 SE Kellogg Creek Dr., Milwaukie
  


• Tuesday May 12, 2009 at 7:00 pm
  
  Crape Myrtles in the Pacific NW
  Learn from Paul Bonine, co-owner, Xera Plants, how these shrubs and small trees can brighten up your Northwest landscape with their beautiful bark, gorgeous late summer flowers, and spectacular fall color.
  Multnomah County Master Gardeners™, Mt.Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont, Portland (Parking on the west side)