Simply Gardening with Mallory

Tulip Time

m.gwynn — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:41:39 +0000

The dramatic scenes found at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm are a common occurrence when the tulips come into bloom. Add the excitement of the Tulip Festival and you have the best of all worlds. There are approximately 40 acres of colorful tulips to feast your eyes upon and they are simply spectacular. Here in the Northwest tulip season starts at the end of March and stays strong until the end or April. For the past 27 years, the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival has been a hit here in the Willamette Valley. This year the festival starts March 30th and runs until April 30th. When you go out to the festival, don’t forget to bring the essentials; your camera, your coat, boots and umbrella (just in case), your appetite and of course your children, parents, friends…anybody you love. Go to www.woodenshoe.com for all the details including real time field conditions. Please don’t miss it, make it a tradition as so many others have!

Long Lasting Points!

m.gwynn — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:10:14 +0000

Poinsettias are in your local garden center. Here are some tips that will help keep your Poinsettias beautiful for the whole Christmas season.

Keep them from getting too cold. Take them right home (no stopping for more shopping) and put them inside the house very soon after your purchase. Remember…they are tropical plants.

Where you place your Poinsettias in your home is important.

Avoid any area where your plant will be exposed to drafts… like near your front door.

Keep them away from excessive heat from appliances, wood stoves, or heat ducts.

Your poinsettia wants bright natural light, but not direct sunlight and the color will last longer with temperatures ranging from 60-65 degrees…so just put on a sweater and enjoy.

Keep the soil semi-moist; check every few days and water when the soil surface feels dry to the touch. Before watering, remove any foil wrapping; water to saturate the soil, and then allow it to drain. Don’t let the plant sit in standing water…they are quite susceptible to root rot.

If you want to keep your Poinsettia alive past the holiday, go for it. As for me, there are a thousand other plants I would rather spend time keeping healthy. My suggestion… throw it out and get a new one again next year.

Fall Fantastics

admin — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 19:03:06 +0000

Here in the Northwest, the hard work is paying off with dividends of harvest. Corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, squash and anything else planted is now ready to eat fresh and preserve for later. Keep everything picked as it ripens and this will help the next wave of produce to ripen. If you have never canned or dried food, there is no better time to learn. If you did not plant a garden this year, visit some farmers markets in your area to experience farm fresh produce grown with love.

Peaches grow well in the Northwest, but this year it was a scarce crop. We found a grower in St. Paul, OR that produced a bumper crop of Suncrest and Late Elberta’s. We picked about 80 pounds of Elberta this weekend and are ready to can…if we don’t eat them before we get the processed! A truly freestone peach, the Elberta is excellent for canning, fresh eating and, of course cobblers and crisps.

Front porch decorations can be found right in your garden. Use spent corn stalks, squash, carved out pumpkins and pansies or violas to give a warm harvest welcome to your guests.

Hummingbird feeder tip

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 19:02:02 +0000

My wife just read me your article in the Gazette paper here in Sandy, Oregon. You mentioned sugar ants as one of the challenges of having a container of sugar water hanging around. I stumbled on a neat solution that avoids insecticides etc. My best feeder is a simple glass feeder that holds one cup of fluid and has four red “flowers” with cage like yellow centers. For this size of feeder, just get a single strand of 20lb test fishing line will be strong enough to hold your feeder up, but narrow and slick enough that ants cannot negotiate the connection. Works super. I just love to watch them and take their pictures when the light is right.

Garden Art or Satuary

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:57:46 +0000

Statuary or other garden art in your garden or borders can add a dynamic that nothing else can. There are so many different types and styles to choose from and it doesn’t have to be expensive. One of my favorite uses of garden art was an old chair we painted white and took out the seat. We placed it over some Helenium and let it grow up through the chair. It looked great and it was good support for the tall plants.

Let you imagination go wild and have fun. Happy Gardening!