Archive for the ‘My Thoughts’ Category

·      Live Today without conflicts of yesterday or obsessions of tomorrow                                                                                                                                                                       ·      Guide your thoughts towards happiness and avoid clouds of depression and replace them with rays of warm sunshine                                                                                           ·      Accept what is and its reality correcting what you can and not fretting about what you have no control of.                                                                                                           ·      Improve your mind with “great” reads and avoid mental loafing….                                                                                                                                                                          ·      Try to be agreeable, kind and courteous to those that you daily meet.                                                                                                                                                                       ·      Avoid speaking ill of others, talk softly, and try not to interrupt.                                                                                                                                                                               ·      If you feel the urge to judge someone, walk in the bathroom and look in the mirror!                                                                                                                                                ·      Improve yourself every day, not everybody on any day!                                                                                                                                                                                              ·      Improve your health in small obtainable ways                                                                                                                                                                                                             ·      Be responsible for yourself and for your actions                                                                                                                                                                                                          ·      Be thankful, lend a helping hand, appreciate every moment, and always try to smile.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The above thoughts are a collection of ideas from many sources including “Dear Abby” and of course myself………. Happy New Year 2011…. Doug  

     And as the season winds down the garden path, so it is as the harvest fades. I drop a knee and give thanks for everything I have and the harvests that the garden gave. It is not the frustration of the things that did not grow or yeild, but the pure joy of what I have……… A small gift from the garden creates the same feeling as the larger ones………….. I give thanks and look forward to the continuation of the garden path

     Redmond Greenhouse has joined the ranks on Facebook……….. I shall see how that goes………. Wish me well …………… Happy Early Spring … Doug

     During one of my past KBND Radio “Garden Talk” shows I had a question in regards to some of my favorite and better performing veggie seeds. That said here is a list of some of my old and reliable varieties as well as a couple of newer introductions that should do very well for gardeners in colder, short season, High Desert regions.

Beans: Kentucky Wonder / Burpee Stringless / Romano    Beets: Detroit Red   Carrots: Nantes   Cucumbers: Marketmore / Lemon / Calypso (pickling)   Corn: Early Sunglow   Chard: Bright Lights   Radish: Champion / Cherry Belle   Lettuce: Red Sails / Red Salad Bowl   Melons: Ambrosia   Pea: Little Marvel / Thomas Laxton / Wando   Spinach: Bloomsdale   Squash: Black Beauty Zucchini / Waltham Butternut   Tomato: Sungold / Brandywine / Juliet

     A few flowers that I must also mention that tend to do quite well in our unique gardening zone would have to include the likes of: Alyssum Asters / Calendula / Sweet Peas / Marigolds / Cosmos / Zinnias / Nasturtium / Bachelor Buttons (I just had to mention this one as it was one of the first seeds (along with a few fragrant early blooming Sweet Peas) I planted with my most wonderful grandmother in the small town of Frenchglen at the early age of about five or six!

     I hope this small lister will help you in your plantings here on the “High Desert”. As I am sure you well know, now matter which ones you select the results are NEVER guarnteed. I sum the art of sowing seeds as a “Trip to Las Vegas”……… always a gamble….. and no… I don’t take trips to that city…. I just happily garden…… Doug

     Let this be the year to grow and flourish. A year to take the hand of a non-gardener and share with them the true joy of working the soil and planting seeds and plants of purpose. Amazing things happen when we drop to our knees and embrace the earth. Planting trees, shrubs, and other growing delights is truely a wonderful thing and should be experienced by everyone at some point in their life. With that thought in mind I hope you will find the joy and pleasure in another year of gardening and landscaping…………. Happy New Year….. Doug

     With Thanksgiving day in our rear view mirror, off we go to the wonderful month of December. I hope all of you had a meaningful and satisfying day. Meanwhile back in the garden the last of the leaves are slowly falling from trees and shrubs. Check and make sure your lawn does not need one more clipping before the winter season settles in. Still time to apply some of our organic lawn fertilizer to all your grass. We have lots of organic “manure free” compost to top-dress empty beds. Three inches would be best. If you have leftover carrots, parsnips, beets. or other root crops still in the soil make sure to insulate them with straw of some other mulching material to ensure no freeze damage when the mercury drops.

     If you are contemplating a “living” tree for the upcomming Christmas, now is a GREAT time to make your choice. Redmond Greenhouse has a pretty nice selection for you to choose from with prices starting at just six dollars. Some of the smaller selections make excellent table top choices as well as childrens bedrooms. Spraying your trees with “Moisturine” if “WiltPruf” will make a HUGE difference in terms of overall health and well being!

     Our first load of “fresh-cut” Noble Firs just arrived. We focus on larger trees if you are in the hunt. This group of trees was cut Thanksgiving week from our grower in the Silver Creek Falls area. As in past seasons we are still offering custom “Snow Flocking” if you are interested in that  “Winter” look.

     Enjoy the weather and all the moisture we have been getting. Rake the leaves, take time to smile, and share a hand with someone in need….. Doug

The race is on between the pussy willow, the flowering quince, and the Pink Dawn viburnum……. which one will pop the early spring buds the earliest. Ahhhhhhhhhh the wonders of spring and the great feelings that accompany the great time of the year. Early gardeners are now actively sowing seed of spinach, garden peas, and setting out garden starts of cabbage, broccoli and celery.

On occasion I have heard a few folks complain about the weather…..”where is spring”….. a little cold wind, a spot of snow, a very cold morning, etc……… I just smile and say, Welcome to Spring in the high desert. If we had what might be called a lovely spring arrival, it just would not be Central Oregon. It is just a matter of adjusting our thoughts in terms of the definition “Central Oregon Spring”. The simple adjustment of our mental image will then put a smile on our face and we then can say….. Spring is here!!!!

My oh my, Oh my…………… I don’t ever remember in the thirty years I have been with Redmond Greenhouse, a more dramatic swing in the number of folks (ALL AGES) whom have walked in the doors and said…………. I think this year we are going to try our hand at growing Vegetables. I held a class on seed starting last Saturday and we experienced one of the largest turn-outs I have seen. Attendees sat on the edge of their chairs, eyes focused on all the information that was presented. I was truly humbled by the enthusiasm………… That said, I will repeat a very early statement……… This is the year of the Garden

In the upcoming days and months I will try my best to keep you updated on every aspect of gardening in our unique cold climate living  area. I plan on continuing the “Saturday Morning in the Garden” lecture series and will try to provide the info you folks need. Rest assured the whole county is embracing the “backyard gardening theme” so you are in good company as you head out into the garden with shovel in hand, a few seeds, and a sense of optimism that can only be described as “A darn good Feeling”  

Happy Spring and welcome to the wonderful world of gardening…………… Doug

A little windy as the new day emerged on the first day of January but other than that the weather was wonderful. One chore I found myself doing was taking down a few holiday decorations and lights to store for another year. I also checked on my garden celery and found it still growing and doing well………. not bad considering it got as cold as it did. I don’t harvest it like traditional stalks of celery, I simply clip away at the bushy base and return to the kitchen with a handful of leafy stalky greens. Very tasty with stews and winter soups. I have also been able to continue harvest on some of my kitchen herbs that are planted in a rock garden close to the house……… my oh my they are so tasty. You might want to give a few a try sometime. Many including chives, parsley, thyme, and rosemary seem to do quite well if give the proper spot for winter protection. Still enjoying my collection of winter squash that I grew this past summer. Just keeping them in a cool, dry, dark place and all is well. Won’t be long until its time to sow a few seeds……….. ahhhhhhhhhhh I can hardly wait. Hope this post finds you healthy, warm, and smiling…..

Well I must say the winds have caused the time to breeze quickly by. My wife and I made it over the Cascade pass the other day and hand selected and tagged our annual supply of Noble, Frasier, and Nordmad fir trees that Redmond Greenhouse will be offering as cut Christmas trees this Holiday season. The trees look spectacular as they always do. Something about the high elevation at Silver Creek Falls lends itself to wonderful growing condition which yeild #1 trees. Combine that with the fact that Larry and his wife will not cut my trees until after Thanksgiving gives these trees the freshness our customers have relied upon.

We will also be offering our annual “Mail Order” fresh evergreen wreath program again. Many of you have come to rely upon this special gift to give all of your freinds and family a truly unique and value based gift. We are already taking orders and ship dates for this offering from Redmond Greenhouse.

On another topic Redmond Greenhouse will be having another Holiday Festival……  “Cranberry and Pine Boughs” an open house and event that showcases this special time of the year. We will help the Redmond Fire Dept. kick off their annual canned food and toy drive as well as offer a seminar on table centerpieces and festive wreaths. There will be specials, drawings, and other related activities of celebration. You are invited and we hope to see you there. The date is November 22nd. There will also be craft booths of various types to help fill out your day.

As always I hope all is well in your garden and landscape……….. Happy late Autumn…. Doug