If you missed the last two days……. Friday/Saturday…… You missed the GREAT FEELING!!!

An increase in smiles, the urge to get out and run, walk, or simply putter, aaaaaaaaaaaah “It’s the Feeling of Spring”. The warmth of the Sun after a long cold spell was a welcome relief to all in our region. Buds are popping, early bloomers are doing their thing, and the entire area is at the front door of a wonderful season. No matter how you celebrate this time of the year, it is truely a celebration  of energy. As I was teaching a class yesterday I could look out into the audience and feel the power and warmth that Spring bestows upon the typical American Gardener! I have often been asked, why is it that at this time there is such optimisim and good feelings. I can only say that we have been caught-up in natures energy as She gets ready to deliver us the marvels of  Life in nature. The wonderful start of another season!

Stop and think about this cycle of life and try to mirror yourself in natures reflection. As with Mother Nature you will have matured another year, your branch structure will be more complete, and the errors that sometimes caused you pain will have strenghened your future.

Let the yesterdays of our lives strenghen our todays, and the dreams and visions of tommarow be the energy that helps drive our future.

 Happy Today………………… Doug

The first time I saw this tree, I must say I was highly intrigued. This tough and very hardy mid-sized tree is just loaded with “extras”. Unique little blooms that cover the tree after it fills it’s barren dormant  branches with small elongated green leaves leaves. Easy to transplant and equaly easy to grow, this sometimes hard to find tree is worth the search. Great for small areas of interest or possibly even a larger container I don’t think you will be disapointed with it’s ever changing nature. Late season brings on the greatest excitement as the seed pods continue to develope. Their vibrant reddish orange pod will soon explode, revealing an inner core of intense lemon orange. My oh my…….. As shown in the picture they will be a standout and I am sure just about everyone who sees them will ask the typical ???????? WHAT IS THAT TREE!!! But wait…………… the show is not over……… the leaves will soon turn  a screaming bright red and orange so make sure you have your sunglasses close by. the pods will slowly loose their color but will retain the shell throughout the winter adding yet additional landscape excitement.

What else could I say. We do try to keep this hidden secret in inventory at Redmond Greenhouse. Prices usualy range from $50 to over $100.

I suppose if I had to pick-out the number one ornamental grass that we sell at Redmond Greenhouse if would have to be Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster “Feather Reed Grass. It seems no matter how many of these plants we bring in from our select growers we just can’t seem to keep them in stock. Selected as the plant of the year (a few years back) this tall and stately grass has only gained in popularity. A quick starter in the early spring, a dramatic eye catcher throughout the summer, and topping it off with a GRAND finale in the late autumn season complete with dynamic seed heads, this grass seems to have it all. Other “extras’ you could tack on to this plant would be it’s drought tolerance, dandy deer resistance (almost proof), and complimentary texture variance. A small start of this plant will grow very rapidly in your garden providing unique interest and added depth. I have seen them as single specimans adding intriguing interest, and in contrary I have seen them planted in mass as well as in single lines creating privacy and hedge-type settings. As you can see this plant is a true value in the landscape. One last thing I would mention is the fact that is has no known disease or insect problems……… now we are talking……. happy planting     Doug

PS: feel free to make and add comments on this blog Cold Zone Gardening 

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There are a lot of vines that will do well in our cold climate area, but one of my favorites is one called “Silverlace Vine”. This GREAT climbing plant not only provides multiple “spectaculars” but is very FAST growing as well. The vines breaks dormancy early in the season and quickly begins to bud up for late spring, early summer color. The entire vine gets covered in a million tiny white blooms that last up to a months time. It contunues to grow the summer season and then gives another dynamic show of autumns BEST colors that should last well into the fall. Silverlace vine will grow in sun or shade, and once established does well with minumum care. It will gracefully climb arbors, trellises, pergolas, and gazebo structures. With great hardines, lots of blooms as well as fall colors this plant should quickly become a “growing” favorite in you garden and landscape……….. happy planting ………… Doug

I know a lot of you will or have already started to get early plantings out into the garden, but if you don’t give them a little protection you investment in little starters and your valuable time just might take a hard hit from late hard frosts and the sometimes drying, burning gusty winds. On the market for several years and a favorite of many is the walls of water. This great product that you fill with water and place around each plant will offer protection to tender plants even when the temperature gets down to the mid teens.  I have found it best to set these units up in the garden several days in advance to help warm the soil. An improvised lid over the top is recomended for those extra cold nights. Next in line and probably the most popular is the garden frost blanket. We have been selling this white spun-bound product for years. Offered in many sizes you can even cover an entire garden bed, containerized early plantings, or flats of garden center plants that you are “hardening off” before they are planted in the garden. They do vary in density but most will give you a seven degree of temperature protection. Other benefits of this product is you can use it year after year, it protects tender seedlings and transplants from sunburn as well as gusty drying spring winds. For crops that don’t need pollination you can leave the blanket on the entire season as it lets light and water through! This great product will also give you protection from insects as well as larger snackers (deer, rodents, and rabbits). Just make sure you anchor the fabric down securly or your distant neighbor just might find it in his garden after a very windy day.

Other products are on the market so you may want to shop around, but most importantly they are well worth the investment. With that said I will wrap up this little helpful hint and let you get back to the early spring garden………… Happy Planting………… Doug

Dropping down on your knees and working your fingers deep into the soil helps one connect with the earth and slow down the spin of our material world.

If you are a lover of onions then you need to head on out to your local garden center and pick up a few starts of the famous “Walla Walla Onions. They can usually be found in bundles of little green onions or they may be offered in tray packs. Plant them in raised beds with plenty of organic compost and organic fertilize. Space them about an inch apart which will allow you to “early harvest” a few extra early, which in turn provides perfect spacing for later larger harvests. If you have problems with root maggots you might try our “Garden / Pet Dust” or a little powdered “BT” (this one is organic) If given ample water and they grow fast (this will happen if you have good organic soil) you should be celebrating mid season with super tasty very sweet onions. You may want to stagger your plantings so as to stretch out your harvesting schedule. Well there you have it………………. GREAT onion, perfect planting, and a little garden patience while you wait for your early crop to grow.

Happy Spring Gardening…………. dirty knees, dirt under your fingernails, and a big hearty smile on your face….Dig In……… 

If there was one plant in our nursery that commands “TOP” spot in terms of popularity, quantity of sales, and “Stellar” performance in the landscape, that one plant would have to be Lydia Broom. Setting it apart from other species of this popular family is the fact that it is not upright and vertical but rather mounding and spreading achieving an overall height of about two feet or so. It is not invasive as are other species found on the western side of the Cascades. Lydia is evergreen and will grow at a medium rate. If you desire to prune this cascading plant the time to do so is right after it blooms. Remove no more than one third of the overall size of the plant. When this wonderful plants springs into seasonal bloom (usually late April or May) you had better grab your sunglasses. “Holy Cow” might come up short in terms of exciting words used to express ones feelings as you gaze upon this plant. Vibrant screaming yellow tiny blooms cover the long slender grass like branches of this plant. Blooms usually last for weeks creating a GREAT stir in your neighborhood.

            When planting make sure you amend the soil with liberal shovels of organic compost. I would also recommend about six to eight cups of our organic fertilizer “Cold Climate” which will feed the plant for an entire season as well as feeding the soil with microbes and Mycorrhizae.

            In conclusion, all I can say is, you need to get out and plant one of these plants as soon as you can before they begin to bloom in the nursery. The Planting season is now, the plants are still dormant, and you will have set the tone for a GREAT day in your rock garden when Lydia does its colorful “Spring Dance”……………..Happy Planting

To purchase a bottle of salad dressing the same time you pick-up a package of “mixed” lettuce garden seed, is the sign of an optomistic gardener!

      As a small child I do well remember my grandmother taking me by the hand and guiding me in the direction of my very first garden. Flowers were her love and joy in conjunction with the great outdoors. Living in the rural area of Oregon, Frenchglen to be exact was certainly a long way from the local garden center. Traditional garden seeds were hard to come by, but Grandma always seemed to have what she needed regardless of our distant location. Sweet Peas and Bachelor Buttons were two of her favorites. Easy to grow, tough as nails, and sure fire performers, helped make both of these flowers a great introduction to youthful gardening.  Sweet peas quickly became a favorite of mine as they did so well in our restless chilly spring weather. She always had me soak the seeds overnight to hasten germination, plus she instructed me to roll the moistened seeds in this powdery black material. Later identified as legume seed innoculant, I have continued to use this product on all my bean and pea seeds. It improves overall plant vigor as well as increasing blossom and subsequent fruit set on this particular species of garden plants. 

            Sweet peas come in two types of plant growth habit. Low growing bush type, plus the traditional climbing vine variety. Since they do best in cool season growing conditions we always sowed the seed in early spring (April / May) thus providing a grand show of color and fragrance usually in the month of May. Once you have grown Sweet Peas and indulged in their wonderful pastel colors and sweet fragrance you will be hooked for a lifetime of enjoyment.

            As you shop your local garden center for available seed you might just want to give a try to some of the many wonderful varieties. If you really get into it you will want to take a look at mail-order garden catalogs as well as internet sources due to their increased selections. I don’t think you will be disappointed with this new found friend of the early and cool garden. Many varieties will not only yield color to the picket fence but they make excellent cut flowers for indoor enjoyment. I have even sown a few seeds in a hanging basket to grace the early spring patio. You just might deliver  one of these fragrant bouquets to a close friend of relative, causing an unexpected smile of delight.

Now is the time to sow this wonderful seed. Enjoy!!!