We’ve enjoyed this summer’s series of Happy Hours.  Admittedly, they’ve been small affairs, but that has actually been part of their charm.  We’ve relished having the more relaxed environment to chat with those who’ve dropped by.  Our last one of the season is this Friday, August 20th, from 5-7pm.  Our featured winery is A Blooming Hill Vineyard.  They are fairly new to the neighborhood, so this will be a great opportunity to sample their wares!  I’m told they will be pouring four wines: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Mingle, and Chardonnay. 

And of course, there is still lots going on at Farmington Gardens.  As we move into the latter part of summer, we still have plenty of color, both with our perennials and of course with annuals.  The fall veggie starts are arriving (you DO know that fall is a terrific time for edible gardening, don’t you?) – we are happy to help you get started on the path to eating out of your own backyard!  Just ask, that’s what we’re here for.  And don’t forget to swing by our awesome demonstration vegetable garden – it is looking so great right now, and we’ve had some great harvests so far, with much to come.

Hope to see you here to celebrate these glorious long evenings of summer!

We are excited to announce that we are kicking off our new children’s club, Garden Buddies, this month.  Every month we will have a fun garden-related activity to share with kids ages 4-12.  This month we will be doing a fun craft project in our classroom-in-the-tent, and then we’ll head out to our vegetable garden to plant some seeds.  (BTW: Did you know that NOW is a great time to be starting a fall garden?  We will talk about that with your kids!)  With a little luck and sunshine, we’ll harvest together next month.  We can’t wait to meet your children and have fun as Garden Buddies together.

Garden Buddies activities are free, and parents are encouraged to stick around and participate with their child.  To help us with preparations, we ask that you call or email us to reserve your spot:  503-649-4568 or events@farmingtongardens.com.  Let us know how many children you will be bringing, and their ages.

p.s.  We encourage you to have them dress appropriately:  they may be getting into the dirt, or painting, or…?!

The legendary sale has returned for 2010!  Come join us for our Annual Green Thumb Sale, from August 7th through the 15th.  We have a tremendous amount of great sale items available, and you can download the official sale list here (subject to change).

Fall is right around the corner, which is the perfect planting time.  Visit us for the Annual Green Thumb Sale and get a head start on your fall planting projects.  Shop early, because some items will sell out quickly!

We invite you to join us again this Friday for our first Happy Hour of August.  Our featured winery this week is Ardiri Winery.  This Napa Valley vintner has recently expanded into the Chehalem Mountains appellation of Willamette Valley, and is known for award-winning Pinot Noir. 

Enjoy a glass while you shop for late summer additions to your garden!  And check out our new plant display out back:  we are creating a quadrant of four themed garden displays for fun and inspiration.  One of the themed areas features tropicals – come check out the others!

And for those of you who would like to get a jump-start on your holiday shopping, we’ve invited the Beading Sisters to be here during Happy Hour – they create beautiful, affordable one-of-a-kind jewelry – something for everyone on Friday!

The tricky part of vegetable gardening is thinking ahead to the next season, especially when you are in the throes of harvest time.  (I know some folks start getting a little garden fatigue right about now.)  But I’m here to tell you that  just a little time now spent tucking in a few things for a fall garden will be SO rewarding when the weather turns cool and the warm-season veggies are finished.  So, as you are harvesting heads of lettuce, or when space frees up where the peas once were – think about saving that space for an autumn garden.  There are so many cool-season veggies that thrive in our long, mild autumns.  And with a few simple strategies, you can continue harvesting some great vegetables long after the tomatoes and peppers and melons are finished. 

This information is so key to those of you seriously intent on Growing Some Of Your Own, that we are repeating this class a second time in the hopes that more of you will be able to join us - there will be a Sunday session and a Wednesday session.  We invite you to join us for one of these free classes – reserve your spot by calling 503-649-4568 or emailing events@farmingtongardens.com.

One of the joys of the garden is the access we have to fresh flowers for the home – nothing brightens up our interior spaces like fresh-cut flowers from our own yards.  With this thought in mind, we are featuring our second Girlfriend Getaway of the summer.  Invite your best friend or your mom to join you for a relaxing afternoon, noshing on tasty bites and sparkling wine, while learning a new trick or two about floral design.  We’ll have Kathy here again from Portland’s Floral Design Institute – she gave a great demo here last year, and everyone was dazzled by her performance artistry.  I guarantee you will leave with lots of terrific ideas for ways to use your own garden flowers or a bunch from the market.   And when Kathy’s finished, we’ll even give away her creations!

Space is limited and registration is required for this special class.  To reserve your space, call us at 503-649-4568.  $10 fee payable at registration.

Its looking like we’ll have fantastic weather for our P.E.O benefit next Saturday night, July 24 (6-9pm).  This is always such a fun evening here, with great food, wine and beer, as well as Mike and Kym’s informative and entertaining talk about their favorite plants. 

We’ve added a few new elements to the evening:  we’ll have several fun and interesting gardening info stations scattered around the garden center.  We encourage you to grab a beverage and stroll around as you pick up some great tips.  Also featured will be a Wine Wall:  with your $10 mystery purchase, will you get a $10 bottle or a $75 bottle?  The suspense is part of the fun!!  P.E.O. will be selling tickets that evening to an upcoming garden tour, and all tickets purchased that evening will be entered into a drawing for a Farmington Gardens’ custom designed container garden – winner takes it home that evening!

And thanks to the generosity of Monrovia Nursery, we will have free parting gifts for our guests.

The doors open at 6pm next Saturday, and the $25 tickets will be available at the door.  We hope you can join us for this fun evening for a great cause.  All proceeds will provide college scholarships for local women.

Questions?  Call us at 503-649-4568.

In this era of Staycations, rather than heading for Hawaii, it is possible to create your own tropical getaway right in your backyard.  It can seem like a challenge in our Zone 8 – many of the exotics we love just don’t like it here.  But there are plenty of plants that can create that ‘vacation in the tropics’ look we crave, and still be hardy enough to thrive season to season.  Brian will share some of his favorites. 

Free class – registration suggested.

We are finally into our beautiful summer weather – and what better way to enjoy Farmington Gardens than in the cool of a summer evening?!  For those of us who work here, this is our favorite time of day – the fragrances are heightened, and the colors become richer as the sun drops to the horizon.

This Friday, July 16, from 5-7pm, we invite you to drop by for another Happy Hour.  Enjoy a glass of wine from Morgan Meadows Winery and some tasty bites, while you shop.  We have fresh vegetable starts for those needing to fill empty spaces in their edible garden; there are fresh shipments of basil and herbs;  and gallon-sized annuals to provide instant color and filler in flowerbeds or containers.  We have some very cool new Ella pots, which are an eco-friendly and recyclable pot for container gardens.  And of course, a great selection of great trees and shrubs and perennials – all great reasons to stop by on Friday!

Hope to see you on Friday for Happy Hour!

Succulents possess the admirable trait of maintaining their cool even on the hot days of summer – no wilting or whining or high maintenance for them – which is why we love them so!  Being the home bodies that they are, they are more than happy to be planted in a container garden and left behind while you vacation.   Besides that, they are just cool looking plants.

If you love succulents like we do, then this is the workshop for you.  We will be helping you with your selections, and then you can pot them up (bring a container or buy one here) to take home a finished project!  We will provide the know-how and the soil.

This is a free workshop – except for the materials you select.  Space is limited and registration strongly suggested – call us at 503-649-4568, or email events@farmingtongardens.com.

Interested in less time maintaining your garden?  Want a smaller water bill in the summer?  Xeriscaping is a way of gardening with nature, to reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation.  Native plants are emphasized, and plants with similar needs are grouped together.  This is a strategy for gardening which many smart gardeners find fits their needs and priorities.  Marinda will share tips for converting your garden to a less thirsty version of itself. 

This is a free class; please call to register – 503-649-4568, or email us at events@farmingtongardens.com.

Just in time for outdoor summer living – Marinda is giving a class on her favorite summer perennials which will perform great all summer long.  Not all perennials are short bloomers – with some careful selection, you can have perennials blooming for months.  Marinda will also share her favorites to use as cut flowers.

After the gloomy spring we’ve just experienced, we are going to need a summer of color!

This is a free class – please call us to register, or email us at events@farmingtongardens.com!