This will be a fun, hands-on workshop!  Marinda will lead this class on creating a container garden that will not only look great throughout the winter, but by early spring will be full of a variety of colorful spring bulbs.  What’s not to love about that?! 

We’re not setting a price on this class – you can go as elaborate or minimalist as your budget and preference allow.  Bring a pot from home or we’ll help you select one here.  You select  the assortment of bulbs you will plant, and we’ll provide the soil, the fertilizer and the expertise!

Thursday, September 9th – 11 am

There is really nothing better on a summer day than being barefoot on a nice lawn, is there?  It is cool and relaxing, and maybe a bit primal.

So in order to enjoy a beautiful, green expanse it is important to show the lawn a little love from time to time – and fall is the PERFECT time to do this!   Brian Schiffer will cover all the basic steps to planting new lawns or rehabilitating existing lawns, so that you are sure to have a healthy, green turf next season.  A little time spent now will reap great rewards!

Saturday, September 4 ~ 11 am    Fall Lawn Care

This is a free class – please just click on the button below to register!

We will have some free informational brochures, provided by Metro, available at our Organic Gardening class this Wednesday at 11 am.  (There is still space available if you’d like to join us!)  Clare will be discussing how to minimize your use of toxic products in your garden, as well as general strategies for growing in a sustainable manner.  Here are some basics from Metro’s Natural Gardening booklet to get you started on this topic:

• grow suitable plants: choosing the right plant for the right place assures that it will be well adapted to the conditions you are putting it into – thus a healthier plant.
• garden in raised beds: veggies and flowers both do exceptionally well in raised beds in Oregon.  This technique allows for closer plantings, more root development, great drainage, and earlier springtime plantings.  More growing room in a smaller space is another great benefit.
• practice garden diversity and crop rotation: a healthy ecosystem is a balance of a diverse number of plants.  With different sized plants, you are providing habitat for birds, bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects.  If you grow veggies, rotate their location to prevent a build up of soil borne diseases.
• foster fertile soil:  It absorbs and holds water like a sponge, breathes air like a lung, and is teeming with life.  Organic matter is the the key to soil fertility.  This is a huge and important subject.
• use cover crops:  this is a great way to protect and enrich your soil when it would otherwise be fallow for at least a month.  it helps prevent weeds from invading the space, as well as reduces erosion and compaction caused by winter rains.
• pay attention to your garden:  by being observant, you will learn which plants are prone to aphids or where the watering system is not reaching.  By catching problems early, you can keep small problems from becoming big ones.
• know a friend from a foe:  reduce your pesticide usage by knowing what is and what is not a pest.  And even when you confirm that it is a plant-eating bug, analyze whether or not it will really create a problem.  Remember you are trying to create a balanced ecosystem, so removing one type of insect from the system will disrupt the balance.
• use the least-harmful pest control strategies:  assess problems carefully and know that most plant problems are not caused by insects or diseases but inappropriate growing conditions.  Choice of control options depend on the problem, but include hand removal, barriers, traps, biological control and least-toxic chemical control. 

I’m sure Clare will be expanding on these points and more in Wednesday’s class - I hope you can be here; call to reserve your space (503-649-4568).  And if you can’t make this Wednesday class, Glen Andresen from Metro will be here June 13th to talk about healthy soils and how to compost – hope to see you for that one as well!

For those of you who haven’t picked up your blueberries yet, we have over a dozen varieties in good supply now.  And it is no coincidence that we have a blueberry class scheduled for next Wednesday, May 19th at 11 AM.  Celina will give you all the tips you need to be harvesting blueberries by August!

I must say, blueberries are one of the most satisfying things to grow – great harvests and beautiful in the landscape to boot.  What’s not to love about that?!

If you can make the class Wednesday, we ask that you register ~ call us at 503-649-4568, or email events@farmingtongardens.com.  Of course, drop-ins are always welcome as space is available!

One of my resolutions this year is to entertain outdoors more.  It is so much fun to get friends together, and enjoy the relaxing beauty of our outdoor space.  I’ve been realizing lately that we do far too little of that at our house – time to make a change.

This upcoming class is going to be a great opportunity to get some new ideas on doing just that – entertaining our friends outdoors.  This is our first Girlfriends’ Getaway of the season -  Grab your best friend or your mom, and join us for a fun afternoon with Portland designer JJ DeSousa.  We’ll be serving sparkling wine and some goodies, just to make it a party!

JJ owns a cute little retail store, Digs Inside and Out, on NE Alberta Street, and through it she provides great products and design services for home and garden. ( http://www.digs-pdx.com/ )   JJ is one of the most creative people I know.  She has great style and flair; and she loves color and drama.  I know this is going to be a great class! 

Space is limited for this one, so call and register if you are interested.  These Girlfriend Getaways went fast last year!  Registration fee: $10.  Call 503-649-4568, or email events@farmingtongardens.com

Isn’t it interesting how the pendulum swings and the popular way of doing things shifts with it?  Back in my grandparents’ day, everyone gardened organically, only then it was just called Smart, Thrifty Gardening.  They made manure tea to fertilize their garden; they saved seed from their favorites; and they composted.

Then, after WWII, with the help of chemical companies in need of new customers, we went through the smarty-pants phase, where everyone thought that if they loaded on tons of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, then they were Modern.  The more we are learning about this approach, the more folks want to move back to that simpler era, because it is becoming apparent that too many chemicals is not a sustainable strategy.

Which is why I really love to see such widespread interest in organic gardening – it just makes so much sense when you think about it.  The more natural products we can use in our gardens, the better for everyone.   Our rivers stay cleaner, our soil is more alive and productive, and our food is safer.  Do we really need any more reasons than those??

But here’s the catch: people think organic gardening is more difficult, or less productive, or less beautiful than gardening conventionally.  We are here to de-mystify organics for you!  Clare has been studying the subject and gardening organically for over 20 years – in this class, she will share her tips for:

• creating healthy, productive soil (which is truly the basis for all great gardening)
• the best sustainable strategies for pest and disease control that are safe for you, your pets, and the environment
•  the pros and cons of conventional and organic fertilizers

This is a free class – but we ask you to register.  Call us at 503.649.4568, or email events@farmingtongardens.com.  We hope you can make this one – it could transform your gardening!

For you Do It Yourselfers (aka DIYers), this is going to be fun!  If you’ve been to the annual garden shows, you’ve seen The Willow Station vendors selling their unique, handmade willow furniture.  And you may have noticed it is not inexpensive – which you would expect from a quality product made by hand.

We have arranged for Brian Phillips, from The Willow Station, to give a workshop here for those who would enjoy the process of building their own piece.  Just select from the six options below, and Brian will bring in all the materials you will need to build it in one day.  You are guaranteed to take home your finished product!

There is a $10 registration fee for this workshop: call us at 503-649-4568 or email at events@farmingtongardens.com.  There is a materials fee of $125, payable to The Willow Station at the time of the workshop.  Space will be limited for this class, so let us know if we can save you a space!

Items that would be useful to bring:

• sack lunch
• gloves
• clippers
• knee pads
• an adventurous spirit

Consider making a piece of furniture this summer – made from a renewable material which is environmentally friendly, practical, comfortable, durable, and stylish.  When properly cared for, willow furniture can last for years and grow more beautiful with the passing of time.

We have a sample bench on display in the store, so you can see the quality and size in person.  Pick up our informative workshop brochure while you are here.

This class is part of our May mid-week series – if you are free to join us Wednesday, May 19th at 11 am.  Beat the weekend crowds and learn how easy it is to grow blueberries.  This is a wonderful landscape shrub – it is interesting in every season, and gives you fruit as a bonus.  They are resistant to most pests and diseases, and so are quite low-maintenance.  Celina will share all her tips for growing these wonderful fruits.

This is a free class – please call us to register at 503-649-4568, or email us at events@farmingtongardens.com, and let us know how many will be attending.  Hope to see you here!

After the long, cold winter we experience, everyone is always eager to get some fresh color out in the garden, onto the patio and next to the front door.  Container gardens are the perfect solution to creating something fun, new and seasonal.  One of the things I especially like about container gardens is that you don’t have to make a long-term commitment to it as you do with your main garden.  You can experiment with colors and textures – you can be bolder and more outrageous than perhaps you’d want to be elsewhere.  You can try new plants introductions and new combinations. 

You have permission to push your creativity with a container garden!

Clare Argast will share her tips for creating abundant and colorful container gardens for spring.  She loves working with plant combinations, so this will be a great class!  This is part of our May mid-week class series – avoid the crowd during the busy season, and visit Farmington Gardens during the week.

This is a free class – please call and register:  503-649-4568, or email us at events@farmingtongardens.com, and tell us how many will be attending.

Some may think we’re a little crazy about tomatoes here at Farmington Gardens – we have our annual tomato festival in September, where you can sample dozens and dozens of varieties; plus we pride ourselves on the best selection of tomato plants in the metro area.  Last year was particularly crazy – we offered over 120 different types of tomatoes! 

So, in our continuing effort to help you grow the best tomatoes you’ve ever tasted, right from your own backyard - we will have Celina here to talk about her favorites and how she likes to grow them.  We’ll have a list of the tomato festival favorites to help you narrow your search for the best tasting tomato.  We’ll even share some of our favorite tomato festival recipes which we’ve collected over the years.

This class is part of our special May mid-week class series.  Avoid the weekend crowds and visit us during the week!  Moms with children are welcome – we especially love to help young families learn the joys of gardening together.

This is a free class, but we’d love for your to register.  Call us at 503-649-4568, or email events@farmingtongardens.

With many of us living on smaller lots these days, homeowners are looking for ways to create privacy within their gardens.  This sense of privacy and seclusion is a very important component to the enjoyment of a haven meant for rest and relaxation.

Landscape designer Jane Luthy will share her ideas for creating a private space utilizing plants instead of fences – the formula for a truly lush and verdant getaway!  There are lots of interesting options, other than the ubiquitous Thuja occidentalis arborvitae.

This is a free class.  Please register for classes you are interested in attending as our classroom space is limited.  Drop-ins are welcome as space is available.  Call us at 503-649-4568, or email events@farmingtongardens.com, with your name, phone number, and the number attending.

The interest in growing your own veggies continues to be a strong trend, and we love love love helping new gardeners discover the joys and satisfaction that comes from tending your own plot!  Whether you have acreage in the country, or a condo in the city, there are simple things you can do to grow tasty and nutritious vegetables. 

This class is geared specifically for the newbie – we’ll cover the basics of soil; water; light; which varieties are best; where and how to plant them; how to grow vertically to make the most of limited space; how to plan for successive crops so your space is productive.  You will leave with the confidence to start growing some of your own!

This free class will be offered twice: Thursday, April 15 at 11 am, and again on Sunday, April 18 at 1 pm.  Call and register for the one most convenient for you – 503-649-4568, or email us at events@farmingtongardens.com.  Walk-in are of course welcome as space is available.