We’re talking about birds here, and next Saturday, March 20th at 11 am, Tom Combs will give a great talk on how to attract a wide variety of interesting birds to your backyard.  You know what they say:  Birds are like people – give them what they like to eat, and they’ll come back and bring their friends.  In my humble opinion, every garden should have at least one feeder, preferably stationed close to a window, so the gardener gets the joy of observing nature up close and personal.  As a special bonus this day, everyone attending this bird class will take home a free suet cake!  

** Please remember that we ask you to register for classes you are interested in attending!  Our classroom space is limited; of course 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.

Just a reminder about next Saturday’s pruning class (11 am).  This can be a challenging issue for homeowners – where to cut, when to cut, how to cut, and WHY?  Lyle Feilmeier from Collier Arbor Care will be here to answer all your questions.  Space is still available, so let us know if you’d like to register for this free class.  (503-649-4568, or email at events@farmingtongardens.com).

As an added bonus, and to get you all ready for the season ahead, we’ll have a professional tool sharpener here to bring your tools up to speed (he’ll be here from 10:30 till he’s finished).  The first 50 customers will get one pruner sharpened free of charge.  These are the prices Harold has given me for most items; these may vary depending on the condition and size of the item.  Checks and cash only, please; no credit cards for sharpening services.

• pruner ~ $4
• lopers ~ $6
• mower blades (removed) ~ $6 each (he is not able to do the old-fashioned push mower types)
• shovels ~ $3
• hoes ~ $2
• scissors ~ $4
• knives ~ $4
• hand trowel ~ $1

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait to get all my tools sharpened – such an opportunity!

Our season of classes started off with a roar this weekend!  Thank you everyone for your understanding as we use a temporary location for our ‘classroom’ until our new space is finished.  At least it was warm and dry, and maybe that’s all we need from a classroom in January…

Ernie Carlson from Botanical Interests Seeds gave a  great talk on what we should be thinking about now for seed-starting.  Over the next few days, I’ll post some seed-starting pointers, for those of you who missed the class.  And if you’d like copies of his handouts, they can be found at http://www.botanicalinterests.com/gardening_tips.php.  There is a handy chart, “Indoor Spring Sowing Guide,” which lists how many weeks in advance to start seeds indoors, before it is safe to plant outside.  A very useful reference.

Before starting seeds indoors, however, you need to know when our last frost occurs.  Most resources will  confirm that in the Portland metro area, we are usually safely out of frost danger after April 26.  Naturally, that is dependent upon where you live – higher elevations will be later, and unique micro-climates can vary widely.  So be aware, if you are planting out some tender things towards the end of April and into early May, be aware of the weather forecast, and protect your fragile babies if needed.

But for seed-starting indoors, that date is your general guideline.  Use the Indoor Spring Sowing Guide with that date in mind, as you plan.  For instance,  let’s say you want to start some kale seeds – and the chart says to start them indoors 6 weeks before average last spring frost.  So, looking at the calendar, you will want to start those seeds about March 15th.  Make sense?  When grown under the right conditions and from the correct starting date, your seedlings should be ready to plant out when the weather is just right for them!

Next time we’ll talk about the best materials to use, and the all-important LIGHT issue.

For those of you unable to get into Saturday’s mason bee class (sorry for the too-small classroom while we are under construction!!  Good things  are coming, we promise!), we have a second session scheduled for Saturday, February 20th at 11 am.  Beth Rose, from Farmington Gardens, loves talking about these bees, and it shows - this was by far our most popular class last year. 

The interest in mason bees keeps growing, even as problems with honey bees persist nationwide.  This docile native bee is a great friend in the garden, pollinating like crazy.  Just a few simple steps will encourage mason bees to inhabit your garden.  If you have any fruiting plants in your garden, then having these helpers nearby is a very good thing. 

This is a free class, but since space is limited, we ask you to call to register:  503-649-4568; or email us at events@farmingtongardens.com.

This time of year we start making plans for gift-giving during the holidays, don’t we?  And for those of us who garden, it is only natural to look to our gardens for the raw materials to make unique, personal gifts for our loved ones.   And in our new era of frugality, making beautiful gifts with very little expense is an added bonus we can all appreciate.  In fact, I participate in an annual gift exchange where we have two hard and fast rules:  it must be handmade and we can only spend $5.  Let me tell you, that can be a real challenge to adhere to, so I will be paying close attention to Mary’s ideas!

In this upcoming class, Mary Ludlum will present tons of useful ideas you can take away for use this year.  She will have ideas for making gifts out of all kinds of natural materials found in your backyard or along the trail of your favorite  hike in the woods.  Some of the projects she will showcase:

• rustic picture frames made with twigs or birch bark
• centerpiece candelabras fashioned from a large branch
• new ideas for projects using grape vines
• easy ways to embellish a basic evergreen wreath or centerpiece
• and lots more!

This is a free class, but please register so we know you’re coming:  503-649-4568, or events@farmingtongardens.com.  We hope to see you there!

Please note:  we’ve had to cancel Sunday’s class for Creating a Pet-Friendly Garden.  Please watch our schedule next season, as we hope to bring it to you again.

Fortunately, this happens rarely – thank you for understanding!

These are challenging times, we all know.  It is a good time to protect our assets and do what we can to maintain and even improve their value.  And for most of us, our most important asset is our home.  Not only is it the center of our family life, where we make our memories together and put down roots; it is  also a significant part of our financial picture.  So it only makes sense to not only look at your home’s livability, but also to keeping its value.  Every realtor will affirm that landscaping makes a difference – we’ve all heard of  ‘curb appeal’, right? 

We are addressing these timely issues in this upcoming class on real estate and landscaping.  Ron Phillips, our landscape designer at Farmington Gardens, will be here with Vicki Burr, a real estate broker, to give you ideas for improving the value of your property through smart, careful landscaping choices.  Whether you are spiffing your place up for immediate sale, or prudently looking down the road five or ten years, they will have some great suggestions.

Feel free to bring in a few enlarged photographs of your property, if you would Ron and Vicki’s specific suggestions.  It won’t be possible to provide full landscape plans during this short class time, but you will come away with their professional on-the-spot assessments.  (Ron, of course, is available for landscape design projects, by appointment.)

This is a free class – please call to register at 503-649-4568.

A great time was had by all today during our concrete leaf casting class.  We used rhubarb leaves, which have deep veins and ruffled edges, perfect for an artful bowl.  Here is a rough outline of how these are made:

• Using a shallow box as your work space, mound up a pile of damp sand.  Place a square of plastic over the sand.
• Prepare your leaf:  select a leaf with prominent veining on the back side, and with few blemishes on it.
• Mix dry ingredients together in bowl: 2 parts sand, 1 part Type I/II Portland cement; dry oxide color if desired.
• Slowly mix 1/2 part water and 1/2 part liquid concrete fortifier into the dry mix; stir well, and knead with gloved hands, add more as needed being careful not to add too much. 
• Lay your leaf face down over the mound of sand covered with plastic.  Taking small handfuls of wet cement, place onto the back side of the leaf and pat gently into place, so that the cement will fill in all the crevices between the ribs.  Work from the top down, adding more handfuls as you go.  If the cement starts firming up, dip your gloved finger into water and rub gently – a little water goes a long way here.
• When the leaf has been covered almost to the edges, it is time to add hardware.  Insert a curved piece of wire if you want to hang your piece.
• It is done!  Tuck a sheet of plastic around your project, and leave it alone to cure for 48 hours. 
• After 48 hours, you can pick it up and remove the leaf.  It will need to continue curing for about 30 days before you paint and/or seal it.

We will have a leaf painting class on Saturday, August 29th, 10 am – noon.  Spaces are still available, and you need not have attended this first class – for an additional $7 you can purchase an unfinished cast leaf which you can use for your project for this class.  This class is $45 ($40 if you also took today’s casting class); and registration is required – call us at 503-649-4568.

Our class on compost was very informative today – Glen Andresen from Metro’s Natural Gardening program, was here to talk about how to make your own compost, and how to use it.  The primary benefits of compost are:

• improves the quality of clay or sandy soil
• reduces water and fertilizer needs
• retains moisture in the soil
• increases aeration – which is essential for beneficial microbes
• increases heat absorption
• decreases potential erosion problems
• helps prevent soil compaction

Successful composting:

• Ideally, try for a ratio of one part green stuff (fresh grass clippings, green leaves, hedge trimmings, vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, or horse, cow, or poultry manures) to two parts brown stuff ( woody prunings, dried leaves and twigs, straw, wood chips, old potting soil, shredded newspaper, pine needles, nut shells)
• To speed things up, chop it up.   The more surface area there is, the easier time the microorganisms have eating it up.  Use a chipper/shredder on woody stuff, if possible; run the lawn mower over trimmings or dry leaves to break up.
• Size matters - in order to trap heat in the middle, an ideal size for your compost pile or bin is 3 foot by 3 foot by 3 foot.  Any size will work, of course, but it might take a little longer.
• The pile needs air and water - these are living organisms in your pile, so make sure they have fresh air occasionally (turn the pile, or use a tool to bring stuff up from the bottom and churn it around) and a bit of water.  It should feel damp but not wet.  Pounding rain and scorching heat can really affect your pile, so monitor it for moisture, and cover it or sprinkle it if needed.
• Not everything is compost-pile worthy – do not put these into your compost bin:  meat or fish parts; dairy products; bread or grain; grease or cooking oil; diseased plants; weeds with seed heads; invasive weeds such as morning glory; pet wastes.

I hadn’t thought about this before, but Gle says compost has a shelf life.  Since it is so full of live microorganisms, you should not let it sit around once it is done.  It should be spread around your garden – just a small top-dressing around fruit trees, berries, vegetable beds, or ornamentals will do them great good.  It is also a great amendment to your lawn, feeding it slowly over time.

So, no excuses now – get composting!

I’ve already mentioned Glen Andresen’s class this coming Saturday, but it bears repeating.  Good gardening is ALL ABOUT THE SOIL, and there is no finer soil amendment than compost.  If you have a corner where you can put a compost bin, or create a compost structure of your own, believe me, you won’t regret it.   Glen (from Metro’s Natural Gardening program) will share all you’ll need to know to make your own compost, and he should know:  his home garden is quite remarkable – full of edibles of every type as well as compost bins in varying levels of readiness.

For anyone serious about sustainability, living ‘green’ and natural, this class is a must.  A few spaces still remain, and remember we ask you to call to register for our classes:  503-649-4568.

Composting 101  ~  Saturday, June 20th,  1 pm, free class

I promised you more information on the types of designs that Kathy Freeman-Hastings, from the Floral Design Institute, created at the floral demonstration on Sunday.  During the course of the 2-hour class, she created five unique and different masterpieces, each one illustrating different techniques:

• Using a standard vase with a narrow neck and wide mouth, Kathy created a 1-inch grid across the top of the vase.  She used clear thin strips of water-proof adhesive tape, which she taped down over the lip.  This created a supporting structure into which she put the stems.  She used the Hot Cocoa roses, which are a deep red/brown color, and very gorgeous.  Along with those she used lots of deep red foliage and chartreuse foliage.  To finish it off, she took a couple of strands of long grass or iris leaves, and tied them in a knot at the neck of the vase.  Simple and yet effective.
• While cleaning up the leftovers from the first arrangement, she took the little odds and ends of foliage and short stems of flowers, and created an old-fashioned Tussy-Mussy.  These were popular decades ago – little hand-held, tied nosegays with aromatic flowers and foliage.  There were usually symbolic messages with each one: back in those days each flower had a meaning, and folks actually knew what those were!  This was a very sweet little arrangement, perfect for sticking into a short vase in the bathroom.
• The third arrangement was done in a basic terra cotta pot, into which Kathy inserted a plastic liner filled with floral foam.  She had already soaked the foam for several minutes (tepid water + a little preservative) in a bucket, then cut it to fit the liner, taping it down.  She sized the foam to sit an inch or more above the lip of the terra cotta pot, so that she would be able to have foliage inserted sideways, to help cover the edge.  This arrangement is impossible to describe (and I’m sorry to say the camera’s battery ran out at this point), but it was modern, elegant and dramatic.  She clustered similar flowers together rather than having everything evenly dispersed.  She varied heights dramatically, from quite tall in the middle, to quite short around the edges – barely taller than the foam.  She found a wispy piece of akebia vine, which alone was not very impressive; however, she wound it elegantly around the edges, attaching it into place with a wire hairpin.  She finished it off with looped iris leaves, sticking both ends into the the foam.  I never would have thought to do either of those finishes, but they created the WOW factor.
• The next arrangement was done in a square, squat clear glass vase.  She stripped the leaves from a green, flexible grape vine, and wound it into a tight bundle, cramming it into the vase, and submerging it in the water.  This she called a Kubari, which she said is a Japanese ikebana technique for providing structure and support for the arrangement.  She then inserted the stems directly into this cabari – it looked beautiful below the water level as well as above!  This arrangement was full of deeply colored roses, which she then interspersed with little bits of foliage and smaller flowers.  Perfect.
• The final technique she demonstrated was how to do a French weave.  This is how you create a hand-tied bouquet, much like a casual bridal bouquet.  She criss-crossed in her hand about 5  firm, cleaned strands of salal, which formed the base.  Then she started inserting flowers and foliage where she wanted them, pulling them through from the stem end.  It is important not to touch the blossoms, because body heat and oils can damage tender flower petals.   She kept adding till it was as she wanted it, then wrapped twine tightly around the neck to secure it.  She cut the ends bluntly with clippers, about two-hands- width long.  Make several more of those, and you’ve got bouquets for a wedding party!  Easy as pie.

There you have it — just some of the creative things the folks from the Floral Design Institute can teach you.  We learned that a little bit of this and that from your own backyard garden can make something truly breathtaking for yourself or for gift-giving.  Let us help you select plants that are conducive for cutting, and definitely check out the Floral Design Institute’s class schedule!  http://www.floraldesigninstitute.com/