I think I’ve said this before – touring private gardens is a really fun thing to do!  It is always interesting to me to see the way different gardeners use different materials and plant combinations – no two gardens are alike.

Another opportunity for this kind of an excursion is coming up next month:  The Washington County Master Gardener Association is hosting their 2009 Tour of Gardens, and I encourage you to take advantage of the chance to see some master gardener’s home gardens.  They are showcasing seven inspiring gardens with a focus on sustainable gardening practices for both ornamentals and edibles.

Free admission to this tour on Saturday, June 27th, 10 am to 4 pm, rain or shine.  Stop in here to pick up your tour guide.  For more information, call 503-821-1150.

Thank you for all of the interest in our classes and workshops – we are off to a great start already this season!  Our new brochure outlining the summer and fall schedule is ready for you to pick up the next time you are here; or you are welcome to download it here.  We have a wide variety of topics which will be covered over the course of the next several months – everything from new plants;  flower arranging; creating children’s gardens;  succulents; eating seasonally from your garden; fall container gardens; green wall art, and much more.   They all sound interesting!

Most of these are free classes, however the workshops may have a small fee.  Since our classroom space is limited, we ask you to please call and register for these classes, so that we might anticipate the interest in the topic.  Occasionally we have had such an overwhelming interest in a given topic that we have scheduled a second session to accommodate everyone.

We hope you find something interesting in our class schedule – see you soon!

If your backyard (or front yard!) is clamoring for some love and attention, we’ve got just the class for you!  For you do-it-yourselfers, we are offering another opportunity to learn the basics of landscape design.  We have invited back professional landscape designer Ann Nickerson, who will give a double-length class this time.  The first hour, she will talk about the important design principles you should consider, as well as things like garden styles, functions of the space, making good plant selections, and how to deal with problem areas.  After taking a break, the second hour will be a little more hands-on:  Ann will show how to take graph paper to draw out your plans; how to measure a site; and how to lay out a site plan.  By the end of class and after talking with Ann about your garden space, you should leave here with concrete plans to make your garden dreams a reality!  This class is free, but since space is limited, please call to reserve your spot – 503-649-4568.

The Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection are holding their second annual benefit, Inviting Vines II, on Saturday, May 23rd, and you can purchase your $20 tickets here.  See how local gardeners grow these unique and beautiful vines – from a few well-chosen clematis cohabitating in mixed borders and containers to gardens beset by clematis mania.  The tour will include:

• The lush and colorful borders at Phyllis McCanna and Gary Smith’s garden.
• Nancy and Ron Gronowski’s verdant woodland garden, which is framed by two 60-year old dogwoods, firs and hemlocks accented by specimen shrubs and perennials.
• A red barn focal point in the large, country garden of Charlene and Bill Tuttle where large mixed borders consort with vegetables, berries and a small orchard.
• Nancy Dunis’ eclectic garden of themed plantings augmented with colorful object d’art.
• A 50’ totem pole carved from a recently deceased cedar tree in Judy Dauble’s one acre garden filled with beautifully maintained mature trees and shrubs and vintage structures.

The Rogerson Clematis Collection garden is open year round and makes an ideal gardener excursion – it is located at Luscher Farm, 125 Rosemont Road in West Linn.  Check their website to see what is in bloom before you head out.

If you are a Japanese maple enthusiast, then this is the class for you!  Linda Eshraghi, co-owner of Farmington Gardens with her husband David, will offer this rare opportunity to tour Eshraghi Nursery.  This will be a walking tour of the propagation and growing facilities for our dozens of varieties of Japanese maples.  You will not want to miss this one – this was a very popular tour last year.  Eshraghi Nursery is just three miles down the road from us, right on Farmington Road.  You can download a map and directions here, or stop by the store for a printed copy.

And a special bonus just for this class:  you will be able to special order direct from Eshraghi for this day only! This will allow you to select from stock that might not be available at Farmington Gardens. Class is free, please call to register: 503-649-4568.

WOW!  Due to the high interest in our Kitchen Gardening 101 Class (specifically designed for beginners interested in planting their first garden), we are adding another date for the same class.  This one will be Tuesday, April 21 at 10 AM.  If you’ve ever wanted to grow your own tasty vegetables, but didn’t know where to begin, then this class is for you.  We will cover all the basics of backyard edible gardening, from the benefits of raised beds, to soil preparations, to choosing a great selection of culinary plants.  We’ll wander out to our demonstration vegetable garden so you can see what’s going on there, and how we manage to grow so much in such a small space. 

According to a recent survey by the National Gardening Association, nearly 20% more people are planning to have an edible garden this year than in the past.  The reasons they give might surprise you – it is not just about the weak economy.  More and more people know they will get better tasting food from their own garden; they will save money on their food bills; they will have better quality food (nothing is fresher and more nutrious when it is picked right before eating); and they will have the assurance of their food’s safety.  The salmonella scares with tomatoes and spinach over the past couple of years are making us all a little skittish.  It is reasuring to know where our food comes from and how it is grown and handled.  Besides all those good reasons, growing your own is just a fun thing to do!  I find I am a much more creative cook when I have good seasonal things to pick every day, right in my own backyard. 

Now is the time to get your plans in place for your first garden, and we want to help!   If you are already registered for the other class on Saturday, but would prefer this Tuesday class, just give us a call and we will be happy to move you over.   Class is free, please call to register:  503-649-4568.

Maybe we didn’t do a very good job of telling you all about this tree class — at least, we are not getting inundated with interest for it, and it is really too bad.   Brian Schiffer, who is on our staff here at Farmington Gardens and a certified arborist as well as a bloomin’ walking encyclopedia of horticulture facts and trivia, is giving the class, so you can be assured it will be jam-packed with good information.  He will cover which trees are good for which uses and especially which thrive in our area.  He also likes to give folks detailed information about how to plant trees, because most of them do require special handling to ensure success long-term.  This class would be great for the beginning gardener who is looking for basic gardening know-how and especially for someone who would like to pick the brains of a real expert.  And for those of you interested in edible gardening, which is all the craze this year, he would answer questions on fruit trees too.  So don’t overlook this opportunity!  Brian’s talk is at 2 PM Saturday.  The weather is going to be beautiful — a great day to visit a beautiful garden center for ideas and inspiration!  Call us to register for the class — 503-649-4568.

“The Ins and Outs of Choosing Trees”, with Brian Schiffer, our resident arborist. April is Arbor Month, when we celebrate the benefits and value trees bring to our community. Join Brian for an in-depth discussion on choosing the right tree for the right place and how to correctly plant your new tree to get it well established.   Call to register for this free class, 503-649-4568.

Landscaping With Edible Ornamentals

Carl Grimm, Metro’s Natural Gardening Specialist, on “Landscaping with Organic Edibles.” Carl combines edible, ornamental and native landscaping tips to help home gardeners kick the chemical habit in style. Learn the essentials to organic gardening, as well as new ideas for bringing beauty to the veggie bed and food to the flower border – what a great concept!   Call to register for this free class, 503-649-4568.

As you may notice, we are scheduling TWO classes on Saturday March 7th.   At 1 PM, Sue Berge from New Dimension Seeds will be here to share her tips for growing and cooking with her great collection of Asian vegetables.  New Dimension Seeds are carefully selected to be easy-to-grow, fast maturing, and delicious — you can’t beat that!   The seed packets are conveniently color-coded into Spring (harvested in summer and early fall) and Fall (harvested in late fall and winter).  Sue demystifies Asian vegetables and teaches gardeners how to grow and cook with Asian vegetables using mainstream American cooking methods as well as different ethnic cooking methods that she has adapted for our kitchens.   Class is free, please call to register: 503-649-4568.

Since gardener’s tend to be visual, tactile folks, big extravaganzas like the Yard, Garden and Patio show at the Oregon Convention Center this weekend provide tons of ideas and inspiration.   There are interesting seminars as well as elaborate display gardens upon which to feast your senses.    And if you go, please don’t overlook our $10 coupon in the back of the magazine.   Bring all your new ideas to us and we’ll help you make them a reality!

Our own Beth Rose will share her passion for this interesting insect.  Every year about this time, we start hearing from our customers interested in mason bees – and so we are happy to start our speaker series in 2009 with this topic.  Beth is an expert on mason bees and loves watching their habits in her own garden.  She will share the easy steps you can take to bring this friendly native insect into your garden as well.  You won’t get honey or wax from these hard workers, because they focus all their time and energy on pollinating.  If you have an edible garden or fruit trees, you will want to know about mason bees!  We will have starter houses and replacement tubes available by then as well, so that you will be ready when the bees are. Class is free, please call to register:  503-649-4568.