The National Gardening Association

The National Gardening Association is available on the internet with many resources for your garden and beyond.Here are some recent entries in the Seed Swapping area:

Date Posted:

Apr 26, 2008

Seeds Offered:

Hubbard

Seeds Wanted:

Rhubarb seeds

-

Date Posted:

Apr 19, 2008

Seeds Offered:

marigold, snapdragon, and viola seeds

Seeds Wanted:

Porter Tomato seeds

Additional Information:

I have several diff kinds of sunflower, marigold, sweet william and a few raspberry soda snapdragons I am looking for Porter Tomato seeds which originated in TX.

-

Date Posted:

Apr 12, 2008

Seeds Wanted:

Any wildflower seeds

Additional Information:

I wish to have a beautiful yard but I am disabled and I can only work for short periods of time. Please if you have any seeds that you are willing to send me please do…Maybe I can enjoy the yard this summer with some pretty flowers

-

Date Posted:

Apr 12, 2008

Seeds Offered:

lavender phlox 

Seeds Wanted:

castor bean.

Also on the site are several interesting blogs:

Urban Gardening- Moss in the City with William Moss

Edible Landscaping with Charlie Nardozzi

Celebrating the Seasons with Rebecca Kolls

The “Let’s Talk Gardening” message board allows you to connect with other gardeners to give and receive advice and ideas. Recipes such as a Butternut Squash Soup and Pumpkin Spice Waffles and programs such as “Adopt a School Garden” and “Adopt a Rehabilitation Program” are all part of the offerings of the National Gardening Association. Free newsletters are available too.

Check it out today!

Interesting Garden Tidbits 1

Here are some interesting garden tidbits that I discovered in the past couple of weeks:

Growing Lemon Trees in the Northwest- Yes, apparently they can grow here. In particular the Meyer lemon although a pot is recommended.  It may need brought in at times and can require a lot of care. The author says that the tree will fruit most of the year.

Benefits to Using Seaweed in Your Garden- Wow, yes there are a few although overuse can be detrimental next season so you should be careful. As you know, Flora has to support most all uses of natural resources in our gardens. But I’m not sure about fertilizing with urine-which is another article I saw the other day.

Growing an Herb Lawn by MARIANNE BINETTI- An herb lawn provides fragrance, beauty and practicality that will add to your cooking charms.

A List of Native Plants for our area, in particular ones that draw wildlife.

Video of an 87-pound cabbage that won 2^nd place in the Alaska State Fair Giant Cabbage Weigh-off.

Have fun! If you have any interesting gardening tidbits, please share them in the comment section.

Pea Update 2

Well, my garden has had little sun so far, and I know that you can sympathize with me. And I am disappointed in the lack of progress for the organic peas. They are just now poking their heads out, although the non-organic ones did long ago. Is there something in the non-organic seeds that makes them grow more quickly? Hmmm. Since they were planted the same day and given the exact same elements, including the same dirt, I must wonder. Why can’t there be an ingredient label on seeds? LOL.

My youngest, who helped plant, is not disappointed at all. He rounded the house on a dead run the other day to yell that the peas were growing and asked how long it would be until it is time to eat them. Waiting is always the hardest part of course. He asked three times to water them, and I finally let him, in spite of the fact that we have had nothing but rain here in the northwest for a couple of weeks. He is just so excited to garden every year and I hope that what I teach him now will help him cultivate his own plot of land someday. Maybe he will even call me with questions like I do to my mom. Maybe someday I’ll have a partner to go to the garden shows with!

Guess I better get us through the pea-growing first!

I know that I took a risk even planting cool weather crops, but my friend Dave down the road who has an absolutely marvelous garden with walkways, antiques, home-made swings and more (I will post pics for you later in the spring) still has his starts in the greenhouse and is playing it a little safer. I know that he and his wife Lou are itching to get on it and will soon, and when they do their garden will again be an incredible experience. This year, I will share it with you.

Hoyt Arboretum

Only a couple miles from downtown Portland is a 187-acre arboretum of living wonder with 12 miles of trails. Whether rain drops plop slowly onto the ground after bending each leaf or sunny skies warm human and plant-life alike, a trip to Hoyt Arboretum is well worth your time. Best part? It’s free.  

Volunteers are available at the Visitor Center to help interpret tree collections or answer questions. Also, brochures and maps are available at all times for those who prefer a more independent experience. Specifically mapped are 1, 2 and 4 mile self-guided tours. I really liked that each species is labeled like at the flower shows.

The Arboretum houses a library with over 800 horticultural books and periodicals available for fact checking. And although the books can’t be checked out, there is room within the library for you and yours to research, as well as spaces for meetings or classes.

The website keeps a list of what plants are in bloom each month and where they are located. Here are a few blooming in the last two weeks of April:

At the Visitor’s Center:

Acer macrophyllum (Big Leaf Maple) -Across Fairview Blvd.

Arctostaphylos (Bearberry)

Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’ (Aztec Pearl Mexican Orange)

Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ (Sundance Mexican Orange)

Correa cvs. ‘Marion’s Marvel’ (Australian Fuschia)

Ribes sanguineum, (Red Flowering Currant)

On Magnolia Trail:

Magnolia x kosar ‘Susan’ (Susan Magnolia)

Magnolia x loebneri ‘Ballerina’ (Ballerina Magnolia)

Magnolia x loebneri ‘Dr. Merrill’ (Dr. Merrill Magnolia)

Magnolia x soulangiana  (Saucer Magnolia)

Magnolia stellata (Star Magnolia)                     

Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’ (Pink Star Magnolia)

Magnolia stellata ‘Waterlily’ (Waterlily Magnolia)

There are too many to highlight here, so be sure and check out the complete list of April blooms.

Enjoy your trip! You may even find yourself, like me, planning a second one very soon.

What’s So Big About Bamboo?

Bamboo is all the craze. Have you noticed? The kids and I were visiting in Portland this past week and went to the Oregon Zoo. SO fun. (By the way, they have Hoyt Arboretum next to the zoo which I will also be visiting as soon as possible)

In between watching the animals and my six-year-old, who was literally bouncing from one exhibit to the next with his mouth wide open, I noticed an ongoing theme: bamboo of all shapes and sizes, with some of the widest stalk that I have ever seen. And I about passed out with joy when I saw the huge tropical plants in the bird area but that is another post.

Did you know there are about 2,000 types of bamboo? Whoa. Some is strong enough to build houses from and much of it is also edible. Although some people avoid it, as it likes to spread, a controlled display of bamboo can add much to the flavor of any landscape.

Here are some unique facts about bamboo:

1. Flowering proceeds death.
2. If bamboo is dehydrated, the leaves will curl up tightly.
3. It’s a grass and loves nitrogen.
4. It spreads by rhizome and is limited by its physical surroundings.
5. The best control of spread is root pruning.
6. It will fill up allotted space and become congested in 4-7 years.
7. Watering 2-3 times a week is important, although some varieties are more drought-resistant than others.

I’m ready to try out a few-how about you?