Plants of the Bible program August 20th

Coming to Garden University on Saturday August 20th, Professor Lytton Musselman will be speaking about Plants of the Bible - enlightening participants on the actual fruits and flowers of biblical times. Was Eve really tempted by an apple? Is mustard mentioned in the Bible? Why are trees so prominent in the Scriptures? Why it is difficult to make bread like that of Bible times. And why no one would eat “Ezekiel’s bread”.

Lytton Musselman is the Mary Payne Hogan Professor of Botany at Old Dominion University and has lived with and studied Bible plants for more than three decades. His most recent book is Figs, Dates, Laurel, and Myrrh Plants of the Bible and Quran published by Timber Press.

A book signing of Figs, Dates, Laurel, and Myrrh Plants of the Bible and Quran will follow the program as will a guided Plants of the Bible tour of the Garden.

This program begins at 1 p.m. in the Education Center at The Oregon Garden

Tickets are available by calling 503-874-2533 by August 19th or at the Visitor Center the day of the program

$15 General Admission (includes Garden admission & tour)

Free for Oregon Garden Members and Volunteers

Garden University announces addition to 2011 schedule

The Garden University series is adding a program to the schedule for 2011.

On Saturday September 24, 2011, Marianne Binetti will be speaking about "Gardening for Four Seasons." This program will occur at 11 a.m. in the Oregon Garden Resort.

Celebrate all four seasons of the Northwest Garden Style. Learn to love the rich colors and textures of the Autumn garden and the contrasts of our wild and wet winters by adding plants that celebrate these forgotten garden seasons. You'll learn how to use bark, berries and birds to add more delight to late Fall and early winter landscapes.

Showstopping color in spring and summer from the best easy-care shrubs and using groundcovers, sedums and succulents to save water as well as add beauty year round.

Some of the inspirational images that will be shown are from show gardens around the world as Marianne has been leading garden tours to the most spectacular places on the planet. Inspiration from Italy to Australia but purely practical advice on what grows best in the Western climate of the Pacific Northwest.

About Marianne Binetti:

Known for her light-hearted and fun approach to gardening Marianne graduated from WSU with a degree in Horticulture and is the author of 10 gardening books including "Easy Answers for Great Gardens" , She writes and award-winning, syndicated newspaper garden column, appears on local and HGTV. Now that their children are grown, Marianne and her husband Joe lead tours see the most beautiful gardens in the word.

Tickets:

$15 for non-members, includes admission to The Oregon Garden

Free for Garden members

Tickets available at the Visitor Center or by contacting the Membership Department at 503-874-2533 or membership@oregongarden.org

Gardens just right for four-legged friends

Coming June 25th to Garden University: "Pet Friendly Gardens" with Anne Taylor and Melinda Frey

Join landscape designers Anne Taylor and Melinda Frey for a discussion on adapting your garden so that it can be a safe and inviting space enjoyed by your family - including your pets! We’ll address frequent challenges that occur with pets and offer solutions.

Saturday June 25th at 1 p.m.

NOTE: the location of this lecture has been changed to the Education Center

Tickets: $15 non-members (includes Garden admission); Free for Garden members

About our speakers:

Anne Taylor is originally from Wisconsin with an in-born interest in nature. This interest is the reason she started her company Living Elements Landscape. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin. After moving to Portland, she received an Associate of Applied Science in Horticulture. Anne is a licensed landscape contractor, a certified arborist, landscape designer, an organic gardener and animal lover. Through her business Anne shares her skills, beliefs, and obsessions with everything green.

Melinda Frey established Raindrop Garden Design in 2006. A gathering of influences have led Melinda to garden design. Growing up in a family where art and the creative process were encouraged as a means of expression, each member took a slightly different route. Countless hours playing and exploring in her childhood home’s garden left a lasting impression on Melinda beginning a lifelong passion for plants and a love of gardening. A healthy respect for nature also developed early on, exploring the wonders of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

After studying photography at Brookes Institute, Melinda spent many years in the photographic industry developing a strong sense for composition, color, texture and flow, and now borrows from this skill set to visualize and design gardens.

As a lifelong pet owner, Melinda has shared her garden with numerous dogs over the years, implementing pet friendly gardening techniques. Her home garden has adapted to their best friend’s needs as well as being beautiful and inviting surroundings for all who use the garden. In 2009, Melinda launched a collaborated project with friend and associate Anne Taylor to share information and techniques that have worked well in our personal gardens with our own pets. The presentations we offer become as much of a learning experience as a teaching format.

More ideas about designing pet friendly gardens:

http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Gardening/Archives/2009/Create-a-Dog-Friendly-Wildlife-Garden.aspx

Conifers to fit any location

Up next in the Garden University series:

Small Trees for Small Spaces

June 11, 2011 at 1 p.m.

Education Center

Tour of Conifer Garden to follow

The Lecture:

Exciting new conifer cultivars provide designers and garden enthusiasts with a whole new palette of textures, shapes, and colors for creating year-around garden interest.

As a professional garden designer and current President of the Association of Northwest Landscape Designers (ANLD), Anne Marsh will show through slides some of these new and unusual conifers being used in Portland gardens, discussing issues such as placement and objective. At the same time, Dave Leckey, a grower of mature small conifers, will discuss and have examples of these same conifers on display. Between Anne and Dave, the audience will be able to see the plants, learn of their characteristics and growing needs, and get ideas on how to successfully place them in garden situations.

The Speakers:

Anne Marsh has over 35 years of experience in plant selection and garden design and is the President of the Association of Northwest Landscape Designers (ANLD). Anne’s company, Marsh & Fear Garden Solutions was created by Anne and her partner, Gary Fear, about 9 years ago after transforming their own garden in SW Portland. They welcome the public to visit their garden each month from April to August. Open garden dates are available at www.marshfear.com For more information about the ANLD, visit http://www.anld.com/

David Leckey has put his lifelong passion for energy conservation and earth-friendly practices into use in his business, Oregon Small Trees Nursery. The nursery, located west of Wilsonville, specializes in mature, slow-growing, low-maintenance, container- grown conifers and Japanese maples. David has also either written for or been featured numerous times in publications including Fine Gardening magazine, The Oregonian, and Digger magazine. Dave’s nursery is open to visitors by appointment at www.oregonsmalltrees.com

Ciscoe Morris speaks at The Oregon Garden this week!

Don't miss this opportunity to get some great garden design ideas and to ask your gardening questions! Ciscoe Morris will be speaking at the next Garden University program May 21st at 2 p.m. at The Oregon Garden.

Learn more about Ciscoe at his website, Gardening With Ciscoe

Another garden project from Ciscoe:

Spuds taste best when you grow them in a garbage can.

Kids and adults both love growing potatoes in a garbage can. Begin with a clean 15 gallon can and punch lots of holes for drainage in the bottom. Locate the can in full-sun and fill it with 6 inches of potting soil. Plant the seed potatoes just below the surface and make sure they are completely covered with soil. Either mix in an organic vegetable fertilizer or feed every two weeks with a soluble houseplant fertilizer. Water the spuds and in no time the vines will begin to grow.

When the vines grow about 4 inches, cover all but the top inch with a growth medium such as soil, compost, woodchips or straw. Water as necessary to keep the soil moderately moist, and continue the process of covering the vines until they grow out of the top and the can is completely full. Soon the potatoes will bloom. At this point you can reach and feel around for potatoes. If you find some good sized ones, bring them in and cook them up.

These are new potatoes, not long lasting, but they taste great, especially if you follow Julia Child's advice and add more butter! If you wait until the vines die back in fall, you can store your potatoes for a long period. This is the real fun. Make sure the kids are present before you dump the can to check out the bounty. It's always a surprise. Once I only got 8 potatoes, but the biggest one was the size of a Volkswagen bug! Another time I harvested 55 delicious, good-sized spuds. Buy an extra big plate, just in case you grow a Volkswagen.

Garden tips from May speaker Ciscoe Morris

On May 21st, radio and television personality Ciscoe Morris will be speaking at Garden University program "Spice Up Your Garden with Environmentally Friendly Design Ideas" Join us at 2 p.m. in the Education Center to hear Ciscoe's fun and interactive talk. Book signing to follow.

Here are a few tips from Ciscoe:

Outwit apple pests

When you bite into an apple and a worm smiles back at you, the extra protein is complements of a codling moth. If, on the other hand, you’re greeted by the smiles of several half-maggots, you’ve just snacked on apple maggots. My best efforts at using environmentally friendly methods, from sticky traps to spraying clay, to control these pests have failed miserably, and every year most of my apples end up a gourmet treat for my neighbor’s horse. Now there’s a new, natural way to control these pests and That is 100% effective against apple maggot and fairly successful at preventing coddling moth as well. You simply place a pantyhose footie around each apple when you thin your fruit in early spring. You don’t need to tie a knot.

Simply stretch it over the fruit making sure the apple ends up in the middle. Footies won’t harm your apples. They breathe, don’t absorb water and expand with the apple as it grows. The only problem I've found is that you get slightly more apple scab on susceptible trees. To prevent expensive visits to the relationship counselor when your better half discovers that all the feet have been cut off her nylons, buy them by the box from your local nursery or at http://www.homeorchardsociety.org/fruitsoxs/

Berry Pruning Demonstration April 9th

Garden University presents "Twigs & Berries: A Pruning Demonstration" with Dawn Hummel on Saturday April 9, 2011.

Raspberries, huckleberries, blueberries, strawberries - oh my!
Dawn Hummel will teach you how to take care of cane bearing fruits in small, urban gardens.

Class begins at 1 p.m. in the OSU Room of the Pavilion. Tickets and Will Call are located in the Visitor Center.

Tickets:

$15 non-members, includes Garden admission

Free for Garden Members

Contact Beth Maurer at 503-874-2533 for ticket information.

Tips on Container Gardening from Ellen Zachos

Container gardening isn't any more difficult than traditional, in-ground gardening...it's just a little different. All those differences make sense when you stop to consider the reduced volume of soil in which you're asking your plants to grow. Think about it: in the ground roots have almost unlimited space to reach out for water and nutrition, not to mention plenty of insulation from extremes of heat and cold. In containers the volume of soil is greatly reduced. It's the gardener's responsibility to make up for that shortfall by increasing attention paid to watering, fertilization, and climate extremes.

Some plants grow better than others in containers, and while limiting their root size may inhibit top growth, that's not always a bad thing. For example, you can have a perfectly happy crabapple tree in a container. It may never get to be 20 feet tall, but a crabapple in a 30" square container can easily grow to 10 feet with excellent flower and fruit production. Don't let the lack of a big yard hold you back. You can pack a lot of punch into a container garden.

Quilting...more than stitches

We are rapidly approaching the Stitches in Bloom Quilt Show and the first lecture in the 2011 Garden University series. Terry Grant will be speaking about her fusion techniques...

As we delve into the quilting world, it becomes obvious that quilting history is a fascinating subject. There are many myths regarding the history of quilting in America...Judy Anne Breneman of www.womenfolk.com states "Myths about quilt history are a part of our culture and many have romantic appeal. We can enjoy the myths but need to remember they are tales sometimes passed through generations." Her site gives a wonderfully full history of quilting in America. She talks about the various myths, including quilting being a common task in a woman's life in Colonial America (find the answer HERE).

Fusing is often thought to be a new method of quilting, but it seems that paste was used previously..."It appears that paste was sometimes used to adhere the motif fabric to the background before appliqueing. Quilt historian, Kimberly Wulfert shares the following information on pasting. "In more than one source I have read paste was used in the early 1800s by women making cut-out-chintz quilts. A later reference is in 'Chintz Quilts, Unfaded Glory.' Bullard and Shiell quote from the 1882 Dictionary of Needlework to describe how to make broderie perse quilts and paste is mentioned. The fabric is stretched on a frame before the fabrics are pasted down and allowed to dry. Then remove it from the frame to stitch the edges down. There's no mention of what the paste is made of." Read the full article HERE.

Did you know that fabric scraps were not necessarily a measure of frugality? "Although some quilters used scraps from clothing in their quilts others bought fabric specifically for the quilts they made. Other times quilts were made with a combination of both. The frugality theory also implies that quilt making was a necessary drudgery. Instead we find that most women enjoyed the creativity involved in making a quilt whether with new fabric or scraps. Although quick and simple quilts were made for everyday use many quilts were far too intricate in the piecing and quilting to have been made just for necessity."

We oohh and ahh over hand-stitched quilts now, admiring the detail of the stitches and the effort of the quilter, but piecing and quilting by hand has not always been prized over using a sewing machine.

"When the sewing machine became available the possession of one was quite a status symbol. Piecing was often done by sewing machine and a few women even machine stitched their quilting or appliqué. Considering how much harder it must have been to do this compared to using modern sewing machines it certainly wasn't out of laziness but because of a desire to use the sewing machine. These visible stitches advertised that the quilter was a proud owner of a sewing machine. Sewing the binding by machine was another way to show off machine stitching.

During the Colonial Revival around the turn of the last century hand quilting was valued more but this was a part of a movement toward going back to fine handcrafts. During the earlier years when the sewing machine was first available we do not find that most people considered hand piecing and quilting to be the superior method."

Find more information about these myths and more at www.womenfolk.com

Don't forget to join us for the Stitches in Bloom Quilt Show and Terry Grant's lecture (January 29th, 11 a.m. Education Center). For more information call 503-874-8100.

2011 Garden University Series

Welcome to the Garden University blog! We will be posting information about upcoming Garden University events, bios on GU speakers, and helpful hints from our experts. Garden University is a program of The Oregon Garden. Events are open to the public. Garden members receive free admission to lectures as a benefit of their membership (workshops may have additional fees).

We have a great series lined up for 2011 - see our listing below. Additional information will be coming about each individual event - complete description, author bio and other pertinent info, so check back often. Admission to each lecture is $15 for non-member (includes Garden admission); free for Garden members unless otherwise noted.

2011 Garden University

January 29th - "Quilt Fusion: Unique Techniques" with Terry Grant

11 a.m., Education Center

February 26th - "Madagascar:The Real Treasure Island" with Paul Freed

1 p.m., Education Center

Book signing to follow: Of Golden Toads and Serpent's Roads

March 26th - "Annuals for an Indoor/Outdoor Show" with Ellen Zachos

Workshop 10 a.m., J. Frank Schmidt Jr. Pavilion

*$35 non-member; $30 Garden member

Must pre-register, limited number of spots

March 26th - "Professional Tips for Impressive Containers" with Ellen Zachos

Lecture 1 p.m., OSU Room, Pavilion

Book signing to follow: Down & Dirty: 43 Fun & Funky First Time Projects &

Activities to Get You Gardening

April 9th - "Twigs & Berris: A Pruning Demonstration" with Dawn Hummel

1 p.m., OSU Room, Pavilion

Tour of Silverton Market Garden to follow

May 21st - "Spicing Up Your Garden With Environmentally Friendly Design Ideas"

with Ciscoe Morris

2 p.m., Education Center

Book signing to follow: Ask Ciscoe: Oh La La! Your Gardening Questions

Answered

June 11th - "Small Trees for Small Spaces" with David Leckey and Anne Marsh

1 p.m. Education Center

Tour of the Conifer Garden to follow

June 25th - "Sharing Your Garden With Your Best Animal Friend" with Anne Taylor and

Melinda Frey

1 p.m., OSU Room, Pavilion

Tour of the Pet Friendly Garden to follow

August 20th - "Charms and Challenges of Bible Plant Research"

with Lytton John Musselman

1 p.m., Education Center

Book signing to follow: Figs, Dates, Laurel and Myrrh: Plants of the Bible

and the Quran

Also to follow: Plants of the Bible tour of the Garden

September 10th - "Cooking Green: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen" with

Chef Eric Nelson of Wellspring's Vitality

1 p.m., Founder's Square

Attendees will get to sample the dishes created by Chef Eric

November 1st - "Dramatic Vignettes for Your Garden in Winter" with Carol Lindsay

6 p.m., Education Center