Neighborhood Garden Tours

Here is a partial listing of neighborhood garden tours coming up this summer. Some are by bus (Bainbridge) but most are self-guided driving or walking fromone private garden to the next all within various neighborhoods. I've gone on a number of these (Queen Anne, Wallingford, West Seattle, Bainbridge, and Burien). My favorite by far is always the Wallingford tour. It's amazing what these gardeners are able to pack in to a small city lot! I also like this one because most of the hardscaping and landscaping is all do-it-yourself. I'd have to say my second favorite is the West Seattle tour in terms of creativity and variety. Last year we visited a garden where every square inch of it was dedicated to veggies and herbs. They grew all there own produce and canned for the winter months. I hope you have the chance to check out a garden tour this summer. 

This photo is taken from one of my new favorite blogs http://bloomtown.typepad.com/

Wallingford Garden Tour 

Sunday June 7, 2009 10am-4pm

http://www.wallingford.org/page.aspx?pageid=4195

Gig Harbor

June 27-28 

www.gigharborguide.com/gardentour

Whidbey Island

June 27 

www.wigt.org

Symphony of Gardens (Kirkland, Medina and Yarrow Point)

June 28 

www.bellevuephil.org

Woodinville Tour of Gardens

July 18 

www.woodinvillegardenclub.org

Georgetown Art and Garden Walk

July 9 

www.georgetownneighborhood.com

Bainbridge in Bloom

July 10-12

www.gardentour.org

West Seattle

July 19 

http://www.westseattlegardentour.com/

Columbia City / Rainier Valley Garden Tour

August 22 

http://www.rainiervalleygardentour.org/

Parking Strip Topiaries

Who ever thought of a topiary collection in your parking strip. Excellent!

Upcoming Classes and Workshops

Pruning Classes

http://www.plantamnesty.org/documents/masterPruner2009.pdf

Multiple dates listed

Cass Turnbull of Plant Amnesty is THE authority on pruning. She has a great book out and I actually just saw her speak. If you ever have a question about how to prune something or just would like the art of pruning demystified, I would highly recommend a class or buying her pruning book. Her book is actually a fun read and some of her descriptions have you laughing out loud. I know, it's hard to believe a pruning book could be entertaining but really, it is!

--------------------------------------

West Seattle Edible Garden Fair: Learn To Grow Your Own Groceries!

http://www.seattlegreendrinks.org/node/1058

Date: Saturday, May 23, 2009
Time: 9:30AM - 4:00PM

Location: South Seattle Community College Landscape Horticulture
Buildings, 6000 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA, 98106

Admission: FREE!!

--------------------------------------

Drip Irrigation for Successful Food Gardening


Taught by David Stoller, Davey & Goliath
(two dates & locations)

Wednesday, May 20, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
South Seattle Community College
Cost: $15. Pre-registration required. 
Register at www.learnatsouth.org or call (206) 764-5339

View class description.

--------------------------------------

Simplify Your Summer Gardening


Taught by Ladd Smith, In Harmony Sustainable Landscapes

Saturday, June 6, 11:00–Noon
Molbak’s at 13625 NE 175th St, Woodinville (425) 483-5000 
Cost: Free. No pre-registration. View class description  

What's Blooming in the Peloza Garden

I have to say, I don't have a super amazing Spring display but I do have a few plants that really steal the show this time of year which are:

Doublefile Viburnum

I love the tiered horizontal structure. 

Allium 'Ivory Prince'

I love the graphic quality of this bulb and unlike most alliums, this one is low to the ground.

Tree Peony

I can take no credit for this. It was here when we moved in. Each flower is the size of a dinner plate. This picture is shot looking down from our deck. My mother and law brings all her gardening friends over to see it when it's in full bloom. Unfortunately, that's only for a week or two.

I wish this picture was from my garden but it's not! This is a public NY garden.

Deck Plantings in 07

Deck plantings consisted of crocosmia, wire vine, platt's black new zealand flax, geraniums, blood grass, mckennan hebe, canna, scotch moss, basil, blackie and mexican feather grass.

Weeds. Argh!

Nobody likes them and everyone is hoping there is a simple, minimal effort way to get rid of them. Well, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there just ISN'T. On the bright side, there are things you can do to make the weeding job easier and to keep it weed-free longer.

First, weed when the ground is moist. It's a lot easier. Today is a perfect day for weeding. The ground is so moist, the weeds practically jump out of the ground on their own. Okay, that's an overstatement but it IS easier. Trust me. 

Next, use 'Preen'. If you've gone to all the trouble of weeding you want to make sure new ones don't pop up as soon as you turn your back. Preen is an earth friendly weed preventer. It doesn't do anything to prevent the weeds that are already there but it does stop NEW weeds from growing. It basically keeps the seeds from germinating. So don't put Preen around annual or veggie seedlings! As a bonus, Preen is also a fertilizer so while you're preventing the weeds you're promoting the growth of your other plants. 

One thing I DO recommend is planting dense GROUND COVERS. Some thymes are good at keeping the weeds down (not the variegated one though). Yellow ice plant and woolly thyme also seem to do the job. Plus, they look great and often thrive in drought tolerant areas. Blue star creeper does a good job too but you have to stay after the weeds for the first year or two. Pictured clockwise: blue star creeper (see blue flowers), yellow ice plant (bottom right), thyme (center), and woolly thyme (far right).

One thing I DON'T recommend is putting down any kind of black tarp weed preventer. I don't care how much you burry it, it always seems to resurface and then you're constantly trying to cover it up again. Also, it seems like it doesn't take long before the weeds make their way through.

Good luck outsmarting those weeds! 

HERE'S ONE MORE ADD-ON. I just got a comment and realized I forgot to mention MULCH. Duh! Corn gluten was also suggested. Has anyone else tried that and had any success? Oh, and, you can get the Preen at McClendon's and probably most garden centers. I think I've even seen it at Costco.

Border with Variegated Iris

Border of variegated iris, gerber daisies, blue star creeper and scotch moss. The variegated iris is one of my favorites. It doesn't seem to get out of hand like regular iris. It's foliage makes it an attractive plant almost all year long and the blossoms are just a PLUS. When it blooms, I think it smells exactly like cotton candy.

Prep and Maintenance for Container Plantings

I always try to keep a mix of evergreens and perennials in my container plantings so there is something to look at all year long. Some of my evergreens were looking pretty rough this year so I decided this was the year to give my plants the SPA treatment. I emptied all my pots and put new dirt in. This seems like a fairly simple endeavor but given the shear number of pots I have this was quite an undertaking (27 on the south side alone)! This year is a test year. I am trying out the Costco Miracle Grow Moisture Control dirt. I am also going to keep up with the fertilizing which is something I've always slacked on in the past. I'm hoping that by doing those two things, my deck garden will be abundant and overflowing. This photo shows the starting point so you can be the judge! If you have any other tricks or tips, please feel free to share them!