Fun Field Trip

 

 

Yesterday we visited a thyme garden at one of Master Gardener's home in Eden.  

 Her water-wise thyme garden has three different varieties that were buzzing with bees.  

We had such a great time in the valley that we didn't want to come back to work. 

Thanks Ruby, for letting us see your beautiful gardens and for giving us many great gardening ideas.

Preventing Wormy Apples and Pears

At the Gardens we get many phone calls about spraying apples and pears for the codling moth.  This pesky moth flies at night, it  lays eggs on the new apple and pear fruit and their "babies" feed inside the fruit.  So here is a get link to how to control the codling moth and other fruit tree pests.

Name That Weed: June 14, 2010: Answer

Winner:  Melinda come and claim your prize at the Gardens. 

The answer to our weed is plant is a orange hawkweed.  It can be invasive and I have found it growing in several places in our Cottage Garden.  I will be taking it out soon.  When I was trying to identify this plant I "googled" orange dandelion and it gave me a lot of sites on orange hawkweed.  I found that it is a noxious weed in many states.  Here is a site to look at for more information.   

Art in the Garden: Thanks for Coming

We had such a great time at our event on Thursday!  We estimate that about 2,000 people came out to support us and we thank you for that. 
 

 Everyone I talked to had a great time touring the gardens, admiring the art, listening to the beautiful music and eating the excellent food. 

We loved the John Deere tractor and the delicious ice cream from Poppin' Johnny's.  It made the event perfect.

We hope that you will mark your calendars for June 23, 2011 for next year's Art in the Garden event.  

Happy Birthday Susie

Susie turned 25 yesterday--so we had to celebrate.  Susie we think you're great and love working with you at the gardens. 

We had cake and rootbeer floats after our Master Gardener work day.  Thanks to all who came out and helped us get ready for the Art in the Garden Gala. 

Art in the Garden: See You There

Tomorrow is the big day!  Please, no rain!  We having been working feverishly with all our wonderful Master Gardeners and faithful crew. 

The gardens look spectacular!  Hope to see everyone there in the sunshine enjoying the art, music and food! 

What more could you ask for!

Name That Weed: June 14, 2010

Look at this weed and tell me is it a desirable or a pest?  Looks can be deceiving.  In fact, this weed has been so successful that I even thought it was cute.  Look at its cool petal formation and the color is to die for.  I'm a sucker for orange flowers I've decided.  So I decided to find out the identity of this tempting plant and to see if I should pull it up or propagate it for others.

Name this weed or desirable and you will be win a prize from Jerry's office.  Deadline is June 21, 2010.  You have one week--so get to work!

Wind Damage

Over the weekend we had some nasty wind storms and they blew down three of our aspens in our grove.  It just shows you how weak an aspen's root system can be.  Look at the oriental poppy that's poking it head out from under the downed tree.

Art in the Garden: Local Artist Information

Update:  We are adding Eric Parkinson to our list of artists at our upcoming event.  It will be fabulous! 

We are so fortunate this year to have such talented artists signed up for our Art in the Garden event.  They will be Patricia Christensen, Reed Loveland, Wendy Dimick, Paulette Johnson, Linda Sellers, Cheryl Laumer, Becky Espinoza, Robyn Munro, and Jo Bradbury.

  I thought that you might like to have a "sneak peek" at some of their beautiful work. You can see them paint at the gardens too on Thursday, June 17th.

Name That Weed: Answer

Update:  Lynn come and claim your prize.  You knew that this weed is houndstongue.
I know that all you followers have been glued to your seats just waiting to hear the answer to 'Name That Weed.'  The wait is over.  The answer is Houndstongue.  As I walked around the gardens today I noticed it in a lot of the beds and I pulled it as I went.  Houndstongue is an annual weed and germinates from seed.  It is fairly easy to control and I believe that by digging it out or using a hoe before it goes to seed will save you a lot of heartache in the years to come. Its leaves are hairy and rough like a dog's tongue, hence it's name.  It is a prolific seeder and its seeds have a great way of sticking to your clothes or animals and being moved to different areas.  So if you see this offender--pull it and you can admire it's pretty purple flowers from your garbage can.  If you would like more information click here.

Studio 5: Five Top Pests

If you miss your favorite horticulturist on Studio 5--here's your chance to see Jerry in action.  Check out the pictures of the Gardens.  I'm so proud of how this segment turned out!  Good job Jerry for promoting our Art in the Garden!

What's Blooming in the Gardens: June 9, 2010

There are so many beautiful flowers blooming in the garden.  I don't ever remember having such a long spring to enjoy the flowers before.  Erin and I went on a 'walk about' today and we were able to take some pictures of the gorgeous oriental poppies, many flowering shrubs, and the penstemons are starting to bloom.  It's such a great time to come out to the gardens and take your own pictures.  I know that I've seen a lot of photographers snapping shots of brides and families in our breath-taking gardens in the past weeks and so should you!

Art in the Garden: Local Chef Information

We are so excited that Jeremy Baker from Jasoh  restaurant is coming to do a cooking demonstration from 6pm-6:30pm at our Art in the Garden event on June 17th.  I've heard so many wonderful things about their food.; They will be providing samples of their appetizers and salads for all those who come.

Also, Trudy Soland, owner of  Poppin' Johnny's ice cream will be at the gardens selling her delicious, all natural  ice cream for only $1.  She will have her '58 Chevy truck and John Deere tricycle where she will be scooping ice cream.  It is going to be so much fun!

Art in the Garden: Our Official Flier

Update: The schedule will be as follows:

Noon-8pm Garden tours conducted by Master Gardeners

Noon-6pm Plant Sale

2-8pm Poppin' Johnny's Ice cream for sale $1

3-8pm Local Artists and displays

6-6:30pm Jeremy Baker, chef from Jasoh! restaurant cooking demonstration and samples

6:30-7:30pm Aspen Strings, local orchestra performance

Patricia Christensen, one of the local artists that we have invited to our Art in the Garden has been gracious enough to design our flier this year.  We are looking forward to displaying more art work from such talented artists in our beautiful gardens.  We hope that you and your families will come out and support us on Thursday, June 17th.  More details will be forthcoming. 

Name That Weed

Weeds are popping up right and left every where.  Which plants are weeds and which plants are flowers, is a question we get asked all the time.  The sad thing is that many times pesky weeds fool us into us into to thinking that they are a desirable plant.  We cultivate them and admire them until they set seed and they spread all over our gardens.  Then we see a post on a blog and realize that those sneaky weeds have "weasled" their way into our gardens.  So I'm here to educate you on some of our worst offenders in our gardens and hope to spare you of mistaken identities.

I have a prize for anyone who can tell the name of this weed and how to control it.

Planting Our Raised Veggie Beds

Last year we constructed our raised beds thanks to a lot of hard work from a wonder Eagle Scout group, a Davis County Extension agent, and our trusty crew.  We filled the beds with a 1/2 compost and 1/2 topsoil mix and installed the irrigation lines. 

Last week we installed the drip lines and micro-emitters.  Since we are a teaching garden we wanted to showcase three different types of drip irrigation that is available to the public for raised beds.  We used micro-emitters for the fruit tree beds and two different types of drip lines (Netaphim)  for the veggie and herb beds.  We are excited to see the results from our irrigation experiment as the summer goes on.  Come and check them out.  They are way cool!

Today was the lucky day that we were able to plant vegetables in our raised beds.  Thanks to a planning and research from Erin, our dependable intern, we had a wonderful design to follow and many veggie varieties to choose from.  Here is list of some of the seeds/plants that we put in today: Bush and pole beans, heirloom tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, sweet corn, squash, cucumbers, broccoli, onions, beets, sage, chives, rosemary, basil, watercress, lettuce, and oregano.  You'll have to come and check it out for yourself and come and sample them when it's harvest time.

Answer: What's Wrong with this Plant? Oak Gall

I received only one answer for this plant mystery and yes, it is an oak gall.  Most galls do not harm plants.  They are usually caused by insects and the plant tries to defend itself from the pest.  To read more about Gambel Oak galls and how to treat them click here. I found this on the Utah Pest website.  It is a great resource for many pest problems along the Wasatch Front. 

Stay tuned and I will have many more plant problems for you to diagnose as the summer progresses.  Let's see if you know your stuff!

Answer: What's Wrong with this Plant? Hardening Off

I've only gotten a few guesses, but they are right.  The answer to the tomato problem was that the plant was not "hardened off" or acclimated to the cold temperatures gradually.  Most greenhouse plants need to be exposed to outdoor temperatures over a few days, before they are ready for chilly temperatures.  Since we've had an unfavorable cold weather this spring,  most tender veggies--such as tomatoes, peppers, melons, and squash have struggled.  Their leaves will scorch and look washed out when they are pushed from a balmy greenhouse environment to outdoor temperatures in the 40's and 50's.

Here is more information on hardening off transplants from the greenhouse put out by the University of Maryland.  This might come in handy when helping with diagnostic clinic at the Gardens and you can impress your families and friends.