June Featured Member

Old House Dahlias

Intrigued by the beauty and versatility of the dahlia, Mark Harvey started growing several varieties of this resilient flower in his backyard in Portland in 2003. Today, he offers more than 175 varieties of dahlias that Portlanders are accustomed to buying, literally, from his front doorstep.

Though he continues to grow flowers in his backyard, he also has a one-acre farm in Corbett, Oregon, just south of Portland and one acre in Portland's South Waterfront district. If you live in Portland, you can buy dahlias at 8005 SE Mill Street in the Montavilla neighborhood. Mark hosts an annual dahlia fest each September 10-11 and 17 -18. We also sell dahlia tubers for food , great raw on salads .

You can also pick up potted plants , and fresh cut flowers from August till frost at his self-serve cooler or call ahead for something special (call Mark first at 503-771-1199). Mark will be at Old House Dahlias August threw frost Saturday and Sunday . His South Water Front U-cut flower field will be open Fridays and Saturdays from 12:00- 5:00 August 28th till frost . This field is located in Portland next to the Meriwether Tower on S.W. River Park Way and Curry .

Summer Tours

SUMMER SOLSTICE GARDEN CELEBRATION

Saturday, June 25, 2011 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

This self-guided tour offers an opportunity to visit the following six independent garden centers and specialty nurseries

in the north Clark County, WA area. Entrances to the nurseries is free.

Participating nurseries will hold demonstrations, tours, and/or special deals throughout the event.

Sponsored by The Specialty Nursery Association of Clark County

Be sure to pick up a complimentary copy of the 2011 Specialty Nursery Guide at one of the following locations.

EASTFORK NURSERY

NatureScaping and the Wildlife Botanical Gardens

Scented Acres Lavender

Sunset View Nursery

Northwest Nursery Outlet

North Fork Landscape

Featured Member

May's Featured Specialty Nursery Member Millennium Farms Millennium Farms is located in Ridgefield, Washington and has the largest selection of heirloom vegetable, flower and herb starts in the greater Portland area. Specializing in heirloom or old-fashioned, open-pollinated varieties of plants, Millennium Farms is owned and operated by Michael and Missy Stucky and their family. The Stuckys specialized in heirloom varieties because of the superior flavor of the older, non-hybridized vegetables. They grow all of their plants, vegetables and flowers alike, using bio-dynamic methods which focus on feeding and growing the organisms in the soil instead of just feeding the plants. They and a growing number of growers and consumers have found the best-flavored vegetables and fruits are heirloom varieties grown bio-dynamically. Many of the top-rated restaurants of Portland and Vancouver are their customers. Michael Stucky comes from a long line of Mennonite farmers, known for growing the best of whatever crops they grew. Missy Stucky is a graduate of the Clark College Horticulture and WSU Master Gardener programs. Together, the Stuckys have over 40 years of growing experience. Millennium Farms offers over 500 varieties of herbs for culinary, medicinal and household use, and over 200 varieties of heirloom vegetable starts, including 120 varieties of tomatoes and peppers; easily the largest selection in the region

Featured Member

Featured Specialty Nursery Member

Scented Acres Lavender Farm

We have over 25 varieties of potted lavender, various sages, mints rosemary, scented geraniums and other herbs. The old chicken coop has been turned into a cozy, rustic, little gift shop. In addition to lavender bundles, we make our own lotions, creams, oils and bath products.

Featured Member

Featured Specialty Nursery Member

Shadylane Nursery

Shadylane Nursery is located on 8 acres in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Our native woodland is enhanced with hardy companion plants. We offer an "ever-growing" selection of hardy perennials, vines, shrubs and trees primarily for the shade grown here from seed or cuttings. We are a retail only nursery and do not offer mail order.

Feather Reed Grass

Feather Reed Grass

Want an easy to grow, tall grass that gives almost year around interest? Then you’ve got to try Feather Reed Grass. Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' is a cool season clumping grass with a compact, erect growth habit. Airy pinkish flowers appear in Mid-May. The flowers mature to a bright wheat color and hold their form all season. Growing to 4-5 feet in height and 2 feet wide, the columnar habit of Feather Reed Grass makes a great plant for back of the border or an accent plant, screen, or living wall. Once the cold of fall and winter arrives, the foliage turns from dark green to tawny brown. Give them a try. You won’t regret it! Both plants are available for purchase at Out in the Garden Nursery.

Submitted by:

Carol Westergreen of Out in the Garden Nursery

Reblooming

We added the miniature dwarf, standard dwarf and intermediate bearded types which start around the beginning of April. The earliest ones are about 4 inches tall. Then there is a progression of sizes, through time, up to the TB irises which in our area usually bloom the last two weeks of May. Following the TB's during the month of June, there are Spuria irises (early June), Japanese irises (the rest of June) and finally Louisiana irises (early June on into July.)

About ten years ago, we discovered a plant characteristic that seemed unique to areas under the influence of our west coast"coastal marine climate" cool off and bloom later in the fall. A few varieties begin in August and continue straight through until they are frozen off in December! In our catalog and on our website, we try to indicate which varieties rebloom reliably by inserting a capitol 'R'. Varieties that rebloom for us only occasionally will be marked with a small "r". Our iris breeding program now focuses on filling the gaps in the Rebloom phenomenon. We want irises in bloom from earliest spring until latest fall.

Our garden is open to visitors during daylight hours during bloom season. The orchid greenhouse is open by appointment.

Submitted by Terry Aitken of Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden

608 NW 119 St., Vancouver, WA 98685

Visit Aitkens Salmon Creek online at www.flowerfantasy.net