Category — Gardening and Farming

To weed or not to weed? How could that be such a charged question? It’s a no-brainer to me. Ditto for my husband. But there’s the rub. We come to different conclusions.

We are simpatico on nearly every issue. Politics. No problem. Religion. Not an issue. Money. We jive. But weeds? Where I see invasive interlopers with flying seeds and unruly roots, Gary sees lush green. And when I clean squatters out from around my perennials, Gary cries “scorched earth!”

Our conversations go something like this:

Katlin: I can’t find my daylilies.

Gary: They’re there. Just wait until they bloom.

Katlin: The roses can’t breathe.

Gary: We shouldn’t grow roses.

Katlin: Vinca is taking over the yard.

Gary: Vinca? What vinca?

So imagine my chagrin when I opened the weekend Wall Street Journal to find a massive feature story “Why We Must Learn to Love Weeds” by Richard Mabey.

Darn that article on weeds!

The article invoked Ralph Waldo Emerson who said: “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.” That would be Gary’s point of view.

The WSJ piece also mentions my stand: “They (weeds) are plants that sabotage human plans. They rob crops of nourishment, ruin the exquisite visions of garden designers, break our codes of appropriate behavior, make unpleasant and impenetrable hiding places for urban ne’er-do-wells.”

That’s certainly what I found in a recent campaign against unwanted garden guests. They were blocking my plans (and plants), robbing my perennials of nutrients, messing up my garden design and hiding legions of disgusting snails .

At our first house, we found a simple solution. Gary took the backyard. I gardened in front. I can’t remember who tended the sideyard. It didn’t matter. It was a tiny, easy-care yard.

At our current home, that all changed. We have gone out of our way to create a very high-maintenance yard. And we share landscaping duties throughout the multiple garden beds.

So how do you cope with a split household on the subject of weeds? This may sound rather sneaky but it works for us. I suggest that Gary go do something that he loves like, for instance, sailing. Then I move in with trowel and create botanical dig sites throughout the yard, unearthing my beloved plants. Here are a few before and after photos:

A few of the backyard beds:

Before - Jungle of plants

After - Plants with shape and personality

One of the new perennial beds:

Before - Jumble of plants

After - The daylilies are located!

Before - Hidden daylilies and fern

After - Happy plants!

From the frontyard:

Before - Rhodies with encroaching bergenias, end-of-season forget-me-nots and colonies of snails

After - Rhodies waiting for new bulbs and other companions

It’s not that I’m hiding my eradication efforts. The weeds end up in a very obvious pile in the driveway. Then Gary comes back from sailing a happy skipper and hauls them off while I enjoy a drink on the patio.

The great payoff...

Got any better ideas? I’m listening!

Spring events are in full force now in Southwest Washington. Here are a few ideas to get you out the door:

May 3 – The 39 Steps – Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in Longview. This 2008 Tony award-winning play “The 39 Steps” is a madcap romp through one of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest films. Adapted for the stage, it became one of Broadway’s longest-running comedy thrillers. With a cast of 4, this show has more than 150 characters to keep you on the edge of your seat.

May 7 – The 28th Annual Ride Across Clark County (RACC) sponsored by the Vancouver Bicycle Club WARNING! This event may be sold out. Check the Web site for availability of this scenic and popular day-long ride. Four loops to choose from – 18, 34, 65 and 100 miles

May 7 – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. National Train Day, Historic Train Depot, 210 Railroad Ave, Centralia, WA National Train Day commemorates the anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s inception. Special displays and events will be in the Historic Railroad Depot in downtown Centralia.

May 14 – 8 p.m. Al Stewart Concert at the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center in Stevenson. Remember the Scottish singer-songwriter’s 1976 hit Year of the Cat? Skamania Performing Arts Foundation, 541-400-9792

May 14 and 15 – Vancouver Symphony Orchestra conducted by Salvador Brotons. Concert times are 3 pm on Saturday and 7 pm on Sunday. Last regular concert of the season. The program will feature Concerto for Horn by Brotons. Roman Festivals by Respighi and Audience Choice (voting now closed).

May 14, 12-4 pm – Cathlapotle Plankhouse, Carty Unit of the Ridgefield NWR, 28908 NW Main Ave., Ridgefield. Artist Judy Bridges, Cowlitz basket weaver, will demonstrate basket weaving techniques. Visitors will have the opportunity to view examples of her basketry and ask her questions about her craft.

May 15, 12-4 pm – Cathlapotle Plankhouse Carty Unit of the Ridgefield NWR, 28908 NW Main Ave, Ridgefield. Artists Greg Robinson, member of the Chinook Indian Nation, and Greg Archuleta, member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, will be in the Plankhouse doing carving and Chinookan lifeways demonstrations. Visitors will be able to see some of their beautiful artwork as well as talk to them about Chinookan art and culture.

May 18-19 – Nautical Renaissance The Port of Ilwaco welcomes back Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Tall Ships, The Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain. Self-guided tours are hosted by the crew wearing period costumes. ($3 requested donation). Adventure and Battle Sails are also available. Visit the Web site for prices and other details. From Ilwaco on May 19th guests can book passage to Astoria where the ships will offer tours until May 22, coinciding with Astoria’s opening celebration of its 200th birthday. Contact the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority in Aberdeen (360) 532-8611 or (800) 200-5239 for details and schedules. Go to www.ladywashington.org to track the ships’ locations and purchase discounted price tickets. (Note: There will also be a sail in Ilwaco on May 3rd.)

May 21-22 – 31st Annual Herb and Garden Festival at Pomeroy Living History Farm Thousands of fresh herb and garden plants, many organic selections plus entertainment, farm café, vendors and the herb garden. Admission is free.

May 28-30 – Memorial Day Weekend Clark County Spring Wine Release Visit 11 Clark County wineries in one weekend! See the Web site for details and maps.

May 28-30 – Memorial Day Open House Weekend at Columbia Gorge Wineries Visit more than 30 wineries and tasting rooms on both sides of the river. Details on the event Web site.

Wow, what a May! This is just a small fraction of what is scheduled. See you out there in Southwest Washington!

{Full disclosure from the writer: I love cranberries. This will not be an expose or even objectively reported. However, no free cranberry products were accepted during or after the researching of this blog post. We bloggers have our ethics, right?!}

Consider the cranberry. One of a very few fruits native to North America. Used by Native Americans for food, medicine and dyes. Named “crane berry” by Dutch and German settlers.

Ocean Spray, the cranberry grower co-op, which reports selling seven out of every 10 cranberries in the world, is out to educate us about the cranberry. Me, too.

Did you know these cranberry facts?
• U.S. cranberries are grown primarily in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon and, of course, our beloved Washington. Of those states, Washington ranks fifth in harvest size. I asked. Enquiring minds want to know.

• 20 percent of cranberries are consumed during Thanksgiving. I thought it would be a higher percentage. Then again, you can only eat so many cranberries during one dinner.

• Sailors used cranberries to prevent scurvy. I am married to a sailor. He has never had scurvy to my knowledge. It must be the cranberries I feed him. Case closed.

• Cranberries bounce. It’s true! I tested this statement at home. This, by the way, was discovered by a New Jersey grower named John “Peg Leg” Webb, who dumped his crop down steps because he couldn’t carry the berries. The fresher berries bounced. The rotten berries didn’t. This led to the creation of “bounceboards” which help growers separate their berries. Who knew?!

I will admit that I have had misconceptions about cranberries over the years. As a child, I assumed that cranberries came only in cans. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, a can was opened and a jiggly, red, cylindrical mass with grooves appeared on the table.

Years later, when I moved to the Northwest, I thought, like many, that cranberries grew in large ponds. Wrong again! Cranberries grow on vines in marshy bogs and, in the fall, are “wet harvested” when the bogs are flooded with water and the berries float to the surface or “dry harvested” with lawnmower-like machines. Something else I didn’t know – cranberries are perennials.

So how do WE celebrate the cranberry?
In Southwest Washington, we have apple tree and cherry blossom festivals, crab and salmon celebrations. The bog-rich, Long Beach Peninsula knows how to honor the cranberry. The Cranberrian Fair was first celebrated more than 100 years ago.

This year, the October festivities started at Ilwaco’s Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum, which is well worth a visit with or without cranberries. There, 101 cranberry-peach pies were sliced by the ladies of the Willapacific Chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), who were raising money for college scholarships. A craft fair offered art plus cranberry products and baked goods. Cranberry bread, cookies, jam, sauces were featured. We immediately consumed pie and cookies, tasted cranberry chutney and purchased a five-pound bag of cranberries from a grower who was selling on the street.

Cranberries for Sale on the Streets of Ilwaco

The Cranberry Trolley

The Cranberry Trolley transported festival goers to the Pacific Coast Cranberry Research Foundation Museum and Gift Shop on Pioneer Road, where the bogs were flooded. Finally, I could witness a Northwest cranberry harvest – floating red berries, men in waders, machines that could remove and corral the berries. Of course it was pouring rain – a quintessential Northwest experience.

Harvesting the Berries

We learned about the history of the cranberry and industry in the museum. From cranberry wine to dental floss, the museum gift shop showed the diversity of these little berries. A salmon lunch was seasoned beautifully with cranberry barbeque sauce. Is there anything that you cannot create with cranberries?

One of the Cranberry Museum Exhibits

Cranberry Wine from K-W Cellars

Salmon with Cranberry Barbeque Sauce

The harvest may be over but the museum and gift shop are open daily (Apr 1 – Dec 15 and by appointment). And you can do a self-guided tour along the bogs. Don’t forget to buy some cranberries and start cooking. You’ll find recipes and a lot more on the Ocean Spray Web site. Why wait for Thanksgiving? I’m starting now with the Roasted Cranberry Quesadillas.

Floating Cranberries in a Bog

“Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

When I was a kid, chickens lived in barnyards. I was in awe of my grandmother’s fearlessness as she entered her long, white hen house and reached under each angry hen to snatch her egg. Those beaks looked mighty scary to me.

Looking back, I can’t imagine what it was like to have the 150 Rhode Island Reds and White Leghorns, which she tended to every day. That is a LOT of eggs! Combine that with multiple crowing roosters and we’re talking serious (and noisy) poultry.

Pondering the age-old question: Which came first?

The Wall Street Journal reported about the urban chicken trend on July 8, article here. Now chickens enjoy city backyards and Vancouver is no exception. We love our chickens!

Roosters are forbidden in our city limits (thank you, City of Vancouver!) but hens are doing quite well. In fact, the chickens will be queens for the day on July 17 at the Coop du Jour Tour, which will allow us to look into their castles. A fundraiser for the Hough Foundation, the self-guided tour will feature chicken coops of various designs in Vancouver’s Uptown Village neighborhoods. The tour will be held from Noon to 4 pm.

I had the opportunity to preview one of the coops in June. “Coop” is WAY too weak of a word. This was nothing like my grandmother’s utilitarian hen house. The Mowats have created a stylish home for their brood in the Hough Neighborhood and will be part of the tour.

Much More than a 'Coop'

A Condo for Hens

My neighbors Caitlyn and Jerrad are inspiring new chicken owners. They have creatively transformed their daughter’s play structure into a handy coop, while preserving the swings, upper deck and slide for play. They will explain their architectural wonder during the tour. Frank Lloyd Wright would be proud.

Play Structure or Chicken Coop? It's Both!

Buy your tickets now for the Coop du Jour. They are available at Arnada Naturals and Mint Tea in advance (Only $10 per family) or on the day of the event. More info about the tour is here.

Grandma Moses reputedly said that if she hadn’t been a painter, she would have raised chickens. She would have enjoyed the Coop du Jour.

The year is 1903. Woodland resident Hulda Klager reads about Luther Burbank’s plant propagation work. Tired of peeling small apples for pies, she hybridizes a larger apple. From that work, she moves to lilacs and changes the history of the flowering shrub. After years of creating new varieties, she starts the tradition of annual open houses, sharing her plants with lilac collectors.

Thirty years later disaster strikes. Imagine that your life’s work is washed away. In 1948, a flood destroyed most of Hulda’s collection. At age 83, she started over. Many people who had purchased her many varieties came back with plant starts. She re-planted her collection and continued her spring open houses until her death at age 96 in 1960.

Today, the fragrant collection and the 1889 Klager home are maintained by the Hulda Klager Lilac Society. You can see the results of Hulda’s work, tour the Klager farm house and purchase plants every spring from mid-April through Mother‘s Day during Lilac Days . During the rest of the year, the grounds are open from 10 am to 4 pm, seven days a week. Details here .

Here are a few photos of Hulda Klager’s floral legacy:

City of Gresham

Katherine Havemeyer

Chrystle

Lilac Sunday

Glory

“My advice to the women of America is to raise more hell and fewer dahlias,” said Kansas journalist and “the sage of Emporia” William Allen White (1868-1944). Why not raise both?

Dahlias may be the national flower of Mexico, but they thrive here. The American Dahlia Society reports that “the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala are considered the home of origin for today’s dahlia ancestors.”  Clark County has numerous dahlia growers. These photos were taken at Dahlia Daze at the Wynneshire Farms near the Clark County Fairgrounds.

Back to William Allen White, he also said “I have never been bored an hour in my life. I get up every morning wondering what new strange glamourous thing is going to happen and it happens at fairly regular intervals.” We could use more people like him, and more dahlias, in our lives.