Seminar Details for Sunday, February 14, 2010

02/14 10:30 AM

What's New in the Vegetable Garden

Speaker: Rose Marie Nichols McGee
Room: B 110-112

This presentation demonstrates techniques, variety selections, and how to grow delicious, beautiful, organic food to harvest four seasons of the year. Whether you’re planting gourmet delights on a postage stamp sized plot or need a large garden to feed a growing family, there are many ways to keep the fun in functional and become part of the 21st century food gardening renaissance.

Rose Marie Nichols McGee grew up on her family’s nursery with a book in one hand while weeding with the other. This has led to a career in plants, gardening and words. She is the president of Nichols Garden Nursery, a family owned mail order seed company and nursery. McGee is co-author of the Bountiful Container, the bible for small-space gardeners who want to grow what they eat and author of Basic Herb Cookery. She is an OSU Master Gardener and when not at the nursery or in her own garden she blogs about cooking and gardening on The Gardeners Pantry.

02/14 10:30 AM

Decorate the Outdoors

Speaker: JJ DeSousa
Room: B 113

Spring is almost here and it’s time to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature in your garden. Go beyond simply putting furniture on a deck or patio. A luxury-style room is within your reach, easy to create and personalize. Learn tricks of the trade to transform your outdoor space into a stylish, comfortable and chic outdoor haven with garden and interior designer JJ DeSousa of Digs Inside and Out.

JJ DeSousa is a garden/interior designer, enthusiast and proprietress of Digs Inside and Out on NE Albert Street in Portland. She writes “The Latest Dirt”; a regular column for NW Renovation Magazine and has appeared in Better Homes & Gardens, Home and Garden Northwest, The Oregonian Home & Garden section, MIX Magazine and various other publications featuring her personal spaces as well as client projects. Armed with a sense of humor and an energetic design sense, JJ offers unique and creative ideas for all of your outdoor spaces that are sure to encourage and inspire you to go out and decorate the outdoors!

02/14 11:00 AM

Gardening in Margaritaville: Adding Tropical Flair to Your Garden

Speaker: Ciscoe Morris
Room: B 117-119

Ciscoe regales us with spectacular plants to add tropical flair to your garden. He will take us to Margaritaville and beyond – showing us how to create a garden that you will want to “waste away” in.

Cicsoe is well known in the media. KING5 TV airs his popular gardening segments as well as his weekly show “Gardening with Ciscoe”. His Friday night Q & A show, “Gardening with Ciscoe Live” is broadcast on Northwest Cable News and Ciscoe also makes regular appearances on “Gardening by the Yard” on the Home and Garden cable network. His book, Ask Ciscoe, was among the top selling garden books nationwide. In addition, he co-authored books on roses and perennials and also writes a weekly garden column in the Thursday edition of the Seattle Times. Ciscoe is crazy about dogs and gardening and can often be found working with his pooches Fred and Ruby in his Seattle garden.

02/14 11:00 AM

Pruning Grapes, Blueberries and Fruit Trees

Speaker: Glen Andreson
Room: B 117-119

Every garden can benefit from a nice complement of fruit plants growing in it. Tree, cane, bush, and vine fruits are not as difficult to grow and care for as you might think and they don’t have to take up a lot of space. Plus the rewards are truly blissful! This demonstration will include easy-to-remember pruning techniques for grapes, blueberries and common fruit trees.

Since 1994 Glen Andresen has been Metro’s natural gardening educator. The natural gardening program offers presentations and information on how to have a healthy yard and garden without the use of pesticides. Glen has been a Master Gardener since 1991. His home garden features about 40 fruit tree; a row each of raspberries, Marionberries and strawberries; plus blueberries, grapes, 15 raised vegetable beds, and honeybee colonies – all on a city lot that measures just 60 X 100 feet. Glen is the host of the one-hour edible gardening show, “The Dirt Bag”, heard the second Wednesday of each month at 11:00am on community radio station KBOO (90.7 FM); he also writes “Ground View” a monthly gardening column for the Portland Alliance newspaper. Glen is an avid hobbyist beekeeper, keeping approximately 30 colonies of bees.

02/14 12:00 PM

Great Plant Picks

Speaker: Nicole Forbes
Room: B 110-112

Get a sneak peak at the best plants for the coming year! Nicole Forbes shares our regions Great Plant Picks chosen by a team of the Pacific Northwest’s best horticulturists. From trees and shrubs and groundcover and perennials, these are the plants that will add long-season color with less fuss.

Nicole is a lifetime gardener and lover of plants. After University study in cultural anthropology and ethnobotany, she moved to Portland in 1994 and became involved with Oregon environmental politics and community organizing. In 1996 she helped run the ballot measure campaign to expand the 1974 Bottle Bill to include non-carbonated beverage containers. She has worked in the nursery industry since 1997. Currently Nicole is the assistant manager of Dennis’ Seven Dees, Lake Oswego location and also orders all trees and shrubs for the store. She is an Oregon Certified Nursery Professional and a member of the OAN Education committee. In recent years she has expanded community outreach for the company by teaching classes for L.O. parks and recreation, doing talks for local garden clubs and providing educational seminars for Dennis’ Seven Dees.

02/14 12:00 PM

Pruning Clematis: Shattering the Myths

Speaker: Linda Beutler
Room: B 113

Some folks prefer rules, but for those of you who enjoy breaking them, this illustrated lecture celebrates what happens when convention wisdom is turned on its head.

Linda Beutler is a fearless gardener who grows a great number of plants on a simple, flat 50’ X 100’ city lot in the Sellwood neighborhood or Portland. She was a professional florist for 20+ years, and her first love in her own garden was growing flowers and foliage for cutting. That focus changed when she purchased her first clematis as a misnamed plant. Her personal collection of this genus now numbers 250 separate species and cultivars. This passion for clematis has lead to the publication of her first book, Gardening with Clematis (Timber Press, 2004). Linda is one of two Vice Presidents of the International Clematis Society and foundation member of the Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection. She served on the Friends board of directors until she was named the collections first curator in 2007. Linda has been an instructor of horticulture at Clackamas Community College for 13 years. Her second book, The Flower Arranger’s Garden (Timber Press) serves as a textbook for classes at CCC. Linda lectures nationally on numerous garden topics and is a garden writer for both local and national publications, including Fine Gardening, Pacific Horticulture, Portrait of Portland, and Birdwatcher’s Digest.

02/14 12:30 PM

Designing, Building and Equipping the Home Greenhouse

Speaker: Rick Warner
Room: B 117-119

This workshop will provide an overview of the considerations to be made when planning a home greenhouse. Topics include location, materials, heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation.

Rick Warner is the owner and manager of Sturdi-built Greenhouse Mfg. Located in Portland, Sturdi-built Greenhouses is a small, family business and was one of the first builders of residential greenhouse kits in the Pacific Northwest, with a history going back over 50 years. Rick has experience with a wide variety of greenhouse uses, ranging from vegetable and orchid growing to hot tub & exercise pool enclosures. He has learned through many years of experience, along with input from customers, what works and doesn’t work in the home greenhouse. More information is available about the company at www.sturdi-built.com.

02/14 12:30 PM

Water Gardening in Containers

Speaker: Ann Beadle
Room: B 116

Learn to create beautiful small water features for your small yard, patio or balcony. Water gardening in bowls or containers is a perfect way for people with small yards and a limited amount of space to enjoy water. As with ponds they add reflection, sound, form, color and encourage wildlife. It is also a great way to experience aquatic water plants without having a pond. This presentation is a must not miss opportunity to learn from Oregon’s leading water bowl designer.

Anne Dunn-Beadle is the education coordinator at Hughes Water Gardens where she has worked for the past eleven years. Anne’s passion for aquatic plants and water gardening has allowed her the opportunity to speak for many of the tri-county garden clubs, Association of Landscape Designers, Master Gardeners, and the Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association. Anne continually draws on her experiences at Hughes Water Gardens, a nursery owned by water garden designer Eamonn Hughes. With the staff and customers at Hughes Water Gardens, Anne is able to share her enthusiasm for water feature construction with an emphasis on small water features.

02/14 1:30 PM

Controlling Bamboo in Urban Gardens

Speaker: Ian Connor
Room: B 110-112

Anyone can have bamboo. Just ask Ian Connor! In this presentation, Ian will share information on controlling the spread of bamboo in the urban garden as well as appraise current strategies to sustainably control spreading rhizomes.

Ian Connor is a British horticulturist (formerly of Hillier Arboretum), now living and gardening in Portland, who specializes in bamboo. He is past president of the American Bamboo Society and a past editor of the society’s newsletter. Ian has been a consultant at the Chinese and Japanese Gardens in Portland and also at Hoyt Arboretum. He is a member of the Great Plant Picks committee and is an experienced speaker, writer, and photographer focusing on ornamental temperate bamboos in urban gardens. Visit his web site at www.connorbamboo.com.

02/14 1:30 PM

Structural Plant Placement: Locating Your Garden’s Bones

Speaker: Vanessa Nagel
Room: B 113

Do you characterize your garden as “Lost in Space”? Do you wonder what type of plant to put in which location? Learn methods to place structural plants that will create garden definition and keep your garden looking scrumptious all year long.

Vanessa Gardner Nagel became a gardener as a youngster at her grandfather’s side in Minnesota. Today she is an award-winning, sustainability-conscious, garden designer, Timber Press author, and the owner of Seasons Garden Design LLC. With over 30 years experience that includes commercial interior design projects for West Coast and international design firms and local landscape design projects, she provide innovative solutions to challenging projects. Vanessa is a certified member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers and Oregon Chapter Past-President. She serves her community as a Design Review Committee member for the City of Vancouver and her book, about garden design, is due for release in fall 2010.

02/14 2:00 PM

Edible Gardening 101: How to Grow a Great Garden

Speaker: Jack and Mark Bigej
Room: B 117-119

From asparagus to zucchini learn how to grow a great garden. Jack Bigej and his son Mark will talk about tips for planting a garden that produces delicious, healthy fresh fruits and vegetables. Whether you’re a first-time gardener or have gardened for years you’ll learn something new in this class on edibles.

Al Bigej, Jack’s father and founder of what was once Al’s Fruit Stand, instilled the spirit of entrepreneurship in his son by having him work in the family business as soon as he could count out a dozen ears of corn consistently. However, it was Jack’s passion and love of plants that evolved what was once a fruit stand into Al’s Garden Center and Greenhouses. Al’s currently consists of a six-acre garden center in Woodburn, a retail store in Gresham, and a 10-acre state of the art garden center in Sherwood with five growing facilities supplying the retail stores with 90 percent of the company’s plant material. In 2006, Al’s Garden Center was awarded the Garden Center of the Year by the Garden Centers of America.

Mark Bigej is part of the third generation that has helped grow Al’s Garden Center from a fruit stand into the multi-million dollar business it is today. Mark grew up in Canby in the heart of Oregon’s nursery and agriculture area. At the early age of seven, Mark and his three sisters started their own nursery, called The Little Big E. They grew and supplied what was then called Al’s Fruit and shrub with containers of trees, shrubs and perennials. Mark has always been involved in the business, working beside his dad, Jack, the owner of Al’s Garden Center. In 1994 Mark graduated from Oregon State University with a BS in horticulture and began working at Al’s full time. He helped bring together his dad’s vision of what Al’s is today and is now general manger. Throughout this time, Mark has stayed active in the public and plant community He has appeared as a regular guest on television and radio and was recognized by the Oregon Association of Nurseries as Young Nurseryman of the Year.

02/14 3:00 PM

Loquacious About Lilies

Speaker: Anne Jaeger and Judith Freeman
Room: B 110-112

There may be more beautiful flowers, with more vibrant colors and intoxicating scents – but we haven’t found them yet! The LILY is OUR favorite flower. From knee-high Asiatic with perky upright faces, to eight-foot tall wonders sporting 30 flowers on one very strong stem, these lilies are born and bred in the Northwest for the garden only. Find out why some lilies fail to thrive, why many bulbs are sold “undersize” and learn about the world’s newest lilies pioneered by scientist and plant geneticist Judith Freeman of Vancouver, Washington.

Anne Jaeger, garden specialist, firmly believes that Judith Freeman should be famous and can’t figure out why Martha Stewart knows more about these lilies than the rest of us living in Judith’s ‘backyard’. Anne began growing Judith Freeman’s lilies 10 years ago when she started gardening shows on KOIN and KWG television and OregonLive.com. Jaeger now grows hundred of them in her acre garden outside Portland and just wants to share what all the fuss is about!

Judith Freeman, plant geneticist, is one of the few growers worldwide who breeds and produces her own lilies. Freeman has grown lilies exclusively for the garden, with the widest possible range of forms, types and colors. Judith pioneered test tube lilies resulting in hybrids that can’t be done by nature. The Royal Horticultural Society Lytell Cup and numerous scientific awards are in her trophy chest.

02/14 3:00 PM

Grow Your Own Delicious Fruit!

Speaker: Jim Glibert
Room: B 113

Growing your own fruit saves you money, lets you eat well, and best of all, it's easy! Whether you're growing a dwarf Columnar Apple on your patio or planting a small orchard, Jim will help you learn about growing a wide variety of unique fruits. This seminar will cover growing Apples, Peaches, Pears, Kiwis, Figs, Sea Berry, Honeyberry and many more of the best and easiest to grow varieties for our Northwest climate.

In 1979 Jim Gilbert founded Northwoods Nursery in Hood River and moved his nursery to the Molalla area in 1982. Northwoods Nursery has expanded over the years to the point it now has seasonal employment of up to 50 people and ships nursery stock across the United States and to several foreign countries. In 1994, Jim founded One Green World, a retail/mail-order nursery that publishes 80,000 catalogs annually and sells plants to gardeners in all of the United States.

Jim has traveled extensively in Russia, Ukraine, and other countries of the former Soviet Union as well as in Asia and Eastern Europe. He has introduced many new plants to Northwest gardeners, including Sea Berry, Honeyberry, Magnolia Vine, and Cornelian Cherry.

02/14 3:30 PM

Garden as Playground – Growing with Pets and Kids

Speaker: Carl Grimm
Room: B 117-119

Carl Grimm, Metro natural gardening and toxic reduction specialist, shows us how to join the growing movement of pet owners and moms and dads taking over their yards for fun and family health. Learn what plants and products are safe and how to keep a lawn strong for romping on. Gather great ideas to bring pets, plants, kids and wildlife together without any getting trampled or chewed on too much. Includes slides, hands-on learning, and free, full-color resource guides.

Carl grew up in the gardens of Northwest Portland. He received a degree in conservation and resources studies from Berkeley, California and worked at the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners where he developed and led many initiatives including the city and county’s Home Composting Program and the Garden for the Environment project. Carl was program director for four years at the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance in Chicago. There he developed and led the Chicago Home Composting Program and worked with a great variety of partners on planning and implementing aspects of Chicago’s ‘green revolution’. Carl is now an associate planner at Metro, where he manages natural gardening programs and other initiatives aimed at reducing home use and disposal of toxic materials. Carl’s natural gardening advice can be found regularly on KATU’s AM Northwest television show and occasionally on KEX radio and in The Oregonian, Portland Tribune and a variety of community media outlets.