

Tinting Flowers
Overview Professional florists give plain flowers new life by using dyes to enrich the original color or to completely give blooms a new shade. Different methods of dyeing help to color coordinate an arrangement or meet the specific needs of a custom order. Preservationists who like keeping blooms in scrapbooks or in display cases often dye their flowers before drying them. The added colorant keeps the flower from fading too much during the drying process. Get the inside scoo


What I Did During My Summer Vacation!
When my fellow Master Gardener and new friend Ann asked me to contribute my experiences as a new greenhouse owner,my answer was yes! I've learned so much my first season and I'm excited to share. I completed the Master Gardener program this past winter. What a great experience! I learned a ton, met some great people and made new friends. My husband and I have talked about putting in a greenhouse for a while now and upon my completion of the class, this seemed like the perfect


Plan Now for a Summer of Delightful Hummingbirds
According to the Hummingbird Society, plant these plants to attract these hummingbirds to your garden: Abutilion (flowing maple or chinese lantern) Agastache (hummingbird mint) Aquilegia (columbine) Fuchsia Lonicera (honeysuckle) Fall is a good time to start many of the pollinator attracting plants.


OSU Offers Free Online Permaculture Class
Permaculture design is a method of landscape planning that can be applied to anything, from a home garden or farm to a city block or entire village. This method is particularly sensitive to how the land is formed and impacted by its position in the larger geographical area. OSU offers a free introduction to permaculture starting October 31, 2016 and ending November 27, 2016. Over 5000 students for all parts of the globe participated in the last session. The online forum pro


Coastal Gardening In the Pacific Northwest
by Carla Albright, Taylor Trade Publishing Albright is an Oregon State Master Gardener, teaches OSU Master Gardener classes and writes a gardening column for the Tillamook Headlight Herald while also working as a professional gardener on the Oregon coast. Her book is a combination of how-to guide, workbook and concise plant encyclopedia. She makes specific plant recommendations that will survive and thrive in our sometimes harsh conditions. The workbook portion are useful f


7 Ways to Attract Pollinators
Pollinators require two essential components in their habitat: somewhere to nest and flowers from which to gather nectar and pollen. Use pollinator-friendly plants in your landscape. Shrubs and trees such as dogwood, blueberry, cherry, plum, willow, and poplar provide pollen or nectar, or both, early in spring when food is scarce. Choose a mixture of plants for spring, summer, and fall. Different flower colors, shapes, and scents will attract a wide variety of pollinators. If


Be on the Lookout -- a new pest in town
The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB to those in the know) is a newcomer to Oregon. Even so entomologists are predicting it can cause millions of dollars in damage to food crops. The most common signs of stink bug damage are pitting and scarring of the fruit, leaf destruction, and a mealy texture to the harvested fruits and vegetables. In most cases the signs of stink bug damage makes the plant unsuitable for sale in the market as the insides are usually rotten. What to do 1

English Ivy Banned for Life
At last week's Master Gardener Plant Clinic I was speaking with a local gardener who mentioned she was cultivating English Ivy in her Newport garden. After gently mentioning that English Ivy is an invasive, noxious species in Oregon and discussing why the plant is so troublesome for Oregon forests, I still failed to convince her to change course. What I didn't know at the time was that English Ivy was banned by the State in 2010 and cannot be transported, sold or propagated.