Joy Creek Times

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Winter Containers - Sunday, September 30

2007-09-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

Joy Creek Nursery offers customers educational classes, workshops and special events throughout the gardening season. Classes are conducted in the outdoor classroom in our gardens, 18 miles north of Portland at 20300 NW Watson Rd in Scappoose. Please follow the signs to our workshop parking when arriving at the nursery.

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

September 30 - Winter Containers
Basic container maintenance and strong design elements are essential for creating interesting and elegant containers for the winter months. Join Ramona Wulzen in creating winter container combinations.

Ramona Wulzen received her love of all things wild from her mother. She has gardened both on a city lot and on three acres in the woods. She has also listened long and hard to the problems and solutions that other gardeners have experienced. The nature of her current garden has lead to her passion for ground covers and container gardening. Ramona is a veteran of our retail department and now works in our landscape department.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Low-Water Gardening - Sunday, September 23

2007-09-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

September 23 - Low-Water Gardening
Drier, warmer summers. Increasing costs of water. Stubborn Northwest clay. What do they have in common? They are part of the background of experiments conducted in the gardens at Joy Creek Nursery that have resulted in reduced water usage and, ironically, an expanded plant palette. Maurice Horn presents the findings.

Maurice Horn, as co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery, has had the opportunity to trial a vast variety of perennials and shrubs. He is ever eager to find ways to create exciting gardens that use low to no water. Recently he has conducted gravel gardening workshops for Metro, the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon and Heronswood Nursery.

Blooming Bamboo

2007-09-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

This spring the Fargesia nitida in our garden began to bloom. Our friend Dain Sansome from Bamboo Valley was doing a workshop at the nursery and agreed to write an article regarding this uncommon phenomena. The accompanying photos show the Fargesia in bloom in our gardens.

My Bamboo is Flowering!
By Dain Sansome, Bamboo Valley © 2007 All Rights Reserved

To many people flowering bamboo means the end of a beloved screen or landscape element since the bamboo may die. However, this is not always the case. There are some things we know about bamboo flowering and some things we do not. Flowering is a rare and spectacular event, sometimes once per century or even more seldom. Flowering has been observed to begin all at once with many types of bamboo of the same species regardless of geographic location. What triggers this is yet unknown and when they will flower is also unknown. An individual culm (cane) of bamboo has a dramatically shorter life span once flowering has begun (usually one season), and generally speaking there are two habits of bamboo flowering behavior: the sporadic and the gregarious type (or local and general). Sporadic flowering is when one single cane or a few canes within a grove or clump suddenly go into flower and the rest of the plant lives on as normal. This could be an indicator of gregarious flowering in the near future, but does not necessarily mean so. Gregarious flowering is when the majority of the culms put out flowers instead of leaves, few or none of the culms put out leaves and grow as normal, and the end of that bamboo grove as is at hand. However, when viable seed is set a new generation is at hand. Also, new varieties can quickly arise as seedlings may look nothing like the parent.

Flowering is unmistakable once underway. In spring as usual, the bamboo puts up what appears to be strong healthy shoots, but instead of putting out leaves it puts out bracts of flowers which resemble those of rice or wheat. This goes on for a few years depending on the size and maturity of the original plant. Some bamboos will last many years once flowering has begun and some may last only a season or two.

It is difficult to make generalizations as to the type of flowering that will occur within bamboo genera (e.g. Phyllostahys, Fargesia, Bambusa) since individual species may have flowering patterns different from one another. For example, in the 1990s Phyllostachys flexuosa and P. aurea ‘Albostriata’ and 20 years earlier P. vivax and P. bambusoides all flowered gregariously, but P. edulis as far as we know has never gregariously yet often sporadically flowers, and P. aureosulcata ‘Spectabilis’ and P. praecox ‘Viridisulcata’ have been sporadically flowering during the past few years. The clumping bamboos of the genus Fargesia often gregariously flower and in recent years F. nitida is flowering gregariously. The trend with Fargesia’s gregarious flowering is to die off completely whereas the Phyllostachys usually recover. Unfortunately F. nitida is a very popular landscape bamboo and many of the old generation plants which have been around since the 1880s will pass away. However, the new seeds are being collected and grown by many people, and from them we already have a new generation coming along nicely.

New seedling bamboos, including that of F. nitida, are already on the market and show great potential to replace their parents. If your bamboo is flowering, appreciate it for you may never see anything like it again. You may try to grow the seeds—most germinate quickly when sown in light soil, kept moist and in bright, filtered light. The flowering of a bamboo is exciting since you never know what you may get and any space created gives way for something new.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Ornamental Grasses - Sunday, September 16

2007-09-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

September 16 - Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses bring movement and texture to the garden. With so many choices and such a range of colors and sizes, it can sometimes be daunting selecting the most suitable grass for your site. Learn about care and maintenance, and take a tour, with Carolyn Jones.

Carolyn Jones is director of the Elizabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, Washington. One of her duties as director is to oversee the Great Plant Picks program which is designed to educate the public about plants well-suited to the Pacific Northwest. She has worked in horticulture in the Northwest for 30 years in retail and wholesale sales as well as at botanical gardens.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Fall Wreaths - Sunday, September 9

2007-09-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

September 9 - Fall Wreaths
Get ideas about gathering the abundant dried plant material found in the garden in late summer. Nadine Black will demonstrate how to use these materials for autumn decoration.

Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. At Joy Creek Nursery, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Ground Covers - Sunday, September 2

2007-08-29T04:01:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

September 2 - Ground Covers
Ramona Wulzen will recommend plants to enhance problem areas in your garden and offer suggestions on how to keep them looking good, whether in dry shade under evergreens or in a sunny hot spot that gets little water.

Ramona Wulzen received her love of all things wild from her mother. She has gardened both on a city lot and on three acres in the woods. She has also listened long and hard to the problems and solutions that other gardeners have experienced. The nature of her current garden has led to her passion for ground covers and container gardening. Ramona is a veteran of our retail department and now works in our landscape department.

Joy Creek Plant Introductions from 2005

2007-08-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

In 2005 we released our only patented plant. Eight years earlier, we had discovered three seedling Miscanthus in our garden and planted them in our stock field for evaluation. All of them were distinctly barred in gold, but of different heights. One of them, which stood between 3 and 4 feet, seemed ideal for a home garden. Its leaf blades were dense with horizontal gold stripes - up to seven of them per inch. It was very tightly clumping at its base and its blades were very stiff, revealing its parentage in Miscanthus sinensis 'Strictus.' We counted the fact that its inflorescences did not emerge until late October as an asset because it suggested that it might never have the chance to produce viable seed in places where Maiden grass has become a problem.

At our nursery, visiting nurserymen and customers alike were attracted to its luminous quality. We were even offered money for it. Dan Heims, from Terra Nova Nursery, advised us that we should patent the plant. We realized that we could not profitably produce it at our small mail order nursery. It was through the graces of our friend David Culp that we were introduced to Sunny Border Nursery where the grass was trialed for a year. Sunny Border liked it and agreed to help us go through the complex patenting process with the help of patent writer Penny Aguirre. In 2004 we received the patent number PP15193 for Miscanthus'Gold Bar' and released the grass from the nursery the following year.

In 2005, we also introduced a new penstemon. The history of this particular seedling is somewhat humorous. It was originally scheduled to be removed from our garden with a crop of other seedlings because its color was too similar to others. Fortunately, our propagator, thinking it was the same as its neighboring plant, made cuttings of it while it was not in bloom. Eventually three of those cuttings were replanted in the stock field with the wrong name and only after they bloomed did we realize the mistake. By then, the more mature plants revealed some interesting characteristics. The flowers were immense, wider than any others in our collection. Interestingly, the flowers formed a one-sided raceme that was pleasingly deltoid in shape, giving the raceme dramatic impact. We later traced the parents back to Penstemon 'Raspberry Flair' and P. 'Wine Kissed' although we do not know which was the seed parent. Soon after, we wedded those two names together and called it Penstemon 'Raspberry Wine.'

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Dry Shade - Sunday, August 26

2007-08-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

August 26 - Dry Shade
Northwest summers are notoriously dry and many common shade plants cannot survive the competition for water from larger shrubs and trees. Yet, there are a surprising number of plants that are up to these difficult circumstances and Richie Steffen will provide suggestions.

Richie Steffen is the Coordinator of Horticulture for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden where he manages the rare plant collections and heads acquisitions of new plants for the garden. He currently serves as a selection committee member of the Great Plant Picks program and is always ready to share his enthusiasm for this excellent regional resource.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Small Water Features - Sunday, August 19

2007-08-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

August 19 - Small Water Features

It is not as hard as you think to have water in the garden. Nadine Black will provide ideas for water features that are easy to install and maintain. We will examine everything from water rocks to small fountains.

Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. Here, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -The Inside Story: Garden ToursSunday, August 12

2007-08-10T08:32:00.001-07:00

Please note special times for the tours this week.

August 12 - The Inside Story: Garden Tours

Take this opportunity to look behind the scenes and get the details on how we design and maintain our nursery borders. Tour content will be full of humor and insight. Tours will leave at 10:00 a.m., noon, and 2:00 p.m. Join the nursery owners, Mike Smith and Maurice Horn for a tour.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Paths & Circulation - Sunday, August 5

2007-08-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

August 5 - Paths & Circulation

John Caine leads a discussion about how moving through your garden is elemental to your enjoyment of that space. Paths also help define your planting areas. In a sense, paths are the lungs and arteries of the garden, facilitating all kinds of circulation.

John Caine comes to his job as landscape garden designer for Joy Creek Nursery not only with a degree from Michigan State University but also with thirty years of practical experience as an estate gardener. He gave Joy Creek Nursery its master plan and continues to help us refine our gardens.

Joy Creek Plant Introductions from 2005

2007-08-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

The year 2005 brought five introductions to our catalogue. We will describe only two of them in this issue.

Over the years, we have been frustrated by seed crops of yarrow which have produced inconsistent plants. We have long looked for a seedling Achillea that had good flower color that held up for a long time in the summer garden. We eventually found such a plant in a seedling from Achillea ‘Paprika’ which we gave the working name Achillea ‘Paprika Joy Creek Select.' The name, although it is not very fanciful, represents our selection process. The rich red flowers with yellow eyes are gathered into flattened heads. If bloom spikes are cut back, it will continue to bloom all summer. As with other yarrows, the flowers do fade but not quickly and not unattractively.

In our gardens, we have towering Euphorbia characias var. wulfenii that make a glorious display from spring to early autumn. They are so large that they sometimes lean on their neighbors and we have had to cage them to keep them upright. Not every garden can handle such large plants and so we set to work to find a seedling that was shorter and more compact but offered the same bold, bracted flower-heads in spring. Once again, we chose a not too imaginative working name, ‘Joy Creek Dwarf’, and that name has stuck as a description. At three feet tall and three feet wide, our selection can easily be accommodated in almost any garden. In habit, it is upright and does not flop. In addition, it has mid-sized, somewhat rounded floral-heads.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -The New Western Garden - Sunday, July 29

2007-07-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

July 29 - The New Western Garden

Gardeners in the Northwest are facing all kinds of challenges - smaller urban garden spaces, growing pressures on limited resources like water and the shift to more environmentally friendly practices are but a few. Gardeners are also challenged to find ways to incorporate shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals in ways that mimic and complement our native landscape but still allow the freedom of personal expression. Paul Bonine will educate attendees about some exciting new plants that can meet these challenges.

Paul Bonine is co-owner of the wholesale nursery Xera Plants Inc. with his partner Greg Shepherd. He has worked in the nursery industry since 1992 beginning in Eugene and then moving to Portland. Paul's special interests include plants that are adapted to low water usage, perform well in the Portland area and expand the plant palette for Northwest gardeners. By the way, Paul is a Taurus.

Kym Pokorny shares 'Going Dry' suggestions

2007-07-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

Last week, in The Oregonian's HGNW (Homes & Gardens of the Northwest) section, garden writer Kym Pokorney referenced Joy Creek Nursery co-owner Maurice Horn and other garden experts in her article "Going Dry: The right plants and practices can tame the garden's thirst." The piece, about drought-tolerant plants, can be accessed on the OregonLive.com website.

Pokorny mentioned several related, upcoming Joy Creek classes in the article:

• The new Western garden, Paul Bonine, co-owner, Xera Plants, Sunday, July 29

• Gardening in dry shade, Richie Steffen, coordinator of horticulture for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden and a committee member of Great Plant Picks, Sunday, Aug. 26

• Ground covers for dry shade or hot sun, Ramona Wulzen, Sunday, Sept. 2

• Low-water gardening, Maurice Horn, co-owner, Joy Creek Nursery, Sunday, Sept. 23

For more garden-related news and information, be sure to check out Kym Pokorny's blog Dig in with Kym

(Note: The graphic shown in this blog entry is courtesy of The Oregonian and may be downloaded in PDF form at the OregonLive.com link above.)

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Ferns - Sunday, July 22

2007-07-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

July 22 - Ferns

The Fern Lady is back with delightful tales and information about what she calls the most architectural of plants. Learn how to chose ferns for specific sites (including hot, dry ones), how to care for them and grow them well.

Judith Jones' unmistakable laugh belies the joy that she brings to her work as owner of Fancy Fronds Nursery in Gold Bar , Washington. Judith reports that she is an avowed "pteridomaniac." She says, "Ferns just make sense as exquisite architectural living forms - they are incredibly elegant while being eminently grow-able." Any one who has seen one of her 18 display gardens at the NW Flower and Garden Show has experienced her great theatricality. "I don't have any formal botanical training as I studied Children's Theater and 17th and 19th century English literature. Great prep for a person to roll about in peat and horse poop thereafter!" She gleefully adds, "I can sing Shakespearian ballads loudly off-key and dance through the ferns to Mozart or the Muppets."

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Advanced Propagation - Sunday, July 15

2007-07-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

July 15 - Advanced Propagation

1:00 p.m. - Backyard Plant Breeding - Diana Reeck
How are new plants made? Discover the secrets of plant sex and get hands-on experience with several genera. (Please bring your own tweezers!)

Diana Reeck, co-owner of Collector's Nursery in Battleground, Washington, is an amateur plant breeder whose passions include erythroniums, small-flowered clematis and epimediums. She is also an avid plant explorer and her adventures have taken her throughout the Pacific Northwest and, indeed, as far as China.

2:15 p.m. - Propagation 102 - Scotty Fairchild
Growing plants from seeds can be tricky for the home gardener. The various techniques for coaxing seeds to life will fascinate you.

Scotty Fairchild has been employed as the Garden Steward at the Leach Botanical Garden since 1990. He is responsible for the development and maintenance of the garden's extensive plant collections and the sustainable stewardship of the 15-acre site. In addition, he has developed the garden's nursery facility which currently has over 2,000 accessioned taxa, the majority grown from seed. His most recent academic studies were at Oregon State University.

Getting Ready For The Season Ahead

2007-07-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

We often hear customers complain that their gardens look like "big green blobs" after the blooms of spring have finished. This always surprises us, given the wealth of plants available to keep the garden exciting throughout the seasons.

One of the ways we keep our own gardens in bloom after the flourishing months of April and May is to chose plants that repeat bloom or continue to bloom for a long time. We combine these with plants of seasonal interest. Here are just a few simple examples from our borders.

Roses and clematis are among the troopers that we have chosen for long-term interest. In the Rose and Clematis Border, Rosa 'Westerland' (at left) blooms on and on throughout the summer. Not only are the vivid apricot-toned flowers beautiful, they are fragrant. Even better, the thick, glossy foliage of this rose is completely disease-free. We grow the dark purple-flowered Clematis 'Negritianka' (at bottom left) on a trellis above 'Westerland.' This is a combination that is visually attractive until the end of summer.

Long-blooming penstemons also help us. We cut back our penstemon hybrids in mid-April. By June, they have grown to modest shrubs and are beginning to bloom, especially those on our south-facing slope. There, Penstemon 'Margarita BOP' (below right) is a real show-stopper with hundreds of tubular blue flowers with magenta highlights. Nearby Penstemon 'Gilchrist' is also in bloom.

The narrow foliage is distinctive, as are the numerous rosey flowers. If spent bloom-spikes are cut back, these and many of the other garden hybrid penstemons will continue to bloom throughout the summer, some until October. Nearby, we have planted a series of shrubby Salvias, including Salvia muelleri and Salvia 'Hot Lips.' Both of these salvias begin to bloom in June and usually stop their show at first frost. This hillside is in bloom for more than six months. Then shrubs with winter berries provide color.

The fuchsias perform a similar service in our gardens. We have grown fuchsias that are hardy to our area near our front porch next to winter and spring blooming Lenten roses (Helleborus orientalis hybirds). The hellebores are evergreen but their flowers begin to lose their impact by early summer. It is then that low-mounding fuchsias begin to show off.. Together, the two plants provide year-round interest.

This is just a tiny sampling of ideas to help those who need help transitioning from good early season bloom to an equally exciting late season display.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -What Color is Your Garden? - Sunday, July 8

2007-07-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

July 8 - What Color is Your Garden?

Understanding the way that color works can bring out the artist in any gardener and help to personalize a garden. Lucy Hardiman will help you create your own color palette, refine your sense of color, or possibly go wild with varied hues.

Lucy Hardiman, former president of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, and vice-president of Friends of Rogerson Clematis Collection, is a driving force in the Portland plant world. Through her garden design company Perennial Partners, her lectures and her writing in national publications, she expresses her sophisticated sense of design and color in the garden.

Clematis Cages

2007-07-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

The Joy Creek Nursery hillside collection of Clematis is not the easiest or most preferable environment for the Clematis we grow. The plants there have to hold up to a hot, southern exposure, occasional spring hail storms, overhead watering and summer drought. Despite these obstacles, we have been pleased with the performance of most of the members of the collection.Many of them have performed beyond expectation and taught us valuable lessons about the resilience of this versatile genus.

There is, however, one area on the hillside that has refused to flourish. At first we thought it was the fault of the plants themselves, mostly newer cultivars from Poland. On closer examination, we began to realize that this particular section was repeatedly undermined by moles. Last year, our gardener Manuel decided to build cages to protect the roots of a few of the plants. His efforts paid off. This spring, the plants he protected survived; those that he did not protect, perished. This year he built more cages and now the entire row should give us a good show. The first photo shows the tunnel system of the moles. The second shows the cage itself set into the hole before planting. We will report more on the success or failure of this technique in the coming year.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Revitalizing a Tired Bed - Sunday, July 1

2007-06-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

July 1 - Revitalizing a Tired Bed

Has a section of your garden lost its appeal? Are you wondering what to do about it? Acquire some techniques, from Jolly Butler, for assessing the situation and making the changes that will make you happy with your garden.

Jolly Butler became familiar to gardeners throughout the Portland area through her "Gardening 101" column in Garden Showcase magazine. Also, many gardeners learned their gardening basics in her classes at Portland Community College. Recently, she ran a two-hour, call-in radio show called "Gardening with Jolly Butler" on KPAM in Portland. She is an Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener and is active in the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon. Oh, yes, and she is a gardener.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Tastefully Labeling the Garden - Sunday,June 24

2007-06-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

June 24 - Tastefully Labeling the Garden

How to know what you have in your garden without the use of miniature billboards! Dan Moeller has some innovative ideas that you won't want to miss.

Dan Moeller was a garden manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden before he made the big move to the West Coast to become the plant collections manager at the Hoyt Arboretum in Portland , Oregon. Dan also serves on the tree committee of the Great Plant Picks from the Elizabeth C. Miller Botanic Garden in Seattle.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Carnivorous Plants and Other Bog Treasures - Sunday, June 17

2007-06-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

June 17 - Carnivorous Plants and Other Bog Treasures

There is growing interest in bog gardening because of all the unusual and unfamiliar plants that dwell in those special conditions. Scott Vegera will speak on how to grow and care for them at your home either in a garden or in a container. Venus fly-traps, pitcher plants and sun-dews will soon be part of your plant palette.

Scott Vegara writes "if you need a one sentence bio, say that one of my prized plants was a variegated poison ivy." That shows his passion for plants, but it does not tell the depth of his involvement with horticulture. He has done genetic research, been a college educator, worked as plant development coordinator, and served as director of two botanical gardens. He is currently the Executive Director and Director of Horticulture at the Berry Botanic Garden in Portland, Oregon. One of his passions is carnivorous plants.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Conifers - Sunday, June 10

2007-06-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

June 10 - Conifers

Let an expert guide you in finding the best, choice evergreens for your garden. Don Howse brings an extensive knowledge of and experience with the conifers best suited to our climate. There will be selected specimen plants for sale.

Don Howse is co-owner of Porterhowse Farms in Sandy, Oregon, and past president of the Western Region of the American Conifer Society. He has been collecting rare and unusual conifers for more than 30 years. Anyone who has visited his nursery knows that his interest in plants extends way beyond conifers. He himself confesses that he is a plant addict.All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except unless otherwise noted.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Summer Containers - Sunday, May 27

2007-05-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except unless otherwise noted.

May 27 - Summer Containers

You've still got time to produce dazzling containers for your summer garden by using interesting and unusual plants - and tips from Nadine Black.

Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. At Joy Creek Nursery, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

Planting Summer Containers

2007-05-23T06:16:00.000-07:00

By Nadine Black

This is not your usual "how to" article. I am going to give you some factual information, but this is really about getting your imagination going.

When you close your eyes and imagine a container for your summer garden, what do you see? When I ask myself this question, my answer seems to be a regurgitation of what I've just seen in the latest magazine I've looked at. I want to break away from that habit. How about you?

OK, where do we start? I think, with the purpose of the pot. It is to enhance and excite my outdoor living space for the summer. What size do I want? Will it rest on a pedestal? Do I want bright colors? Is it for sun or shade? How do I water it? Do I want to put plants in to extend the interest beyond the summer. Yes, this is a pop quiz! I always make my customers consider their answers to these questions before the fun starts. You'd be amazed how much time and money you can save by doing a little "homework."

I'm going to do two pots in detail and then make some suggestions for others. The first pot is a large (40 inch) terra cotta pot. It will be placed in partial shade. The pot will be seen occasionally during the winter since it will be difficult to move. This means some of the plants must be perennial and have some winter interest.

The most important thing, however, is that it be "smashing" during the summer. The anchor plant in this pot will be Acer japonica 'Orangeola' which has orange tipped new growth and sunset orange fall color. It is also a slow growing dwarf and will live in this pot for a long time. Next is Fuchsia 'Thalia' (above) with its fire-cracker orange blooms that continue all summer. The foliage on this plant is bronze/burgundy.

In two places, I am planting five Heuchera 'Marmalade' (at left) whose foliage echoes the orange tints of the maple. This plant is evergreen, so it will have some presence during the winter. Now, for the "smashing" part. To me, great impact means lots of contrast. In this case, I mean color contrast. The relatively "blendy" color combination I've described so far will become enlivened with the addition of citron yellow Coleus and bright pink 'Pink Madness' petunias. Finally, right at the base of the maple, I'm planting a blood-red Rex-type Begonia.

The second pot will be a hanging basket for sun. I'll begin with Verbena 'Homestead Purple' which loves heat and blooms all summer. Be sure to groom it regularly to keep the flowers coming. Fuchsia 'Lena' (at right) with its purple and white flowers, echoes the verbena. (You may think fuchsias are shade plants but they do fine in sun in the Pacific Northwest as long as adequate water is provided.) In order to provide some texture variation, I'm adding Ajuga 'Catlin's Giant.' This ground-cover has a wide burgundy leaf and sports purple-blue flower spikes. For added interest, I'm going to slip in a dwarf conifer called Cryptomeria japonica 'Compacta.' This evergreen has gray green summer foliage that turns a copper color in winter.

So, to review, create contrast either with texture or color or both; try plant groups you don't normally associate with containers, i.e., house plants, dwarf trees, conifers and shrubs; go tropical or Mediterranean (you know you've wanted to!) - bananas, palms, cannas, echiverias, and agaves lend an air of mystery and the feeling of being in a different place.

Here are some practical considerations. If you are using perennials and plan to make the container permanent, mix compost into your potting soil. Potting soil is sterile and provides no nutrition to the plants. Use a balanced slow release fertilizer for basic needs and a bloom booster for consistent color. In order to be sure the smaller pots or hanging pots don't dry out, mix a moisture-holding polymer such as Soil Moist into your soil before planting. Finally, enjoy your containers from the planning to the final product.

Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. At Joy Creek Nursery, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Basic Design Elements - Sunday, May 20

2007-05-18T07:43:00.001-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except unless otherwise noted.

May 20 - Basic Design Elements

Designing a garden can be a bewildering experience. Gary Fear presents a step-by-step basic design process to make your design unique, yet coherent.

Gary Fear is co-owner, with Anne Marsh, of Marsh & Fear Garden Solutions which specializes in designs for residential gardens. His background in the visual arts, and later in high-end woodworking and design, has transferred well to his garden designs. Gary emphasizes that he specializes in hard-scapes and the construction of customized garden structures.

Joy Creek Plant Introductions, Part 3

2007-05-15T06:22:00.001-07:00

As part of our Joy Creek Times for 2007, we are reviewing the plants that Joy Creek Nursery has developed and introduced. In the last installment we ended at the year 1999.

In 2000, we introduced three new plants: Euphorbia 'Mocha Gekko,' Knautia 'Ruby Star' and Origanum 'Yellow Flicker.'

For all of our attempts to be clear-headed, we sometimes get caught up in fads. In 1999, the purple-leafed Euphorbia dulcis 'Chameleon' was one of the hottest plants in retail markets in the Northwest. Unfortunately, few had long-term experience with this plant. We found a seedling of 'Chameleon' that had leaves the color of hot chocolate, so we named it 'Mocha Gekko' to play off of the name of its parent. We sold this for one year. Through experience, we learned that Euphorbia dulcis is a notorious self-seeder in the Pacific Northwest. It became difficult to keep our stock true and we no longer have this plant in production at our nursery.

We had much better luck with one of our favorite long-blooming perennials, Knautia 'Ruby Star.' Mike spotted this seedling of Knautia macedonica in our stock-fields. At 18 inches in height it was half the height of the species form that we grow. The name derives from the inch-wide flowers that are rich purple red with tiny specks of white in their centers. We now grow this in the red area of our Four Seasons Garden where its summer-to-autumn bloom keeps the color theme in play as more ephemeral bloomers come and go.

Origanum 'Yellow Flicker' is a bit of an enigma. It is a seedling of Origanum vulgare that we found in our Dry Border. It has all the characteristics of culinary oregano, however, it has one very distinct and curious feature. Early in the summer, as our heat comes on, its leaves begin to be flecked with golden variegation which it holds until the fall. The year after we discovered this herb, we thought our specimen had reverted to an all-green leaf form and we were in the process of disposing of it when over-night the gold markings on the leaves became visible. Perhaps this one should have been called 'Chameleon'! But as it was, we have many Yellow-shafted Flickers that flit through the nursery and we were inspired by them for the name.

Read previous entries about Joy Creek introductions here and here.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Confident Cutting - Sunday, May 13

2007-05-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except unless otherwise noted.

May 13 - Confident Cutting

Treating cut flowers, fruit and foliage properly is the key to long-lasting arrangements. In honor of Mother's Day, we are pleased to present the launch of Linda Beutler's new book Garden to Vase from Timber Press. Join us for a lecture and book signing.

Linda Beutler published her first book in 2004, Gardening with Clematis. She assumed the position of President of the Pacific Northwest Clematis Society in 2005, and has been instrumental in maintaining the Rogerson Clematis Collection. Her second book Garden to Vase will be in the stores in spring 2006. She is an instructor at Clackamas Community College, Oregon.

Spring is Here!

2007-05-09T05:31:00.001-07:00

The unsettled weather that arrives at the end of winter and early spring brings both disappointments and surprises. Locally, although our rainfall is short of the average, we have had a continuing series of cooler-than-usual, cloudy, wet days that have delayed the bloom time of many perennials. One great surprise has been Prostanthera rotundifolia (right), an Australian bush mint. Its aromatic foliage has remained evergreen through its second winter. It is now covered in buds from the ground to its five-foot top. Given a little warmth, we expect blooms by mid-May.

The weather is perfect for the development of the Siberian iris in our stock field. (Iris siberica 'Laughing Brook' is shown at the top of this Joy Creek TImes entry) Although our iris patch is a great distance from our parking area, a distant glimpse of the brilliant iris colors is enough to draw even the laziest gardener to this far field. With the back-drop of the early spring clematis to complement the iris, the hike is well worth it.

There, Clematis from the Section Atragena (which includes C. alpina and C. macropetala) will be at their peak. Clematis ‘Willy’ (above) is a perfect example of the free-flowering nature of many of the selections from this group. Also,the fantastically large buds of the early blooming forms of Clematis patens like ‘Guernsey Cream’ and ‘Manshuki’ (‘Wada’s Primrose’) promise that they will be part of this show.

Along the path down to the stock area leads through two shaded areas where the young leaves of the hostas are looking their very best.(Hosta montana 'Praeflorens' is shown above) These young leaves are fresher and brighter in color than mature hosta leaves. Their emergence is cause for celebration in the woodland garden.

2007 Classes and Celebrations:Getting Started in the Garden - Sunday, May 6

2007-05-04T07:30:00.002-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except unless otherwise noted.

May 6 - Getting Started in the Garden

Organizing the space around your home to create outdoor living spaces that flow one to the next is essential to making that space "feel" like a garden. Sometimes this can be solved by learning how to ask better questions. Join John Caine as he provides some questions and answers.

John Caine comes to his job as landscape garden designer for Joy Creek Nursery not only with a degree from Michigan State University but also with thirty years of practical experience as an estate gardener. He gave Joy Creek Nursery its master plan and continues to help us refine our gardens.

Joy Creek's Five Plantsfor the More Experienced

2007-04-30T15:55:00.001-07:00

Along with writer Kym Pokorny's recent Nursery Destinations: Joy Creek piece in The Oregonian was a series of sidebars. The one titled Joy Creek's Five Plants for the More Experienced listed the following plant suggestions for gardeners:

1. Lobelia tupa, an unusual lobelia with spiky, tropical-looking felted foliage. Purple-tinged stems soar to 6 feet and are crowned with a spike of warm red flowers.

2. Hydrangea serrata 'Miyama Yae-murasaki,' a Japanese lacecap hydrangea with fully double sterile florets that seem to float above the hill of fertile florets. Blooms start out pink or lavender but turn red along with foliage by late summer.

3. Clematis recta 'Purpurea,' purple-foliaged herbaceous clematis with sweetly scented white flowers. Cut back after first bloom for a repeat of fresh purple foliage and bloom. Needs a bit of support from companion shrubs or a single stake and some garden twine.

4. Zauschneria 'Bowman's Hybrid,' an upright form with silver-gray foliage and bright orange flowers. "Brings in color late in the season," Smith says. A tough plant that will adapt to heavier garden soils.

5. Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost,' the best shade plant there is. "Everything a forget-me-not ought to be," says Smith.

Image: Sidebar from The Oregonian

2007 Classes and Celebrations:Bird Watching and Attracting Wildlife to the Garden - April 29

2007-04-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except unless otherwise noted.

April 29
9:00 a.m. - Bird Watching - Lee Cain
Because of our gardens and our country setting, Joy Creek Nursery has been blessed with an exceptional diversity of birds. Meet at 9:00 a.m. in the nursery parking lot for an hour-and-a-half of guided bird watching. Be sure to bring your binoculars!

Lee Cain lives, works and plays in Astoria , Oregon, with his wife and two kids. A former fisheries biologist, he now teaches Aquatic Biology and Integrated Science at Astoria High School . When he is not studying and teaching about things wet and scaly, he often has his binoculars on and is chasing birds with his kids.

1:00 p.m. - Attracting Wildlife to the Garden - Nadine Black
Get design and plant ideas to make your garden more welcoming to our fellow creatures. Also, learn some steps to take to insure a safe environment for them.

Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. At Joy Creek Nursery, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

Joy Creek's Five Easy Plants

2007-04-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

Along with writer Kym Pokorny's recent Nursery Destinations: Joy Creek piece in The Oregonian was a series of sidebars. The one titled Joy Creek's Five Easy Plants listed the following plant suggestions for gardeners:

1. Echinacea purpurea, in all its forms. The only way to kill this plant is perhaps give it too much water. (The Joy Creek website lists 'Magnus,' 'Ruby Star,' and 'White Swan.')

2. Sarcococca ruscifolia, glossy evergreen with super-fragrant white flowers. "People have the belief that from the end of October to March nothing is going on in the garden," says Mike Smith. This plant, blooming in February, proves that's not true.

3. Helleborus x hybridus, a perennial with the power to wow in winter. (Numerous options are listed on the Joy Creek website)

4. Clematis 'Polish Spirit,' a large clematis with red-purple flowers that increases rapidly and is very generous of bloom from June to October. Give it some room.

5. Fuchsia 'Old Fashioned,' a hardy fuchsia with carmine sepals and lavender corollas. Once established, it needs water only three to four times a year and "blooms its silly head off," says Maurice Horn.

Image: Sidebar from The Oregonian

2007 Classes and Celebrations: Bamboo - Sunday, April 22

2007-04-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except unless otherwise noted.

April 22 - Bamboo

If you have been afraid to grow bamboo, Dain Sansome's class is for you. Learn about the characteristics and growth habits of various bamboos, how to control their spread and how to maintain them as screens or groves.

Dain Sansome is a licensed landscape contractor. His business Bamboo Valley Authority specializes in bamboo removal, maintenance and installation. Born in Minnesota, he learned about both gardening and bamboo at an early age. His subsequent travels lead him to Japan where he studied and traveled extensively. In 2002, he came to Oregon to grow bamboo in a favorable climate. He has worked at The Bamboo Garden, one of America's largest and oldest bamboo nurseries, since 2003.

Renovating tired lawns with gravel

2007-04-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Last week, in the Homes & Gardens of the Northwest section of The Oregonian, writer Kym Pokorny featured Joy Creek Nursery in the article Nursery Destinations: Joy Creek. In another article in the same issue, Advice for a Rock-Solid Lawn, Pokorny also highlighted the nursery's use of gravel on a lawn to open the soil and allow roots to grown deeper.

The recipe for doing so was included as a sidebar to the feature. Here it is:

BASIC RECIPE

Best done in April-May or September-October

1. Mow grass short.

2. Spread one inch of 1/4-10 crushed gravel (don't use anything smaller, as it compacts and turns into concrete) over the entire surface. Work into grass and level it out.

3. Spread 1 inch of compost mulch over entire surface, working into grass and leveling. Usually a fair amount of gravel will show through.

4. Top-seed lawn and rake into mulch.

5. Top-fertilize with an organic fertilizer.

6. Water. Repeat watering as needed to keep surface moist until grass seed sprouts.

7. Mow when needed in approximately two to four weeks.

NOTES

The basic recipe can be applied once or twice a year to correct the surface of the lawn.

The recipe can be changed to less than or more than an inch, depending on how rough the surface of the lawn.

The deeper the gravel and mulch, the more grass seed you'll need to replace existing grass that can't grow through the thicker gravel layers.

You can kill the lawn completely before the basic recipe is applied. This works especially well to kill off undesirable vegetation.

If you decide you need to kill, till 6-8 inches deep. Then add 2 inches 1/4-10 and 2 inches of compost. Rake out, roll lightly to compress air out of soil (this is the only time you'll need a roller). Seed and top-dress with chopped grass straw (available at Hobbs & Hopkins Ltd., 503-239-7518).

At Joy Creek, we use Pro-Time grass seed, also available at Hobbs & Hopkins.

Source: Joy Creek Nursery

Image: Article from The Oregonian

2007 Classes and Celebrations: Trees in the Garden - Sunday, April 15

2007-04-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except unless otherwise noted.

April 15 - Trees in the Garden

We often think we don't have room for more trees in our gardens. Anne Marsh will introduce gardeners to many small to medium-sized trees that can easily be added to beautiful effect.

Anne Marsh is a landscape designer in the Portland area. Together with her partner Gary Fear she owns Marsh & Fear Garden Solutions specializing in designs for residential gardens. Anne is eager to pass on some basic tenets of design that home gardeners can apply to their own gardens.

Nursery Destinations: Joy Creek

2007-04-12T17:07:00.001-07:00

Today, in the Homes & Gardens of the Northwest section of The Oregonian, writer Kym Pokorny featured Joy Creek Nursery in the article Two gardeners in search of perennials found their niche. The piece features a history of the nursery operation, a listing of some our upcoming classes, and some great photos of our plant offerings. Plant images featured include Ribes x gordonianum, Pulstilla vulgaris and Clematis 'Constance.'

Pokorny also included items about Joy Creek's Five Easy Plants, Five Plants for the More Experienced, and a listing of some of our 28 past plant introductions. Watch future Joy Creek Times entries for more information about those article sections - and our recipe for renovating tired lawns with gravel that she covered in another article in the weekly gardening section.

For more great gardening reading check out Pokorny's blog, Dig in with Kym.

Image: Article from The Oregonian

Our 15th year in business

2007-04-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

This gardening season marks the anniversary of Joy Creek's fifteenth year in business. This is a perfect time for us to look back and reflect on where we started and to see if our original vision of the nursery remains vital.

We have gone through those years often as if we were on a roller-coaster (and only very rarely as if we were stranded in a stagnant lagoon). Everyone at the nursery has had to learn new roles as we have evolved from being a small mail-order nursery to adding a second department, our retail site, and then adding a third department, landscape design and installation services.

This evolution has come about mostly from listening to what our customers have requested. For example, we would never have started our retail store if local mail-order customers had not continued to drive out to shop in our growing areas. And we would never have started our design and installation services if customers had not asked us to design and create gardens for them.

Upon reflection, we think we can say that our vision of a green and growing world remains unchanged in many ways. For instance, one component of that vision was educating home gardeners. That commitment is evidenced in the ever-changing and expanding class list, as well as in all of the lectures and symposia we participate in throughout the United States. Another component of our vision was our desire to make interesting plants available to our customers. We hope that that commitment is obvious from the plant listing in our printed catalogue and on the Joy Creek website.

2007 Classes and Celebrations - Fertilizers and Soil Amendments - Sunday, April 8

2007-04-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except unless otherwise noted.

Fertilizers and Soil Amendments - Sunday, April 8

Patrick Petersen gives gardeners an in-depth look at how, when and why to use the many fertilizers and soil additives that are now available to gardeners.

Patrick Petersen received his degree from The Ohio State University in horticulture with a minor in entomology. After six years working as a nursery manager, he was hired as a horticulturist for Marion Ag. Services. His job is to educate customers how to use horticultural products. Patrick is interested in how the various elements of a garden - the soil, the bugs, the fertilizers, composts and plants - work together to create an ecosystem.

More Joy Creek Plant Introductions

2007-04-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

One fact that many customers do not know about Joy Creek Nursery is that we are always finding new and interesting variations of plants in our gardens. Sometimes these prove to be of great interest and we test and evaluate them in hopes of finding a worthy new introduction. To date, we have released 27 plants and have several more in the evaluation stage.

As part of our Joy Creek Times, we thought we would reintroduce our plants a few of at a time and give a little of the history of their development. Penstemons were the very first plants we selected to introduce as our own.

Our collection of garden hybrid penstemon is one of the most popular at the nursery. These colorful plants bloom from the summer into the fall. Their tubular flowers range from white to pink, rose, red, blue and purple. Because they are evergreen shrublets, they are valuable additions to the mixed border.

In 1994, we discovered a seedling that was intermediary between two familiar cultivars, Penstemon ‘Midnight Blue’ and ‘Stapleford Gem.' It proved to be vigorous and free-flowering. The mid-sized, light purple blue flowers have dark maroon stripes in their throats which gave rise to the name ‘Purple Tiger’. We released it in 1996 along with another seedling we had discovered that had enormous lavender-purple flowers with dark raspberry streaks in their pure white throats. We called this one ‘Raspberry Flair.' (Photo at left above)

In the mid-1990’s, we began selecting seedlings that had pure white throats and tinted lips. The first in the series of selections was a lovely violet-lipped form, which we named ‘Violet Kissed’. This was joined by pale coral pink-lipped ‘Coral Kissed’ and bright rose-lipped ‘Cerise Kissed’. The following year we introduced ‘Wine Kissed’ (Photo at right above) which is the most dramatic of the four with its white throat and wine red lips. All have been popular with our customers. Recently the series was featured by the wholesale nursery, Sunny Border Nursery, as part of their temp-perennial collection.

The latest addition to our penstemon introductions almost ended up on the compost pile as we were rooting out stray seedlings. Fortunately, it was spared. ‘Raspberry Wine’ (Photo above) is a cross between ‘Raspberry Flair’ and ‘Wine Kissed.' The flowers are the largest we have seen on a garden penstemon. The depth of color is close to that of ‘Wine Kissed,' however, the throat is not white but streaked in raspberry very much like ‘Raspberry Flair.'

We are now at work on a series of new penstemon crosses and hope to be trialing our seedlings in the coming year.

Joy Creek Landscape Design Services

2007-04-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

Many customers have asked if Joy Creek Nursery has a landscape department. The answer is "Yes!" We offer design and installation services, throughout the Portland metropolitan area, with expertise in soil preparation, planting, paths, patios/terraces, soil retention, drainage, lawns, irrigation, water features, lighting, walls, and renovations.

Our landscape designer John Caine brings out the individual garden vision from every gardener. Call the nursery at 503.543.7474 for an appointment.

Photo: Fisher/Cunningham garden renovation

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Propagation 101 - Sunday, April 1

2007-03-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except unless otherwise noted.

Propagation 101 - Sunday, April 1
Learn the basics of increasing plants by making divisions and taking cuttings from Sheila Rabideaux. Instruction is designed to help home gardeners propagate their favorite plants.

Sheila Rabideaux joined our staff as propagator in 2005. With a degree in horticulture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she came to Oregon to find work in the wholesale plant industry. When she first visited Joy Creek Nursery, she told us that she wanted to work for us and happily we were able to make that happen. Sheila's passion has been propagating woody plants, especially conifers and viburnums. She also enjoys grafting.

Seattle Times recommends Joy Creek catalogue

2007-03-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, in The Seattle Times, writer Valerie Easton mentioned that the Joy Creek Nursery catalogue was one of two that had remained on her desk since the day they arrived as she uses them "as reference books as well as dream books."

"The Joy Creek Nursery catalog may be a little more serious in tone, but I love its concise descriptions of hundreds of desirable plants," writes Easton.

"How can owner Maurice Horn squeeze everything you need to know in just a few sentences? And since Joy Creek is in Scappoose, Ore. (not far from Portland), it has a climate similar to ours so these are plants you can count on," Easton adds. "Clematis, penstemon, hydrangeas and drought-tolerant perennials and grasses are specialties. If you're anywhere near Scappoose, be sure to drop by to see the impressive display gardens."

Easton notes that our catalog is a "plant-lovers bargain" at $3.00 and can be ordered at www.joycreek.com or 503-543-7474.

Our thanks to The Seattle Times.

Joy Creek Nursery Plant Introductions

2007-03-28T06:03:00.000-07:00

As part of a series on Joy Creek Nursery plant introductions, we thought we would reintroduce the gardening public to some of our earliest releases.

One of the first plants we developed at Joy Creek was Agapanthus "Joyful Blue" (photo at right) which we selected from seed taken from plants of Agapanthus "Headbourne Hybrids," a plant that we had tested and knew to be winter hardy for the Portland area. The seed produced plants with variable flower color. We were looking for a plant with a good clear sky-blue flower. We eventually found the color we were looking for and introduced "Joyful Blue in 1998. This plant recently was trialed at the Elizabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, WA, and proved to be the most vigorous and winter hardy in their limited test. The seed-heads are almost as dramatic as the flower-heads and carry the season of interest on into the fall.

Gaura lindheimeri "Golden Speckles" was a seedling we found in our garden not far from where Gaura lindheimeri "Corrie's Gold" was growing. Instead of having golden margins as in "Corrie's Gold," the leaves of our seedling have golden speckles. The flowers are very similar to those of "Corrie's Gold," white butterfly-like blooms on tall flowering stems that move in the slightest breeze. The overall effect of "Golden Speckles" is of a pointillist painting, small white flowers above spotted foliage. We introduced this in 1999.

In the same year we also introduced Adenophora "Amethyst Chimes," (photo at left) a seedling we noticed in the garden that was flowering lilac-pink instead of the usual blue. The tall spikes of down-facing bells were so enchanting we decided to give it a name. This is a vigorous plant which we now grow in the pink section of the Four Seasons Garden where it carries on its summer bloom until early fall.

There are many Hydrangea macrophylla forms with variegated leaves. The classic Hydrangea "Mariesii Variegata" ("Maculata") has irregular silver edging around its leaves. "Lemon Waves" and "Wave Hill" both have leaves that are splashed with yellow or chartreuse on their silver and green leaves. We found a yellow variegated sport on "Mariesii Variegata" that we propagated and grew out. Eventually we named it "Gilded Lace" for the gold on the lacy silvery markings of the leaves. Interestingly, "Gilded Lace" has held on to its foliage as late as December, long after the other macrophylla forms have dropped their leaves. This was the last of the plants that we introduced in 1999.

Dividing Perennials

2007-03-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

By Sheila Rabideaux

Early spring is the optimum time to divide summer and fall blooming perennials. At this time of year plants are exiting dormancy and the gardener can be assured new divisions will be quick to produce new roots and establish themselves.

The emergence of shoot tips from the ground will be the gardener’s first clue that it is time to grab a shovel and spade. Divisions are the easiest and fastest way to vegetatively produce new plant material.

There are three main advantages to dividing plants. First, rapidly spreading perennials need thinning to keep them under control. Second, dividing tired, old plants, results in healthier specimens with more foliage and flowers. And the best reason, extra plant material can be used to fill in empty garden spaces or to share with friends and fellow plant-nuts.

Unless the ground is fairly moist, it is ideal to water the plant 1-2 days before dividing it. Lift the entire root system of the parent plant out of the ground. You will find a sharp spade and garden fork useful during this process. Fibrous rooted perennials, like monardas or asters, can be separated by hand or cut and sawed into pieces. Fleshy rooted plants, like hostas or daylilies, may have to be washed in order to get a good view of their underground structures. Make sure each division includes a piece of crown that has eyes or buds as well as good roots. Tuberous or rhizomatous perennials, like dahlias and cannas, can be sliced with a sharp pruner or knife. If large wounds are created it is recommended to dust with sulfur to decrease losses from disease or insects. The divided plant should be planted immediately at its original depth in prepared soil or potted in a container for later placement. Be sure to water all divisions in well.

Welcome to Spring!

2007-03-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a long and variable winter with early, record rains in the Portland area followed by a long cold spell. Late January and early February were mild with rains increasing later in February. After all of these vagueries, it is always an adventure to go out into the gardens and see what has survived unscathed as we do our winter cleanup.

One plant that has amazed us is Prostanthera rotundifolia, an Australian shrub that has officially gone through two difficult winters and looks untouched by the cold temperatures. Nearby, Buddleia loricata from Northern Africa is showing no sign of foliar damage. In this section of the garden, only Correa pulchella had its bloom cut short by the chill but is alive and leafing out at its base.

We are looking forward to the sudden bloom of Magnolia "Ann." Her pink flowers show off very intensely against the chartreuse floral heads of Euphorbia characias var. wufenii. That pink theme is carried through the garden, especially in the Ribes (above). Very shortly we will notice early hummingbirds working their dangling chains of flowers. The Pulmonarias are already starting their seasonal display with showy flower spikes rising as their new, often silver-mottled foliage develops.

There are other treasures already in bloom or about to bloom. Iris unguicularis (above) from Northern Africa has kindly sent out a flower or two all winter, but only now is putting on a show. The purple, red and white Pulsatilla vulgaris (at right) are developing their woolly buds. And, of course, our many color forms of Helleborus x hybridus are painting every part of the garden with their pink, purple, cream and yellow flowers. There are also many selections of Helleborus foetidus and H. argutifolius which have very vibrant pale green flowers.

2007 Classes and Celebrations -Gardening for the Way We Really Live

2007-03-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

We at Joy Creek Nursery believe that our educational classes in our gardens are an exceptionally good way to help gardeners of all experience levels improve their knowledge, skills and confidence for working in their gardens. Since we started this educational program we have expanded our speaker list to include many specialists from our local area, nationally and around the world. Please join us by attending our classes.

All Sunday classes begin at 1:00 p.m. and are free to the public except as noted.

March 25
Pruning Workshop - Mike Smith
Both the health and beauty of a garden depend on thoughtful maintenance through pruning. Learn what to look for and how to make the best pruning cuts to enhance your trees, shrubs and perennials.

Mike Smith is co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery. You can see his pruning handiwork throughout the nursery, especially in the large rhododendrons around the house and behind our lavender path and in the numerous shrubs shaped into small trees that are grown throughout our gardens. Mike is a passionate gardener who left a management job in big industry to start the nursery.

April 1
Propagation 101 - Sheila Rabideaux
Learn the basics of increasing plants by making divisions and taking cuttings. Instruction is designed to help home gardeners propagate their favorite plants.

Sheila Rabideaux joined our staff as propagator in 2005. With a degree in horticulture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she came to Oregon to find work in the wholesale plant industry. When she first visited Joy Creek Nursery, she told us that she wanted to work for us and happily we were able to make that happen. Sheila's passion has been propagating woody plants, especially conifers and viburnums. She also enjoys grafting.

April 8
Fertilizers and Soil Amendments - Patrick Petersen
Take an in-depth look at how, when and why to use the many fertilizers and soil additives that are now available to gardeners.

Patrick Petersen received his degree from The Ohio State University in horticulture with a minor in entomology. After six years working as a nursery manager, he was hired as a horticulturist for Marion Ag. Services. His job is to educate customers how to use horticultural products. Patrick is interested in how the various elements of a garden - the soil, the bugs, the fertilizers, composts and plants - work together to create an ecosystem.

April 15
Trees in the Garden - Anne Marsh
We often think we don't have room for more trees in our gardens but there are many small to medium-sized trees that can easily be added to beautiful effect.

Anne Marsh is a landscape designer in the Portland area. Together with her partner Gary Fear she owns Marsh & Fear Garden Solutions specializing in designs for residential gardens. Anne is eager to pass on some basic tenets of design that home gardeners can apply to their own gardens.

April 22
Bamboo - Dain Sansome
If you have been afraid to grow bamboo, this is the class for you. Learn about the characteristics and growth habits of various bamboos, how to control their spread and how to maintain them as screens or groves.

Dain Sansome is a licensed landscape contractor. His business Bamboo Valley Authority specializes in bamboo removal, maintenance and installation. Born in Minnesota, he learned about both gardening and bamboo at an early age. His subsequent travels lead him to Japan where he studied and traveled extensively. In 2002, he came to Oregon to grow bamboo in a favorable climate. He has worked at The Bamboo Garden, one of America's largest and oldest bamboo nurseries, since 2003.

May 6
Getting Started in the Garden - John Caine
Organizing the space around your home to create outdoor living spaces that flow one to the next is essential to making that space "feel" like a garden. Sometimes this can be solved by learning how to ask better questions.

John Caine comes to his job as landscape garden designer for Joy Creek Nursery not only with a degree from Michigan State University but also with thirty years of practical experience as an estate gardener. He gave Joy Creek Nursery its master plan and continues to help us refine our gardens.

May 13
Confident Cutting - Linda Beutler
Treating cut flowers, fruit and foliage properly is the key to long-lasting arrangements. In honor of Mother's Day, we are pleased to present the launch of Linda's new book Garden to Vase from Timber Press. Join us for a lecture and book signing.

Linda Beutler published her first book in 2004, Gardening with Clematis. She assumed the position of President of the Pacific Northwest Clematis Society in 2005, and has been instrumental in maintaining the Rogerson Clematis Collection. Her second book Garden to Vase will be in the stores in spring 2006. She is an instructor at Clackamas Community College, Oregon.

May 20
Basic Design Elements - Gary Fear
Designing a garden can be a bewildering experience. Learn step-by-step the basic process to make your design unique yet coherent.

Gary Fear is co-owner, with Anne Marsh, of Marsh & Fear Garden Solutions which specializes in designs for residential gardens. His background in the visual arts, and later in high-end woodworking and design, has transferred well to his garden designs. Gary emphasizes that he specializes in hard-scapes and the construction of customized garden structures.

May 27
Summer Containers - Nadine Black
You've still got time to produce dazzling containers for your summer garden by using interesting and unusual plants.

Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. At Joy Creek Nursery, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

June 2 & 3
A Celebration of Clematis

June 2nd
Incredible integrifolia: A Clematis of Influence and Integrity - Linda Beutler
The species Clematis integrifolia is incredibly versatile in the mixed border combining with many a perennial to make dazzling effects. Because of its great hardiness and long bloom, it has also been hybridized with other clematis to produce some fine garden plants.

Linda Beutler published her first book in 2004, Gardening with Clematis. She assumed the position of President of the Pacific Northwest Clematis Society in 2005, and has been instrumental in maintaining the Rogerson Clematis Collection. She is an instructor at Clackamas Community College, Oregon.

June 3rd
Early Masters of Clematis Hybridizing - Brewster Rogerson
Many of the clematis we grow in our gardens today have been in the retail trade for over 100 years. Learn about the historic hybrids of such great breeders as George Jackman, Charles Noble and Victor Lemoine and the reason for their staying power.

Brewster Rogerson is renowned in the world of clematis for his very historically significant and species-diverse collection of clematis which has just found a home at Luscher Farms in Lake Oswego under the auspices of Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection. This is a rare chance to hear from our local "dean" of clematis.

June 10
Conifers - Don Howse
Let an expert guide you in finding the best, choice evergreens for your garden. Don Howse brings an extensive knowledge of and experience with the conifers best suited to our climate. There will be selected specimen plants for sale.

Don Howse is co-owner of Porterhowse Farms in Sandy, Oregon, and past president of the Western Region of the American Conifer Society. He has been collecting rare and unusual conifers for more than 30 years. Anyone who has visited his nursery knows that his interest in plants extends way beyond conifers. He himself confesses that he is a plant addict.

June 17
Carnivorous Plants and Other Bog Treasures - Scott Vegara
There is growing interest in bog gardening because of all the unusual and unfamiliar plants that dwell in those special conditions. Learn how to grow and care for them at your home either in a garden or in a container. Venus fly-traps, pitcher plants and sun-dews will soon be part of your plant palette.

Scott Vegara writes "if you need a one sentence bio, say that one of my prized plants was a variegated poison ivy." That shows his passion for plants, but it does not tell the depth of his involvement with horticulture. He has done genetic research, been a college educator, worked as plant development coordinator, and served as director of two botanical gardens. He is currently the Executive Director and Director of Horticulture at the Berry Botanic Garden in Portland, Oregon. One of his passions is carnivorous plants.

June 24
Tastefully Labeling the Garden- Dan Moeller
How to know what you have in your garden without the use of miniature billboards! Dan has some innovative ideas that you won't want to miss.

Dan Moeller was a garden manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden before he made the big move to the West Coast to become the plant collections manager at the Hoyt Arboretum in Portland , Oregon. Dan also serves on the tree committee of the Great Plant Picks from the Elizabeth C. Miller Botanic Garden in Seattle.

July 1
Revitalizing a Tired Bed - Jolly Butler
Has a section of your garden lost its appeal? Are you wondering what to do about it? Acquire some techniques for assessing the situation and making the changes that will make you happy with your garden.

Jolly Butler became familiar to gardeners throughout the Portland area through her "Gardening 101" column in Garden Showcase magazine. Also, many gardeners learned their gardening basics in her classes at Portland Community College. Recently, she ran a two-hour, call-in radio show called "Gardening with Jolly Butler" on KPAM in Portland. She is an Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener and is active in the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon. Oh, yes, and she is a gardener.

July 8
What Color is Your Garden? - Lucy Hardiman
Understanding the way that color works can bring out the artist in any gardener and help to personalize a garden. Learn what you are doing when you create your own color palette, refine your sense of color, or go wild with varied hues.

Lucy Hardiman, former president of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, and vice-president of Friends of Rogerson Clematis Collection, is a driving force in the Portland plant world. Through her garden design company Perennial Partners, her lectures and her writing in national publications, she expresses her sophisticated sense of design and color in the garden.

July 15
Advanced Propagation

1:00 p.m. - Backyard Plant Breeding - Diana Reeck
How are new plants made? Discover the secrets of plant sex and get hands-on experience with several genera. (Please bring your own tweezers!)

Diana Reeck, co-owner of Collector's Nursery in Battleground, Washington, is an amateur plant breeder whose passions include erythroniums, small-flowered clematis and epimediums. She is also an avid plant explorer and her adventures have taken her throughout the Pacific Northwest and, indeed, as far as China.

2:15 p.m. - Propagation 102 - Scotty Fairchild
Growing plants from seeds can be tricky for the home gardener. The various techniques for coaxing seeds to life will fascinate you.

Scotty Fairchild has been employed as the Garden Steward at the Leach Botanical Garden since 1990. He is responsible for the development and maintenance of the garden's extensive plant collections and the sustainable stewardship of the 15-acre site. In addition, he has developed the garden's nursery facility which currently has over 2,000 accessioned taxa, the majority grown from seed. His most recent academic studies were at Oregon State University.

July 22
Ferns - Judith Jones
The Fern Lady is back with delightful tales and information about what she calls the most architectural of plants. Learn how to chose ferns for specific sites (including hot, dry ones), how to care for them and grow them well.

Judith Jones' unmistakable laugh belies the joy that she brings to her work as owner of Fancy Fronds Nursery in Gold Bar , Washington. Judith reports that she is an avowed "pteridomaniac." She says, "Ferns just make sense as exquisite architectural living forms - they are incredibly elegant while being eminently grow-able." Any one who has seen one of her 18 display gardens at the NW Flower and Garden Show has experienced her great theatricality. "I don't have any formal botanical training as I studied Children's Theater and 17th and 19th century English literature. Great prep for a person to roll about in peat and horse poop thereafter!" She gleefully adds, "I can sing Shakespearian ballads loudly off-key and dance through the ferns to Mozart or the Muppets."

July 28, Saturday 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Twilight in the Garden
The whole garden and our experience of it changes in the fading light of evening, Come see what magic takes place, and what plants you might see in a new light. Light refreshments and music.

July 29
The New Western Garden - Paul Bonine
Gardeners in the Northwest are facing all kinds of challenges - smaller urban garden spaces, growing pressures on limited resources like water and the shift to more environmentally friendly practices are but a few. Gardeners are also challenged to find ways to incorporate shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals in ways that mimic and complement our native landscape but still allow the freedom of personal expression. Learn about some exciting new plants that can meet these challenges.

Paul Bonine is co-owner of the wholesale nursery Xera Plants Inc. with his partner Greg Shepherd. He has worked in the nursery industry since 1992 beginning in Eugene and then moving to Portland. Paul's special interests include plants that are adapted to low water usage, perform well in the Portland area and expand the plant palette for Northwest gardeners. By the way, Paul is a Taurus.

August 5
Paths and Circulation - John Caine
How you move through your garden is elemental to your enjoyment of that space. Paths also help define your planting areas. In a sense, paths are the lungs and arteries of the garden, facilitating all kinds of circulation.

John Caine comes to his job as landscape garden designer for Joy Creek Nursery not only with a degree from Michigan State University but also with thirty years of practical experience as an estate gardener. He gave Joy Creek Nursery its master plan and continues to help us refine our gardens.

August 12
The Inside Story: Garden Tours
Take this opportunity to look behind the scenes and get the details on how we design and maintain our nursery borders. Tour content will be full of humor and insight. Tours will leave at 10:00 a.m., noon, and 2:00 p.m. Join the nursery owners, Mike Smith & Maurice Horn for a tour.

August 19
Small Water Features - Nadine Black
It is not as hard as you think to have water in the garden. Get ideas for water features that are easy to install and maintain. We will examine everything from water rocks to small fountains.

Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. Here, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

August 26
Dry Shade - Richie Steffen
Northwest summers are notoriously dry and many common shade plants cannot survive the competition for water from larger shrubs and trees. Yet, there are a surprising number of plants that are up to these difficult circumstances.

Richie Steffen is the Coordinator of Horticulture for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden where he manages the rare plant collections and heads acquisitions of new plants for the garden. He currently serves as a selection committee member of the Great Plant Picks program and is always ready to share his enthusiasm for this excellent regional resource.

Sept. 2
Ground Covers - Ramona Wulzen
Find plants that will enhance problem areas in your garden and learn how to keep them looking good, whether in dry shade under evergreens or in a sunny hot spot that gets little water.

Ramona Wulzen received her love of all things wild from her mother. She has gardened both on a city lot and on three acres in the woods. She has also listened long and hard to the problems and solutions that other gardeners have experienced. The nature of her current garden has led to her passion for ground covers and container gardening. Ramona is a veteran of our retail department and now works in our landscape department.

Sept. 9
Fall Wreaths - Nadine Black
Get ideas about gathering the abundant dried plant material found in the garden in late summer. There will be a demonstration on how to use these materials for autumn decoration.

Nadine Black tried on many hats in our industry - from private gardener to wholesale plant sales - before she discovered that her real passion was helping retail customers create gardens. At Joy Creek Nursery, she has found a new set of hats, managing retail sales, conducting on-site garden consultations, and teaching workshops. In addition, she has acquired the Lifetime Certified Oregon Nursery Professional certificate from the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

Sept. 16
Ornamental Grasses - Carolyn Jones
Ornamental grasses bring movement and texture to the garden. With so many choices and such a range of colors and sizes, it can sometimes be daunting selecting the most suitable grass for your site. Learn about care and maintenance and take a tour.

Carolyn Jones is director of the Elizabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, Washington. One of her duties as director is to oversee the Great Plant Picks program which is designed to educate the public about plants well-suited to the Pacific Northwest. She has worked in horticulture in the Northwest for 30 years in retail and wholesale sales as well as at botanical gardens.

Sept. 23
Low-Water Gardening - Maurice Horn
Drier, warmer summers. Increasing costs of water. Stubborn Northwest clay. What do they have in common? They are part of the background of experiments conducted in the gardens at Joy Creek Nursery that have resulted in reduced water usage and, ironically, an expanded plant palette.

Maurice Horn, as co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery, has had the opportunity to trial a vast variety of perennials and shrubs. He is ever eager to find ways to create exciting gardens that use low to no water. Recently he has conducted gravel gardening workshops for Metro, the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon and Heronswood Nursery.

Sept. 30
Winter Containers - Ramona Wulzen
Basic container maintenance and strong design elements are essential for creating interesting and elegant containers for the winter months. Join Ramona in creating winter container combinations.

Ramona Wulzen received her love of all things wild from her mother. She has gardened both on a city lot and on three acres in the woods. She has also listened long and hard to the problems and solutions that other gardeners have experienced. The nature of her current garden has lead to her passion for ground covers and container gardening. Ramona is a veteran of our retail department and now works in our landscape department.