Naturally-Shaped Organic Christmas Trees

Larry Arendt, owner of Arendt’s Christmas Tree Farm, planted noble and Frasier firs a few years back as part of his retirement strategy. He decided he wanted to let the trees grow in their natural shape; no trimming allows the naturally wide-spaced branching to show off all those beautiful ornaments you are collecting. He also decided not to spray his field of trees. Benefits of this practice include grass growing between the rows to minimize mud on the trees (and your shoes and knees). Most all the trees are beautifully shaped just as nature intended. For the past two years, I found the perfect tree in minutes instead of the typical longer-than-a-few-minutes traipsing around a u-cut field because I’m picky about my Christmas trees.

Arendt’s Christmas Tree Farm is easy to find. Exit off I-5 at the Aurora exit (#278) and turn west (right if you are coming from Portland; left under the overpass if you’re coming from Salem). Turn left on Case Rd.; the tree farm will be on your right. Address is 20757 Case Rd., Aurora, Ore. Cell phone is 503.318.7977. Cost is $25 a tree regardless of size. Larry says “they’re looking great!” They have saws you can borrow, too.

Moments of Magic

Gardening —and nature—is miraculous and magical. We had our first hard frost Sunday morning turning brown leaves and blades of grass into works of art. I LOVE sparkly things (maybe I was a magpie in another life?!?). As I was walking Barney (my adorable golden retriever), my eyes were glued to the ground as I walked past leaf after leaf edged with ice crystals glittering in the morning sun. Twenty minutes later, as I raced back to the park with my camera, only a few crystal-edged leaves remained. Ephemeral...and magical while it lasted.

I believe that in the Northwest, we have a great appreciation for every ray of sunshine that emerges from our gray late fall and winter skies, making us more sensitive to extraordinary moments. Share with us your moments of nature’s magic.

For the Birds

Photo courtesy of Karen Rake

A dear friend (and Random Acts of Gardening reader) shared these thoughts and photos with me. Testimony that we shouldn’t be too quick to tidy our gardens in the fall!

“Here are some of the pictures I took the other day [in mid-November]. It is hard to see them since they are so small but [the gold finches] were in my yard by the dozens!!! Love all that life in the garden when things seem to be dying back.”

Watching the birds feast on the seed heads of rudbeckia provides entertainment and great pleasure to my friend. She also has a niger bird feeder nearby in an Acer griseum and a year-round basalt column fountain that attract the birds.



Photo courtesy of Karen Rake

I’ve hesitated taking my friend up on her offer for rudbeckia seed because it reseeds itself so readily in her yard. However, having this many small visitors in the garden suggests I should rethink that decision...and my soil isn’t as rich as hers so reseeding may, in fact, not be a concern. I know the hummingbirds are still visiting my fuchsia for a fall meal.

What’s attracting birdlife in your garden at this time of year?

The Ultimate Shrub



Arctostaphylos densiflora ‘Howard McMinn’
Photo courtesy of HortMag.com

 “Arctostaphylos is the ultimate shrub of the west,” declared Paul Bonin, co-owner of wholesale nursery Xera Plants, at an early November Hardy Plant Society of Oregon Gen(i)us presentation. Arctostaphylos is better known to most gardeners as Manzanita.

According to Bonine, there are 60 species of Arctostaphylos native to the United States, at least 11 of which are native to Oregon. Apparently, they are rather free in their reproductive habits, which results in natural inter-species crosses making parentage difficult to track at times. Native habitat spreads from British Columbia to Baja, Mexico. Related to rhododendron, they take the form of evergreen small trees, large or small shrubs and groundcovers. Kinnikinnick is a well-known groundcover form.

Bark is often the initial allure. “It’s a conundrum why they aren’t used more in our gardens,” Bonine said during his presentation. “They grow in lean clay soils and don’t like summer water. In fact, they can be killed with too much love. They are related to the rhododendron, yet are easier to grow.” Most prefer full sun though some tolerate light shade.

Bonine wants us to think beyond the admittedly beautiful bark and recognize the attraction of the distinctive, “spectacular” upturned leaves. They also offer bell-shaped winter-blooming flowers followed by small fruit. A special favorite of Paul’s? A. densiflora ‘Howard McMinn’. He declares it “the most beautiful shrub ever.” And it’s cold hardy to 0°F (with slight leaf damage), grows to 6 ft. tall and wide and is covered in pink-turning to-white flowers in late winter. Xera Plants’ Web site says it takes irrigation better than other varieties.

Natives can be challenging to grow in the nursery environment, particularly in containers. Apparently, Oregon’s native Arctostaphylos are no exception. In the home garden, according to Bonine, the opposite is true if planted in the right place. They need good circulation as they are prone to black spot and lean (unamended) soil. Tip pruning can control growth and shape; however, growth won’t regenerate from woody stems and they bloom on wood from the previous year. Pruning “up” shows off the beautiful branching and bark and also keeps water and mud from back splashing leaves, which can cause fungal disease. A coarse mulch—not compost!—also minimizes splashing.

Other noteworthy compact Arctostaphylos varieties:

• A. auriculata ‘Diablo Blush’ is a compact 3 ft. x 3.5 ft. shrub with pink late-winter flowers.
  
• A. ‘Sunset’ offers orange-tinted new foliage, early spring flowers and a 4 ft. tall x 6 ft. wide growth habit.
  
• A. x ‘Greensphere’ grows to only 2 ft. x 2 ft. in 10 years. New growth is tinted vivid orange and tints again in cool weather.

The Social Gardener

Ann Murphy (left), editor of RAG,

and Whitney Rideout (aka Gardennia

nutii) at a Farmington Gardens

gardening workshop.

By Gardennia nutii
I moved to Oregon 15 years ago to take a new job. My move here was right after I graduated college and was a solitary one. I developed the usual set of friends from work, a small handful of whom remain tried-and-true friends. But the wealth of close friends I have now came through a shared passion for gardening. Until a few days ago, I hadn’t really noticed. I found myself walking around an amazing garden and afterwards sipping wine with about 20 other plant nerds. We were chatting and laughing about life and our gardens when it hit me: I have some amazing friends and the majority of them came into my life through gardening. How wonderful! I’m not just feeding my yard and soul but my social life as well.

Upon reflection, I now see that my garden provides the perfect analogy to my circle of friends. At first I had a solitary tree in the middle of a big field; I enjoyed the setting but it didn’t offer a lot of shelter or interest. Years of plant sales, lectures and study groups later, plants slowly began to fill the field, knowledge on how to care for them grew, and a support group emerged that goes beyond the garden and into life’s trials. The bonds to my plants and people have sprouted and grown and now I find myself in a rich setting with a lot of beauty, depth and interest. I have a garden and a set of friends I plan on nurturing for decades…and the knowledge that there is always room for one more plant (and friend).

Praise for Alyssum Variety

A 2010 Yard, Garden & Patio visitor recently sent us a note of praise for Proven Winner's 'Snow Princess'™ Alyssum. Here's what she had to say:

Photo courtesy of
Proven Winners

"I just wanted to tell someone that the 'Snow Princess' alyssum (Lobularia hybrid) from Proven Winners is just amazing. It was blooming when they passed them out at the door of the YGP [Yard, Garden & Patio] show in February, and is still blooming beautifully on October 12. As far as I know, it has never been out of bloom in all that time. It is by far the best "freebie" plant I have ever received. We're looking forward to the 2011 show!"

The YGP "freebies" were grown and distributed by Bauman's Farm & Garden.

Save the date for the 2011 show at the Oregon Convention Center: February 18-20. Once again there will be spectacular display gardens and more garden vignettes on the show floor! Perhaps we'll even have more "freebies" to share with early visitors to the show. And we want to offer another "Behind the Scenes" event for Random Acts of Gardening readers. In fact, give me ideas as to what you'd like to see and learn about the show and we'll see if we can make it happen!

Edible Wild Mushroom Adventure – Sign up NOW!

Steve Schmidt (left) and novice mushroom

seekers Ann Murphy (RAG writer and editor)

and Jim Wrathall.

The Oregon Association of Nurseries is offering Random Acts of Gardening (RAG) readers a unique opportunity, but space is very limited!

Join Steve Schmidt, horticulturalist, for a mushroom foraging adventure in the forests near Estacada, Ore. the morning of Saturday, November 13. The adventure is limited to only six RAG readers.

I had the pleasure of spending a day mushroom hunting with Steve and a few others a few weeks ago. It was my very first time looking for edible forest mushrooms and we brought home loads of chanterelles and a few hedgehogs and angels wings. Yummmmmm! Steve has "the sight." He can spot a Chanterelle at 50 paces, especially the ones that us novice harvesters were practically standing on but didn't see.

The hemlock/fir forest ecosystem is my very favorite. When you're searching for mushrooms, you really start to pay attention to the forest floor. All types, sizes and colors of mushrooms seem to materialize out of nowhere. It's a marvel of diversity, however, you don't want to eat most of them.

Steve will share his secrets for finding edible mushrooms, particularly chanterelles, by looking for the type of environment in which they thrive. You'll even learn how to use a compass to safely navigate the woods (a life skill everyone should have, in my opinion). What does this have to do with gardening? My walks in the forest inspire my use of native plants in the garden. I've also thought about the possibility of inviting mushroom spores into my garden for future harvests, but after my mushroom hunt, I doubt that is realistic: each variety exists in a specialized environment.

You'll be tromping through the forest (no trails!) so you need to have excellent mobility and the ability and character to enjoy a mildly taxing walk over and around trees, forest shrubs and groundcovers, possibly in the rain. If you want to learn about harvesting wild mushrooms and can...

• commit to being in Estacada by 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 13;
• walk in the woods until 1 p.m.;
• drive or carpool from our meeting destination to the mushroom hunting site (the last few miles are on a gravel road);
• dress warmly and in rain gear if necessary;
• beg, borrow or buy a bucket or basket (preferably that you can tie to your waist), compass, whistle, knife, foam brush (from the hardware store for brushing off dirt), and walking stick (or find a stick in the woods); and
• agree to respectfully harvest mushrooms so their populations continue to thrive

...then register to join us! You'll gain the confidence to go out on your own for future mushroom hunting adventures and receive information on how to prepare your treasures! For those that join us, we'll email you mushroom hunting etiquette, a supply list and directions to the starting destination where you'll pick up your mushroom hunting permit (free).

Thank you for your interest! Space for this event was very

limited and we have already reached capacity.