Garden Dogs

Tomatoes! Tomatoes! Tomatoes!

2011-10-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

The tomatoes just won't stop this year! In past years I have had to bring in the entire vines and hang them up in the garage to try to get them to all ripen, or loose them all to late blight like I did last year; but this year they are ripening enough outside that I can pick them when orange and they ripen fully within a few days on the counter. I'm picking them a little before ripe Since it has been raining a lot, I want to reduce the chance of the ripening fruit cracking and splitting.

Pints of crushed tomatoes

Although I have a lot of tomato preserving yet to do, I'm keeping up. One trick I've mastered over the years is to use multiple preserving techniques; if all I did with the tomatoes was can them, I'd be way past burned out by now! This year I have canned over 30 pints of crushed tomatoes, dried several bags worth in the dehydrator, and frozen many containers of oven roasted tomatoes.

Oven Roasting tomatoes is very easy, and it concentrates the tomato flavor, making them seem somehow more tomatoey when pulled from the deep freeze in winter.

Oven Roasted Tomato Recipe/Technique

Tomatoes, washed, trimmed of any bad parts, and cut into halves or quarters depending on size.
Olive oil
Kosher Salt

Coat a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil, arrange tomatoes skin-side down on sheet. Sprinkle with a small amount of Kosher salt (as the water from the tomatoes evaporates in the oven the salt will concentrate, so go easy on it), and drizzle with more olive oil.

Place in a 300 degree oven for a few hours, until the tomatoes have shrunk and have a few brown/caramelized spots. Let cool and store in freezer containers.

We use the roasted tomatoes for quick sauces, or toppings for fish. On busy nights I make a meal out of polenta (made in big batches and frozen), kale (blanched and frozen) sauteed with garlic, and the roasted tomatoes; all I need to do is to remember to pull them out of the freezer in time to defrost.

Roasted tomatoes, almost done, they need about another half hour in the oven.

2011 Vegetable Garden Review

2011-10-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

Onions, Garlic, Strawberries, Mustard Greens, Peas, Oregano, and Chives

Lancelot Leek and Cascadia Peas

At my father's community garden last fall I planted kale, garlic, onions and some assorted greens for growing though winter. The kale grew fabulously, we were able to freeze enough to get us through next spring, with more still to harvest. The onions and garlic didn't do so well, they all got rust, the onions bolted and flowered, and the garlic heads, while edible, were tiny (a huge pain to peel for cooking). In early spring we planted leeks for the first time, thankfully planting them away from the garlic and onions; they were worthwhile to grow, we used them though the summer for soups and sautes. The peas got off to a slow start, but they did very well in our agonizingly long cool spring; I did over-plant though...16 feet worth of row at the community garden and another 6 feet at home! We gave away a lot of peas to my fathers neighbors.

My father spent the spring and summer in and out of the hospital and nursing facilities; when he made his first hospital trip, the man of the house and I, had to make a tough decision...do we keep the community plot and drive all the way across town to tend it several times a week? Knowing that last year my father wasn't able to make it to the garden to water as often as it really needed it, we seriously considered giving up on it. But, in the end we decided that we had spent 4 years getting the garden just perfect, and we didn't want to miss out on all of the produce that garden gives us. We planted things that we thought could go without water for several days, and things that didn't loose quality if not picked daily (no beans, no cucumbers!). Thanks in part to the cool weather, the summer crops did great. We harvested a lot of tomatillos, RIPE tomatoes, and we expect to pick ripe watermelons in the next week or so. Keeping the plot going through he summer was worth the drive across town.

Beans and JB Watermelon growing on a trellis at home.

Our home garden did great. The tomatoes did well, ripening just behind those in the community garden, as did the eggplants. We grew Romano beans and bush cucumbers, both prolific and healthy. The melons planted at home are a little smaller than those in the community garden, but we expect them to ripen soon. We also planted potatoes for the first time, they were a success.

Here is my list of the best growers/tasters this year:

Earl Faux

Tomatoes: Earls Faux (deep pink beefsteak, very meaty), Sioux (the first to ripen! Nice tangy taste), and Crnkovic Yugoslavian (Nice flavor, very prolific, and produced the biggest fruit of the year...1 3/4 pounds)

Mellon: JB Watermelon, haven't tasted it yet, but it has lots of good-sized fruit.

Eggplant: Millionaire (very prolific, not bitter even when large) Fairy Tale (small lavender, very pretty and delicious).

Kale: Lacinato/Dinosaur/Tuscan Kale I just can't get enough of this green!

Now the last hard gardening task of the season will be to break the news to my Father that we won't have the big community plot next year. The garden has been a good pull to get him out of his apartment, so we will rent him a small 4 x 6 foot raised bed to plant and hope he will be well enough in the spring to make the walk there to tend it.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

"Roses are red,
Violets are blue;
But they don't get around
Like the dandelions do"
~Slim Acres

A field of dandelions and clover...a honey bee's delight!

Lesons Learned: The 2010 Gardening Year In Review

2011-01-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

Pea Seedlings

I'm always learning and evolving as a gardener, and it seems like the garden improves every year as my knowledge expands. 2009 was such a great year in my garden; I had high hopes for 2010! Well, as they say "Don't count your chickens before they hatch!"

Community Garden Plot at McCoy Park:

The year started off pretty well, it was a wet spring, but we completed all of the soil prep in the fall, so we didn't need to wait for dry weather to plant. Most of the winter crops survived, the lacinato kale did especially well, and the garlic and onions survived the winter wet. I started peas in cell pack in late January, and planted them out in late February; they did great!

March 5, 2010

The weather never really warmed up...but in anticipation of summer like weather, I pulled out the kale to make room for tomatoes in late June. If I knew what the summer was going to be like, I would have left the kale in and not planted tomatoes!

May 16, 2010

By mid-September we still hadn't picked a ripe tomato, not even a cherry tomato. We picked a few eggplant, the beans were vining, but not flowering. The cucumbers were producing, but they were bitter. The only thing doing well was the tomatillos.

August 28, 2010

At the end of September we began to get tomatoes! But it wasn't long before it became clear that we had a problem: LATE BLIGHT! I have never had trouble with tomato diseases; I'm pretty good about rotating crops, and keeping things clean; but the cool wet summer didn't give our tomato's a chance. We harvested enough to can about a dozen pints of crushed tomatoes, and roasted some in the oven for freezing; but I ended up having to toss most of the fruit as it rotted before ripening.

October 20, 2010

Home Garden

Our home vegetable beds are used year round; I cover them with plastic in the winter so we can grow lettuce and herbs despite the cold. One problem with our intensive gardening has been a build up of gray- mold; so we decided to start fresh with new soil in our raised beds. We moved all of the old soil out into a shrub bed where we wanted to amend the soil before planting olive trees.

When it came time to buy new soil, I was busy and honestly a little lazy. Instead of buying the soil mix with the organic compost as I had originally planed, I bought soil from a place close to home. And when faced with the option of buying organic compost and regular top soil and mixing them together my self - verses buying a pre-mixed scoop of a soil blend with regular (not organic) compost, I whimped out and chose the mix. I knew better...I had a knot in my gut after buying it...but I filled the beds with it anyway.

The veggies in the raised beds failed to thrive. At first I blamed it on the weather; but then it became clear: The compost in the mix was contaminated with clopyralid, a broad leaf herbicide for lawns. Our entire home vegetable garden was a failure. (I will put up a post with more info next month)

Distorted Bean Foliage

We did get a decent harvest of blueberries, they weren't as sweet as I'd like them, but we have a lot in the freezer to add to cereal and to make pies with. The new olive trees grew well; however we had a hard freeze just before thanksgiving that hit them hard...we will just have to wait to see what spring 2011 brings.

Hardware for Gardeners, on Cyber Monday!

2010-11-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

Today I got to have a cup of coffee with Jana of www.360yardware.com/ . I've talked with Jana on the phone and by email when preparing gate hardware specifications for clients gates, but before today I haven't gotten the chance to meet her in person. I probably took up too much of her time, but it was great to spend time talking with someone who is as passionate about good quality hardware as I am...yes, I'm a garden-nerd :)
360 Yardware is an Internet based business specializing in high quality exterior hardware, from gate latches to house numbers and mailboxes. I am impressed by the quality and breadth of their selection; so much more than one can find in the garden center or big box hardware store.

On their website it says: "The smallest little thing can make a huge difference in how your entry looks". I agree! A nice doorbell or door knocker, and house numbers can really transform ones entry. The details at the front door are things that guests to our homes will see up close and personal, while waiting to be greeted.

I have my eyes on these Satin Black Bungalow Style house numbers for my own entry!

While most of us don't have the budget to go top of the line for our entire landscaping/curb appeal projects, gate hardware is another place worthy of a splurge. If you have ever had a gate latch that sticks, or is locked by a padlock that takes two hands to open, you know how nice it would be to have a well made easy to open gate latch. 360 Yardware has latches, locks, and hinges for gates of all sizes; and they have the expertise to help pick out the best product for each situation. Check out their information tips on gate latches.

If you want to shop online (after all today is "Cyber Monday"), but also want to support a local (Portland) business, check out 360 Yardware's specials! They have some significant markdowns on some very nice hardware. It would be nice to put up some new house numbers when hanging a wreath on the front door. And while you may not be thinking much about gates in the winter...come spring an easy opening gate would be a very good thing!

RIP, our beloved Electric Range

2010-11-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

Rest in peace, our beloved Electric Range. Last night I did it in, I used up the last of our ranges life…I was making the final batch of tomatillo salsa from the end of the garden veggies to go along with butternut squash and black bean enchiladas. The stove top was down to just the two little burners. 10 years of canning tomatoes, making beer, and cooking huge pots of soups and sauces for the freezer had take their toll on the cheap rental house quality range our house came with.

Our whole kitchen is in need of a re-do…we have vowed to not put any money into fixing it up until we are ready to do a serious remodel; convert to natural gas, and bump the wall of the kitchen and dining area out to make room for larger countertops and cupboards, and a more formal dining area. But now, the range has given out, I may need to spend some money so we can cook our families Thanksgiving dinner (only 5 days away!).

The light in the oven still works…last night I dreamed about putting in a higher wattage bulb and finding an Easy-Bake oven recipe for turkey, but then I woke up. For the past several months I’ve kept my eyes open when driving around for a free sign on a range along the street, all I’ve seen are washers and dryers. Today I’ll need to start a serious search. I called the rebuilding center, they don’t have any in stock; I’m searching Craig’s List, and will scout out used appliance shops…my budget is $50, I don’t care about looks, I’ll welcome any working range into my kitchen, avocado green, harvest gold, even pink is fine with me!

I had to “bake” the enchiladas in the microwave; after resetting the circuit breaker twice all that would work was the light in the oven. But they still were pretty good, and the Tomatillo Salsa turned out great, done just before the range shut off for good. Tomatillos were the hit of this year dismal growing season. I made 3 or 4 big batches of salsa all tucked away in the freezer. Here is a rough recipe, adjust the ingredients to suit your taste:

Tomatillo Salsa
(makes about 10 cups)

2 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 gallon Tomatillos, husked, washed, cut in half
3 dried Chile Pasilla-Ancho pods*
3 or 4 roasted Jalapeno or Serrano peppers** (optional)
2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 bunch fresh Cilantro, big stems removed

Toast the chile pods in a large pot, for a minute or two until softened, de-seed and de-stem the chiles and set aside.

Sauté onions and garlic in the vegetable oil in the large pot until they begin to brown.
Add tomatillos, chiles, salt, and roasted peppers to the pot. Cook over medium heat until the tomatillos are soft and juicy, about 25 minutes.

Puree the salsa with the cilantro in small batches in a blender. Return to pot and check seasoning. Add more salt if needed. The salsa should be tart, if it is too tart, add a teaspoon or two of brown sugar.

Cool and store in the fridge for short term use; freezes well. This is a nice sauce for veggie enchiladas, grilled chicken, and a good dip for corn chips.

*Chile Pasilla-Ancho pods are in the Hispanic foods section of big grocery stores.

*Roasted Jalapeno or Serrano peppers: I often roast extra peppers when we have the charcoal grill fired up, and freeze them for use later.

Farewell Summer 2010

2010-09-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

2010, year of the Green Tomato
Our Community Garden Plot, September 18th

Summer, you are officially over at 8:09 this evening…it’s about time! Summer, you let me down, I know I usually complain about your hot spells, the seemingly endless hand watering needed to keep my potted gardens looking fresh, and our homes lack of AC. But record rain falls, record low high temperatures…Summer, this year, the only good to come from you was a bumper crop of snap peas! No thanks for the GREEN tomatoes.

OK, I can't say only bad things about Summer, 2010...I have picked a few ripe-ish tomatoes, eggplant, our first handful of green beans, plus lots of cucumbers & tomatillos.

Summer Vacation

2010-09-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Between lots of rain and lots of work, it feels like we missed summer. It is September 17th and I have only picked a handful of ripe tomatoes...at least we finally got to take our summer vacation!

The Man of the House managed to secure a three day weekend; we planned to go camping no mater the weather. The forecast started out for low 70's and showers, then it was bumped up to 80's and sun! It actually was upper 60's and dry the first night, but solid rain the second. Thankfully The man of the House has a thing for firewood...he kept us nice and warm.

The rain deposited a fresh layer of duff on the forest floor

Our usual campsite was waiting for us and we had most of the campground to ourselves. We didn't see any deer this trip, but did see horses, bunnies, and chipmunks. Of course I took lots of dog photos... but I think I'll share a vintage camping photo instead:

Grandpa Storrs helping Sarah with the air mattress at Beverly Beach Campground...1980?

Grandpa passed away a little over a week ago; he lived a great 95 years. Grandpa was a major fixture in my life. One of my fondest memories is of Grandpa, my sister and I, picking red huckleberries in Shelton and making them into a little pie...the pie wasn't especially good, but I remember the pride I felt having a Grandpa who would take us on a hike in the woods, find berries, and then help us make pies.

The Man of the House and I didn't pick any berries on this camping trip...too wet to think about picking, but we did see some in the woods.

Oregon Grape
Mahonia aquafolium

Rose Hip

Salal
Gaultheria shallon

It was over a year since our last camping trip to McIver Park...sometime over the past year they installed a new boat dock above the dam. It looks like a nice place for catching some fish.

Barberry, and Basil with the Man of the House, Fall 2010 on the new McIver Park Boat Ramp

This photo was taken in about the same spot as the photo above...on Barberry's first camping trip in 2005...Berry was just 6 months old.

Reflections in the Clackamas River

Back at home now, we just need one sunny day to get the tent dried out!

Whats that?

2010-08-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Once again the garden delayed dinner. I ran out to pick some herbs and noticed a pot of eggplant was really dry...while giving it a quick drink I saw a really cool mass of something on the underside of a leaf. It looked like bug hatching's and eggs; but was it a good bug or a bad bug? Not wanting to leave a big mass of "bad" bugs int he garden, I was tempted to squish them straight away, but what if they are "good" bugs? I snapped a photo and went straight to Google.

About an hour later I think I figured out what they are, Stink Bugs, I found a photo on The Bug Guide Website that looks like a match to my critters, however the match is Harlequin Stink Bugs, and my garden doesn't fall within their range. While most stink bugs are pests (they cut and suck out plant juices) there are a few that are pest predators. I decided to give them the big squish. UC Davis has a guide to managing stink bugs in the garden; generally hand picking is the recommended method.

August Heat Wave

2010-08-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

The garden is doing well despite the heat wave; the Man of the House spent the day before it got hot hauling the sprinkler and hose around, giving everything a deep soak. I have gone out in the morning and evening to give the pots a deep drink. Here are a few tips for helping your plants through a hot spell:

Move pots to a location where the pot its self is shade to keep the soil cooler.
Don't let the pot get entirely dry, once the soil is dry, it is a lot harder to re-moisten it.
If your pots do dry all the way out, water them slowly, or top the soil with ice cubes which will slowly melt and soak into the soil. Or soak the whole pot in a tub of water for an hour or so (but don't drown it!). Once you think the soil is moist, stick your finger in and make sure it isn't dry in the center.
If a plant looks wilty at the height of the heat, and watering doesn't help, check back on it in the evening or early morning...if it has perked up, then it is OK. Hydrangeas really wilt when it is hot (like me!)

Berry and Basil get their sunbathing in before it gets too hot!

Basil's cool spot, under the living room chair

I've never lived in a home with air conditioning, so I've learned a few ways to keep the house cool...we vent out the hot air at night with a box fan blowing out and shut the place up tight with closed drapes by mid-morning. Last fall I bought an evaporative cooling vest...it really works. The vest is filled with a water holding polymer...kinda like Soil Moist that you can use in potted plants (BTW: I don't use Soil Moist in my pots). The vest gets soaked in water, gently rung out, and then it will slowly release moisture for several hours. It doesn't really feel wet, just cool. It really does keep me cool as long as there is a breeze (out doors, open car window, ceiling fan). They make them for dogs too, but Berry and Basil don't really mind the heat.

Soaking of the cooling vest

I do hope some good will come out of this scorching weather...ripe tomatoes!

Garden-Nerd?

2010-07-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

How do you know when you’ve progressed from being a gardener to being a garden-nerd? Painting your garden furniture to match a Coleus is a pretty good indication!

Rust-oleum Fern Green Gloss Enamel and a Rose Kong Coleus

I have a dark corner in the garden I have on the ANLD garden tour this Saturday and needed something to cheer it up. Bright pink and green should do the trick. Here is a link to an article about the garden…you may recognize it from this post.

Details

2010-07-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

I’m volunteering with a group of people on developing a plan for the South Downtown area of Milwaukie. I recently visited one of Portland’s newest parks, Director Park, to help familiarize myself with the concept of public plazas.

In my Landscape Design business, I always stress the importance of paying attention to the details, especially in smaller gardens where every little spot counts. WOW, the architects and designers who worked on the Director Park project certainly paid attention to the details! The space is not only gorgeous, it is also flexible. The adjoining roads are festival streets with no curbs; they can be blocked off with bollards to expand the park all the way to the building edges for big events, while allowing vehicle access to the buildings on non-event days. The use of one paving material, granite bricks, makes the space look larger. These design elements could be used in a home landscape…a driveway or RV parking pad could be located adjacent to a patio, with movable planters or screens to hide the vehicles when parked, and moved away when the whole area is needed for entertaining.

While there are a lot of “green” elements in the design…I question the use of the Gobi granite pavers…44,000 square feet of them. They are beautiful and should be durable and long lasting, but the fuel used to transport them from CHINA…was that worth it?

The glass roof drains via rain cables into a storm water planter.

Lots of handwork went into creating the finishing details.

The tree grates are made of granite too! I would have specified renting porta potties in brown or tan only...the blue just doesn't do it for me.

Another storm water planter...with granite curbs.

Seating area with iron wood benches and movable tables.

There are some interesting photos of the plaza, and the under ground parking structure, being built in this document (page 29 to 39) http://ocapa.net/uploads/Parking__2010.pdf

Portland’s website has a FAQ page about Director Park: http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?c=52460

I don't think the style of Director Park would work in Downtown Milwaukie; I think Milwaukie needs something softer and more organic. I do hope the planers for our new plaza, pay close attention to the details.

June 15th in our garden

2010-06-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

This morning I looked in my sock drawer and did a happy dance when I saw that my fluffy purple socks were clean...It is June 15th; I shouldn't be excited about warm socks!

Berry and Basil wonder when they will be able to sunbathe on the patio...
I wonder when I can plant my peppers...

Yes, that is HAIL in the pots.

WHY? Because this is what the weather is like in the garden:

First Taste of Summer

2010-06-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

We finally got a break from the rain! Saturday was the first 80+ degree day since last September…and it was dry! Somehow, the man of the house managed to gather up the will power to go out and mow the lawn after getting home from his 10 hour day at the restaurant.

That feat deserved a treat! I found the first of the local (if you count Washington as local!) cherries at the Oregon City Farmers Market, so I decided to make a Smith House Collins for the Man of the House…a real taste of summer.

Smith House Collins
(Yield: one 10 ounce cocktail)

Pit two fresh Bing (or other) cherries, leaving the stem on one. Put the pitted, stemless cherry in the bottom of a 10 oz Collins glass, press it with a spoon to release its juice, add ice to fill the glass.

Combine in a cocktail shaker:
1 ½ oz Aviation Gin
¾ oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ oz simple syrup (1 part water to 1 part cane sugar)
Add ice
Shake until cold.

Strain the mixture from the shaker into the glass. Top with soda water and garnish with the remaining cherry.
Note: I used a lemon from our garden…lemons can vary in sweetness, so adjust the simple syrup as necessary.

The Smith House Collins

The Cocktail Hour is Basil's favorite time of day!

Spring in our garden

2010-05-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

I think our garden is at it's peak in mid May...this year everything is a week or two later...but there is still a lot of color in the garden right now. I think too often people focus on flowers for color and miss out on the color foliage contributes to the garden. The contrast between mature growth and new growth on conifers is one of my favorite spring sights...it just looks so fresh!

Oak Leaf Hydrangea with Granny Louise Cedar

Rhododendron, Hosta, and Japanese Forest Grass

Rhododendron...purple with ORANGE spots!

Daylily foliage, golden oregano, peony foliage, and new growth on the hemlock

White Clematis

We finally had a day off on the same day the weather decided to be nice! It was well past time to weed. It is amazing how much one can accomplish in just a couple of hours weeding...while the garden if far from weed-free, it sure looks a lot better now.

Bobcat, Berry and Basil's new "Brother"

2010-04-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

Bobcat playing with a dog Kong!

The newest addition to our family, Bobcat, is settling in nicely. He came to live with us last fall. It took a while for him to get used to Berry and Basil, he had been living with one big old dog, not 2 fast little hellions! He loves that we have a pet door into the garage that the dogs have been trained not to use so he can run through the house with the dogs chasing him and fly through the pet door and taunt the dogs from the other side.

Tucked-in the middle of four pillows

When we first came to the house we kept him in the guest bedroom/sewing room with the door shut at first, then with a fence in the open doorway, so he could come and go as he pleased with out the dogs entering the room. Now he thinks that room is HIS, and sleeps all day on the guest bed. I try to keep the cat hair under control by covering the bed with a sheet…but he would always find a way to get the sheet off of the pillows and sleep on them…I finally had to remove the pillows because he decided that he liked sleeping tucked in under them!

Maybe Bobcat learned the getting under covers trick from Berry.

I had a ladies sewing night at the house last week, we all planned to work on old/unfinished sewing projects. Almost a year ago I cut out parts for a cat bed but hadn’t gotten around to actually sewing it up; that ended up being my project for sewing night. The pattern is Butterick 4048, the outer cover is fleece and it is filled with Poly-fil Micro Beads so it is nice and comfy…almost as nice as the guest pillows. (I really like the Micro-beads...however they can make a mess when filling the bed, be sure to follow the directions on the package and have a helper, and don't work with them when there is a lot of static in the air!)

The micro-beads are contained by the pretty lining, the cover is closed by Velcro and can be washed in the machine.

Bobcat on his new bed

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors...Part 2

2010-04-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

We finally had enough with trying to keep Berry from fighting through the fence with the unruly dogs next door. The fence line looked like a junk yard...every time the dogs found a way through the existing barriers I added something new to the pile...pallets, plywood, old signs, etc. Last fall the man of the house and I bit the bullet and spent the money on a solid cedar fence for the one side if our back yard.

We were able to set up a temporary fence to keep the dogs separated during the construction...the man of the house was only bit once by the neighbor dog...torn jeans and bruises, but no blood! I designed the fence to be both attractive and secure. It is 6' tall, built of cedar boards, cedar trim and posts. To keep the dogs from digging under the fence I specified sandwiching hardware cloth between the bottom trim and buried it 12 inches into the ground. I wanted to use clear or tight knot cedar boards, however I didn't specify them because I knew that would add a lot to the materials cost...I planned to sort through the boards and use the best looking ones for the most visible areas. Well, after hearing about my concerns for stability and security (from the big dog next door) the pros at Parr Lumber suggested the tight knot boards because they are thicker than the standard boards...so we expanded our budget to accommodate the upgrade.

Timothy Younce Construction, who built the fence for us, allowed us to save some money on labor by doing some work ourselves...the Man of the House helped with demolition of the old fence and helped when he could with the construction; I installed the hardware cloth and applied the stain, and made a more than a few trips to the hardware store!
We went all out on the gate; it is the main entry into the garden for guests who come around the house, and it is used by us nearly everyday when taking out trash or bringing home garden supplies. The window in the gate is an old floor grate that I had cleaned up and powder coated a soft black color. The handles were special ordered from Winks Hardware. The hinges are self-closing so the dogs are unlikely to slip out behind us. My favorite part of all, is the dead bolt lock...it is a Kwickset lock with "smart Key" technology; we were able to re-key it ourselves to match the key for our front door.

The neighbors, the dogs, The Man of the House and I are all happy with how the project turned out. We are looking forward to relaxing quietly on our side of the fence this summer.

Preserving the harvest

2010-03-20T11:36:00.001-07:00

My new years resolution for 2008 was to try to eat something home grown every day. I decided to keep track of it on a list on the sidebar of this blog (the list is down at the left-side bottom of the page). I only kept the list updated for a month; However I have managed to stick to the eating part. It was hard in the beginning, and often the only home-grown ingredient in a meal would be a herb, but as our garden has grown so has the the amount of home-grown ingredients on our daily menu.

Last summer we replaced our second refrigerator with an energy star rated chest freezer. While we miss the extra fridge space, the old unit was a big energy hog and we really only used the refrigerator part for chilling beverages and for holding extra food when we had a party, and the freezer compartment did a poor job of keeping the food frozen. I'm thoroughly in love with the new freezer!

We filled the freezer by December. It was very nice to have our home-grown treats ready for meals. The freezer is emptying out now, so I thought it would be a good time to take stock of what is still in there and what items i think we ran out of too soon...I can plan our summer garden accordingly.

Here is a quick list of what we froze in 2009:

Greens (Rapini, Chard, and Mustard); Berries (Blueberries from our garden plus raspberries from the market) Grape Juice; Eggplant; Dried Tomatoes; Basil Pesto; Squash (from a Friends garden); Apple Sauce & Rhubarb Compote (fruit from friends gardens); Zucchini Cake & Bread; Plus lots of homemade soups and cooked dried beans. As I go through the 2010 freezing season I'll do my best to post about the methods and recipes.

Concord Grapes, their sweet juice is in our deep freeze!

Now is an excellent time to invest in energy saving appliances, there are incentives and rebates available; The Energy Trust of Oregon has a deal where they will send someone out to pick up your old refrigerator (for FREE) and then they will send you a check for $30! Yep, they PAID us to get rid of our old electricity hog, and they recycled it too. When I went shopping, I found an Energy Star rated freezer that qualified for a $50 rebate! Now we have a big energy efficient chest freezer to store our harvest in. Here is a link to information about the recycling and rebate program.

Vegetable Garden re-Cap 08/09 into 2010

2010-03-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

The last time I wrote about our vegetable garden was late May 2008...we've grown a few crops since then! We had some triumphs: RIPE watermelons, RIPE tomatoes, an abundance of eggplant; and a few failures: Winter crops suffered with almost 24" of snow lasting 2 weeks in December 2008, and record cold in January 2010, and a buildup of diseases from not rotating crops.

Deep snow, December 2008

The community Garden plot I rent for my Dad has been a huge success! 2008 was our first season...there were a lot of weeds to pull, and many of the adjoining gardens were weedy and uncared for; and I needed to bring my Dad up to date on organic gardening methods, but we overcame those obstacles and harvested a good amount of delicious produce.

My Dad with his Watermelon and Dahlias

The second year (2009) in the garden was even better; we learned a lot in 2008 and had the weeds under control before we started planting. One of the best things we did was to take advantage of a dry spell in the fall and pre-prep the soil for spring: we cleared out the spent veg plants, dug in compost then topped the bare soil with newspapers and mulch. In spring we planted right through the mulch and didn't need to weed or wait for a long dry spell since the soil was already prepared.

In the community garden plot we grow:

Veggies to preserve: beans, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, rappini, chard, onions, garlic, eggplant, peppers, basil, & oregano.

Veggies my Dad likes to eat fresh: Radish, strawberries, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, and flowers for cutting.

Veggies that need space: Fennel, Squash, Watermelon

In the home garden we grow:

Veggies that need more tending: Lettuce and other tender greens, zucchini (picked daily!)

Veggies the Man of the House and I like to eat fresh: Eggplant, herbs, turnips, radish, romano beans

Back ups of some of the Community Garden veggies: Watermelon, tomatoes, both are prime targets for thievery.

I'm working on the list for late spring into fall 2010...so many choices, so little space! So far we have onion and garlic, and lacinato kale planted in fall 2009 in the community garden (we planted lettuce too, but 11 degrees in January did it in!) I have snap peas planted in pots that are ready to get in the ground too. Oh, and two olive trees for the back yard too!

Pea plants ready for the community garden; started last week of January 2010

Barberry & Basil

2010-02-17T13:54:00.000-08:00

Getting back into the blogging thing...Berry & Basil didn't seem to miss me chasing them around the garden with my camera; they stayed busy for the past year and a half, lots to write about; I won't wear out our readers with a full update, just tidbits.

We finally figured out the food issue for the poor boys! After months of trying homemade food, the boys were still having tummy flare ups (mild pancreatitis?) so I broke down and took the vets recommendation to try Purina HA dry kibble...WOW that food goes against everything I have tried to feed the dogs in the past; it is so highly processed (to remove potential allergens) that it is nearly white in color! However, they have been eating it for over a year now and rarely have any trouble (no panreatitis flare ups!). The only time they have upset tummies is when they spend too much time in the garden hunting grubs (the grape eating fiasco will be in another post!) Their coats are soft and shiny, they are a good weight, and have boundless energy and appetites.

Basil Napping with the Man of the house after a day gardening

I think that chicken may have been the problem. Now I'm very careful about what they get as treats. The Purina HA looks boring, so I add a veggie treat to their dishes; I had been using a dollop of canned pumpkin, but with the great 2009 pumpkin shortage there is none to be found in the stores, so I give them a slice of whatever is in the crisper drawer...snap peas are their all time favorite. If they need a pill I will hide it in a tiny sliver of beef. For training treats they get veggies or a sliver of dried beef liver.

HA Kibble with chunks of steamed squash

Where have we been?

2010-02-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

I have been creating gardens...some for clients, one special one for my Mom.

Not many days after may last post (in June 2008), my Mom died unexpectedly after routine surgery. It was a huge blow to us all. Mom was an avid gardener and had recently moved into a new home where she planned many years of gardening. The new property was small and in desperate need of a transformation. I designed a hardscape plan for her and my Pop; Mom was to do all of the plant planning/planting.

Her death came soon after the hardscape was installed, she had only had a few plants in the ground, but had a ton of plants in pots. I came up with a rough planting plan based on the plants she had already purchased and then in August we gathered all of her gardening friends to help plant the garden; many people brought plant starts from their own gardens, everyone brought some food, and everyone shared memories of my Mom as we planted HER garden.

My Mom's Front Garden, soon after planting, August 2008

The Garden in October, 2009

The house has since been sold to young couple with small children...I know my Mom would be pleased that a family moved into the house with her garden, and, I know she would be happy that I am helping them to learn how to garden and make her garden their own.

I started this post back in September 2008...I have missed this online journal of my garden and my dogs...but for some reason I just haven't been able to get back to it until now; I guess now it's just time to move on.

Berry & Basil's Diet

2008-06-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

It is past time for an update on "what can a dog with pancreatitis eat"...Last week I was ready to post about how Berry and Basil were going so well with the homemade dog food...but then Basil got sick! We fasted both dogs for 24 hours then took them into the Veterinary Clinic, they both got fluids under the skin and blood tests for pancreatitis. Berry's test came back negative, but Basil's test showed a big flare up of pancreatitis. Berry got to go back to eating his regular (homemade) food but Basil can have only plain chicken breast and rice until his tummy heals up.

I have been keeping track of any unusual things they eat, and watch out for them eating grass in the garden; often they will munch on grass first thing in the morning, but if they are eating it when they shouldn't be really hungry I worry!

I don't know what caused Basil's Pancreatic flare-up...the two things that stand out are a homemade dog biscuit he ate the night before he got sick, or stress. I decided the dogs were doing so well on their new food that I should try making a low fat biscuit treat. I modified a recipe by changing the whole eggs for egg whites and reducing the oil from 2 tablespoons down to one tablespoon...this recipe made 60 two inch treats...I gave Basil less than 1/2 of one, so I don't think they were the problem (but just to be safe they will be given away to dogs with healthier tummies!). Basil got sick on the Tuesday after the Memorial Day weekend; the neighbors behind us had their "grand dog" a black lab visiting...this really upset Basil, he was completely stressed out...so I wonder if that stress at least contributed to his tummy woes. I will now add stressful events to the list of things I track in the Min Pins tummy diary.

The recipe we got from UC Davis is working out very well. Both dogs lost a significant amount of weight from the time they first got Pancreatitis and the time we started them on their new recipe. Berry has been gaining weight slowly, he still needs to add another pound or so, but he doesn't look neglected anymore! Basil looks pretty good, he has always been a little on the chubby side, so if we can maintain his weight right where he is at now, he will be good.

Six Days of Food for Berry & Basil

I honestly can't imagine home cooking this type of a diet for a large dog! The food needs to be low fat and low protein, so to meet their calorie requirements they have to eat a lot of it! Before they got sick they would eat a 1/3 cup of kibble in the morning and 1/3 cup at night plus training snacks...now Basil eats one cup of food at each meal and Berry eats almost a cup and a half! Six days worth of food for the dogs requires 16 cups of cooked rick, two cups of carrots, one cup of peas, plus chicken breast, and supplements. At first making the food was a huge chore, but as I'm getting a system figured out its not too bad, I do need to buy a rice cooker though!

Healthy Ingredients

After the big pet food scare last year, I am glad to be cooking homemade food for the dogs. It is reassuring to me to have complete control of the ingredients in their food. I have been buying organic carrots and peas (for a moment I had the crazy idea of growing peas and carrots for them!), the rice I buy is grown in California, and the Chicken is grown in Oregon and Washington with no antibiotics and fed a vegetarian diet...I looked into buying pasture raised chicken from small local producers, but the cost was prohibitive. Before I started home cooking, the dogs were afraid of the mixer...now they love it! If I turn it on too high it will toss out bits of food for them to catch!

Dog Fun at the County Fair

2008-05-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the 102nd Multnomah County Fair. The fair was held at Oaks Park along the Willamette River. This fair is a lot smaller than the surrounding county fairs and is the first fair of the summer season. This year there was a whole section devoted to dogs and dog sports. There were wiener dog races, a fly ball demo (that I missed!), and an agility demo.

Display of ferns and other garden foliage

Display of flowers

The wiener dog races were interesting...not really what I had expected. Each dog had two handlers, one to load the dog into the starting box and another to cheer/coax them across the finish line. At the start of the race the boxes were opened, I had expected a mad dash across the finish line...a few dogs were reasonably quick to get to the finish, but the others seemed to have no idea what they were supposed to do. Everyone seemed to be having fun though! A dog with a good solid recall would excel at this sport.

Run to the finish Line!

Harley, one of Berry's school friends, was at the Fair to demonstrate his Agility moves. It was fun to watch him on the course.

Jump Harley! Jump!

There were vendors with dog items. I was especially pleased to see the Critter Beds booth, they make great dog beds. Unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture of their pretty stacks of colorful beds. The man of the house says the dogs have enough beds, so I resisted the urge to splurge.

There were all of the usual fair activities, carnival rides, curly fries and elephant ears, farm animals to pet; and exhibits of crafts and botanical displays. It was a great family event.

Petting AreaCavys

Goats

Piglets!

Spring Vegetable Garden

2008-05-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy spring weather-wise...snow in April, lots of hail, too cold, too wet. We finally got some warm weather last week, but that just fried the tender new foliage on many of our plants.

We garden very intensively in small raised beds, the timing of each crop is important...I thought over the past three years I had gotten a handle on when each crop needed to be planted, I had high hopes for the 2008 vegetable harvest. Well, Mother Nature has taken me down a few notches! We need to plant our tomatoes no later than two weeks from today in order to harvest ripe tomatoes and get the fall crops planted before it gets too cold. Before we can plant the tomatoes we need to harvest the lettuce and peas, neither of which are ready. Please be sunny for the next two weeks!

We planted pea seeds on February 5th. Two varieties Super Sugar Snap and Sugar Pop Snap Peas Until a few days ago I couldn't tell the difference between the two, both had about a 75 percent germination rate, both were the same size, and both were healthy. Now I see a BIG difference: the Sugar Pop (from New Dimension Seeds) has peas that will be ready to harvest in a few days! There are flowers on the Super Sugar Snap (from Ed Hume Seeds), but no peas. Once they both have peas we will do a taste comparison.

Berry and Basil noticed that some of the turnips had flowered and took that as their cue to harvest green for themselves...they only like the crunchy rib of the leaf, the rest is discarded...picky dogs!The seeds started for my fathers garden are growing well, now we just need a few dry days to till and plant. The community garden is going to be difficult...many of the surrounding plots are FULL of weeds and the soil is full of weed seeds; I hope a good layer of mulch will keep the weeds manageable.

Camping with the Min Pins

2008-05-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

The Man of the House had a week of vacation, so we decided to spend a few days camping at McIver Park. In spite of checking out the weather forecast, we ended up camping in the rain; the poor dogs didn't get to take their coats off until a few hours before we came home!

The park has a lot of very nice native plants, a lot of them were in bloom. There are many right in the campsites...pretty neat for such a heavily used campground.

Checker Lily (Fritillaria lanceolata)

Grass Iris (Iris tenax)

Geranium

Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)

Morel Mushroom

The Park has a lot of poison oak. We make sure the dogs don't wander off the trails. Dogs don't generally react to poison oak, however, people can transfer the oils from the dogs fur onto their skin when petting them! Poison Oak changes it's appearance depending on the time of year, the conditions its growing in, and just because it is EVIL...remember: leaflets three, let it be! The UC Davis, has information about controlling Poison Oak on their website. For those who are not bothered by Poison Oak, and enjoy flower shows, consider a road trip to the 26th annual Poison Oak Show!

Poison Oak at McIver Park, 18" tall on May 14th

Poison Oak in a client's garden, at least 6 feet tall on May 18th

McIver Park has a very nice (but unfenced) off-leash dog area; the space is over 4 acres, with a few trees for shade, water, a dog bag dispenser and garbage can. We let Berry and Basil run around on long lines (they can't be trusted completely off-leash in rabbit country!)...they thought they were just out having fun, but really, we were practicing recalls with distractions. Berry did great, a solid recall was one of the first things we taught him as a puppy; Basil needs some work, but he didn't do too poorly...especially once he figured out that when he came to us he'd get a bite of chicken and then be released to go explore.

Berry! Come!

Good Boy!

A Chicken Reward!

Relax, go out and sniff.

Basil needs to work on both his recall, and his reading skills!

Thanks to the Man of the Houses fire building skills, we stayed warm despite the damp weather. Overall, it was a great trip, and the dogs came home EXHAUSTED!

Cooking for Berry and Basil

2008-04-24T10:42:00.000-07:00

What can dogs with or prone to pancreatitis eat? This question has been keeping me up at night! Berry and Basil’s Pancreatitis seems to be all cleared up now, however they are both quite thin, especially Berry. We have gone almost a month with no tummy issues, however I have been very careful about what they eat…I don’t like to leave them on their own in the garden, I fear they will eat too many worms and grubs, not to mention peanuts planted by the squirrels.

When the pancreatitis was first diagnosed our vet suggested Hill’s I/D (Science Diet), I read the first five ingredients (Corn, Brewers Rice, Dried Egg Product, Chicken By-Product Meal, and Corn Gluten Meal) and said “no way”. We have tried to feed our dogs a high quality diets with only limited grains and certainly not corn; switching to the highly processed food when the dogs got sick made no sense to us (no mater how easily digestible the Hill’s I/D might be). Once they were well enough to move off of their boiled chicken breast and rice diet, we tried a high quality low fat kibble…it was the wrong choice, they had another attack. Our vet suggested a home made diet…I am a pretty good cook, but making food for my dogs scared me; how to know what nutrients they need?

I decided to try a recipe from Dr. Pitcairn’s book Natural Health for Dogs and Cats (there is a link to it on the sidebar of this page), the main ingredients are rice, chicken, and beans, along with vitamins; I added shredded and steamed carrots. The dogs have been doing well on it, however the food doesn’t have enough calories, the dogs are thin (despite being fed 3 meal and two snacks, plus training treats). Our vet recommended a recipe specially formulated for them by the UC Davis Veterinary Nutrition Department. We have been waiting for the arrival of this recipe for WEEKS. We got a call a few days ago asking us more questions about what we want to feed the dogs, so I think it is close to ready. I excited about this recipe, since it is formulated by a veterinarian just for our dogs needs, I will feel confident making it for them.

An Earth Day Confession

2008-04-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

Part of having a dog friendly garden includes picking up after the dogs, a task that I am a little obsessive about...I'm sure my neighbors have wondered about me chasing after my dogs with a plastic bag covered hand while cheerfully saying "Go Potty". I just can't stand the thought of letting it all pile up and cleaning up only once a week.

We always have a bag in our pockets for walks through the neighborhood, I can't imagine leaving a mess in one of my neighbors yards. However, the neighbor dogs and cats seem to have no problem using our front garden as the community toilet, but that is a rant for a future post!

Something I had not thought about before was what really happened to the mess once it was bagged and put into the trash. I did not think about it being tied up in a bag to never decompose. I have thought about buying the special dog pick up bags, but being fairly frugal I just use what bags I come across; we get at least one every day with our newspaper that is perfect for poop patrol.

Looking around online I found many options for biodegradable pick up bags...Clean Air Gardening has lots of Eco Friendly gardening products, and Poopbags.com even has a Poop Bag Gift Pack; wouldn't that be a charming gift for the neighbor who doesn't clean up!

Many people compost their dogs waste...but I'm not entirely sold on that idea. We compost all of our vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, paper towels, lawn clippings, and waxed paper, and we send all of our yard debris out to be composted by the city, but I can't get over the yuck factor when thinking about composting poop. There is a composter called a Doggie Doolie that is designed for home composting dog waste, and if your pack is large, the UDSA Natural Resources Conservation Service has a publication titled "Composting Dog Waste" that may have more information in it than you ever want to know.

Why not just let the poop sit where it falls and decompose naturally? Well it can be full of lots of bad stuff, not to mention the smell and appearance! Check out the Tualatin River Keepers site for more information on poop pollution.

Looks can be deceiving...I'm not too cute to poop!

Easter

2008-03-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny left a basket of chocolates for the man of the house and delivered a basket to our veterinarian with a card from Berry and Basil thanking her for ALL she has done to help the dogs get over their Pancreatitis.

Be sure to keep the Easter goodies away from the pets; chocolate is poisonous to dogs, and Easter Lilies are poisonous to cats. Carrots make good Easter treats for dogs and bunnies, and wheat grass is a nice treat for the cats.

While Rabbits make excellent pets, they require quite a bit of care and attention. Here are a couple of interesting links: House Rabbit Society and Make Mine Chocolate

SPRING

2008-03-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Spring is here! From a distance the garden looks a little bare, we have been pruning, dividing, and transplanting like crazy gardeners. Click here for a view of the garden in autumn. A walk through the garden reveals a lot of things in bloom.

Berginia Cordifolia (lost the tag, so I don't know which one it is)

Buttercup Winter Hazel
Corylopsis pauciflora

Summer Snowflake
Leucojum aestivum

Pulmonaria
Pulmonaria 'Trevi Fountain'

Corydalis
Corydalis ochroleuca

Red Flowering Currant
Ribes sanguinium

Unforseen Danger in the Garden Dogs Garden

2008-03-15T17:26:00.001-07:00

The beginning of February, Basil got very sick. He had been spitting up water right after drinking, we thought he was just drinking too fast so we didn't worry about it; then one day he started to throw up food and lost some of his appetite, not a good sign for a dog who LIVES for food. We rushed him to the vet clinic and after a couple of visits and some blood tests we learned he had Pancreatitis!

The Pancreas secrets digestive enzymes into the stomach to help digest food...Pancreatitis is a malfunctioning or inflammation of the pancreas where it releases the enzymes improperly causing the body to start to digest it's self...the Veterinary Partner website has a thorough description of pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis is a very serious condition, it can be brought on by eating too much fat; veterinarians often see a lot of it around the holidays when people feed their pets extra table scraps. We don't feed our dogs table scraps and are reasonably careful of what they eat. Training treats are tiny pieces of low fat cheese or hot dogs along with pieces of their kibble and veggies (especially frozen peas). Our veterinarian quizzed us on what food Basil was eating, she asked us if he had gotten into something he shouldn't have, she also asked us if he could have gotten into poison in the garden...we said no, we have been feeding good food, our garden is safe...Then it dawned on us!

We put suet in a feeder for the birds. In mid-January we had a spell of very cold weather, When the suet is very cold it crumbles when pecked at by the birds. The dogs first stop in the garden is always to lap up any bits of suet the birds have so kindly dropped for them. SUET IS FAT!

We moved the suet feeder to the front yard (away from the dogs) and started Basil on a bland diet of boiled chicken breast and white rice; he started to feel better, and we transitioned him to a low fat kibble designed for over-weight or senior dogs. Other than missing some treats and being a little hungry on the food made for slow, fat, dogs, Basil seemed to be improving.

Then a few weeks later Berry got sick! He had colitis and a mild case of pancreatitis. Berry has since had a second attack of colitis and Basil has had a flare up of the pancreatitis. For now the poor Min Pins are restricted to a bland diet (boiled chicken breast and rice), are not allowed to eat anything in the garden, and I am becoming something of an expert on examining dog poop for signs of digestion troubles...now we just have to figure out what they can eat!

Family Jewels

2008-03-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Some families pass down jewels from generation to generation...my family passes down Daffodil Bulbs! The farthest I can trace the bulbs, is back to my Great Grandfathers farm in Sumner Washington...the bulbs are spread out through our family now with a clump planted in all of our gardens.

Daffodils are one of the easiest bulbs to grow. They quietly multiply every year with little fuss...just be sure to leave the foliage on until it has died back naturally.

These Daffodils were planted in memory of LuLu, a calico cat with such a large personality that the void left by her passing could only be filled by a Miniature Pinscher puppy.

Winter Vegetable Gardening is Warming Up!

2008-03-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

Berry asks "How long till they grow close enough to the edge for me to help myself?"

We have had almost two weeks worth of mild weather. The winter greens that had just been sitting doing nothing have started to grow! We picked a nice bunch of Bok Choy for our dinner a few nights ago and have been using lettuce thinnings for salads. Our Peas have sprouted and we planted turnip, swiss chard, parsley, and fennel seeds yesterday.

Our vegetable garden is quite small, however we do produce enough to stock our small freezer for the winter, supplementing with finds from the farmers market. This year will be a little different...my sister and I rented a 10 foot by 20 foot vegetable garden plot from Portland Community Gardens for our Father.

I try to keep my Fathers kitchen stocked with homemade soup, fruit, breads, and jam...he doesn't seem to mind the mostly vegetarian food I prepare. This year he will be growing lots of veggies for me to cook with. I am looking forward to preserving on a larger scale. So far we are planning on lots of tomatoes for drying and for sauce; cucumbers for pickles, green beans for soup, freezing, and pickling; and assorted greens and herbs. I also want to try melons. My father is really excited about starting his garden; it is nice to have the community garden space available for people living in apartments.

Containing Dogs in Style

2008-03-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

Chain link dog runs/kennels depress me. I know dogs don't care about appearance, they just want to be comfortable, but chain link looks institutional to me. If my dogs needed to be kept in a dog run/kennel, I would like it to be as attractive as possible. I took a quick tour through the Portland Home and Garden Show, and saw Powder River Dog Kennels, WOW, they really looked nice; I will recommend them to my design clients who need a way to contain their dogs outside. The kennels have an optional top...I wonder if it would work as a cat enclosure too? The Powder River Dog Kennels are available through Coastal Farm Supply.

I think our "You are as welcome as the flowers in May" sign, would be a lot more welcoming on a nicer gate!

Our back garden is enclosed by a chain link fence that I have spent a lot of time camouflaging with plants. The fence is sturdy and secure (thankfully the dogs haven't learned how to climb it!), and will probably last forever, so I have learned to live with it. I appreciate the locking gates, they offer a little resistance to a thief and are insurance against someone opening the gate and letting the Min Pins out. However, the gates are ugly, and there is no easy way to conceal them...I did hang a little plaque on one of them, but yuck. At the Yard Garden & Patio Show I saw some great gates from Courtyard Art, they also make panels to inset into a wood gate or fence and panels to use as fencing or to surround decks. The gates can be locked too!

Courtyard Art's "Whidby" gate

YGP Show Features Dog Friendly Gardens

2008-02-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

Last weeks Yard Garden and Patio Show at the Oregon Convention Center featured several garden displays with dog friendly elements and one garden designed especially for dogs. It was fun to check out all of the vendor's booths and to catch up with gardening buddies.

Prograss has a pet friendly garden display with dog available for adoption from the Oregon Humane Society. Two features of the garden caught my eye...a stone dog den (way cooler than a dog house!) and a dished out rock basin at ground level.

TayTay a puppy available for adoption, enjoys a drink from a stone water bowl.

The garden called "Progressive Refuge" Designed by Linda Meyer and installed by JP Stone Contractors had a combination fire pit & fountain...the combination of fire and water usually disturbs me, however this feature was pretty neat. I loved the glass, although I don't think I would consider it dog friendly...I can imagine a trip to the emergency vet after one of the Min Pins launches himself into the fountain after a bird or a squirrel!

A dog bed sits along side a teak bench.

I am not much of a shopper and rarely will buy anything at one of these shows, but I enjoy "window" shopping. Pistils Nursery's booth drew me in...they "promote country living in the city". In addition to plants, Pistils sells baby chickens, and offers classes on keeping them. I have walked past the nursery several times on my way to Salty's Dog & Cat Shop, but have never stopped in...I will definitely be stopping in next time I'm in their neighborhood!

Another booth, Cute Things R Us, had toy rabbits in cages...very cute, but I resisted!

.

Jack Hays booth and garden caught my eye too. He is a designer and an artist/sculptor. His garden displays are often over the top contemporary/tropical feeling; this year a feature of his display was couches recycled into garden seating. He had wall pocket planters (I think that is what they are called) for sale in his booth...many vendors had these for sale, but I liked Jack's the best, I could see them fitting into one of my gardens.

Spring is on the way!

2008-02-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

On our morning trip out into the garden I found FLOWERS! The Snowdrops and Winter Aconite are blooming. The snowdrops are my signal to plant peas.Winter Aconite
Eranthis hyemalis
(please note: all parts of Winter Aconite are poisonous)

I am growing two varieties of sugar snap peas (edible pod peas). Last year we had good luck with the Super Sugar Snap peas from Ed Hume Seeds, so we are growing those again but, only 1/2 a row; the half of the row is Sugar Pop Snap Peas from New Dimension Seeds. We will see which peas do best.

Three!

2008-02-02T23:44:00.000-08:00

We are officially out of the "terrible two's". Here are a couple of photos from year #2 of our exciting life.

Little Dogs

2008-01-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago Deborah Wood, the pet columnist for the Oregonian Newspaper, featured us on her blog! We are honored to get her attention. Deborah is not only a writer for the newspaper, she is also the author of several great dog books.

Deborah Wood and Pogo at the Rosecity Classic Dog Show

When we decided to add a dog to our family I did a TON of research; I read books on dog breeds, dog training, dog care, dog sports, and anything else dog related. The joke at the library was that I was teaching my dog to read!

One book I found was "Little Dogs, Training Your Pint-Sized Companion" by Deborah Wood. Training a 12 inch tall dog is different from training big dog. When I first started working with Berry, my massage therapist found all sorts of new sore muscles in my back and arms, we thought it was from clenching the leash or something similar, but after reading Deborah's book I realized the soreness was related to bending and twisting to deliver treats to my little pup when he was in heel position! The book is very entertaining and easy to read; I had The Man of The House read it and he still remembers what he learned in it.

I recommend stopping in and checking out Deborah's blog, and reading her books; a link to the "Little Dogs" book is on my library at the left of this page.

Frozen Garden

2008-01-22T19:57:00.000-08:00

The Pond's Frog Spitter Continues to Work, But the Pond is Pretty Icy!

It hasn't been as cold as was predicted, but everything is pretty well frozen. The east wind is bitterly cold, none of us want to go outside!

So far the frog continues to spit. The saucers of water for the birds need to be defrosted often, but the hummingbird feeder hasn't frozen up yet. The Min Pins are enjoying the sun through the windows.

I peeked in on the vegetables...they are all frosty. I hope they all survive; if they don't it will make our goal of eating something homegrown every day a lot harder!

When the dogs go out they only stay out for a few minutes, some people make fun of dogs in coats and sweaters, but at 12 and 14 pounds Basil and Berry get cold really fast...they don't mind their coats! The ASPCA's website has some tips on winter weather and pets.

Dog Training Should Be FUN!

2008-01-21T14:03:00.001-08:00

The cold windy weather has reduced the amount of time the dogs get to spend playing around in the garden and long walks are out of the question for the next few days. Less activity outside leaves more energy to burn off inside...Berry and Basil wouldn't quiet down this morning, they devoted themselves to barking not only at every person who dared to walk in front of our house, but also at any noise they heard. I thought about turning up the volume on the TV to mask the outside noises and giving the dogs a bully stick to chew on...but I decided it would be better to work off some of their energy doing something constructive: training and learning tricks.

Berry and I practiced heeling and automatic sits on stops, and once I really had his attention we started to learn how to walk backwards; he caught on pretty quick, I look forward to seeing how much he remembers tomorrow morning. The video below shows some awesome backing up...a little more advanced than where Berry and I are at with our training!

Basil and I worked on sitting up on his haunches with his front paws in the air...no not "begging"...it's "sitting pretty"; the cue I am using is "please". We also worked on "leave it". Leave it is something we taught Berry when he was a puppy, I have never really taught it to Basil, better late than never! I have a lot of other tricks to teach Basil, he is an eager student.

On Saturday I went to the Rose City Classic Dog show; it is one of the bigger dog shows around. There are vendors for just about any dog related item one would want to buy...I think the show would be a great place to market artificial turf, but that's for a future post! I enjoyed watching the obedience competition and visiting with the people of all of my dog friends. Some of the obedience competitors are very serious...while others, though still serious, are a little more light hearted as you will see in the video below. Dog training should be fun for both the dog and the handler!

Cold East Wind Threatens The Garden

2008-01-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

The coldest temperatures of the past four years are forecasted for this week. The water in the garden is already starting to freeze. We have moved most of the tender plants into the garage and shed. I know the garage will stay above freezing, but I'm not so sure how cold the shed will get...so the lemons and the gardenias are in the garage the rest of the plants are in the shed...I hope the "shed plants" don't get their feelings hurt by being a little low on the priority list! I am curious to see how the vegetable garden comes through the cold, we have a lot of things that are ALMOST big enough to harvest.

I spread a few shovel fulls of bark mulch over the crowns of a few questionably hardy plants in the garden, mostly Hebe and hardy fuchsia. If something doesn't make it through the cold, it will be an opportunity to plant something new next spring!

The Min Pins are hating the cold, it looks so warm and sunny outside, but then they find out that it is really only 34 degrees with the east wind making it feel like 20! At least the sun comes through the glass so they can sunbathe inside next to the heater vent.

We may have snow late in the week!

Winter Vacation

2008-01-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

Cozy Log Cabin with a all in one range, sink, and refrigerator!
We generally travel with our dogs, this winters vacation was no exception. The dogs sleep in crates (we call them "houses") so as long as the crates come with us they feel at home wherever we are.
We have found a nice getaway called the Shamrock Lodgettes, in Yachats, Oregon. There are log cabins built in the 1950's that are dog friendly. They even have little kitchens so we can cook our meals instead of relying on restaurants where we would have to leave the dogs in the car. The grounds are spacious with plenty of space to walk the dogs and the beach is just a short flight of steps away.

A Windy Day on The Beach
There are often off-leash dogs on the beach, but so far we have found everyone to be respectful of our little dogs space and generally see people leash their dogs when they see us coming. We can't let our little Min Pins off leash, given the chance Berry would gorge himself on dead sea critters and Basil would launch himself into the ocean while chasing sea gulls.

Newport Bay and Boardwalk, Berry Checks out the previous dog visitors messages while Basil admires the view

We lucked out with the weather, we ran into a little snow on the trip over the coast range but we had sun and moderate temperatures for our first day on the beach. The Second day it was a little cool and windy, but no rain! We found lots of snow on the drive home; we stopped in the Tillamook forest for a quick romp in the snow...the dogs love the snow in small doses!
We Stopped Along the Highway to Admire Seal Rock...the Min Pins stayed in the car, they were tired from a day of touring

Berry's Hurt Paw

2008-01-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

Oh the Humiliation!

One morning last week I noticed Berry limping a bit when he came in from his morning romp through the garden..I thought he got a sliver or a thorn stuck in his paw and planned to check his on him after he ate his breakfast kibble. Well, I got busy and forgot to check. I noticed him limping when we went on a walk a few hours later...his toes were all red and swollen! I called the vet and got him in an hour later. The vet couldn't tell what was wrong, it could be a sting (not to likely in January) or a sliver that got infected...he got his paw bandaged, a prescription for pain medication and antibiotics; I got instructions to keep his bandage on and DRY for 3 days!

Sunbathing On The Couch Helps A Little

After struggling with wrapping Berry's paw in a bag every time he needed to go outside, and monitoring him to keep him from chewing the bandage off for 3 days, we were excited to remove the bandage, our excitement quickly turned to disappointment when we saw the toe was still red and swollen (but not as bad as before). We had a trip to the beach planned and was not looking forward to spending more time taking care of the bandage; but we went back to the vet and got it re-bandaged. By now Berry was pretty good about not chewing on it so I decided to make a sock-like cover to protect the bandage and let him go without the plastic collar during the day.

After two days at the beach I was tired of spending so much time taking plastic bags on and off of the poor guys foot...so we decided to removed the bandage and just have him wear one of the socks wrapped in bandage tape... well we found is toe to be much improved, and we found a stinger! His foot was all better by the next morning, what a relief.

I will be sure to check potential injuries out right away from here on out. If I had seen his paw before it was completely swollen I may have seen the stinger and avoided a couple of trips to the vet and a week of bandages! Here is a link to dog and bee sting information. I always carry small Benedryl tablets with me since Berry love to catch bees, he has been stung several times, this however is the first sting he has gotten in the middle of winter.

2007 Vegetable Garden Review

2008-01-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

2007 Vegetable Garden, Late Summer

Our vegetable garden exceeded our expectations; we are learning how to time the crops to maximize the small space in our raised beds. We got a huge amount of tomatoes, we dried them and stuck them in the freezer; the Ancho/Poblano peppers were fantastic, we roasted and froze them, and we got multiple harvest of lettuce and other greens...the turnips and mustard spinach did the best of all of the leafy vegetables.

We were surprised by sweet purple grapes growing over the neighbors fence onto our garden shed, they made excellent jelly. They took no effort on our part, no water no pruning, no pest control; they just grew. Grapes can be poisonous to dogs so we made sure the vines were out of the Min Pins reach.

We were a little disappointed by the blueberry crop; we lost a lot of the fruit to the birds. We will need to take the time to net them next year.

Our lemon crop was the best yet. We have picked over 20 Meyer lemons and a few of the Variegated Eureka Lemons. The lemons were fertilized twice this spring and summer, I think this really helped them. We are going to give the Eureka Lemon one more year, if it doesn't produce more fruit it will be given away or composted; that will allow us to put our energy and space into something new...maybe a Lime.

Our winter veggies have been a mixed bag...we put the plastic cover on one bed without realizing it was infested with cabbage worms and cut worms. The cover of plastic hid the worms from birds and other predators and also from my eyes. We had to toss everything in that bed. The other beds are doing well, we have harvested Mustard Spinach and Polar Ice Lettuce. Silver Bell Sweet Turnips, Red Sails Lettuce, and Green Delight Baby Bok Choy are waiting for a slight warm up in the weather, then they will mature quickly. The Fennel and green onions are just sitting there; I hope they will grow once spring arrives.

I like growing herbs in the garden so we can snip some off when needed. This was the first year I have grown Cilantro. In the spring I was given a packet of Big Leaf Cilantro seeds, I planted them at the base of the pepper plants; they did very well, I let a few of them flower and go to seed so now we have coriander in our spice rack waiting for a special recipe! The Cilantro was so quick to grow so i decided to plant some in pots for the fall, it has done very well and doesn't seem to mind the cold (I did bring it into the garage with the lemons on the coldest nights). It is so nice to have the fresh cilantro; I plan to start parsley seeds as soon as the weather warms up; I hope it is as easy as the cilantro. I look forward to never finding spoiled bunches of store bought cilantro and parsley in the vegetable drawer of the fridge again!

Swiss Chard is one of the Man of the House's and my favorite leafy vegetables, and fresh from the garden is much better than the stuff at the grocery store (are we the only ones that buy it?). However, it is slow growing and is a little big for our small beds, so we have decided not to grow it again. I found some great Swiss Chard at the farmers market this fall, I bought several bunches and tried freezing it. It froze very well, and is very quick to prepare from the freezer (already washed, trimmed, blanched, and portioned). The dogs won't miss the chard in the garden, it is the only vegetable we have found that they don't like!

Homemade for the Holidays

2007-12-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

The big pet food scare has brought a lot of attention to the junk that can be found in some dog food and treats. We have always eaten a pretty good diet of Canine Caviar and veggies from the garden and from the market (along with grubs, seeds, and whatever else we can scarf down in the garden!)

This year we are giving all of our dog friends homemade dog treats! Homemade dog treats can be custom mixed to any pups taste. We love to eat peas in the garden so when Sarah saw green pea flour at Bob's Red Mill she knew she had to make green pea dog cookies!

GREEN PEA DOG COOKIES
2 cups Oat Flour (* see note)
1 ½ cups Green Pea Flour (**see note)
Pinch of Salt
2 teaspoons Bone Meal (***see note)
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 large Eggs
1 cup water (plus more if needed)

Mix dry ingredients together
Mix Wet Ingredients together

Combine wet and dry mixtures. If the dough is crumbly, add a little more water until it has a consistency that can be rolled out (like stiff cookie dough).

Roll out on a lightly floured board to ¼ to 1/3 inch thick. Cut into shapes and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 200 degrees and bake until very dry and hard (1 to 1 ½ hours or longer depending on your oven and the size of the cookie) turn them over every 20 minutes.

Cool on a rack. Ask for a “watch me” then ask for a “spin”, then say “good pup have a treat!”

NOTES
*Oat flour can be purchased from a whole grain store, like Bob’s Red Mill.
**Green Pea flour can be purchased from a whole grain store, like Bob’s Red Mill.
***Food grade Bone Meal can be found in the “health food” section of the grocery store. Do not use garden bone meal!

We know some pups may not see green peas as a treat, so here is a recipe for Peanut Butter Dog Cookies:

PEANUT BUTTER DOG COOKIES
2 ½ cups Oat Flour (* see note)
Pinch of Salt
2 teaspoons Bone Meal (**see note)
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
½ cup Peanut Butter
2 large Eggs
¼ cup warm water (plus more if needed)

Mix dry ingredients together
Mix Wet Ingredients together

Combine wet and dry mixtures. If the dough is crumbly, add a little more water until it has a consistency that can be rolled out (like stiff cookie dough).

Roll out on a lightly floured board to ¼ to 1/3 inch thick. Cut into shapes and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 200 degrees and bake until very dry and hard (1 to 1 ½ hours or longer depending on your oven and the size of the cookie) turn them over every 20 minutes.

Cool on a rack. Ask for a “sit”, then a “down”, then say “good pup have a treat!”

NOTES
*Oat flour can be purchased from a whole grain store like Bob’s Red Mill

**Food grade Bone Meal can be found in the “health food” section of the grocery store. Do not use garden bone meal!

Winter Garden Color

2007-12-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

Our garden has grown enough to be fairly attractive in the winter. I enjoy the evergreen foliage, especially the purples and reds. We have several flowers blooming now, Camellia, Hebe, & Primrose; the Hellebore should start soon.

Hebe 'Alecia Amhurst' with a dusting of frost. The Humming Birds are enjoying the flowers.

One last Hydrangea flower, also dusted with frost

A little bug-eaten, but the Primrose flower is still a delight to find blooming.

On January 5th the Association of NW Landscape Designers and the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon are sponsoring a lecture and garden tour of winter gardens; in the morning Roger Gossler and C. Colston Burrell will talk about the winter garden and then the afternoon will be spent touring winter gardens.

Colorful Fall Gardening

2007-11-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

Our garden on a foggy fall morning

White Beautyberry

Callicarpa japonica 'Leucocarpa'

Depending on how wet the winter is, these berries may stay on the bush into late January. They are very nice for bouquets.

Rainbow Leucothoe
Leucothoe fontanesiana 'Rainbow'
The red color appears as the weather cools off. In the summer the foliage is a medium green with pink and yellow variegation. I often add sprigs of it to bouquets. It prefers moist soil and shelter from hot sun.

Meyer Lemon
Citrus limon 'Improved Meyer'
The lemon fruit is at it's best in late fall, this is when we harvest the majority of the crop. This year we will pick 25 or more lemons from two 18" tall plants and one 36" tall plant. We also have a medium sized Variegated Eureka Lemon, but they are not nearly as good as the Meyer Lemons. These plants will be hauled into the garage on nights when the temperature will drop below 28 degrees.

Honey & Soil Testing

2007-11-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago the Clackamas County Master Gardeners had a fall garden event with a soil testing station. I thought it would be a good idea to check out the PH of the soil in the vegetable beds. If the PH is not correct it can make the fertilizer/nutrients in the soil unavailable to the plants. The Soil Science Education Home Page has tons of soil related information and a good description of how soil PH relates to nutrients.

The test showed that the vegetable beds soil PH is good. The PH range for good vegetable growth is 6.0 to 6.5, my beds were 6.2, 6.5, and 6.8; I won't add more lime, but I will continue to test the soil in spring and fall.

If one is planning a new garden, or if the existing vegetable garden or shrub bed is showing poor growth or off-colored foliage, an in depth soil test may be warranted. There are laboratories that one can mail soil samples to for a small fee. The Oregon State University Extension service has instructions for Soil Sampling for Home Gardens; and a Willamette Valley Soil Quality Card with a worksheet to use when evaluating the condition of your soil.

Gourmet Honey Farms of Oregon 503-632-8448

While I was waiting for the results of my soil test I wandered through a craft fair and found a Bee-keeper friend, Kerry Haskins, selling honey. I couldn't resist purchasing a jar of his Pumpkin Honey, it has a dark rich color and the flavor is carmely with a hint of herby squash, very rich. We have been enjoying it on toast and biscuits.

Mushrooms in the Garden

2007-11-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

While out in the garden with the Min Pins this morning I found this large cluster of mushrooms at the base of one of our Lilac trees. Mushrooms feed on decaying wood, mushrooms at the base of a tree are not a good a sign. The man of the house has been pestering me to do something about the over-grown Lilacs for several years now...I guess its time to decide what to do about them!

Two years ago we lost a Vine Maple to Honey Fungus we dug out the old stump and removed as many roots as possible, then let the soil dry in the sun for several months. Once we were reasonably sure that the fungus was out of the soil we bermed up the soil (to ensure better drainage) and planted an Evergreen Magnolia that is reported to be resistant/ immune to the fungus. So far so good, the new tree is growing well, and it doesn't look like the fungus has spread to the rest of the garden.

The Trees Are Good Website has a checklist of questions to ask when looking at a potentially hazardous tree. If you see anything suspicious when looking at a tree on your property I recommend calling a Certified Arborist to evaluate the tree for you. Tree care, especially for large trees should be preformed by someone formally trained, licensed, and insured.

The Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Aboroculture has an interesting web page about Hazard Tree Prevention it offers good information on how to plant and maintain healthy trees. My personal top three tree care peeves are planting too deeply, poor pruning, and parking vehicles on tree roots.

While we have lots of "native" mushrooms in our garden, we have not had so much luck with cultivated shrooms. A few years ago we bought a Shiitake mushroom log at the farmers market; we had high hopes of sauteing mushrooms with our snap peas. We found the remains of our first mushroom on the log this summer, the snails beat us to it! We have since hung the log off of a branch in hopes of protecting the next mushroom from the slimy pests. I don't remember who we bought our inoculated log from, but I did find a source on line: Fungi Farm

Our dogs spend hours hunting for things to eat in the garden, thankfully they haven't developed a taste for mushrooms, but I am always on the look out for signs they are taking an interest! If I were to ever see a mushroom that I know is deadly, like an Amanita, it would be removed immediately and the area fenced off from the feisty foragers. The ASPCA web site has a detailed article on Mushroom Poisoning in Dogs from the February 2007 issue of Veterinary Medicine.

A Good Fence Makes a Dog Friendly Garden

2007-11-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

They say "Good fences make good neighbors" I say "A good fence makes a dog friendly garden"

A cedar fence with a mixture of board widths is especially attractive

There are many choices when it comes to fencing materials. Cost, appearance, local codes & restrictions, & function all need to be considered. One also needs to consider the personality of the dogs being fenced in, or, out.A split rail fence requires a backing of wire farm fence to make it secure

Our dogs would do best with a solid fence or wall; they are great hunters and are frustrated when they see a critter on the other side of the fence, and the dogs next door tease them into fighting through the fence. Unfortunately our budget does not allow us to replace the perfectly sturdy chain link fence our property came with. While I dream of a six foot tall masonry wall with gorgeous gates, I make do with what we have. We are growing a dense layer of plants against the fence to make it difficult for the dogs to see through, plus it hides the less than attractive fence from my view. We have placed a short picket fence along the fence shared by the neighbor dogs as an extra barrier.

A tall brick wall is handsome & secure

Invisible or radio fences have a place in the landscape, but I don't think they should be used for security. While they might keep your dog confined, it won't keep other dogs, coyotes, or strange people away from your dog. These fences should be used in conjunction with a physical fence; they can be used to keep the dog out of part of the landscape, or even indoors to keep the dog out of certain areas. If you live in a neighborhood that won't allow permanent fencing, consider portable fencing or an exercise pen.
Berry & Basil sit in front of their picket fence, still waiting for a coat of paint.

Happy Halloween

2007-11-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

We wish you a safe and Happy Howl-o-ween! Remember Chocolate is not good for pups!
Check out Halloween safety tips from the ASPCA

Off Leash Dogs

2007-10-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

Berry, happy, on leash, at my side.

Miniature Pinschers are well-known as dogs that will run fast if they get let out into an unfenced yard. Our dogs are not allowed out the front door unless they are leashed. Our back yard is fully fence with locked gates (just to be sure no one opens them and lets the dogs loose).

The county and city laws require dogs be leashed and under the handlers control when out in public; several of our neighbors do not respect this law and allow their dogs to run free. Most of the dogs don't cause problems (other than the mess they leave in my yard). However, A few days ago I was taking Berry on a walk and noticed a problem dog at the corner, I turned around right away and led Berry back to our house, when we were about 15 feet from the front door the dog jumped on Berry and started a fight, the dog was off leash, in my yard, and the people with it could not call it back! I screamed my head off and the dog ran away. Poor Berry got a big scratch on his side from the big dog. I put Berry inside then I knocked on the neighbors door and let them know that if I see their dog off leash ever again I will call animal control.

This same dog jumped on Berry two years ago, we have been working hard to teach Berry that he doesn't need to be afraid of big dogs. We have even taken classes for dogs who react (aka spazz out) on leash. Thanks to a fabulous team of trainers we have made a lot of progress. We were especially helped by a Feisty Fido class where we taught Berry to relax when we see big dogs. I worry that this incident will set us back.

I am very sad that I let this dog attack Berry, it is my job to protect him and I failed. But I have learned form this mistake: I will not turn my back on a threatening dog, and I will buy a can of Direct Stop to deter advancing dogs.

I wish everyone would be a responsible dog owner. I do my best to set a good example, we scoop our poop, stay on leash, and try to not bark. I found this disappointing article about Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and his regard for leash rules.

Piggy Berry 2

2007-10-21T12:14:00.001-07:00

Berry continues the search for food in his garden. The flowers of Hardy Fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica 'Alba') ripen into a edible tangy green fruit. Other Fuchsia in our garden produce fruit too, but the fruit of 'Alba' is the largest and has the best flavor.

Seven Random Min Pin Facts

2007-10-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

We are not sure if the Cottage Smallholder tagged us for the 7 random facts meme, or Sarah...but since Sarah is breaking the rule of tagging other bloggers (she's not doing it) we thought we should post very interesting facts about us:

1. Our bark is music for the whole neighborhood to enjoy. We bark at squirrels, the neighbors, birds at the feeder, at each other, and at the wind.

2. Green Beans, lettuce, and snap peas are our favorite vegetables. Blueberries and the berries on the hardy Fuchsia (Fuchsia magelanica ‘Alba’) are our favorite fruits. We used to like the apples, but they gave us tummy aches.

3. Snails…Sarah goes into the garden with us each morning and smashes all the snails she can find, then we let them dry in the sun and then enjoy their fragrance as we roll around on them; once we have transferred their intoxicating smell to our fur we eat them, snail jerky, yum!

4. We love to tan. We lay in the sun for hours, our tummies turn black, at first Sarah thought it was dirt, but it didn’t wash off! In winter our tummies are pink.

5. Our ancestors were bred to catch varmints; we work hard to live up to those expectations. Sarah is pleased when we catch moles and rats, not so pleased when we catch baby birds. We keep our hunting skills sharp by practicing daily on bees, honey bees are our favorite, we don’t like the hornets though…their stings are too spicy!

6. We love plants (and not just the ones that we can eat). We love lavender, its foliage smells good, and it’s flowers attract bees. We love the lawn, especially the shady spots where we can cool off after hours of sunbathing. We love the neighbors Euphorbia, we could spend hours sniffing it on our walks, but Sarah gets impatient so we only get to sniff for a few seconds before we must continue on. We love the Douglas Fir tree, it protects us from the rain and is where the squirrels live!

7. We have a very busy life. We get up at 8:30, eat & take care of our dog “business” then it’s back to sleep for a couple of hours. Then we play, patrol, and hunt for a few hours then it is nap time again. We go for a walk, and then more sleep. Dinner at 6:30, and a nap until bed at 10:30. It is enough to wear a dog out!

Seven Random Facts

2007-10-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

I have been away from Gardendogs for too long. Fiona from Cottage Smallholder tagged me for the Seven Random facts meme back in July and I'm only getting it posted now, here goes:

The rules:Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to then report this on their own blog with their 7 random facts as well as these rules. They then need to tag 7 other garden blogs and list their names on their blog. They are also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog.

1. My garden is full of memories of friends and family. The Clematis jackmanii was given to me by my grandmother many years ago, it somehow survived in a window box at rental house for several years, now it is thriving in the ground growing up a lilac tree. Its purple blooms remind me of my grandmother.

The hydrangea climbing on the shed was rescued from my friend Mary Jo’s garden after she died suddenly, way too young. I also have Casablanca lilies, a fuchsia, and a gentian (that I still haven’t found it a location where it is happy), and hypertuffa troughs MJ and I made together. I moved into this new garden only a few weeks before she died…I wish she could see it today.

St. Francis was an anniversary gift from my dear husband…the statue sits next to where we have buried 3 kitties…crocus and iris bloom in their spots each spring.

2. I like lawn. Many of my friends and colleagues don’t like lawn, they don’t like all of the resources a lush lawn uses up. I reduce the “wastefulness” of the lawn by lowering my expectations…I tolerate some weeds, the sloped front lawn is hard to water in the summer so it is allowed to go brown; but the back lawn is watered modestly and stays somewhat green. Eventually we will remove some of the back lawn to expand the planting beds, but I think we will always have a large lawn…our house is quite small so we do most of our large entertaining in the summer when we can set up tables on the lawn. Dinner with friends, surrounded by our garden, is bliss.

3. I don’t waste my time with plants I don’t like or that don’t like my garden. My busiest time at work is in the spring when the garden needs the most attention, so any plants that won’t behave through the spring rush are removed…some are potted up for donation to neighborhood plant sales…but if they really are a problem plant they are sent off with the yard debris for composting. My favorite low maintenance plant is the Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum) it looks great all year, will adapt to sun or shade, and the only maintenance needed is to cut it back early each spring.

4. I like a challenge. I have failed with a lot of tropical’s…many of them need a lot of heat to really get growing in the spring, and it doesn’t really heat up here until early July. I wish I could grow Princess Flower (Tibouchina), after several tries, I have given up…it just start to flower and look good as the fall rains and chill sets in; I could buy it as an annual each year, but I’m too cheap. http://www.monrovia.com/plantinf.nsf/0/535CCA4F966A2C878825684D007211EE
I grow lemons and a gardenia in my garden, neither of them should survive the winter here (USDA Zone 8b), but I grow them in pots and move them into the garage on the coldest nights. I find it thrilling to share organic home-grown lemons with my friends; plus the humming birds and honey bees love the flowers. The gardenia’s fragrance spreads through out the garden, intoxicating. I have failed with a lot of tropical’s…many of them need a lot of heat to really get growing in the spring, and it doesn’t really heat up here until early July.

5. I get a lot of satisfaction from growing food. I love picking vegetables and transforming them into a meal. We have set up our vegetable garden to produce year round; we don’t get much in the dead of winter, but it is nice to be able to pick a few herbs or greens to brighten up a winter dinner. Our freezer and cupboards are filling up with stuff from our garden, so far we have blueberry-lavender jam, grape jelly, dried tomatoes, frozen beans, pickled beans, frozen blueberries, and basil pesto; plus a few casseroles made from the ancho peppers frozen for a quick but gourmet meal!

6. I do more than garden…I love to sew and wish I had more time for it. I suppose sewing is truly my hobby; gardening is a hobby, but it is also my job. Sewing is just for fun. A friend of my sisters gave me a sewing machine almost a year ago; I had thought that I would have a whole new wardrobe by now, but not yet. The dogs have new winter coats, the cats have new beds, the couch has new pillows, and the man of the house has a new robe…I think I’m next!

7. My favorite plant changes by the season, if not by the minute. A few that I particularly enjoy are Toadlily (Tricyrtis), Snow Drops (Galanthus), Viola, Mops Mugo Pine, Little Gem Magnolia, and Gladwin Iris (Iris foetidissima)

Bad to the Bone

2007-08-28T00:36:00.000-07:00

"I believe there is no reason a small dog can't be as efective as a big dog"
We love Midge!

Blueberries, the healthy treat!

2007-08-11T23:22:00.000-07:00

We Love the Bounty of Our Garden!
Berry helps himself to dessert after his evening meal. Most of the blueberries are growing behind a locked gate. Two bushes were planted for the birds..but really, they are ours!

When will Sarah plant a hotdog bush?

Summer Flowers

2007-08-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Our Garden in Early August

Osteospermum 'Bronze Charm'
I found this plant on a clearance rack at Fred Meyer for 50 cents! I bought six of them.

Hemerocallis 'Pardon Me'
I planted this late last summer. This year it has proven itself as a day lily worthy of space in our garden, it has bloomed non stop.

Gardenia jasmonoides 'Veitchii'
Growing gardenias here is a bit of a challenge, our winters are just a bit too cold for them, but they don't like to be brought into the house for the winter. We have worked out a compromise...into the garage on the coldest of nights, but outside as much as possible. This year I moved the pot into a location that gets full sun until about 1pm and then is in the shade; this seems to be the ideal situation.

Berry Posing in the Foliage
Our garden isn't all flowers, foliage color and texture is interesting the year round. Usually by early august this part of the garden is looking a little ragged, but since we got a few good rains in July, things are looking pretty good.

Brunnera macrophyla 'Langtrees'
This has blue for get me not like flowers in spring, but I think the foliage is it's best feature...the snails don't seem to like it much!

Tomatoes, 2007

2007-08-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Vegetable beds, early July

We don't have much time for garden tending, so we designed the vegetable area of our garden to be easy to care for. We made raised beds out of livestock watering tanks purchased from the feed store; we took the tanks to a shop to be powder coated a nice bronze color, and had the shop cut out the bottoms of the tanks for drainage. We ran pipes up through the bottom of each container for drip irrigation and filled them with a very good soil mix. All of this pre-planning has paid off, the vegetables are very easy to care for, there are hardly any weeds to pull, the height of the containers excludes many pests, watering is nearly effortless since the drip system is set up on a timer.

Vegetable beds, early August

The problem is, the vegetable beds are too small, or, maybe not enough of them. We grow veggies year round and I have a terrible time with the timing of the crops. Often one crop is delayed by waiting for the previous one to mature then suffers from a late start. Last year we got such a late start on the tomatoes that we had to ripen the fruit in the garage, the first glimpse of a ripening tomato wasn't until the end of September!

Tomatoes, August 3, 07

My timing has been a little better this year, we picked our first ripe tomatoes on August 1st! Unfortunately we ate them before i got to take a photo. The plants are covered in fruit and flowers, it looks like we will have a great crop. The peppers are growing well, and the beans are flowering.

Bean flowers, Poblano pepper with cilantro

Pets in the Pearl

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

Last week Sarah went to Pets in the Pearl, it was a big pet fair fundraiser for Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital and The Cat Adoption Team. While the event was "pet friendly" it was not necessarily "Berry & Basil friendly" so Sarah left us at home to nap and chew on our nyla bones.

Sarah talked to many vendors at the fair. She talked with Berry's friend and trainer Denise from Behave Canine Solutions; Denise has helped us with learning to stay relaxed around crowds of people and the noises of down town Portland. Sarah met a nice lady giving out samples of Dogswell Treats! We love the Dogswell Mellow Mutt Chicken Breast and are excited to try out their other treats. So far we have tried their new Vitality Biscuits...pretty good, but not as good as the chicken breast...we are looking forward to trying Happy Hips Duck Breast, Sweet Potato Fries, and especially the Happy Hips Chicken & Carrot - it looks like a piece of chicken wrapped around a carrot stick!

Basil Took the New Bee Toy Into His Crate For a Thorough Inspection!

Salty's Dog Shop was another vendor at the fair, they had a very tempting display of treats and toys. Sarah couldn't come home with out a toy! She bought a squeaky bee and Snap Biscuits. Maybe she will take us to visit the shop.

Primroses in July?

2007-07-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Primroses never really interested me until a few years ago when I got some for a display garden I built for the Portland Home & Garden Show...I had previously never given primroses much of a thought, other than how much I disliked their flower colors that don't look natural in February! Primula Tie Dye changed my mind. It has denim blue and white flowers and has grown vigorously in my garden. I divided a patch of it this spring and it has rewarded me with non-stop blooms! Yes it is blooming in July, and has been blooming since November.

So far, the only pest to really bother them is cutworms...root weevils supposedly enjoy primula, but we have those pretty much under control. Our soil is pretty heavy in clay, so they do best with frequent division and soil amending in our garden.

Watering Hole

2007-07-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

We don't have the time or the space for a big elaborate water feature in our garden, but we do like the sound of the water and enjoy watching the birds use the water for bathing and drinking so we have several small water elements spread through out the garden. We have a big glazed pot with a dwarf pink water lily up by the house. Small birds will stand on the lily pads while they take a bath (this drives the dogs nuts!), or sit on the edge of the pot to take a sip of water. We have another pot with a rush-like plant up in a shady corner, it is hidden away, just waiting to be discovered by visitors. A large plant saucer of water is tucked under a hydrangea and is used by many birds at bath time, the robins seem to really enjoy it. Up near our garden shed is the largest water element, it is a small (40 gallon) pond/water hole with brass frog spitter; Berry loves the frog!

Overall, everything is really low maintenance. All of the still water dishes need leaf litter removed and water added occasionally, and everything but the bird bath (it is dumped out and refilled several times a week) needs part of a mosquito dunk, and an occasional splash of Algae Fix once the weather warms up.

The The water lily needs to be divided and re-potted every-other year, and needs to have a fertilizer tab stuck into its pot one a month (April through September).

The pond is also easy to care for. A home made filter keeps the small pump running smoothly and an occasional dose of algae fix keeps the water clear. The pond is very simple, just a big hole with a 40 gallon Rubbermaid water trough edged with rocks. A small pump sends water through a brass frog sitting the edge of the pond. I add algae fix to the water as needed, scoop out fallen leaves, and top off the water whenever I have the hose near by. Once a year I pull up the pump and clean out the filter. The photos below show how the filter and pump all go together:The filter starts with a mesh water-plant pot with a hole cut for the pump's electrical cord and one on the side for the tubing that connects the pump to the fountain. Connect the tubing to the pump and feed it through the hole in the side of the pot. Connect the tubing to the fountain head.Submerge the pump into the water, turn it on and check it's flow; adjust the pump as needed. Wrap the pump in polyester quilt batting, tucking it all inside the mesh pot.

Set the pot upside down on the bottom of the pond.Set a rock or two on top of the pot to hold it down. If the pond isn't full, this is the time to fill it up.Now just once a year or so, turn off the pump and pull out the polyester batting filter material and rinse it out. If there is a lot of sludge on the bottom of the pond use a shop vac to remove it.

Strawberries

2007-06-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a good year for strawberries. We have picked more from our garden this year than ever before. However the strawberries planted in the ground are not as sweet as in past years...they may need to be moved to a sunnier spot.

We don't have enough strawberries to make jam with, so I bought some at the farmers market. We are going on a trip to Ohio and need a few hostess gifts...Oregon Strawberry Jam and a scone mix from Bob's Red Mill should be a good taste of our home!

New Toy

2007-06-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

Sarah brought us treats from the dog show! She stashed the bully sticks in the fridge, but she gave us a Dr Noys snake toy to play with!

Min Pin Speciality

2007-06-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

I got my fill of Miniature Pinschers at The Pacific Northwest Miniature Pinscher Clubs Speciality. I resisted the urge to bring home another pup...two is more than enough! I can hardly believe that it was two years ago that we picked out Berry (or did he pick us out?) at the Min Pin Specialty! One dog in particular caught my eye at the show, I introduced my self to him (his person told me his name is Chip), he was friendly and confident, exactly as a Min Pin should be. Later I was told by a friend that "Chip" is Champion Marlex Mister Chips; "Chip" won best of breed at the National Miniature Pinscher Specialty...he should be confidant after that win!

Ch Marlex Mr. Chips

After watching the Pins in the ring for an hour or so, I went shopping at the dog show. Of course I picked up a few new toys, but the boys will be most impressed by the 16 inch Bully Sticks I bought from Mirabeau Treazurz Pet Supply!

Grilled Salmon with Fennel Slaw

2007-06-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

Fennel is one of our favorite vegetables from the garden; grocery store fennel is often old and woody while garden fresh fennel is sweet, juicy, and crunchy. One of our favorite things to cook is Salmon with Fennel Slaw.

I don't remember when we first cooked this dish, I think it was just a recipe I made up...the marinade for the Salmon is based on the Salmon at Gino's one of our Favorite Restaurants.

GRILLED SALMON WITH FENNEL SLAW

SALMON

2 Salmon Steaks or Fillets (choose thick pieces of wild caught king/Chinook, or Sockeye)

Lightly salt the salmon with kosher salt, marinade the salmon for at least two hours in a mixture of :

1 clove crushed garlic
1 tablespoon of good Dijon mustard
3 Tablespoons of good Olive Oil

FENNEL SLAW

1 large "bulb" fennel trimmed and thinly sliced (across the fibers)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1/2 lemon
12 pitted Kalamata Olives finely chopped
1 tablespoon good Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Toss all slaw ingredients together, let sit for at least 1/2 hour, check for seasoning.

Grill marinated salmon on a charcoal BBQ medium rare to medium.

Divide Fennel Slaw onto two plates and set salmon on top of the slaw. Serve with grilled Yukon Gold Potatoes and a Sauvignon Blanc wine.

Gardens at Emanuel Hospital

2007-06-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

I noticed the Therapy garden at Legacy Emanuel Hospital on my third visit to the Trauma and Acute Care Unit...I wish I would have noticed it on the first visit, when I really needed a garden break! But, better late than never. The feel of the garden is very different than the feel of the OHSU Kohler Pavilion garden. The OHSU garden is very urban/big city feeling with a gorgeous view of the city; while the Emanuel garden is a courtyard between the Trauma Unit and the Children's Hospital, it feels warm and cheerful.

This part of the garden is fairly Serene, it has a "grown up" feel.

The Topiary is supposed to be a deer...it looks more like a rabbit to me!

Children's Garden Path

The Children's garden is very playful...on the sunny days I saw many children enjoying exploring the paths...it must be a relief to the parents to have a place where kids can be kids amidst the serious hospital environment.

This Garden has Two Turtles

A Tin Man

And a Cow!

Garden at OHSU

2007-06-08T00:33:00.001-07:00

Polished Stone Bench & Fountain on the Kohler Pavilion 9th Floor Garden

Over the past two years I've had the opportunity to visit a patient in the hospital many times, most of those visits have been to the VA hospital on the OHSU campus. The VA hospital is exactly what I would expect from a place for sick people...clean but not comfortable...watch out this is a place for SICK people! More recently I have visited someone at OHSU, but in the Kohler Pavilion. what a difference from the VA hospital...it is bright, cheerful, it has a feeling of HEALING! And, it has a garden! At first I noticed the Garden on the 9th floor, a long narrow walkway outside the hallway windows...there are pretty polished stone benches and some very cool drinking fountains that after half a dozen visits drew me out to take a closer look...very nice up-close, but then I looked down a floor...there was a larger "garden"area below!

Curving Boardwalk with Sculpture and Benches

I walked down a long flight of stairs to the 7th floor garden. Along the stairs I noticed a smooth trough-like area that looked like it was meant for something to roll on...it is a bike gutter for bikes that ride the tram to the hospital.

The garden features a children's play area and a wood "boardwalk" with a long tiled seating wall, fountains and sculptures.

Mother & Child, Mary Lewis Sculptor

The Children's play area was enclosed in a low glass wall and featured a turtle to climb on.

9th Floor Drinking Fountain

This drinking fountain was the only "water feature" that was turned on...dry fountains are disappointing; I visited several times and never saw them running. Maybe once the tram is paid for, some of the revenue from the tram ride tickets could be put into a fund to pay for the electricity to run the pumps!

I found an interesting blog about Portland Public Art, the blog has a section devoted to art at OHSU.

Vegetables at Portland Nursery

2007-06-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Vegetable section at Portland Nursery on SE Division Street

We picked up our Tomato plants from Portland Nursery. They are small but very healthy looking. I will pick off the lower leaves and plant them deeply to allow for root growth all down their stem. We also bought two varieties of Poblano Peppers, one just labeled 'Ancho' and the other Labeled 'Ancho Gigantia' , we will see which one grows and tastes the best. We also bought some ' Genovese' Basil, the tag says it is the best variety for pesto.

Bed with Tomatoes & Basil

Spring into Summer

2007-06-06T17:57:00.000-07:00

Basil stands over the pea stems, all pods have been consumed!

Peas & Beans are our favorite vegetables. Today our people pulled up the spring peas, we supervised and made sure no peas made it into the compost pile! Tomatoes will go where the peas were, and beans will be planted in another bed. Sarah plans to tie the beans up promptly to keep us from pulling them down...good luck!

Sniffing Out Bugs and Critters

2007-06-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

Berry cooling off on the Daisy sprinkled lawn

We got to go camping! We spent our day sleeping in the sun, hunting bugs, watching birds, and sniffing in the bushes for snakes and bunnies. What a great life!

Basil wants to know "when is our next walk?"

The evening was spent whittling sticks

We know the snake is here somewhere!

Native Plants at McIver Park

2007-06-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

Striped Coralroot, Corallorrhiza striata

We didn't have the time for a long hike on our short trip, but we took the dogs on numerous walks through the campground. McIver Park has some very nice native plants. I was really impressed with the fruit on the Indian Plum, it glowed yellow-orange in the sun. The Man of the house spotted a very cool flower that I haven't seen before, we snapped photos (not very good ones) and emailed them off to our friend Donald who helped me to quickly identify it as Striped Coralroot!

Indian Plum, Oemleria cerasiformis

First Camping Trip of the Season!

2007-06-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

We took off one day last week for our first night camping since last fall. The weather was so hot at home, but was comfortable in the woods. While we have all of the camping gear organized and packed up so it is pretty easy to get everything together for a quick trip, the first trip of the season doesn't always go smooth, we forgot a few things.

The Man of the house packed enough firewood for camping in December! It is 89 and sunny!

It was too hot to put the dogs in their crates in the back of the truck, and there is not enough room for two crates and two people in the cab...for safety I always have the dogs ride in their crates, what to do? I thought about having the man of the house ride in the back, but decided that was not the best idea. So we decided to have the dogs ride un-crated on the Man's lap...I expected the dogs to be their usual wild selves, but they settled down right away; Basil sat up and looked out the window, and Berry curled up with the AC blowing in his face. I plan to buy them dog seat belts for future trips.

We got a very late start...but there was almost no one at the camp ground, so moved right into our favorite spot; camping mid-week is very nice. We got to work right away setting up our home away from home; first things get the dogs situated. We set up the ex-pen, their sleeping bags, crates, toys & water. The man of the house started tending to the tent and firewood...I looked for the suitcase so I could change into sensible shoes: the suitcase wasn't in the truck! Yep, it was sitting on the bed at home...we had no long pant, no sweaters, and most important - no mosquito repellent! (But we did have everything for our precious pups!) Fortunately the campground is only a half hour from home! I may make a check list of supplies for our next trip!

While the dogs don't seem to mind their set up, I think the blue tarp look isn't the best, I may need to stitch up a cover with a little more "curb appeal"

Salad Time

2007-06-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

Sarah pulled out the old lettuce from the garden, it turned bitter with the heat; she let us have the biggest one for a snack! Soooo healthy. We just wish she would give us one of the nice sweet lettuce plants, maybe next spring.

Marshmallow Tree!

2007-05-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

From a distance, Magnolia sinensis looks like it is sprouting big fluffy marshmallows! Up close one can see the delicious flower is not a marshmallow after all; it has a slight citrus scent.

First Strawberry of the season!

2007-05-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

Last week I bought the first Oregon Strawberries from a fruit stand in Damascus...they were delicious. Today I spotted the first ripe strawberry in our garden!

Shade Bed into the Sun

2007-05-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

Berry likes to roast in the sun, but Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum) prefers the shade.

When we tore down the patio cover this shaded bed moved into full sun. We are obviously a long way from building the new structure so we will have to set up something temporary...it is supposed to be 88 degrees today and over 90 tomorrow!

Ordered Tomato Plants

2007-05-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

Last year I waited too long to buy tomato plants and couldn't find the variety I wanted, but not this year! I called Portland Nursery today and requested 3 Sausalito tomato plants, they say the will be in later this week! The night time temps are still a little cool for tomatoes, but I will protect the with some plastic for a week or two. I still have fennel growing in the tomato bed and it is not quite ready to harvest...Last year we didn't get the tomatoes in until the beginning of July, I am surprised we actually got a decent crop of ripe fruit! I think I'll pot the tomatoes up into 1 or 2 gallon pots while we wait on the fennel.

Portland Nursery has some very good information on growing vegetables on their website, they also have a great selection of veggie starts and seeds.

Garden Survivors

2007-05-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

When we bought our house, the yard was very neglected, we ended up removing most of the plants, this rose 'Jeanie Williams' is one of the few plants we kept...it has grown with very little care and will bloom all summer if dead-headed. It is not good for bouquets, it drops petals everywhere.

The front of our house was covered with overgrown Rhododendrons, we dug all of them out. I managed to save part of a root with a branch of the best looking plant, I put it in the back yard where it would have room to grow. Now 8 years later it is really doing well. I love the purple flower with the orange blotch.

Spring Flower Rush

2007-05-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

Left to right from top: Pulmonaria 'Trevi Fountain', Omphaloides, Ceanothus 'Vandenberg', Clematis, Primula 'Tie dye', Lewisia cottyledon, Mukdenia rossi 'Crimson Fans', and Columbine.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2007-05-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

The man of the house comforts Scardey Baisy

What are our people doing? Where will we play outside when it is raining? Poor Basil was so scared by the comotion outside, he wouldn't go out, but that wasn't really a problem (at least not for him) he just peed on the couch!

Berry feasted on all of the bugs the destruction uncovered, yum, spiders!

Let the demolition begin!

2007-05-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

This past winter was the last one we will have to worry about the wind or snow destroying the patio cover! Every May our city has a neighborhood clean up day when you can get rid of trash for very little cash, this was our deadline for taking off the old cover. Most of the cover was in pretty bad shape, but some of the lumber was good enough for us to save to use when we build a firewood shed. Tearing down the cover was a messy job, decades of leaf litter, fir needles, and moss had built up on the cover. It started to rain partway through the job, the moss sucked up the moisture like a sponge! We had planned to use the chainsaw to cut down the structure, but since we use only electric power tools at our house, the rain changed our plans! Thank goodness the man of the house is good with a bow saw.

It is amazing how much light the old green cover blocked! Our living room is now bright and cheerful, but we better get moving on building a new cover before it gets hot.

Peas in a Pen

2007-05-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

As soon as the peas started to bloom Berry decided to pull them down so he and Basil could eat the stems and leaves! Pea shoots are a delicacy, but not for my dogs! The peas are now safely enclosed in the dogs ex-pen. When it is time to plant the beans, I will sow them at the very center of the bed where to dogs can't reach.

Mulch Mountain

2007-04-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

We had one unit (7.4 yards) of Douglas fir bark delivered...usually we pick up 2 yards at a time in my pickup, but this year we needed to mulch almost the entire yard, so I decided to have it delivered, plus, it was actually cheaper to have it delivered than to pick it myself...when I ordered it, delivery seemed like a good idea...now I wonder...due to the weather and other commitments, we have had bark in the driveway for weeks, the pile seems never ending. Buying a pickup load at a time does break the chore up into manageable chunks.

Mulching the beds is an important garden chore, the layer of mulch will help to retain moisture, but most important to me, is its help in smothering weed seeds. Plus, the beds look so fresh and tidy with a new layer of bark. One can calculate how much bark to order by figuring out the square footage of the space plus how thickly one wants to apply it, plug that info into this calculator, or give the information when you place the order.

Planting & Fertilizing Plants in the Dog Garden

2007-04-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

Oh, that delicious fertilizer and freshly dug soil! We bought short wire fences to put around newly planted or fertilized plants to keep the dogs out, so far it is working! The man of the house also had the brilliant idea of placing nursery flats over the freshly dug soil around our new Little Gem Magnolia.

Teacup agility & Gardenpalooza

2007-04-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

A little white terrier waits for the cue to jump through the ring, and Arthur can hardly contain his excitement!

Wow, what a fun day! Little dogs and plants!

I started off the day at a Teacup Agility match at Cash's Arena in Sherwood. It was fun to watch all of the little dogs having so much fun. I was delighted to see one of my favorites compete, Arthur the Chihuahua. I saw Arthur compete at the Willamette Toy Dog Fanciers show last November; (I had entered Berry in the pre-novice obedience competition, but after we did the practice run the night before we realized he wasn't ready, so I just watched the other dogs compete) Arthur was the happiest dog there, I swear he must have woken up with sore tail muscles the next day!

Later, I met my sister at Fir Point Farms for Gardenpalooza. So many plants, so little money! We planned ahead and brought our own cart to haul plants on-a good thing since we found a lot to buy! I got a very cool Clematis recta 'Midnight Wine' from Edelweiss Perennials; it has purple foliage, is shrubby (not a climber) and will have white flowers this summer. I bought a Cyclamen-leaved Violet (Viola coreana) from Wild Ginger Farm. Gretchen from River Rock Nursery was there too, so I bought 2 Sunshine Blue Blueberries from her, I'll plant one with the eating blueberries, and one in the garden for the dogs and birds.

Fir Point Farms also makes some awesome apple cider doughnuts; Fuel for shopping!

L-R: Epimedium grandiflorum 'Yubae', Viola coreana, Clematis recta 'Midnight Wine', & Geum rivale

Spring Colors

2007-04-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

I can't keep up with everything blooming now, but here are some of my favorites:

Corydalis, this seeds around, but it is easy to pull and will grow in the shade. It does need regular summer water, if too dry it will go summer dormant.

Geranium x cantabrigiense, a well-behaved geranium. It spreads slowly, it is not a weaver.

Leucojum aestivum one of the prettiest spring bulbs. It is about 20 inches tall.

Mukdenia rossii 'Crimson Fans', a great new (harder to find) perennial for light shade. It blooms early and has great looking foliage.

Close up of Mukdenia flower

Omphalodes, a nice herbaceous ground cover; it has spread slowly, only seedding in a few spots.

Pulmonaria 'Trevi Fountain', A good Lungwort. It has not had much of a problem with powdery mildew, and blooms long and early.

Winter Flowers

2007-02-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

Spring is on it's way! There is a lot blooming in the garden now; the dogs sniff out new blooms every day.

Two fragrant flowers in bloom are Sweet Box and Daphne. The Daphne looked a little wilted a few weeks ago, but it perked right up once the weather warmed. Both of these shrubs prefer shade. The Sweet Box is a great choice for dry shade; it needs only moderate water once established.

Daphne odora

Sarcococca ruscifolia

Winter Veggies

2007-02-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

I am really starting to get the hang of growing vegetables through the winter. Keeping the beds covered with plastic has really helped things grow. Next fall I will be sure to start the seeds for the winter crops earlier; maybe as early as the end of September. The dogs are happy that the lettuce is big enough that they can reach up and steal a leaf or two! We have Baby Bok Choy, Red Sails Lettuce, and Mustard Spinach ready to harvest. They will be replaced by Turnips, Lettuce, Fennel, & Spinach.

Snowman Bok Choy, Red Sails Lettuce, & Mustard Spinach

Spring can't be far away!

2007-02-16T21:46:00.000-08:00

Meyer Lemon

Hellebore

Hellebore

Winter Aconite, Eranthis hyemalis

The garden is coming alive with flowers. With some planning, one can have blooms the year round. While not a flower, the lemons are glowing in the winter sun.

Moles in the Garden

2007-02-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

Moles could be considered beneficial critters since they eat grubs, but while doing so they dig tunnels under the plants that can make it very hard to keep the plants watered. The moles seem to prefer the ground around newly planted plants, probably since the soil is loose from digging and is extra moist so it has more earth worms than the surrounding soil. I have learned from experience, that if I have a new plant that wilts no mater how I water it, I need to check for moles.

Once the soil warms up a bit we will buy some Beneficial Soil Nematodes from March Biological. These microscopic critters seek out grubs (including cutworms, root weevils, fleas, and crane flies) in the soil but don't harm the earthworms. Applying the Beneficial Nematodes is quite a leap of faith; they are too small to see. They come on a small sponge that you rinse into a bucket of water, then you apply the water to the soil. In the past, after applying the Beneficial Nematodes, we have noticed a dramatic drop in the number of adult crane flies, so they must work. Reducing the number of grubs in the soil may encourage the moles to move onto the neighbors’ yards!

Here is an interesting web site, Tom Clothier's Garden Walk & Talk , on the site I found a mole article by Bob Stewart: When Mole Hills Become Mountains.

Catching Toys in the Garden

2007-02-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

Basil caught a Mole today! Sarah was very proud, Although moles are very soft and fuzzy, they really make a mess of the garden. Sarah didn't let Basil keep the mole, boo-hoo. But Berry found a pink stretchy toy and she let us keep it! Who knows where it came from, but it should take us longer to kill it than it took to kill the mole.

Who says Min Pins are hard to potty train?

2007-01-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

We caught on pretty quick!

House Breaking a Miniature Pinscher Training the Min Pin Owner

Heavy Snow

2007-01-16T15:44:00.000-08:00

It has continued to snow off and on all day, so much for the trace to and inch they forecasted last night! Heavy snow on evergreen plant branches can cause them to break. I went out and knocked the snow off of the Little Gem Magnolia, I don't want to chance a broken branch.

The pond is now covered with snow...Berry has put a few foot prints in it, but I think he is afraid of falling in. That fear is probably a good thing!

The Snow is so deep one can hardly see the pond!

Snow Day!

2007-01-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

Berry has snow on his nose!

Wow, the garden is so pretty in the snow! All of the edges are softened, the piles of empty pots are hidden under a fluffy blanket of white, other than a few spots of yellow snow, the garden looks pristine.

I am getting a little concerned about the water pots...I put a plastic container weighted with some rocks into the water lily pot, thinking it would relieve some of the pressure of the ice on the pot, but it has frozen deep enough to push the plastic container up out of the pot. I think I will need to buy a bird bath heater to keep the pot from freezing again.

Frozen Lily Pot, too Big to Move Inside...I Hope It Doesn't Crack!

Polar Bear Swim!

2007-01-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

Today Berry fell into the pond! The frog spitter froze up in the cold and while Berry was investigating the frog he noticed the icicles hanging around the pond and decided to harvest one, he must have slipped on the icy rocks, his back end fell right in. Sarah pulled him out right away. The pond is only 16" deep so Berry probably could have pulled himself out, but Sarah didn't want to take any chances.

Dogs are a lot like kids. Many of the things in the garden that are potentially hazardous to children are also hazardous to our pets. Pond and pool safety are very important, please take the time to educate your self on and review the potential hazards in your own garden.

On a lighter note, the garden is producing a lot of ice! We like green beans better, but fresh ice is quite delicious!

Berry & his collection of ice...Sarah makes him keep it outside

Cold Weather in the Garden

2007-01-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

Every day winter sinks in a little deeper. It is dry but the high temps are close to freezing with the lows below 20. We have moved all of the tropical/tender plants into the garage so they will be OK, but as the cold sinks deeper into the soil, I worry about some of the border-line plants in the garden...Especially the Hebe's; last year Hebe 'Blue Mist' came through the winter with no damage at all, this year will be a real test. The Daphne leaves are a little droopy, but they will perk up once it warms up.

My main concern for the plants in the garden is dehydration, plant roots can't draw up the moisture from the soil when the ground is frozen. Even though the plants are dormant, or nearly dormant, they still loose moisture through their leaves and branches; evergreen plants are especially at risk for cold damage. LSU Ag Center has a good audio file about plants and wind chill. Plants don't feel cold like people do, so the cold from the wind doesn't really damage them, the damage comes from the wind removing moisture from the plant faster than the roots can replace it.

Snow in the Garden

2007-01-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning and was disappointed by the lack of snow...But then at 8:30 huge flakes started to fall! What a pretty sight. It only snowed for a short while, then the sun came out, even prettier.

The forecast is for very cold weather this week, lows in the upper teens and highs not much above freezing. We watered all of the tender plants a few days ago, and this afternoon I will move most of them into the garage; I don't want to take any chances with the lemons!

Dog Walking

2007-01-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

Sarah has been sticking to her dog walking resolution; Berry has gone on a walk 10 out of the past 11 days. One day the walk was very short...it was very rainy so Berry put the brakes on after a few blocks, and another day the walk had to be cut short due to a big loose dog in front of the house; but most of the walks have been at least a half hour long. Today we will get to walk in the snow! BRRR!

Dead Frog

2007-01-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

Basil and poor froggy

We killed the frog today! Thank Dog this frog's guts are white and fluffy, if it was the type of frog with red guts we are sure Sarah would call it an "outside toy" and it is too cold to play outside!

Dog Walking in the New Year

2007-01-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

My resolution for 2007 is to walk Berry every day, no excuses. We have had a slow time of training the wildest of Min Pins; Berry freaks out if he sees another dog while he is on a lead. He also freaks out if a dog should dare to walk in front of our house. His reactions make it difficult to walk him, I end up planning my walks around all of the neighbors dog walks, and must thoroughly scan of the street for loose dogs. I make too many excuses about why I can't walk him...This will stop.

We have Berry enrolled in a new class called "Feisty Fido"...I feel very positive about the whole thing and can hardly wait to get started. In the class we will get a lot of one on one help. The first class is people only, and the instructor told me it has some "twelve step" elements to it..."Hi! My name is Sarah, I am the owner of 14 pounds of terror"

Walking every day will be good for me too. Weather.com Has a dog walking/calorie calculator, it might add to my motivation!

Basil won't be left out. He is very shy and doesn't like to walk much unless Berry is with us...I can't manage both of them at once, so Basil often stays home. Once I have control of Berry I will be able to walk them together. My goal for now is to walk Basil on his own at least 3 times a week.