I thought this was common knowledge, but apparently not. If you have hydrangeas, and they are sort of losing their color intensity, you can bring it back. If your hydrangeas are blue, put your used coffee grounds on the soil around the plant. The blue flowers will regain their intense color. If you have more of a pink or magenta, you want to go with lime ( calcium oxide) in the soil instead. You won’t be disappointed.
The weather may be horrid, but it still seems to be warm enough to grow weeds. I ran across this little interesting little tip recently, and it caught my attention because you can make it with easily found ingredients, and it’s not particularly a health hazard to animals or people.
Gin Bath: Add a shot of gin, a shot of vinegar, and a squirt of baby shampoo together and mix well. Put in a spray bottle full of water, then spritz weeds thoroughly. Watch weeds shrivel……and die.
The city of Wilsonville Natural Resources and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation are hosting a seminar entitled Native Pollinators: The Heart of a Healthy Environment at City Hall Wednesday from 1-4pm. There is no charge to attend this workshop, but space may be limited. They ask that you register by contacting Matthew Shepherd at the Xerces Society ( mdshepherd@xerces.org ) or call him at 503-232-6639.
According to the Xerces Society, pollinators are a key component of our environment, but we are losing them due to changes we make in their habitat. The small -scale habitats these creatures need and their ability to move between patches mean their conservation is ideally suited to urban greenspaces of all types.
Seminar attendees will discover the natural history of these creatures, and learn successful ways to introduce pollinator conservation to personal greenspace.
Are you a gardener at heart? And you say you want to volunteer?
The CREST Center in Wilsonville is always looking for volunteers. Volunteers are welcome in the areas of :
For more information, contact Bob Carlson (503) 673-7350 This author can attest that if you like to garden, you’ll love volunteering at CREST!
You’re going to think I’m crazy when I say, DON’T get rid of those piles of fallen leaves! Disposing of leaves can be costly if you have them hauled away, or not great for the environment if you are one to burn them. Use them - leaves offer a valuable and free source of nutrients for your soil. The best way to use them is to make what we call leaf mold.
Leaf mold is sort of like compost. The difference is that with compost, the leaves are very well decomposed, with leaf mold the leaves are only partially decomposed, which makes it an excellent for mulching.