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The other day I saw a bird in my yard I’d never seen before. It had white polka dots on its sides, chocolate brown on its head and top body, and black on its underside. I need to find him in my bird book to see what it was and what kind of food to leave out, if any, for him to return, although I think he was feeding on the bugs in my yard. I don’t use chemicals in my yard and am grateful when they eat the insects.
Now that the weather is getting colder…brrr…it’s also time to think of your pets and the wildlife outdoors. The Oregonian’s Home and Garden issue recently said not to forget to feed the birds in their December garden planner.
Did you know that the Audubon Society of Portland has a Christmas Bird Count?
The 110th Christmas Bird Count season is upon us. All over the Americas, Audubon chapters will be conducting one-day bird counts between Dec 14, 2009 and Jan 5, 2010. Audubon Society of Portland held its first Christmas Bird Count in 1926. This year our 84th Count is on Saturday, January 2, 2010. Birders will comb the parks, open spaces, wetlands, rivers and neighborhoods all over Portland looking for birds. At the end of the day we’ll get together and share what we found.
The Christmas Bird Count is a great way for birders of all levels to enjoy a day in the field and sharpen their birding skills. You will also have the opportunity to meet others who share your interest in birds and to discover some good local spots to find birds. And you will contribute to scientific knowledge. In fact, the Christmas Bird Count is one of the best ways for the amateur birder to advance ornithology: the data are sent to the Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University, where over the years Christmas Bird Count records have been used to study changes in bird populations and wintering ranges. A recent study of CBC data shows that most birds are wintering farther north now than they did 40 years ago, perhaps the result of global warming.
Each Christmas Bird Count attempts to count all the birds in a 15 mile diameter circle on one given day. In addition to the Portland Count, roughly 50 other Counts will be conducted in Oregon and SW Washington this year during the 3 weeks surrounding the holidays.
Want to participate in the Portland Christmas Bird Count? Check out the map of the Portland CBC (on their website above and pick an area you would like to help cover. It does not need to be where you reside.) Contact the area leader, who will tell you where and what time to meet on January 2. The area leaders will put together teams to balance birding skills and cover as much of their area as possible. Most teams go out for the whole day, 7AM until 4PM, but you can usually make arrangements if you need to stop earlier. Can’t decide which area? Contact Wink Gross, at winkg@hevanet.com or 503-226-3842.
There are also birdwalks co-sponsored by the Audubon Society and Backyard Bird Shop. For information on those bird walks around the Portland area, go to the Backyard Bird Shop for more information.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative 
Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
It’s that time of year again for the Dahlias. It always reminds me that Fall is just around the corner. In another post of mine, I indicated that my 
father introduced me to the love of gardening and his favorites were roses and dahlias. If you’ve never been to the Swan Island Dahlia Show it is a “must see”. The dahlias are incredible and some the size of a large dinner plate. You see all the amazing varieties and colors in one place.
Head on down to Canby this weekend and see what I mean. Here’s a video to entice you more. They ship worldwide so there’s no excuse not to fill your garden with these blooms. I plan on going this coming Monday!
Annual Dahlia Festival 2009
Saturday, Sunday, & Monday August 29th, 30th, 31st & September 5th, 6th, 7th
Swan Island Dahlias
Indoor Display Hours 10:00am to 6:00pm, Field Hours 8:00am to 8:00pm
** FREE ADMISSION ** FREE PARKING **
**HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE ** RAINBOW OF COLOR
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
From the website - backyardnature.net
We’re facing triple digit temperatures here in Oregon. and, with those high temperatures I wanted to give you an “ALERT“ . Today’s supposed to be my “fun” day, but I wanted to share something with you that happened to me while gardening just the other day.
All my life I’ve been an outdoors person and an avid gardener. Never have I been stung by any kind of small insect. Now as an adult, I got stung by a swarm of wasps (yellow jackets). It felt as if I was in the middle of a sci-fi movie (my manager said it sounded more like a comedy). Trust me, it wasn’t funny and it hurt.
I went to water some plants after the temperatures cooled down. When I reached for the faucet I felt a sting. I brushed it off and tried again. After the second sting I realized something was wrong. When I straightened up, my entire body was covered with wasps. I couldn’t brush them off fast enough but managed to get into my house. They followed me. Going into the bathroom I was fighting them off – I had a small army of wasps in my house now. They had stung me under my clothes and all over my body. I got stung more than 12 times. From reading on-line I found out wasps are most aggressive in July and August (a great website to find out more is http://www.backyardnature.net) and were they ever aggressive. I managed to kill them all off but not before I had been stung all over. I was now red and swollen all over my body and it hurt. In fact, I couldn’t sleep that night as I was in pain. It took 4 days for all the swelling to go down and soreness to disappear. Now I understand why children cry after being stung.
The weather is hot, and wasps are on the defensive – BE CAREFUL. Anyone else have this experience this summer?
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Our Rose Festival is here in Portland. Not only are there many fun and exciting events throughout our area, there’s 
a special place that shouldn’t be left off your list to visit.
The International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park is one of my favorite spots to not only see a spectacular view of downtown Portland along with Mt. Hood, but to wander throughout the 6,800 rose bushes with 557 varieties. Whenever I get out-of-town visitors or clients, I always take a break with them at the rose garden.
Many of the best, new rose varieties are planted in the garden every year so visitors can see what is new in the hybridizing world. The garden is supported by a strong group of volunteers including the Portland Rose Society and the Oregon State University Master Gardeners. Within the International Rose Test Garden is obviously the test garden, The Gold Medal Rose Garden, The Royal Rosarian Garden, Miniature Rose Test Garden and the Shakespearean Garden. Portland’s International Rose Test Garden is the oldest of 24 public rose test gardens in the United States for the All-American Rose Selection (A.A.R.S.). The 5+ acres has a panoramic view of our “City of Roses” (Portland) along with a framed view of Mt. Hood. It was established in 1917 and has always been maintained and operated by the Portland Parks Bureau.
One of my favorite spots in the garden is The Rose Garden Store. Everything in the store either looks like a rose, smells like a rose, tastes like a rose, hol
ds a rose in it or is for or about growing roses! If you love roses like I do, one trip to the garden is never enough. Whenever I’m thinking of buying a rose for my yard, I go to the International Rose Test Garden first to see what I might want to purchase for my garden. Included are a fountain, paved paths, public garden, rose garden, statue and public art, guided tours, vista point, and wedding site – by reservation. Besides, the admission is FREE. Can’t get much better than that. The Garden hours are from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (All photos from Portland Parks & Recreation website).
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Here’s a link to the post I wrote last year about the Farmers Markets throughout Portland and Oregon. In addition, here’s yet another link 
to this year’s calendar from the Oregon Farmers Market Association that may prove helpful. Take your Mom to one of these Farmers Markets this Spring/Summer and support our local area growers.
There are lots of gardening events coming up and Spring happens to be my favorite time of year:
Adelman Peony Gardens in Brooks @http://www.peonyparadise.com is open May 1-June 15. My peonies are doing great this year – don’t know if it was the long sleep and cold they had this winter or whether my 9 peony plants are getting of the age to start blooming profusely – in any case, I know they’re going to be gorgeous this year. By the way, I’m personally looking for the Mt. Hood Peony – anyone know where I can find it?
Schreiners Iris Gardens @http://www.schreinersgardens.com has not only beautiful fields to enjoy but lots of celebrations coming up as well. I’ve personally purchased all my iris’ from this garden and have been there many times including for their fun events.
There’s a garden I’ve never been to and am planning on going there soon – The Connie Hansen Garden at Lincoln City @http://www.conniehansengarden.com. The million times I’ve been to Lincoln City yet I’ve never been to this garden. It is now on my “To Do” list for this year.
And, one of my absolute favorite flowers – the Lilac. The Hulda Klager Lilac gardens in Woodland, Washington @http://www.lilacgardens.com - is a must see.
With all the talk of people planting their own vegetable garden, articles on the Victory Gardens of the depression-era and the new White House garden, locally even our own City Hall here in Portland is planting a garden. In addition, Oregon is lucky to have a nationally-renowned seed company in Albany. This is just another place I’ve been wanting to go to - the Nichols Garden Nursery @http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com.
For even more gardening events, here’s the link to the Oregon.live Home and Garden publication for some additional May events. “So much to do and such little time……….”
Happy Mother’s Day.
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
Wasn’t Wednesday a great Spring day here in Portland? Now that Spring’s officially here, there are only more great sunny days to come. I actually got into the garden and got my hands dirty – felt really good. Thank goodness Winter is over.
Along with Spring come the garden shows, plant sales, garden events, etc. I’ve always considered the following event to be the “true” start of Spring.
The Wooden Shoe Tulip gardens open March 25, 2009.
One year I went to the Wooden Shoe Tulip fields with my camera in tow. It was a gorgeous “10″ day in Oregon — blue sky, sunny but not hot, light breeze and the tulips were in full bloom. Mt. Hood was in view in all her glory along with the red barn on the property. I took a full roll of film only to get home that day and found I had left the roll of film on the counter. I was happily snapping pictures all day with no film. Obviously, I was very disappointed. If you go, make sure you take your camera. Nowadays with digital cameras that isn’t a problem. Bring along some good rain boots or garden shoes to trek around the fields just in case it isn’t that perfect “10″ day.
Another one of my favorites on April 4, is the Garden Palooza at Fir Point Farms in Aurora, Oregon. There will be 40 local nurseries and garden vendors to get you excited about gardening. Hundreds of plants, tools and garden art. A true gardener’s paradise.
On April 4 and 5, there’s the Trillium Festival at Tryon Creek State Park.
Then there’s the Hardy Plant Society Plant Sale April 11-12 at the Expo Center. For years they were at the Hillsboro Fairplex. The first time I went, I was overwhelmed and had to go back the next day there was so much. With their expanded quarters, there’s even more to see and “buy”.
This is only the start of many more.
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
Being a victim of habit, I typically drive the same way home from the office. Before the holidays, I had been watching an owner redo his landscaping in his front yard. They first put in the walkways, fountain and “hardscapes”. Then the planting started and I couldn’t believe what they planted next to the curb and only about a foot apart. As an avid gardener, I recognized the plantings or rather trees immediately. There in all their glory were three beautiful Southern Magnolia trees right next to the curb and close together. According to Wikipedia: it is a medium to large tree with a striking appearance, both in leaf and in bloom and the size can range between 65-98 feet. Does this owner not know how large and expansive these trees will become? Right now they’re babies, but they will eventually not only block the view from the road of on-coming cars but they will outgrow their space.
Most of us when buying shrubs purchase small plants to put in the garden but forget to realize how big they will become. It’s important the tree or shrubs suit their space where they are planted as they will be there for many years to come. Trees do have a way of growing up and out, just like kids. When beautifying your home, visualize how big the tree will grow or check with a nursery before you purchase any to avoid positioning them in the wrong place in your yard.
Speaking of trees, plant 10 free trees as part of your membership in the Arbor Day Foundation. Arbor Day is April 24, 2009. For activities and volunteer opportunities, go to their website.
If you’re like me, you’re just itching to get to work outside. Unfortunately, I’ve become a “‘fair weather” gardener. Winter’s blast destroyed my lawn, not to mention some of my bushes and dumped debris that is sitting and waiting for me to clean up. Then the winds came, howled and destroyed some of my trees and tall bushes. The good news is that spring is getting close – only 6 more weeks, but who’s counting? I’ve already spotted some signs of it including robins in my yard during the last two weeks and primroses were at the grocery store yesterday. There are tiny buds forming on my plum tree…and if you want to dream even more, there are two February garden shows coming. Here’s a link to one of them for information. I think I saw a link to get some discount coupons to this particular garden show…check it out.
There’s also the Yard Garden and Patio show coming at the end of February as well. Check that out here.
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
My love for roses goes back to my childhood; roses were the favorites of my late father (along with dahlias). Ever since then I have grown roses. Over the years, however, I’ve gotten more particular and my roses of choice are now the English “David Austin” Roses. I’m sure it was because of my dad that my love of gardening took root.
“Jude the Obscure” 
(first photo at top) lines my driveway surrounded by french lavender and boxwood. Roses continue into my back yard where I have two beds devoted to Hybrid Tea roses and English roses along with long-stemmed, miniature and shrub roses. Did I say I loved roses?! The bright yellow English rose to the right is “Graham Thomas”. I’ve transplanted this one all over my yard and it continues to thrive no matter where it’s planted. (ALL PICTURES FROM HEIRLOOM ROSES WEBSITE).
The nursery where most of my roses came from is Heirloom Roses (<CLICK). A postcard notified me of their summer sale August 8, 9 and 10. Hundreds of varieties will be 50% off. They have shrub roses, Hybrid Teas, climbing roses, English roses, Old Garden roses, miniatures, groundcover and landscape roses and many more varieties. 
These are just some of the rest of the David Austin roses I have in my yard.
“Abraham Darby” is to the left, “Gertrude Jekyll” is this bright pink one 
below. And the one to the far right is “Sharif Asma”.
Even if you’re not a gardener and just enjoy roses, come and see their beautiful rose-filled garden beds surrounding their green house and gift store.
Who doesn’t love a rose? Let’s see, I must need some more roses….I need a climbing rose, miniature rose, etc. etc….see you at the sale.
Heirloom Roses, Inc.
24062 NE Riverside Drive
St. Paul, Oregon 97137
Directions to Our Nursery & Gardens
Tel: (503) 538-1576
Fax: (503) 538-5902
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Photo from Heirloom Roses
If you haven’t gotten your fill of garden shows or events, check out the websites below that give you an overview of up-coming gardening demonstrations, shows, events, etc. I am sure they will be updating it throughout the year.
Saturday mornings I try to watch the Garden Time TV show on KPTV-12 here in Portland (CLICK HERE) along with some other gardening shows I enjoy on our local Public Broadcasting Station – OPB in the a.m. I had never looked at Garden Time’s website until today. It has all sorts of gardening resources. They had mentioned on the show how to plant the “perfect” perennial garden so I wanted to check that out - CLICK HERE - to find perennials to include in your garden.
And, of course, there’s the wonderful Thursday Home and Garden supplement in The Oregonian. CLICK HERE for their event calendar of all kinds of things to see and do. They have articles written by their contributing editors and lots of other gardening tips too. Check out OregonLive.com here for yet more gardening events.
The Garden Time site has an events calendar, links to “Gardens to See” in our area, “Gardening Tips”, “Plant of the Week”, and a “How To” section that includes that list for a perennial garden. There are specialized nurseries to visit listed which include some of my favorites – Heirloom Roses, Adelman Peonies, Swan Island Dahlias and so many more. Don’t forget the Champoeg State Park 1860 Kitchen Garden (their festival is coming in August) and of course in the spring there are the iris’, tulip farm, lilacs, peonies, etc. etc. There’s an upcoming water lily festival, bamboo festival, Oregon Master Gardener’s College event and more. Lots to do this time of year.
Another nursery that has classes and events every weekend is Joy Creek Nursery in Scappose. They have a rich selection to cover every aspect of gardening. CLICK HERE for their classes/events. Although for some of you it may be quite the drive, trust me when I say it is worth it. I have been there many times over the years and I always enjoy getting their newsletter early in the year to let me know what they are planning.
The Hardy Plant Society offers two plant sales throughout the year. Here’s their website. Their next sale will be September 20-21 and then their other is usually around Mother’s Day. They used to be at the Hillsboro County Fairplex and now are at the Expo Center (much larger quarters). They are also a great source of information and wonderful gardening club to join. Check their website for their upcoming events and application to join.
September 27: Berry Botanic Garden Plant Sale. CLICK HERE. Portland, Oregon.
Master Gardener Program Returns. Here’s the info.
Gardeners are always looking for new ideas, or how to solve a problem in their garden, so I thought these might be some good places to check out. Once I had a friend ask me if I was done working in my yard. She wasn’t a gardener and most of us know if you truly are a gardener, you are never done working in your yard.
Enjoy your gardening adventures!
Updated 10/31/08
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Most art or garden events usually occur over the weekends, which is when I work and which tend to be my busiest days, so I miss many of them. However, one garden art show you must put on your calendar starting Tuesday, July 22 is the Cracked Pots Art Show (CLICK HERE for info on Cracked Pots) at the Edgefield McMenamins. (CLICK HERE for more information on Edgefield McMenamins, times and directions.) 
(ALL PICTURES FROM THE McMENAMINS WEBSITE).
Now in its 9th year at Edgefield, the non-profit Cracked Pots holds its annual two-day show that features amazing garden artwork made from recycled, found or reclaimed materials — tires, hoses, ropes, scraps of metal, cans and more. This ain’t your mama’s garden party. There will
be 70 artists showcasing art made from recycled materials.
Edgefield Gardeners will also hold a plant sale — select from estate-grown trees, perennials and more. Afterwards, enjoy one of McMenamins ales, wines or spirits at one of their small bars or a hearty meal at the outdoor Loading Dock Grill, Black Rabbit Restaurant or Power Station Pub.
Hope to see you there as I have been wanting to see this show.
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Oregon’s economy is fueled in large part by nursery businesses. It is our second largest industry and we have wonderful nurseries here.
It’s summer and all the colors seem brighter now. One of my favorite nurseries in and around the Portland area is Aspen Grove Nursery in West Linn. Every spring they have a “Geranium Festival” (usually the first weekend in May). I’d like to share some of the pictures I took recently while attending that Geranium Festival where I purchased my red geraniums along with the pansies pictured and; of course, a whole lot of other flowers. Their plants are always healthy, a good size and very reasonable in price. The day I was there my geraniums and pansies were on sale. Aspen Grove Nursery carries perennials, annuals, vegetables and small shrubs. The drive in the country is an extra nice treat.
Copyright 2008. Photo by Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2008. Photo taken by Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2008. Photo taken by Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2008. Photo taken by Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved.
They had a FIRECRACKER sale this weekend – 50% off their inventory of plants, pottery, baskets and more. Get on their mailing list for future sales. Here’s their address: Aspen Grove Nursery, Inc., 23225 SW Bosky Dell Lane, West Linn, Oregon (503-638-5388 call for the times they are open). Owner Donna Greer has great tips and advice as well.
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
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