ON THE- 3uwt -TJ Ç )o i# » £ .r ü lo o m ,n a ouf voocÀeÀ ■JUNES GARDEN' Earlier this spring as I was looking through the jars of seed I'd stored, I found a container of seeds I'd forgotten about. Fortunately I had labeled them Beach pea (Lathyrus Maritimus). I then remembered that last summer I had found several dried-up plants that had been pulled up and thrown near a half-burned log amid left-over evidence of a picnic. I picked up the picnic litter to discard and rescued the dried up plants which had many mature seed-pods. This April I sowed the seeds back along the banks of the shoreline. They have now sprouted next to the more mature plants that are blooming their lovely lavender- blue tinted flowers. Why do people violate the natural beauty they came to enjoy? I wish I had the answer. The month of June, the half-way month of the year here on the coast, means to me the flowering of the beach pea, the banks along the highway turning pink and white with stands of foxglove, and the fruiting of the wild strawberries. One June day a few years ago, friends and I decided to harvest the wild strawberries. After searching for those tiny berries in among the tall grass and weeds on our hands and knees a full day's search only filled a quart-size pail, but the pint or so of jam made from those berries was the truest flavor of strawberry jam I've ever tasted. During the month of June, I'll spend most of my time weeding, fertilizing, watering and thinning the new seedlings and dead-heading the earlier blooming plants for continued bloom. In my garden, the annuals have been planted, the seedlings are turning into plants, roses have their first blooms and I have three or more months ahead to look forward to enjoying every aspect of my garden. I wish I'd asked my parents why they called me "June". I wasn't born in June; maybe it was my mother's favorite month of the year. It surely is mine as I am happiest when I can spend my day in my garden. This year I planted more edibles and herbs among the flowers. In a strawberry jardiniere, I mixed strawberry plants with seeds of knee- high sweet peas to trail down over the pot and white, fleshy-leaved sedum in the smaller openings. In a larger pot. I've seeded lemon cucumbers to grow with 12" dahlias, lettuce among the lilies, and parsley, chives, and lavender next to the daisies. Mustard greens have sprouted alongside hydrangeas, roses, and Welsh poppies. Seeds from last year's borage, feverfew, and allisum have filled bare areas to reseed and grow. I now have Spanish, French and curly-leaved lavender and a huge purple-leafed fennel plant, whose feathery stems add height and an interesting pattern, along with oregano, marjoram, and rosemary that I've tucked in among the flowers. I sowed dill with the cosmos and planted mints separately in tubs as most mint can become invasive in open flower beds. One my favorite plants is Pineapple Sage which grows to about 3 feet high and has bright red flowers. I planted it in a special pot as it is not hardy and I will place it in my winter plant room to save for next summer. There are many edible flowers such as nasturtiums, calendula, viola, pansies, borage, fennel and chives for use in salads or decoration for food, but my greatest pleasure in planting herbs is to walk through the garden plucking the leaves and rubbing them between my fingers to release the different aromas. This year may not be a good year to try tomatoes as we have had so many overcast skies, but I did plant a cherry tomato and seeded the base with basil in a large whiskey barrel. In the middle of the barrel, I sank a gallon paper milk carton, with punctured holes in the sides and bottom. I left about 2" above ground. When I fertilize and water, I fill the milk carton with the solution. The planted milk carton is a more effective way to release the fertilizer to the deep roots of the plant. If you are planting a large container, like a whiskey barrel, and do not have enough soil to fill it, place crumpled newspapers, cut up branches, tom cardboard boxes or large bark chips in the bottom to raise the planting area and add about 12" or more of soil. In time, the filler will break down just like it does when you compost. Compost bins can create their own additions to the garden. Last year my compost pile grew a surprise of potato plants. I left the plants to mature and by fall when the vines had dried, to my surprise, I unearthed a good sized basket of new potatoes. This year, I purposely planted in the compost bin my favorite potato, Yellow Finn". Hopefully, the seedlings will produce another basket of potatoes in the fall. The year before, my compost bin grew a large, green-skinned squash. It looked similar to an acorn squash and when cooked, the flesh was dark orange and very sweet. In areas that I've added compost to the garden, seeds of apple and peach have grown small trees. One peach tree grew so tall and fully branched, I gave it to Joe Baldwin to plant on city property. Joe reported to me, unhappily, that the elk liked it so much last winter, they ate the peach tree clear to the ground. Who creates the landscape — the plants or me ? Lady and sword ferns have sprouted in the soil at the base of the wooden sides of the raised flower beds. I never planted them, but have left them to grow and make a beautiful border for the tall perennials in the raised beds. Wild foxglove, the tiny single flowers of blue and yellow-eyed grass, and feather foamflower (Saifrage family) grow along with magenta colored flowers on the tall stems of gray foliage of Lychnis beside a small plant that I believe is Oregon sunshine. A few plants of columbine, thrift, and pink-bloomed wood violets all are scattered throughout my graveled garden paths. Even Stachys lamb's ear have jumped their enclosure and seem to grow better in the gravel than in rich soil that I originally planted them in. The wild flower I try to control, as it is very invasive, is wild lily- of-the-valley (Maianthemum bifolicum). However, its heart-shaped leaf and small, upright white flowers, which later turn into small reddish berries, have taken a foothold under my snowball tree and hardy fuchsias. Invasive as it may be, it does make a beautiful textured carpet under the taller plants. Years ago, the garden writer Kosah said, "The meadow was a sea of'Queen Anne's Lace', until the town ruled it had to be mowed." The town's ruling attempted to prevent weed seeds from contaminating the lawns of the new housing development across the road. Pray, this will never happen to our town with all of its natural beauty. The following are a few tips I've gathered. An interesting method used to plant in a problem area like a slope, or when adding spring bulbs in established lawns or pocket planting in graveled or rocky areas is to use brown paper grocery bags as planting containers. Dig a hole in the area you want to plant and place doubled brown grocery bags in the hole, turing the tops down to form a cuff. Fill the bags with rich soil and whatever plants you want to add. Water thoroughly with a weak solution of fertilizer and water. The cuffs offer shelter from wind and the bags keep out the unwanted bordering weeds until the plant can make it on its own. The bag will break down in a few months - at least the cuffs fall apart by then - and by next year, the plant's roots will be well established and will have gained footing deep in the area and the bags will be completely decomposed. Some of these tips sound ridiculous, yet have proven helpful in controlling invasive pests in one's garden: Coast Moles: Chew up a whole package of tootie-fruity bubble gum and insert the chewed-up wad down a mole hole. Supposedly, the mole will try to eat it and the gum will bother his digestive tact. Sounds cruel, even if moles do destroy one’s yard. I haven't tried it; I think I'd choke on a whole wad of bubble gum! Deer: It’s said they don't like peonies or iris - but I think elk like »q is 4ht. - Ils pctôS ~ U l k t o n 4 h c hevi -at 4he_ to f p .n fc s A liv u o f r ic h S c e n t, V û jh as 4ht ovûo ~ H k ônA 711» The o r pou4(as SperAs its ¿ays Wes Lawson inyis+iceS «t Organic Gardening & Maintenance P O Box 800 Tolovuu Park, OR 97145 Licensed i a t i t s V/fe«- s t y le .. T t l e t s p le a s u r e . A Bonded #89168 .v S o u r x A ir ifl U b y s h r ‘J ( e \ e c t r > c . c h ’r f ó , is o V + e n T V ic. V tè v e w x d V e L G A L i © 3 W o Q a t e l y , R K S © 3 C o m A o ijin o V r u A ¿ t» V tiS m o n b e e n t n à t of OnXfcíApt, ie \ V aV cs stey^inq on -Hrxejr "h>e% i and wh»ftîn^ ÇorÇooV v V ic One exampie. »s Big. J im P o b t a r r ic e C annon P hone K in q w e l l B a x B each , o r 5 0 3 3 B 2 9 7 1 1 0 • 4 3 6 O n ly tw o th in g s a re in fin ite , the u niverse and h u m a n s tu p id ity ; and I'm not sure ab o u t • 2 3 5 9 th e fo rm e r. A lb e rt E instein CHANGE V /hit& ird) C 0 X T PM P 0 R A R V D E S I G X F IX E ™ STREET STUDIO t h 4 ART * (503) 436-2910 263 \ . Hemlock P.O. Box 1208 Cannon Beat h, OR 97110 5 T k ¿r e e t u YOUR SOCKS FOREVER l Çattery m a k in g w o rk s h o p s . 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Retail lor local residents FREE Espresso drink with $50* purchase 1 2 3 S . H e m lo c k 4 3 6 -2 4 7 3 T he original com fort sh o e.' *4 V 1 1 an ua s v la uuicn ■m ir tiles stonk stmes PO Box 687 Cannon Baach. OR 97110 5 0 J -4 J 6 -0 7 J 7 II O rlflaa l k u d a t a t n a t a l caiu ia difraraal colour, Tor ialonor u d e nanor docoranoa , f Boa« Buoiaaa. aad public lit*. Tkolaaalo m a il e o a a u m a iota oac ar ■ H ad ca a ar» a lt» archlltcu aad k uildtn S i| ii H O E S ^ 4 4 I TRILLIUM > NATURALF0ODS > SINCE 1892 A 239 1 dth Slreet 600 Broadway Aslona OR 97103 Seaside. OR 97:36 256 E Mam Hillsboro OR 97123 ............................................... City Ak ¡t» çy everything. I recently received a long list of plants that these animals do not eat. Time will tell, as a couple who own a home on Ecola Park Road are going to replant using this list. If it is successful, 111 report the progress in a later colum. Beneficial insects feed on pollen and nectar as well as pest insects. To encourage the "good insects”, plant dill, fennel, yellow mangolds, daisies, spearmint and nasturtiums. Slugs- Instead of placing alcoholic beer in containers in your garden, try non-alcoholic beer. It seems as though slugs prefer the more sugared, non-alcoholic beer. Maybe one slug said to another slug, "Never again, I don't want a hangover like last Saturday night; I barely slid home!" Please send your gardening experiences, comments or questions about coastal gardening to: June's Garden PO Box 74 Cannon Beach, OR 97110 B Mother Nature's Natural Foods • Juice Bar 298 Laneda Avenue P.O. Box 737 Manzanita, Oregon 97130 503 • 368 • 5316 ■ M on - S a t 10 - 5 3 0 C lo s e d S u n d a y UÎPEK LEFT EME. TUUL l??5 5