Polk County Living
8A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 7, 2015
Bulbs for colorful spring bloom
When it comes to plants,
bulbs are about as easy as it
gets.
“You plant them in fall,
they grow over winter, flour-
ish in spring and go dor-
mant in summer,” said
Heather Stoven, a horticul-
turist with Oregon State
University’s Extension Serv-
ice. “Once they’re in the
ground, they do quite well
over multiple years with lit-
tle maintenance.”
On top of that, bulbs are
drought-tolerant. “That’s
one of the great things
about them,” she said.
“Since they go dormant in
summer, they don’t need to
be watered.”
If you plan to intermingle
bulbs with perennials or
place them near shrubs, pair
with plants that don’t need
much irrigation, Stoven
said. Or, if the area does get
regular water, make sure the
soil drains well.
Bulbs such as daffodils,
tulips, crocus and hyacinth
are planted in fall because
they need some time to get
their roots going before
pushing up to put on a
spring show. Although Oc-
tober and November are
ideal for planting, bulbs can
go into the ground until
mid-December.
When shelling out money
for bulbs, make sure you
choose large ones. The big-
ger the bulb, the bigger the
bloom, Stoven said. Also,
avoid those with mold or
soft spots, which signal rot.
Plant as soon as possible,
but if something comes up
to delay you, store bulbs in
a cool, dim place such as an
unlit garage.
MILESTONES
Morgan — 95th
K YM
P OKORNY
Your
Garden
Before heading to the gar-
den center, make a plan.
Decide on color combina-
tions. Do a little research so
that you can choose early,
mid- and late-blooming va-
rieties for a longer display.
Think about what to plant
together — a mix of differ-
ent types of bulbs is an at-
tractive option.
As you get ready to plant,
dig holes to fit multiple
bulbs rather than planting
one at a time. The effect is
more natural.
“Groupings are really
nice,” Stoven said. “You’ll
get a mass of color.”
When digging the hole,
it’s best to follow directions
on the package for planting
depth, but a general rule of
thumb is three times as
deep as the bulb is wide.
Add some organic material
— compost, well-rotted ma-
nure or mulch — to the bot-
tom of the hole, place bulb
pointed side up and cover
with soil. Adding fertilizer is
not necessary, but if you feel
compelled, use super phos-
phate or a low-concentrated
product labeled for bulbs,
Stoven said.
There’s no need to dig
bulbs up after flowering, but
letting the foliage turn
brown and die back is a
good idea so that the nutri-
ents contained in the leaves
return to the bulb and it can
start the cycle once again.
OSU EXTENSION/for the Itemizer-Observer
Fritillaria (F. imperialis), bell-shaped lowers in orange or
yellow hang in clusters from single stems up to 5 feet tall.
Here are Stoven’s recom-
mendations for uncommon
spring-blooming bulbs:
Fawn lily (Erythronium
oregonum) — An Oregon
native wildflower with dain-
ty, nodding white or yellow-
ish flowers and brown-
stained leaves. Doesn’t
mind shade and looks invit-
ing in a woodland setting.
Grecian windflower
(Anemone blanda) — Deli-
cate, star-like flowers come
in blue, white and pink on
frilly foliage that melts away
soon after bloom is over.
Best used in a mass. “Blue is
especially nice to have as a
contrast to yellow daffodils,”
Stoven said.
Allium — Part of the gar-
lic family, this deer-resistant
bulb puts up a stem with
one ball-shaped flower, usu-
ally in shades of purple,
pink and blue, more infre-
quently white. Sizes vary
widely from the 10-inch
flowers of ‘Globemaster’ to
the tiny pops of one-inch
drumstick alliums.
Fritillaria — Another
group of bulbs with wide
variation. On crown imperi-
al fritillaria (F. imperialis),
bell-shaped flowers in or-
ange or yellow hang in clus-
ters from single stems up to
5 feet tall. The much-small-
er native checker lily (F. affi-
nis) has dark purple flowers
spotted irregularly with yel-
low.
Species tulips — Just like
their big siblings, but short-
er, hardier and longer last-
ing. These bulbs will seed
themselves so they’ll natu-
ralize and give years of en-
joyment. For more informa-
tion on the group, check out
a fact sheet from OSU Ex-
tension.
MI TOWN
P ATTY
T AYLOR
D UTCHER
Columnist
—
When I was privileged to
work at, and attend, several
universities here in Oregon,
what impressed me so
much was the sense of safe-
ty and security, a place of
peace and learning and fun,
of athletics and music and
plays and parties, all of the
good things of growing and
learning. We do not think of
people packing guns and
shooting and killing inno-
cents for no reason whatso-
ever. That our kids and
grandkids and neighbor
kids would be in harm’s way
on a small college campus
in Roseburg, Ore., is almost
beyond our capacity to
comprehend. And we so
sincerely wish we did not
have to, ever.
—
In the days and weeks to
come, there will be all kinds
of theories and speculation
— people will wonder how
this kind of thing can hap-
pen on a college campus, a
place that is supposed to be
dedicated to higher educa-
tion and learning, a place
where students of all ages
can learn about their world,
about careers, about meet-
ing people from other com-
munities, other cultures and
other nations. It should not
be a place where students
have to learn survival skills
— if they are lucky. College
should be a place where
youth can make the transi-
tion to adulthood, where
veterans can return from
wars half a world away to go
to school in a secure and
safe environment. It should
never be a place where fear
can rule; it should not be a
place where harm and dan-
ger would prevail.
—
Um p q u a Co m m u n i t y
College is in a beautiful
community in Oregon.
Roseburg has all the good
things that would attract
students and teachers, a
place where fishing and
hunting and hiking and all
forms of outdoor recreation
is welcome. It is not a place
where parents should ever
be told their beloved kids
have been murdered on a
beautiful, autumn day in the
happiest and best times of
their lives.
—
May God be good to those
who have died far too
young, and may angels wrap
their wings around those
whose lives will never be the
same. Ever again.
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We send away our chil-
dren and grandchildren to
begin their adult lives. It
could be to the community
college across town or a
large university across the
United States, to a technical
school, or to join the mili-
tary. We send them off with
love and tears, with hopes
and dreams, and go back to
our regular lives and rou-
tines.
—
On a beautiful autumn
day, with leaves turning col-
ors and college football
games happening all over
our country, and especially
in MI Town, none of us were
anticipating listening to the
President of the United
States offer prayers and con-
dolences to family and
friends because their chil-
dren and friends’ lives were
taken in yet another series
of murders on a college
campus.
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Polk County Historical Society
Thompson
Abigail Ann Thompson was born to Richard and Denise
Thompson, of Dallas, at 6:36 a.m. on Sept. 25 at Salem
Hospital Family Birth Center.
She weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces, and was 21 inches
long.
Abigail is the couple’s first child.
Grandparents are Roger and Lori Sebern, of Dallas; and
Don and Sharon Thompson, of Keizer.
Jones
Rylee Kathleen Jones was born to Lee and Chelsie
Jones, of Dallas, at 9:34 p.m. on Sept. 30 at Salem Hospital
Family Birth Center.
She weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 19.75 inches
long.
Rylee is the couple’s first child.
Grandparents are Jeff and Janice Bahr, of Hazelton,
Kan., and Ron and Liz Jones of Silverton.
Great-grandparents are Joe and Mildred Frieden, of
Kiowa, Kan.; Eileen Bahr, of Gridley, Kan.; and Barbara
Moser, of Silverton.
PEDEE NEWS
Last Thurs-
d a y, D i a n e
Telfer, who
with her hus-
band, Paul,
volunteers for
the
Red
Cross, got
back from a
16-day deployment near
Napa Valley, Calif., where
she was staying in a shelter
near Middle Town, north of
Calistoga. She worked on
disaster assessment for the
80,000-acre “Valley Fire,”
which killed four people
and burned 1,200 homes to
the ground. They worked
long days, often up to 14
hours, driving the area and
verifying addresses of the
homes that burned. She
was shocked at the devas-
tation a fire like this can
cause.
—
Through careful
sleuthing, Pedee Church
did discover who stole their
musical instruments. They
were found half way across
the United States where po-
lice apprehended the thief
and recovered most of the
instruments, when the thief
tried to sell them on Craig’s
List. At this point, insur-
ance money is being used
to replace
necessary
RLENE items since
it may take
OVASH a while to
get them
Columnist back across
the country
as they are
released by the police and
insurance companies.
—
A young man in Pedee is
looking for a cheap but re-
liable car to drive to work
in Dallas. If anyone has
one they are willing to sell,
please contact me at Ko-
vasha@gmail.com or 503-
838-3512 and I will pass
the word along. Looks
don’t matter at this point
in his life.
—
Daniel and Heidi Rus-
sell both had birthdays the
last week September, so
the church had a surprise
birthday dinner for them.
Well, almost a surprise.
This was Daniel’s 40th
birthday so the crowd was
big. Daniel is a gifted
speaker, so I invite you to
visit the church sometime
and hear what he has to
say. No obligation. Wor-
ship service is from 10 to
11:30 a.m.
A
K
Furniture Upholstery
Historic
5705 Salem-Dallas Hwy (22W)
BIRTHS
Marion & Polk HBA Members
at the
BRUNK HOUSE
Norma L. Morgan of Dallas will celebrate her 95th
birthday at 2 p.m. on Oct. 11 with her family and friends
at her daughter’s home in Dallas. She was born in Healds-
burg, Calif., on Oct. 11,
1920. She has lived in the
Polk County area the last
20 years, and Milwaukie
before that. She worked in
Treasure Island, Calif.,
during World War II as a
time checker, and also had
worked in retail at Lip-
man’s in Salem. She retired
from doing the janitorial
service at Paul Koch Volk-
swagen in Milwaukie.
Norma enjoys spending
time with her family and
friends. She also enjoys watching old movies, writing let-
ters, and sending current and old pictures to relatives.
Her family includes her late husband Harold H. (Arch)
Morgan and her children, Larry and Rosi Morgan, of La-
Center, Wash., Dennis Morgan, of Dallas; and Janet
Gilbert, of Dallas. She has three grandchildren and three
great-grandchildren.
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