A8
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Home & Garden
Choosing outdoor plants that will survive local conditions
Temperature
variations can even
be seen within a
single property
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Julia Justice wants her
customers to be successful
gardeners.
That’s why she takes the
extra steps to ensure her
fl owers, shrubs and grasses
are adapted to the Grant
County climate before
they’re sold.
“I’ve had customers
come in and point to a shrub
and say they want it,” she
said, “but it just came in by
truck, so I tell them no, let
me show you one in back.”
Justice’s Better Blooms
& Gardens nursery on High-
way 26 west of Prairie City
is a complex of greenhouses,
starting sheds, rock gardens
decorated with antique bikes
and large piles of potting soil
and mulch.
She started her busi-
ness 20 years ago. The old
wooden building was the
shop for the Carpenter &
Lee Lumber Co. mill, which
once occupied the site.
The John Day Valley —
from Prairie City to Dayville
south to Seneca and north to
Long Creek and Monument
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
The propagation greenhouse at the Better Blooms & Gardens
nursery in Prairie City.
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Judy Jarnes selects fl owering plants in the fl oral display greenhouse at the Better Blooms &
Gardens nursery in Prairie City.
— generally sees a shorter
growing season. Typically
homes see frosts until the
fi rst of June, with frosts
sometimes sneaking around
in August, but micro-cli-
mates also exist — from city
to city and even within each
city.
“Nighttime temperatures
are cooler in Prairie City
than in Mt. Vernon,” Justice
said. “Seneca will see frost
every day of the year.”
Homes that are closer to
rivers or on slopes above the
valley fl oor will see cooler
temperatures.
“The John Day Commu-
nity Garden sees cooler tem-
peratures because it’s down
near the John Day River,”
she said.
Temperature variations
even can be seen within the
boundaries of a property.
“You need to understand
your yard layout,” she said.
Some places get direct
sunlight, and others get fi l-
tered sunlight, Justice said.
Homeowners should wake
up at 5:30 a.m. and look
for the frost streaks around
their property to understand
where the warm and cold
places are.
Tricks to extend the
growing season include
starting plants indoors or
inside greenhouses, plant-
ing in old tires fi lled with
potting soil or using water-
fi lled plastic protective bar-
riers such as Walls of Water.
Cooler temperatures are
not the only hazards facing
Grant County landscapers.
“Deer are a huge issue,”
Justice said.
A wide variety of deer-re-
sistant plants are available,
including elderberries, bar-
berry and potintilla shrubs,
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Ornamental trees hardened for local conditions at the Better
Blooms & Gardens nursery in Prairie City.
perennials such as lavender,
Russian sage, catmint and
ornamental grasses such as
blue oat grass and Karl Foer-
ster feather needle grass.
Justice uses drip irriga-
tion for her nursery and rec-
ommends similar systems
for her customers.
“There are simple sys-
tems available,” she said.
“They save water — you
don’t waste water on
weeds.”
Frame Your View
With Beautiful Windows
Time for some
home improvments?
Let us help you make your
dream home easily become a
reality! Apply for a low rate
home improvement loan today.
oldwestfcu.org • 888-575-0264
John Day
650 W Main
Burns
Prairie City
937 Oregon Ave 162 W Front
Baker City
2036 Broadway
Union
539 S Main
Pendleton
301 Main Street
We sell and install entry and patio doors, too.
Call today to make an appointment.
Mobile Glass
La Grande
3 Depot Street
Hermiston
1739 N First Street
of Oregon, Inc.
121171
27825 Wilderness Rd. • John Day
541-575-1055 • www.jeld-wen.com
• Countertops
• Tile
• Carpet
• & Much More
• Free Quotes
THE FLOOR STORE
140 E Main St., John Day • 541-575-1111
CCB# 175517
Grant County
Building Supply
TOOLS & HARDWARE
LAWN & GARDEN
BUILDING & LUMBER
HOME IMPROVEMENT
Light up your summer nights with...
North River
Electric, Inc.
Brian Smith, Electrician
Dayville, OR • 541-673-0800
124 N. Clark St.,
Canyon City
541-575-3550
8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
541-965-1598
manager.jdfm@gmail.com
Call Today 541-575-0804 • John Day/Canyon City