Heppner gazette-times., August 19, 1976, Page Page 11, Image 21

THE GAZETTE-TIMES, Heppner, OR. Thursday. August 1. 1978, Page II
The Green Goddess will
return to haunt challengers
Hummingbirds dart in and
around a half acre of blooming
flowers. Beauty, through flo
wers, one of God'a most
aesthetic creations, abounds
at Dr. Wallace Wolff's home, a
mile north of Heppner.
About 1,000 gladlola bulbs
were planted this year to
insure the amateur gardener
of some cut flowers, one he
has used to win the cut flower
exhibit at the county fair with
over the years.
The Green Goddess will
undubltably be back, In full
bloom ready to take on the
blue ribbon once more.
It started as a kind of family
hobby 22 years ago. The
flowers have blossomed, so to
speak, into a 30 hour a week
job though.
Wolff's main entry will be
the glad. He planted 1000
bulbs, so different kinds, in
three, two-week intervals. He
dot this so he is sure of
having some flowers in bloom
at fair lime.
His other flowers are "plan
led for background effect" but
if some are in bloom at fair
time, he may enter some of
either his Cosmos. Zinias.
Marigolds. Asters or African
Daisies.
I jisl year he entered, along
with the Green Goddess glad,
some zinias. Shasta daisies
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,f tourists delight, lr. Wolff walk amidst his creation of beauty in his bach yard.
and Red Hot Pokers. He took
the most blue ribbons and had
the best cut flowers in the
show.
Rain is always good for
plants except in some instan
ces. While his glads require an
inch of water each week, he'd
prefer it didn't rain about four
or five days before fair.
Rain can spot the petals he
says, and interfere with their
beauty as much as the hunk
'We're at the point
oinf! to have to learn to eat glads.9
chewing grasshopper or the
hide Ihnp that discolors the
petals.
Wolff guesses he has 50 day
lillv types. 400 iris, eight
peonies and a whole variety
of other types.
"It takes all the time I
have." he said, "to cut and
prepare the glads for the
fair." Wolff said the glads
have to be cut the night before
the fair and then hardened.
This process involves soaking
the flowers in hot water, about
150 degrees, then in cold water
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,
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for about two hours.
This gives them longer life.
If they are just cut and put in
cold water, they can fade in
about three days.
As a kid, Wolff said, be
worked on a farm in Wisconsin
and got the growing bug.
Wolff, who said he likes to fish
a lot, found fishing not
compatible with his occupa
tion as a doctor in town.
Gardening makes him readily
now, where we're
available to a telephone in
case of any emergency,
i The Wolffs have lived in
Heppner 25 years and started
collecting iris about 22 years
ago. The iris blossomed into
the acre and a half of lawn and
garden he has today.
The garden it seems, keeps
getting bigger and bigger.
"Glads are not supposed to
be planted in the same soil
every year, but rotated about
every three years. I'm tempt
ed to spade up additional soil
each year for the glads. Pro
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v -VIV , 7 Jt I '
,N j- I t
. It
gressively, you get more
garden than you can take care
of."
"We're at the point now,"
Wolff says, "we're going to
' X t (smt
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- - - "..'-- V W r I III I II r t i n T'T inriliilin
Dr. Wolff and a bunch of prize winnin
gladiolas.
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...
1 i
I
have to learn to eat glads."
Wolff's gladiolas will be
entered in the cut flower cate
gory at the fair this year. His
flowers will be Judged at 1
p.m. on Tuesday, August 24.
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