Multnomah County Master Gardeners

With Mark Griswold Wilson, Restoration Ecologist, Portland Parks and Recreation; Technical Advisor, Portland Urban Meadowscaping Project 

Front yards and parking strips are unique landscapes traditionally planted with turfgrass that require regular maintenance practices such as mowing, irrigating and application of pesticides. Now there is a strong movement to remove lawn and replace it with a selection of plants that provide habitat for wildlife, manage stormwater on-site and require less maintenance. The Portland Urban Meadowscaping Project is working with urban homeowners interested in establishing Willamette Valley prairie grasses and wildflowers in high-use landscaped areas. Mark will showcase these properties and discuss methods to establish meadows, including plant selection, site prep, and long-term maintenance.

For nearly three decades, Mark has been developing his expertise in the arts and sciences of horticulture, environmental and science education and in the practice of ecological restoration and management work. Currently serving with Portland Parks as restoration ecologist for the Lower Willamette watershed, he plans, designs, and oversees ecological restoration projects in Portland Parks natural areas including Oaks Bottom, Ross Island and the South Waterfront Greenway.

Prior to 2000, Mark worked as an independent consultant in ecological restoration. In the 1980’s he was a high school and community college instructor. As a life-long practitioner and educator, he has made presentations throughout the Pacific Northwest on the subjects of applied restoration ecology and environmental horticulture, and natural area landscape maintenance and management practices. He has also organized and scheduled trainings and seminars under the auspices of Cascadia Landscape, the Society for Ecological Restoration, and the Society of Wetland Scientists.  Mark currently serves as the Board Co-Chair of Verde (www.verdenw.org), a non-profit group working to foster the connection between environmental restoration and economic vitality. Verde establishes social enterprises through environmental job training, employment, and entrepreneurial opportunities to improve the economic health of disadvantaged Portland communities.

Date: Tuesday, November 13

Time: 7pm

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont Street, Portland

Cost: Free. 

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by the Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association.

With Mary Logalbo, West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District

Do you have invasive plants or weeds in your yard?  How would you know and, maybe even, why should you care?  Mary Logalbo will help us all learn more about this timely subject.  She will give us skills to identify some of the key invasives and teach us what we can do about them.  In addition to bringing some live plant specimens to increase familiarity with these thugs, Mary will provide useful handouts for attendees to take home.

Mary Logalbo has worked as a conservation planner with Soil & Water Conservation Districts in Oregon for the past five plus years with an emphasis on native plant restoration, invasive species control programs and public education program development.  After receiving her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Plattsburgh State University (PSU) in northern NewYork , Mary worked as the Executive Director of the Au Sable River Association (AsRA), a non-profit watershed organization near Lake Champlain in northeastern New York.  Last year Mary completed the OSU Extension Organic Master Gardener Certification program.    She currently works as an Urban Conservationist with the West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District, where she coordinates the District’s invasive species and urban habitat restoration programs and assists with the District’s school and community garden programs.

Date: Tuesday, October 9

Time: 7pm

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church ,5441 SE Belmont Street, Portland

Cost: Free. 

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by the Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association.

Have you ever walked through your winter garden and heard the plants whisper in the wind?   Are you mesmerized by form and texture?  Do you need a plant that will thrive in harsh conditions?  Are you spending too much time catering to high maintenance divas? Explore the many attributes of ornamental grasses that will grace your garden as well as your spirit. Carolyn will discuss the characteristics of grasses that make them so appealing.  Choosing the right plant for the right place can be possible with just a few simple questions.  Since grasses are in their glory now, Carolyn presents the characteristics of each genus with live plants replete with fall blooms and colors…including the must-have grasses that are just on the market.  She shares her expertise in the care and maintenance of grasses – planting, dividing, and cutting back.  Whether you are a seasoned grass aficionado or just learning about them, you will appreciate (and maybe even become addicted to) the wonders of ornamental grasses.

Twelve years ago, Carolyn and her husband Larry moved to West Salem and began their ornamental grass nursery, Wind Dancer Garden. A few years earlier, Carolyn was intrigued by a grass she had planted in her backyard that maintained its structure all winter while adding graceful movement and cover for the birds.  She had to know more about this plant family. And, as they say, the rest is history.  Now Wind Dancer Garden raises about 100 different varieties of grasses and clumping bamboo. Wind Dancer Garden has a display garden showcasing their grasses as well as companion plants, and September is the prime time to view it.  Their website, www.winddancergarden.com contains their catalog, as well as numerous videos about ornamental grasses.  Carolyn is affectionately known as “the grass lady of Oregon”.

Date: Tuesday, September 11

Time: 7pm

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5441 SE Belmont Street,Portland

Cost: Free. 

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by the Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association.

Multnomah County Master Gardeners. Summer Series ‘In the Garden’

Growing a healthy, productive garden requires a bit of planning, combined with a bit of vigilance.  Learn how you can implement Integrated Pest Management (IPM) by relying on the free assistance of a few friends – the beneficial insects and mites that reside at your place.   Wear your walking shoes so you can join us as we tour the Multnomah Chapter’s Community Demonstration Garden.  . We’ll see what critters and diseases are found there and, what, if anything, we should do to bolster the good and deal with the bad.   

Originally from Wisconsin, Jean raised her sons in California where she acquired a Bachelor of Science in Ornamental Horticulture with a minor in Plant Pathology from Cal Poly Pomona.  While in California, Jean taught horticulture at a community college, wrote a weekly garden column for a large metropolitan newspaper, and taught gardening at a botanic garden.

Jean became an OSU Master Gardener Volunteer in 1999 and, during 2001, began teaching for the annual Master Gardener Training in the tri-county area and beyond.  She currently teaches Entomology, Plant Pathology (Disease), Diagnostics, and Household Pests, and sometimes also Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Soil. 

Date: Tuesday, August 14

Time: 7pm

Where: Learning Garden Laboratory, 6801 SE 60^th Avenue,Portland

Cost: Free. 

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by the Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association.

Multnomah County Master Gardeners Summer Series ‘In the Garden’

Summer is the time to plan and plant your fall and winter garden.  Learn how to extend your garden’s harvest through the chilly fall and winter months.  Jen will discuss how to plan your fall and winter garden; what crops (and specific varieties) will withstand our wet, cold winters; techniques and timing for planting; and simple season extension techniques, such as shade cloth for heat sensitive seeds and cloches to protect vegetables for a long and productive harvest.

 Jen Aron has owned and operated Peaceful Gardens, a sustainable landscape design business in Portland, since 2007.  In addition to her design work, Jen has served as a garden educator since 2009, teaching for OSU Extension, Metro, PSU, Portland Nursery, and the City of Portland.  Jen is currently an instructor for the Beginning Urban Farming Apprenticeship Program, a seven-month course designed to provide in-depth and comprehensive training in sustainable, small-scale, urban farming methods.  Jen is also the garden coordinator for the Better Together Garden at City Hall, an edible urban garden in the heart of downtown that grows and donates food for Loaves and Fishes.  Jen is passionate about teaching and growing food and loves using  plants that attract beneficial insects and pollinators to help keep the garden in balance.

Date: Tuesday, July 10th

Time: 7pm

Where: Learning Garden Laboratory, 6801 SE 60^th Avenue,Portland

Cost: Free. 

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by the Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association.

You may have a fond memory of hydrangeas, the old favorite.  Those huge blooms of vivid white, blue, purple or pink often remind us of family gardens.  Join Kristin on a tour of hydrangeas from around the Northwest, the country and the world.  Find out about the wonderful older cultivars that are still so popular today, and find out why these older cultivars are such treasures.  Learn about the new and exciting cultivars that are available for home gardeners and those that will be available in the next several years.

               Kristin VanHoose and her husband David own and operate the mail-order nursery Hydrangeas Plus® and wholesale Amethyst Hill Nursery in Aurora, Oregon.  From an initial collection of about 70 cultivars of hydrangeas, they have increased their offerings to more than 250 different varieties, cultivars and close hydrangea relatives, many of which are rare and unusual.  The nursery serves as a test garden for several of the country’s hydrangea breeders.  Kristin moved to Portland from Washington after receiving Bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics, Statistics, and Accounting as well as a Master’s in Business Administration from Washington State University.  She had an accounting career until she and David purchased the nursery in 1999.  Kristin is currently the Past President of the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

Date: Tuesday, June 12th

Time: 7pm

Where: Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church,5441 SE Belmont St.,Portland

Cost: Free. 

Who: Everyone is welcome!

Presented by the Multnomah County Chapter of the Oregon Master Gardeners Association.