Claude Thompson

700 Samaleños employed under DOLE TUPAD to tackle malnourishment through vegetable gardening

THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DOLE) XI, through its Davao del Norte-IGaCoS Extension Office (DIEO), facilitated the contract signing and orientation of 700 Samaleños on May 20, marking the beginning of their 10-day emergency employment under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.

This endeavor aims to address the pressing issue of malnourishment among children in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS), Davao del Norte. Specifically, the engagement focuses on vegetable gardening activities, strategically designed to alleviate malnutrition and reinforce the local government’s efforts. Notably, 200 beneficiaries hailed from families impacted by house fires in Barangay Cawag, further underscoring the program’s role in supporting vulnerable communities.

The program started with a warm welcome message from Emmalyn H. Moriones, Public Employment Services Office (PESO) manager of LGU-IGaCOS. She explained the project’s objectives, underscoring its significance, particularly for the island’s younger population. Following her remarks, Manny Carl D. Clarion, Labor Employment Officer (LEO) III of DIEO, conducted a comprehensive orientation, outlining the engagement’s details, requirements, and essential information.

Meanwhile, the City Agriculture’s Office (CAGRO), represented by Ann Buot, supplied gardening instructions and vegetable seeds to kickstart the endeavor. Designated planting sites include Barangay Cawag, Barangay Peñaplata, and various community backyards across the island. As the project progresses, Barangay LGUs will organize feeding programs for children during the harvesting period. Moreover, upon completion of the TUPAD engagement, Barangay LGUs intend to integrate this initiative into their “Gulayan sa Barangay” project.

In a statement, DOLE XI regional director Atty. Randolf C. Pensoy underscored the collaborative effort’s significance in addressing malnutrition, highlighting the TUPAD program’s multifaceted positive impact on youth, families, and the wider community.

The orientation served as a platform to empower residents from different barangays of the island, offering not just employment but also a renewed sense of dignity and purpose. Beneficiaries will receive a daily wage of P462 for their 10-day commitment.

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Source: mindanaotimes.com.ph

10 Oregon flower festivals and garden events to visit this summer

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While Oregon’s Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival ended a week early this year due to early blooms, and a couple other flower festivals are behind us (like the Camellia Festival and Run/Walk and the Florence Rhododendron Festival), there’s still plenty to see and smell through the rest of summer.

Adelman Peony Gardens in Salem expects peak blooms beginning Memorial Day weekend.

Lee Sunflower Festival in Tualatin offers sunrise and sunset yoga, picnic packages and butterfly releases in the field in August.

In June and July, the Southern Oregon Lavender Trail festival invites visitors to explore seven lavender farms, all within about a 45-minute drive from one another. Dos Mariposas Vineyard and Lavender Farm in Medford offers essential oil distillation demonstrations on select days.

So, dust off your selfie stick, macro lens or enjoy the flowers completely disconnected, while they last.

Here’s a guide to upcoming flower festivals, garden events and what will be in bloom (and when) this summer:

Flowers bloom for spring at Schreiner’s Iris Garden in Keizer. Terry Richard/The Oregonian

Iris Bloom Season Event at Shreiner’s Gardens

Shreiner’s Gardens bills itself as the largest iris farm in the United States and every year they host the Bloom Season Event. The event features expansive display gardens, iris fields, a cut flower show and a gift shop, according to their website. On weekends, there will be food trucks as well as vineyards offering wine tasting.

Where: Salem

Address: 3625 Quinaby Rd. N.E.

When: May 3-31

Hours: Open daily 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Early bird hours 7 a.m.-9 a.m. (the gift shop is not open during these hours).

Cost: Monday through Friday tickets are $5 online and $6 at the door. Weekend tickets are $8 online and $10 at the door. Early bird hours are $10. Children 12 and under are free.

Dogs allowed? Yes

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden offers 9.5 acres of woodland landscapes that contain a collection of rare species and hybrid rhododendrons, azaleas and other lesser-known ericaceous plants and unusual trees, according to its website.

Where: Portland

Address: 5801 S.E. 28th Ave.

When: The azaleas and rhododendrons are typically in full bloom April through June, but the garden is lovely to visit any time of the year.

Hours: Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

Cost: General admission is $8.95. Students (ages 6-21) is $5.95. Children 5 and younger are free.

Dogs allowed? Yes

Edulis Superba has enchanted peony lovers for nearly 200 years, photographed here in the display garden at Adelman Peonies in Brooks Oregon.Dawn Meredith Peck/For The Oregonian

Adelman Peony Gardens

Visiting Adelman Peony Gardens includes walking 30 acres of production fields, strolling through two acres of display garden, viewing indoor peony bloom displays and opportunities to purchase cut flowers or peonies in containers to take home, according to their event page. With no food or beverage available to purchase on site, the garden encourages packing a picnic to eat on premise.

Where: Salem

Address: 5690 Brooklake Rd. N.E.

When: Open to the public every year April 27-June 15. Peak bloom expected Memorial Day weekend.

Hours: Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily.

Cost: Free

Dogs allowed? Yes

Lavender Daze Festival

The annual Lavender Daze Festival at Hood River Lavender Farms typically occurs in July and brings thousands to celebrate the peak lavender bloom of the season. The event has live music, food (including lavender ice cream), art and activities vendors, according to the Hood River Lavender Farms event page.

Where: Hood River

Address: 3823 Fletcher Dr.

When: The festival is every Saturday and Sunday in July. The best time for U-pick lavender is July through September. The Hood River Lavender Farm is open all year.

Hours: Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-6p.m.

Cost: Free

Dogs allowed? Yes, but the farm requests that pets stay on the grass and on a leash.

Lavender field at Dos Mariposas Vineyard & Lavender in Medford, Oregon on June 25, 2023.Megan Menne | Special to The Oregonian/OregonLive

Southern Oregon Lavender Trail

The Southern Oregon Lavender Trail welcomes visitors to explore seven tranquil, family-run lavender fields in southern Oregon. Most farms offer U-pick lavender, lavender products and crafts, classes, essential oil distillation and lavender plants. Most farms are within about a 45-minute drive from one another.

Where: Medford, Jacksonville, Rogue River, Eagle Point, Williams, Applegate

Address: Various locations (check festival website for details)

When: June 21-23 and July 12-14

Hours/cost: Check festival website for specific farm hours and admission.

Dogs allowed? Check individual farm websites for pet policies.

Lee Farms Sunflower Festival

The Lee Sunflower Festival bills itself as Oregon’s largest sunflower festival. According to their website, the festival offers over 30 varieties of sunflowers to explore. It says you can cut your own (one bloom is included with your admission) and take a scenic hayride that takes you to and from their sunflower maze. There will be live local musicians, farm animals and food and beverage, including a bakery.

Where: Tualatin

Address: 21975 S.W. 65th Ave.

When: August 2-18, Fridays through Sundays only.

Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sundays.

Cost: General admission online is $22 (+$2 fee) online for adults. $25 onsite. Youth (ages 3-10) general admission online is $13 (+$2 fee). $15 onsite. Children ages 2 and younger are free. Additional passes and packages available online.

Dogs allowed? No

Swan Island Dahlias

Swan Island Dahlias event page invites visitors stroll through almost 40 acres of dahlias and a display garden featuring over 370 dahlia varieties. There will be food carts, live music and classes throughout the festival dates.

Where: Canby

Address: 995 N.W. 22nd Ave.

When: August-September

Hours: Wednesdays-Sundays, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Cost: Free admission and parking.

Dogs allowed? Yes

The International Rose Test Garden in Portland’s Washington Park is in full bloom. May 27, 2016. Beth Nakamura/Staff LC- StaffLC- Staff

Portland International Test Rose Garden

The International Test Rose Garden is run by the city of Portland and has more than 10,000 individual rose bushes that bloom from late May through October, according to its website. The blooms represent over 610 different rose varieties and the primary purpose of the garden is to serve as a testing ground for new rose varieties. During World War I, hybridists sent roses from around the world to Portland’s garden for testing.

Where: Portland

Address: 400 S.W. Kingston Ave.

When: Roses bloom from late May to October, depending on the weather.

Hours: Open 5 a.m. – 10 p.m. daily. Closed every other Wednesday May – August, 5 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Cost: Free. Public transportation or free seasonal shuttle is recommended as paid parking is limited.

Dogs allowed? Yes

Portland Japanese Garden

The Portland Japanese Garden is made up of eight unique garden spaces, from the lush greens in the Strolling Pond Garden to the empty space (or ma) of the Sand and Stone Garden, according to the website. While the garden is lovely to visit year round, there are many events over the summer, including cultural performances (like shinobue flute and piano performances), demonstrations (like tea ceremonies) and workshops (like maple pruning).

Where: Portland

Address: 611 S.W. Kingston Ave.

When: Check the gardens website for summer events. Open all year.

Hours: Wednesday-Monday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (closed Tuesdays)

Cost: $21.95 for adults, $18.95 for seniors (65+), $17.95 for students (with ID), $15.95 for youth (ages 6-17), children (5 and under) and members are free.

Dogs allowed? No

Lan Su Chinese Garden

Portland’s Lan Su Chinese garden offers weekly and monthly summer events, from weekly tai chi lessons to feng shui lectures to guided poetry tours in the garden, according to their summer events page.

Where: Portland

Address: 239 N.W. Everett St.

When: Summer special cultural performances include Portland Chinese Dance Troupe (June 1), Viet Hung Lion & Dragon Dance Team (July 20) and other events throughout the year. Open all year.

Hours: Open daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Cost: Free for members. $14 for adult (ages 19-61), $13 for seniors (ages 62 and over) and student (18+ with I.D.), $11 for youth (ages 6-18) and free for children (5 and under).

Dogs allowed? No

Source: oregonlive.com

Garden Designers’ 9 Favorite Flower Pairings For a Gorgeous Landscape

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Any gardener who’s paralyzed by the overwhelming number of choices at a nursery knows how hard it can be to narrow down your plant palette. And if you succumb to taking home a little bit of everything that catches your fancy, you’ll find yourself with a hodgepodge of plants that don’t carry the visual impact of a more tightly-edited selection.

To make your plant shopping and garden planning easier, we spoke to five garden designers and asked them to share their favorite flower pairings. Here are their flower garden ideas for a wide variety of climates and situations.

Krinkled White Peony & Amsonia “Blue Ice”

Plant Delights Nursery (left); Kristine Radkovska/Getty Images (right)

Christina Koether, the garden designer behind Nomadica in Weston, CT, spends more time thinking about flower pairings than most: In addition to her garden business, Koether operates a microflower farm.

Koether shared several picks, including this perennial pairing of a peony (Paeonia lactiflora krinkled white) and an amsonia (Amsonia tabernaemontana blue ice). “The sturdy stems of these long-lasting, white single-petal peonies hold their yellow centers above the shorter amsonia’s blue star flowers,” she says.

“Even when they aren’t blooming, the amsonia foliage is hard-working covering the legs of the peonies and turning a beautiful yellow in the fall.” These two bloom best in full sun, but both will tolerate part sun.

Purple Coneflower & Wild Quinine

Christina Koether

Another pairing from Koether is the inspired combination of purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium), both of which are native to the Northeast.

“This duo looks incredible together because of the unique flower form of the quinine against the shape of the echinacea,” says Koether. “Watch goldfinches land on the echinacea to eat the seeds, and enjoy blooms all summer long.” Plant in medium soil in full to part sun.

“Running Tapestry” Foamflower & Wild Blue Phlox

Christina Koether

If groundcover is what you need, Koether recommends these spreading, low-growing native plants: “Running tapestry” foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia running tapestry) and wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata).

She says, “They seamlessly mix together for a tapestry of white spikes and bluish purple blooms loved by the first butterflies of the season.” Koether says to plant in shade to part the sun.

Millenium Allium & “Montrose White” Catmint

JaysonPhotography/Getty Images (left); kazue tanaka/Getty images (right)

Looking for deer resistance? Koether’s got ideas for that too: Millenium allium (Allium millenium) and a white variety of catmint (Calamintha nepeta montrose white).

“Incredibly reliable as deer resistance, this late summer combo blooms when the garden, and gardener, start to feel tired in the late summer,” she says. Plant in full sun, and Koether recommends weaving in Mexican feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima) as a complementary texture.

Great Masterwort & Bumbleberry Salvia

Alex Manders/Getty Images (left); Shanserika/Getty Images (right)

For a pair of long-blooming perennials that both make wonderful cut flowers, Koether suggests great masterwort (Astrantia masterwort roma) matched up with “bumbleberry” salvia (Salvia nemorosa bumbleberry).

“Plant the masterwort in front of the salvia to make its intricate flowers light up,” advises Koether. You’ll need part sun and medium soil when planted together.

Common Yarrow & Douglas Aster

fotolinchen/Getty images (left); Mor65/Getty Images (right)

“I like this combo for late spring floral and seed head blooms in June in Seattle,” says landscape designer Naomi Goodman, the founder of Firecracker Design Studio.

Pair common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and Douglas aster (Symphyotrichum subspicatum) with native and climate-adapted grasses such as Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) and giant feather grass (Stipa gigantea).

Goodman says, “It mimics a stylized Western Washington prairie suitable to the rainy side of the Pacific Northwest or Northern California. This plant combo is low water and gives a floral and textural hit that is gorgeous and beneficial to wildlife. The blooms on all these plants are long-lasting, making people (and wildlife!) happy.”

Eastern Red Columbine & Golden Alexander

Richard Jackson/Getty Images (left); KenWiedemann/Getty Images (right)

Sarma Ozols, a senior gardener at the Trust for Governors Island in New York City, likes to pair Eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) with golden Alexander (Zizia aurea or aptera), two spring-flowering plants native to North America east of the Rockies. The red and yellow columbine will bloom first with the golden Alexander coming into bloom as it finishes.

“Dark Knight” Scabiosa & “Cherry Brandy” Blackeyed Susan

Marissa Angell

“I usually am a little wary of incorporating reds into a palette, but this combo feels just moody enough to make a statement but doesn’t burn your retinas,” says landscape architect Marissa Angell, whose eponymous firm is based in New York’s Hudson Valley.

In her planting of the heirloom scabiosa “Dark Knight” and a red-petal black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia ‘Cherry Brandy’), Angell tempered the mood further with some bronze fennel. “The scabious seedheads are a nice bonus, too,” she adds.

Iceberg Roses & Purple Salvia

Nadya So/Getty Images (left); Marcia Straub/Getty Images (right)

“Iceberg roses are a great landscape staple, especially in warmer climates,” says Ward Dilmore, the founder of Petrus Landscaping in California’s Bay Area, of this varietal of Floribunda rose.

“Their consistent white blooms go well with several plants, but we often pair them with purple salvias, of which there are many varieties. White and purple is a great neutral color combination that goes with many landscapes.”

Source: realsimple.com

Suffolk vegetable business says ‘stop growing boring’ seeds

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Alice Cunningham

BBC News, Suffolk

25 May 2024

Two business owners have encouraged people to “stop growing boring” vegetables and consider heirloom seeds.

Lucy Hutchings and Kate Cotterill founded She Grows Veg a year ago and have now won a gold medal the first time they have exhibited at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Heirloom seeds are considered to be at least 50 years old and are non genetically modified organisms.

Ms Hutchings and Ms Cotterill, who are based in Capel St Mary, Suffolk, said they were excited to see them growing in popularity.

“We are absolutely passionate about heirloom vegetables and honestly think they are the best veg you can be growing in your garden,” said Ms Hutchings.

“We’re very excited that people are starting to get as excited about them as we are.”

According to Ms Cotterill, the seeds can “come in a rainbow of colours” and are “so nutritious”.

“We want people to stop growing boring red tomatoes,” she added. “Let’s go for those really colourful varieties that come from heirloom.

“The lovely thing about heirlooms is they are all open pollinators which means when you’re collecting the seeds it stays absolutely true to type.

“So it will grow exactly the same vegetable from its original plant.”

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Heirloom seeds can often lead to vegetables growing in different shapes and colours than often seen in supermarkets.

“We’re so used to seeing the veg in the supermarket and thinking that’s what it has to look like,” Ms Hutchings explained.

“That every tomato has to be red and round, that every carrot has to be orange so we want to show people how much more is out there for them to try.”

She Grows Veg has 156 varieties of veg and said they are adding more all the time.

It had its first ever exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on Tuesday and won a gold medal for its Edimental – the beauty of vegetables exhibit.

The annual show in London represents “the pinnacle of horticultural excellence, with something for everyone no matter what kind of gardener you are”, according to the organisers.

Follow Suffolk news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830

Iris Bloom Season Event at Shreiner’s Gardens

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

Adelman Peony Gardens

Lavender Daze Festival

Southern Oregon Lavender Trail

Lee Farms Sunflower Festival

Swan Island Dahlias

Portland International Test Rose Garden

Portland Japanese Garden

Lan Su Chinese Garden

Read more:

Krinkled White Peony & Amsonia “Blue Ice”

Purple Coneflower & Wild Quinine

“Running Tapestry” Foamflower & Wild Blue Phlox

Millenium Allium & “Montrose White” Catmint

Great Masterwort & Bumbleberry Salvia

Common Yarrow & Douglas Aster

Eastern Red Columbine & Golden Alexander

“Dark Knight” Scabiosa & “Cherry Brandy” Blackeyed Susan

Iceberg Roses & Purple Salvia

Related Topics