Plant bulbs this spring and summer for all-year color
By Judy Scott,
Oregon State University Extension Service
CORVALLIS, Ore. – After the spring show of crocus, daffodils, hyacinth and tulips, flower gardeners may be at a loss on how to top the early vibrant color.
If you plant summer-flowering bulbs, corms and tubers in the spring, you’ll carry color through the summer, said Ross Penhallegon, horticulturalist with the Oregon State University Extension Service.
montbretia
A wide variety 
of ililies, dahlias, gladiolus and tuberous begonias are available from catalogs and garden shops. If you love bolder flower gardens, plant more out-of-the-ordinary bulbs, including summer hyacinths, Peruvian-daffodils, fragrant tuberoses, shell flowers and montbretia for striking summer garden accents.
sternbergia c
andida
For stunning color all the way through the growing season, plant fall-blooming bulbs in late summer and early autumn. Later-flowering species that bloom in the fall include colchicums, autumn flowering crocus, magic lilies of Japan, sternbergia and fairy lilies, to name a few. These are available in summer to early fall at nurseries and from bulb catalogs.
When it’s time to plant, Penhallegon recommends planting each bulb as deep as the diameter of the bulb; if the diameter is one inch, plant the bulb one inch deep. “The soil needs to be well-drained and mulchy, with lots of organic materials,” he said. “Apply a small amount of general purpose fertilizer, organic or conventional, after the bulb emerges from the soil.”
Don’t forget to check with your local nurseries. Each year they offer a new array of plant varieties.
This article is also online at: http://bit.ly/OSU_Gardening1564
Judy Scott, Public Service Comm Specialist , Oregon State University Extension Service
Source: Ross Penhallegon, Ag, Horticulture , Oregon State University Extension Service
An article in the Medford Mail Tribune’s January’s HOMELIFE magazine inspired me to order shittake mushroom spawn from www.mushroompeople.com.I called several tree pruners before I could obtain five white oak logs for growing the mushrooms, each logs was about 4-5 feet long and 4″-6″ inches in diameter. My husband drilled holes in them every 6″ and then we hammered in the pegs with the shiitake spawn. I didn’t use any wax to seal the holes as suggested, I just hammered the pegs in and called it good. Like the article says, all the work is done in a day, and then you just lean the logs in the shade, water them when it gets really hot and wait to see what happens.
