Want to see five fabulous private gardens in Portland that aren't usually accessible?

Take the Garden Conservancy Garden Tour on Saturday, May 12, 10am - 4pm. A cooperative fundraising event with the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon (HPSO), the tour will feature the following people's gardens, all in southwest Portland:

• June Collin
• Dan Heims
• Susan Narizny
• The Jane Platt garden (pictured above)
• Barbara Blossom Ashmun

You can't go wrong with these five - so much to learn and enjoy from each garden.

Plus, part of the tour's proceeds help HPSO continue its outstanding support of horticultural education and programs in our community. The other part goes to the Garden Conservancy to preserve exceptional American gardens for the public's education and enjoyment.

Tour details:

• Where: Tour starts at the June Collin garden - 7320 SW Newton Place. Maps for the other four gardens will be available there.
• How Much: $5/garden.
• Other: Reservations not required. Gardens open rain or shine.

A combination that I've been excited by lately (see photo, right) is this:

• Physocarpus o. 'Coppertina' - a new introduction of the ninebark with fabulous copper foliage
• Osmanthus h. 'Goshiki' - a compact, evergreen shrub with a wonderful range of colors
• Anemanthele lessoniana - a semi-evergreen grass with fabulous coloring

For added color, you might consider adding:

• Echinacea 'Sundown' and/or E. 'Sunrise' - some of the new coneflower introductions that I've been playing with
• Geranium 'Rozanne' - you can't beat this hardy geranium in terms of staying power; she blooms from May to October
• Aster 'Prince' - my favorite aster for fall bloom; great foliage, strong form that doesn't flop

As of this writing, we have almost all of the plants mentioned available in the nursery. And many more fabulous choices as well! We hope you'll stop by soon and see our exciting selection.

When you're about to plant, make sure the plant's root ball and surrounding soil are well-watered. If your plant has a dry root ball, you can water it all you want, but water will never pass from the surrounding soil into the root ball.

Here's how to avoid this problem:

1. Soak the root ball. Before you plant, fill a 5- gallon bucket with water, then submerge your plant (still in its nursery pot) in the water until it's fully saturated. You'll know it's saturated when you stop seeing bubbles percolating up from the plant's roots.
2. Soak the hole. Place your now-wet plant in the planting hole, then fill the hole with water and allow it to drain. Repeat if it drains quickly, or if it's hot outside.
3. Fill in the hole. After the excess water drains away, you can "firm in" the hole around your new plant with more soil.

Bonus Tip #1: For larger plants that won't fit in a five-gallon bucket, just make sure that you've thoroughly watered the plant in its nursery pot. (Soak the hole as you would for a smaller plant.)

Bonus Tip #2: Don't make a "mud pie" when you soak the planting hole. That ruins your soil structure. It's like Goldilocks: the soil should be not too wet, not too dry, but juuuuust right!

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Happy Gardening!

Darcy Daniels, Bloomtown Garden Design & Nursery