The Garden Journal
July - Is Summer Here Yet?
July, 2022
Dinosaurs in the Garden
July 13 - July 30
Days Open: Wed, Fri, Sat
Hours: 10-2
Tickets Available in The Garden Shop
$10 adults $7 children
No pets allowed Smoking of any kind is strictly prohibited on our property.
Have you been wondering, like us, when summer will arrive in the PNW in 2022? While the Midwest is suffering a heat wave, we have had record lows in the sunshine department, and excessive rains. These extreme lows and highs make it challenging as a grower, as the unpredictability is tough to plan for without knowing what kind of season we will have.
Dinosaurs in the Garden
Our newest event: Dinosaurs in the Garden, is a scavenger-hunt focused adventure in the Garden for children to explore Dinosaurs in the Laughing Goat Gardens (no worries, no goats will be harmed in this venture - this isn’t Jurassic Park!) We will have some light activities for your intrepid explorers, as well as a scavenger hunt to find baby dinosaurs. You will be in our gardens and flower fields, where there are a range of surface paths, including grasses, and uneven terrain. Please wear your 4-wheel drive shoes, and plan to attend whatever the weather. Tickets are available in The Garden Shop, and are required to enter the gardens. We’d love to see enthusiastic participation, to let us know this is an event to continue to focus our efforts on, and build up every year. Thank you for your support!
Peony Roots
We will have peony roots available in The Garden Shop in the fall, just in time for planting.
2 Varieties will be presold via our website, for pick up only. These will be dug in the fall to be picked up as bare root. Your payment will reserve a 2-3 year old plant for your garden.
Silver Dawn and Rubra Plena are available, and we will likely have 1-2 Kansas also.
Weed Control
We have had a very busy spring - weeding. It just seems like we can’t get on top of the weeds, with their ability to grow just about anywhere, and with an abundance of rain, the weeds are going for it. Just when we get done with a section, we have to start over again. Gardening is a lesson in patience, resilience and determination for sure.
Before you let the weeds just have at it, there are 3 important considerations to make when determining how and why to deal with weeds. At Laughing Goat, our only form of weed control is mechanical: we pull weeds by hand, with a hori-hori knife, or with a hoe-like tool designed to eliminate weeds. While this is time consuming, we have seen a vast improvement in our soils by not spraying chemically-derived weed killers readily available on the market. So, you decide what is best for you, but we encourage a garden that is pesticide free, for your safety and health, for the bees and other pollinators, and for the environment at large. We promise the return is worth it!
Determine your Pest Management Plan (yes, a weed is a pest!). We have a weed control plan that actively seeks to eliminate a handful of weeds that are the most problematic for us, next to manage as best we can the ones that are troublesome, and lastly, to leave the ones we have determined to be the least problematic or that we have noticed have side benefits.
Lastly, be consistent, and work to manage weeds when they are as small as possible. This causes the least amount of soil disturbance, and less disturbance to other surrounding plants. Equally as important is not allowing weeds to go to seed, and contributing to your weed seed bank…something you will deal with for years if left unchecked! Remember: weeds are only a plant in the wrong place, and they are adapted to grow in a wide variety of ecosystems. They will outcompete your plants for what is necessary for survival: sun, water, and nutrients in the soil. If left unchecked, your garden will quickly go to the weeds.
- Pulling out weeds when they’re small minimizes soil disturbance.
- Getting rid of weeds before they complete their growth cycle to seed reduces the impact to the seed bank in your soil. Seed banks build up for years.
- No Bare Soil! Cover soils with plants, and mulch, mulch, mulch, to minimize the weeds taking hold of bare soil patches.
Farm to Table Dinner
It’s back! After a two year hiatus due to Covid, we are finally hosting our popular Farm to Table Dinner in the Gardens again. We are partnering with Chef Wendy of Wendy Simply Cooks, as well as some local farms for chicken, eggs, and produce. Our team sets up the most beautiful tables for you and your dining guests to enjoy a seated meal al fresco in the gardens. Please, when you purchase your tickets (in advance), designate whether you are a table of 2, 4, or 6 and who you will be dining with so we can make suitable arrangements. More details coming soon.
The Garden Shop
The Garden Shop will reopen after our mid-June hiatus, for our Dinosaur Days in the Garden. You may purchase your tickets and get your scavenger hunt sheet in the shop, as well as shop for our seasonal offerings, and curated garden and home goods. We are not planning to open the Shop outside of our events at this time, due to staffing and low visitation.
Garden Tasks
- Weed, Weed, Weed
- Find Summer Blooming Perennials at your Nursery to fill in empty spaces in your beds.
- Mulch Plants
- Make sure dahlias are tagged properly so you can label them in storage
- Monitor plants for any fungal issues that need to be treated.
- Enjoy your Garden - this is when the bounty of the PNW starts. Find recipes using your produce.
- Rose Care: Watch for Blight, and take appropriate measures
Stay Tuned for Upcoming Events
- BOLD ITEMS are ON-SITE Events
- Dinosaurs in the Garden: July 13 - 30
- Farm to Table Dinner - AUGUST 20
- Very Special Workshops planned for 2023!
- Classes & Workshops will be announced via the website, with sign-ups there, along with Garden Shop hours.