Emporia Garden Tour is Saturday

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Birds and bees, flowers and trees are beauties you will find on the ninth annual Emporia Garden Tour and Flower Pedal which will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Many interesting plants and other garden elements will be featured in the diverse gardens that range from small patio gardens to expansive properties and large corner lots. Each offers a unique story and gardeners will gain ideas from them all.

There will be six sites on this year’s tour; five private and one public garden. We added the “Flower Pedal” component to the tour, which is a bike route of the sites, created by Matt Brown of High Gear Cyclery, for those wanting to get some exercise while taking in the tour. The Lyon County Fairgrounds is a good place to start the bike route after a visit to the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden, or a map could be picked up at any of the sites. Driving to each of the sites is certainly still an option.

This event is sponsored by Lyon County Extension Master Gardener volunteers who use proceeds from the event for horticulture education and beautification in Lyon County. Tickets are available at Water’s True Value Hardware, Riverside Gardens, Kaw Valley Greenhouse, High Gear Cyclery and the K-State Research and Extension office for $5 in advance or $7 the day of the tour. Tickets will be available at all tour sites the day of the tour. Plants will be for sale at each of the sites.

Jean Hollern, 702 Weaver

In 2003 the overpass on east 6th Avenue was rebuilt and Jean and her late husband Chuck were forced to move out of their home of 44 years and relocate. They looked at 78 houses and finally bought their new place at 702 Weaver. What attracted them to this location was not the house, but the land and the existing shade trees. The only flower on the property was a lone Peony plant. After an eight-month extensive remodeling project, which included a complete gutting of the existing house and a large addition to the back of the house, they turned their attention to the yard.

The first area they worked on was the edge of the property next to the fences, due to the construction going on around the house. One long flower bed was created by transplanting many lilies, iris, assorted bushes, and other varieties of perennials from their former residence. They also added several new varieties of plants. The rock work around the beds, and the rock benches were created with native rocks from the Flint Hills and installed by their son-in-law.

Forcing Flower Bulbs Part 2 | Garden Bulb Blog: Flower Bulbs ...

Part II: Starting the Forcing Process

Ok. So you’ve decided to try your hand at forcing some flower bulbs (or your lack of time to plant the fall bulbs you purchased has decided it for you). Let’s start the process!

First off, you will want to decided HOW and WHERE you want to chill your bulbs. This will be largely dependent on what “chilling” resources you have available to you and also how much space you can afford to use. Ask yourself these questions: do I have any location (such as a garage, basement, shed, attic, etc.) that remains 50°F (10°C) or below and is fairly dark? Keep in mind that this area should not receive freezing temperatures for any length of time. If you do not have any such location, a refrigerator will work as well but is a tad bit more prohibitive based on a lack of space. Plus, depending on your family’s acceptance of your hobby, you may not want flower bulbs in your refrigerator besides last night’s leftovers Chilling Temperature: Regardless if you are chilling them in a refrigerator or other location, it will be very

important to keep tabs on the temperature in the given area. I recommend purchasing a digital thermometer (you can find one fairly inexpensive at your local garden center or hardware store) which you can place in the designated area. Look for one with an extension wire so that you can place the receptor directly in the chilling area. Or better yet, if you’re willing to invest a little more, purchase a wireless thermometer which can receive the transmittal several hundred feet away to easily keep tabs on the location without being near it. Most of these thermometers are available for under $30.00. Ideally, the temperature in your chilling area should always remain between 35°F and 48°F. Refrigerator Chilling : One thing to keep in mind about chilling the bulbs in a refrigerator is the presence of produce (fresh fruits and vegetables). As fruits and vegetables ripen, they produce a gas called ethylene . This gas is somewhat a double-edged sword as it helps to signal to other fruits and vegetables to ripen but also can cause produce to ripen too quickly, therefore causing it to rot. Remember the old trick of placing bananas in a paper bag to get them to ripen faster? This is because you are essentially trapping the ethylene in a small space.