Sunday, November 24, 2013

FALL 2013

Fall is here and the days are short and cold. Daylight Savings time is gone, the garden has frozen back and it is time to slow down and get ready for winter. Before the fall rains came we harvested our Bhut Jalocia and Scorpion chiles and made hot sauce. The chiles are some of the hottest in the world and are many times hotter then habaneros. The sauce is so hot, one drop is enough. One bottle is a lifetime supply. It is bottled sunburn. NOT for the faint of heart. In the greenhouse, we have been able to propagate more of the popular Tree Dahlia and hope to have enough this year for anyone who wants one. We ran out in mid spring this year. The plants grow to 12' high and are huge.We are also propagating some more South African bulbs and are surprised at how hardy many of them are.

We have gotten a lot done at Rare Plant Research this summer and fall. We terraced the west slope above the middle pond to better serve our wedding rental guests and are building a large grape arbor. All of our greenhouses needed to be recovered this fall and we got the monumental task done before the fall rains set in. We also put in  a new driveway and parking lot for our developing winery, Villa Catalana Cellars. We hope to be open in late spring. This year we made Pinto Gris, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Syrah, Grenache Rose and of course Pinto Noir. We will be developing a separate winery web page that will be linked to our nursery page. We hope to have a few winery related events this summer in our gardens.

After a busy summer and fall, now is the time to go to bed early, sleep late and catch up on much needed rest. Before you know it, the Yard Garden and Patio Show will be here and spring will be right behind. Some serious fireside time is called for along with a glass of the exceptional 2012 Oregon Pinot Noir.