Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

A remarkable life story

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Most nursery folks and many Northwest gardeners will agree that Tsugawa Nursery in Woodland, Wash. is a retail landmark along Interstate 5 in Southwest Washington. I remember my parents, eager gardeners both, taking special trips to browse the garden center’s deep and balanced stock of plants. If you don’t happen to know the story behind […]

Blogger: Madonna may have a point

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The other day we posted about Madonna’s comment — now infamous to many in the hort industry — that she “loathes hydrangeas.” Most anyone can agree it wasn’t a nice thing for her to say about a gift from a fan. However, she may have had a point — at least, according to horticulturalist Tim Wood. On […]

Portrait of a plant patent

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If you have never seen a plant patent application, there’s a lot of detail involved. This application from Terra Nova Nurseries was for a new cultivar of Echinacea, specifically Echinacea spp. ‘TNGD’ which is described in painstaking detail. The patent application was submitted May 11, 2010 and granted Tuesday (Sept. 6), so the process took […]

Nursery receives grant to study sandbed fertigation

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Oregon Small Trees Nursery recently was chosen to receive a Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) Conservation Innovation Grant. The nursery, based in Wilsonville, Ore., will use its grant funds to evaluate a little-used, but highly efficient, growing practice involving sandbeds. “The grant allows us to introduce new practices to further minimize our environmental footprint,” Oregon […]

Ag on film

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Now here is a very cool idea! One of the complaints often stated by those in agriculture is that the general public doesn’t understand agriculture well, if at all. If I had a nickel for every time someone told me, “People buy groceries at the store or plants at the nursery without understanding the process […]

Fall hardy plant sale is this weekend

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Portland Monthly reminds us that the fall version of the twice-yearly Hardy Plant Society of Oregon plant sale is this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 10–11, at the Portland Expo Center (directions; also reachable via MAX). This is a truly huge event for plant lovers — especially those who are into the unique and unusual.

What Madonna don’t wanna

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Kristin VanHoose passed along a story about a thoughtful fan in Venice who gifted aging dance-pop queen Madonna with a small bouquet of hydrangeas. Madonna was in Italy promoting one of her new movies, which, not to editorialize, generally need all the promotion they can get. Unfortunately, the Material Girl was less than thoughtful in […]

Speaking of deadly invaders …

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Robin Rosetta of Oregon State University Extension / North Willamette Research and Extension Center / the @PNWNurseryIPM Twitter feed passed along word of a devastating pest that has established a presence in the San Diego, Calif. area — the goldspotted oak borer. Some 80,000 oak trees already have been killed by this pest. The Los […]