Everything Grows

In 1964, our family moved to the Wenatchee Valley. My dad, Tony DeRooy, had just been hired as the first Landcape Supervisor at Rocky Reach Dam. Prior to that, he had worked for the Great Northern Railroad as the third of only three (ever) Superintendents of Parks. He had followed in the footsteps of my grandfather, Arie DeRooy, who had the position from 1934 until his death at Many Glacier Lodge on August 8, 1951. Growing plants, flowers and children was their life work. Anyone who knew these men, as well as the women who have stood faithfully by (thanks, Mom!) recognized their passion. This blog will be concerned mainly with dahlia and garden thoughts, but will also discuss things that are happening in the beautiful valleys, plains and mountains that we know as North Central Washington.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

BASKING IN THE GLOW OF A SINGLE BULB

Where do you like to spend a cold winter evening? I think I've found my perfect get-away in the dimly lit space deep under my house. Today, it was once again around 20 dry degrees. We have had almost three weeks of this kind of weather, most of it under a heavy inversion, with clouds socking us in, forcing us to "play nice" with the stagnant air. I skipped out of town last Saturday, warming up in the tropical climes of Seattle, where it was a cozy 32 degrees under clear blue skies. Darn..Forgot my suntan lotion!

Yesterday the inversion started to lift, with the teensiest bit of snow falling, and a promise of more today. Days like this are absolutely perfect for taking an adventure through my favorite "destination de hiver," Tuber Storage. Early last evening, I went down to my crawlspace, where my five boxes of tubers had been sleeping since November. I was looking to see how many tubers of Chopsie Baby and Lakeview Glow I had. I still haven't come up with a system that lets me know exactly how many tubers of each variety I have, since that would take a lot more time than I have had up to now. As I evolve as a grower, I might get better at this, but for now, it gives me a great excuse to get my hands into pine shavings and onto the homely little roots that make my heart beat fast. I spent about 90 minutes down there in the 38 degree dirt-room where my tubers seem to love wintering. I was really delighted when I found more than enough of these two varieties, as well as many of some other favorites. The percentage of loss was extremely low, with only about a dozen failed tubers out of the hundreds that pased through my fingers. As visions of brilliant blooms regaled my imagination with each different variety I found, I found myself counting the weeks ahead before I might be able to start laying some of these tubers in shallow dirt on my light table, with the goal of taking cuttings. I'm thankful to several growers have shared their ideas about when and how I should do that, and I think I've decided to start the process in mid-February. That's just a couple of weeks away - woot! Maybe I need to wear my sunglasses next time I go down there......;-)



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