Redoubt's potential ash could help your gardening

Oh well. We have to keep busy. We will make it.

First, at the top of my list is some disturbing news for those of us who enjoy a good regional garden show. This looks like it will be the last year for our favorite, The Northwest Flower and Garden Show. It will go on as scheduled this year (Feb. 18-22) at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, but the show's owner has been looking for a buyer for a couple of years now and unless one comes forward soon, it is curtains -- or to the compost pile, as the Seattle P-I noted -- for the annual garden show.

One would hope that there will be a buyer, but in the meantime, you might just want to check out the show's site (www.gardenshow.com) and make the necessary arrangements to attend this year's event. It sounds like it will be your last chance. There are all sorts of hotel deals associated with the show and it is always a worthwhile horticultural event, a circus for gardeners replete with educational talks, great display gardens and an opportunity to whet the gardening appetite. It will be missed.

Next, I failed to include Klehm's Song Sparrow Farm and Nursery (www.songsparrow.com) in the list of catalogues you should consider getting to both tide you over to spring and provide some great information. At least visit the Web site. Last year, I heard the nursery's owner describe their peony business. I was not only fascinated but blown away by his photos. Most are in the catalogue along with hostas, echinacea and a whole host of great perennials. The catalogue's descriptions include hardiness zones, which alone makes this a great resource. And wait until you see those peonies. Wow. They do great here in our climate, as you already know.

Speaking of catalogues, I just got a copy of Munchkin Nursery and Gardens (www.munchkinnursery.com) which specializes in unusual shade perennials. Here again, each plant's growing zone is listed with ample descriptions to tempt you. I particularly suggest you check out the resource section on the Web for some great cultural information. The pictures on the Web version seem be more plentiful. Go there first before ordering the hard copy.

While on the subject of catalogues, people ask about getting amaryllis to flower in the summer. It can be done, but you have to fuss with the light and temperature. I guess we all love an easy to grow, indoor bulb. One to try is called Bowiea volubilis, aka "Climbing Onion." It, too, is in the lily family. At the end of the winter, as days get longer, the bulb of this plant sprouts vining stems that develop beautiful, lacy branches. There isn't much of a flower display, but if you support the vines and branches with a wire frame, the growth produces a really stunning effect. In the fall, the stems die back and the bulb goes dormant, returning to life after cool storage through the end of winter. A good source for a climbing onion is Logee's Tropical Plants (www.logees.com).

Finally, there is a lot of talk about what Redoubt ash might do to gardens and yards. Chemically, it should be like the stuff that was "ash" last time. Geologically it should be 70 percent feldspar, the rest being a mix of quartz, magnetite, mica or clay and calcite. The geology major in me is all excited about this. Sixty percent of the earth's crust is feldspar.

The gardener in me knows that, as important, the particles of ash are bits of glass that has blown apart. They have jagged shapes and gas bubbles inside. All in all they are perfect for imparting some structure and drainage to soil and over time providing nutrients to the soil food web. All it takes is a bit of weathering and soil biota.

Of course, the downside of ash is getting too much. In any case, there is nothing we can do about any of this. Ah, but as Alaskan gardeners we are used to Nature controlling things here a bit more than elsewhere.

Jeff Lowenfels is a member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame. You can reach him at home.gci.net/~jeff/gardener or by joining the "Garden Party" radio show from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday on KBYR AM-700.