New stand offers greenery for Sisters

The Garden at Richard's Produce opened recently with a variety of native and non-native plants on sale.

The plant stand is located next to Richard's Produce just behind Space Age Gas. Janet Zuelke is the owner and operator and comes with 20 years of experience in the nursery business.

The hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week, although Janet adds with a smile that those hours are "usually."

She sold a plant nursery in the Portland area and moved to Sisters in 2001. The move came after a happy ending to a blind date to her future husband, Forrest Babcock. He is an optical engineer for Kruger Optical in Sisters.

They settled on 13 acres in the Panoramic area and Janet eventually built two greenhouses and began growing plants. Her husband was scratching his head about where they would all go.

So, this year she approached Richard Green, owner of Richard's Produce about selling her plants at his stand.

He said yes, but only if Janet would be there to take care of the business. She agreed and began her operation May 1. The plant store is seasonal and will close thelast day of the July 4th weekend.

Green said the plant shop is a wonderful addition to his produce business.

Zuelke produces 65 to 75 per cent of the plants for her store and purchases the rest, mostly native varieties, from Clearwater Nursery in Redmond and Cascade Greenhouses in Culver.

Choosing plants for summer sales is complex, she said, because decisions must be made in February. Even with her long experience, it is sometimes difficult to tell what people will want that far in advance.

She said the number one thing people ask for is something the deer won't eat. Unfortunately, they eat just about everything and their dinner fare is not predictable, she said.

"In my yard they don't eat certain things, but in someone else's yard they may be candy," she added.

A customer did recommend a formula to keep the deer away: take one-third cup of liquid dishwasher soap, one-third cup of tabasco sauce, and three eggs. Mix with one-half gallon of water and spray on plants weekly. No guarantees, of course, Zuelke noted.

She specializes in one-gallon perennials such as Icelandic Poppies, meadow sage and Coreopsis.

Some of the native species include Penstemon, Rosy Pussytoe, Native Grasses, Sagebrush and Ninebark.

Zuelke carries Heirloom Tomatoes, but is quick to caution about the short growing season in the Sisters area. Her hint is to use warm water, both to keep the plants warm and the ground around them. Other popular items are ground cover and cooking herbs.