We're adding 13 new gardens to the front yard tour - here's a sneak preview. Remember, the tour is self-guided and it's free. Just print a map from the Garden Tour Map tab and take the tour any time - spring, summer or fall.

The Sabin Community Association spring general meeting starts at 6:30 pm on Monday, May 13 at the Sabin School Auditorium.  The meeting will highlight the Sabin Triangle project, the transformation of the concrete space at the southwest corner of NE 15th Ave & Prescott into a community gathering space. Board member elections will also take place at the meeting.

Come and meet your new board members and find out what the community association is working on!

About 50 people attended the April 21 event at Sabin Community Orchard, learning about honey bees from Tim Wessels and native bees from Mace Vaughn. We also planted 83 bee-friendly perennials and fruit-bearing shrubs and trees.

Georgia (Koch) Thomas remembers the cold storage lockers that were located on the SW corner of NE 10th and Beech: “In the 1940's and early 50's most of us didn't have freezers, so our moms rented space for our supply of meat and poultry. That was always a great place to go to on a hot summer day!”  

Mel Cook recalls helping to build that cold storage locker. “During one grade school summer vacation, I can recall stuffing shredded redwood bark into the open spaces in the newly constructed cold room walls. That was the preferred method of insulating at the time, many years before fiberglass insulation became popular.
The redwood bark had to be finely shredded prior to hand-stuffing into the open wall spaces. The mechanical shredding process that we used was very messy. I wore a handkerchief across my nose and mouth. The fine particles became imbedded in my hair and clothes. I itched for days!”

Mel continues: “I do not know how many years that cold storage food locker was open for business. With the advent of home freezers, it is likely they were forced to close sometime during the 1950s or 60s. Today, at that same 936 N.E. Beech Street address, you will find the New Freedom Assembly Church of God In Christ.”

A longer version of Mel's story is published on Steve Schreiber's volgagermans.net website.

Researchers from Portland State University are conducting a neighborhood opinion and attitude survey.  The researchers hope to learn how Portland residents view police use of force. You are eligible to participate in this study if you live in the Portland metro area and are over 18 years of age. Respondents are asked take a short (10-15 minute) anonymous online survey.

This is a great opportunity to get rid of junk that may be cluttering up your home or yard, and help the Sabin Community Association raise funds.

With permission from the Urban Forestry Commission, volunteers from Farm School have taken 10 cuttings from the oldest apple tree in the Pacific Northwest and grafted them to root stock, creating 10 descendants which will be planted at various locations in Portland and Vancouver, including Sabin Community Orchard. Read more about it in the Oregonian.

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement in November 2012 warning that exposure to pesticides can result in cancer, decreased cognitive function and behavioral problems in children. They recommend that families learn about integrated pest management, which means seeking out the least toxic methods of dealing with pest problems in the home and garden.

The Oregonian's recent article on this topic provides specific tips for pesticide-free gardening, such as spraying plants with water to remove aphids, or picking slugs off plants by hand.

If you'd like to learn more about natural gardening techniques, come to the Sabin Bee-Friendly Garden Tour on Sunday, July 14 from 11:00 to 3:00. The tour is free and includes 15 bee-friendly backyards in the inner NE Portland neighborhood of Sabin. We'll have natural gardening experts on hand, to chat with you about non-toxic methods of pest control. We'll also have several experts on honey bees, native bees and other pollinators, to answer your questions about these critters and explain how to create healthy bee habitat in your garden. For more information, please see the Garden Tour tab on the Sabin Community Association website: sabinpdx.org

Earth Day is a perfect day for bees at the Sabin Community Orchard!  At this upcoming Sabin Bee-Friendly Garden event, folks can learn from the Xerces Society and local beekeepers about the pollinators in our
neighborhood and how our gardening choices help or hurt them.  Then, those who  want to pick up a shovel can help plant shrubs and perennials to attract bees to the Orchard—and some more fruit trees to take delicious advantage of all those bees.  Optional tour of the tickle bees at the Sabin School field afterwards,
weather permitting.  This event is made possible by a Neighborhood Small Grant from NECN and ONI.  All ages welcome!   

When: Sunday, April 21, 2:00-4:00 pm
Where: Sabin Community Orchard, NE Mason between 18th & 19th
RSVP if you will help plant: spencer@portlandfruit.org

We recently received permission from City of Portland to have two sickly trees removed from the Sabin Triangle at NE 15th and Prescott. As part of that agreement, we need to plant two new trees in a parking strip somewhere in the neighborhood. A local nursery has agreed to donate two gorgeous paperbark maples that meet City criteria of 2” in diameter. According to the City Arborist, paperbark maples need at least a 3-foot wide planting strip to thrive. They also need to be planted by the end of  April to ensure they have time to acclimate before the weather gets hot.

If you are interested in having one or both of these trees for your parking strip, please contact Gwenn Baldwin at gwennbaldwin1@comcast.net by April 20. A tree inspector will come out and inspect your site and mark the curb for planting locations. Assuming there are no issues with power lines or the planting site, a permit will be issued and we can help get the trees in the ground.